Blade Dancer features 3D roaming action where Lance runs and interacts with supporting characters. At the outset, there's not much to do inside the town other than gather information and open a few treasure chest. Upon leaving the safe confines of the city walls however, encounters with monsters are plentiful. Once a battle starts, attack opportunities are governed by a little sphere that moves clockwise in the lower left portion of the screen. Each time the sphere makes one complete revolution, an exclamation mark pops up and Lance may choose to attack, use an item, or vamoose if the battle is going against him. One on one battles against foes are quick but as more monsters clutter the battlefield, the little sphere moves slower as each opposing beasts gets a turn to attack. As monsters are destroyed, they'll add a little bit to the Luna gauge located at the top of the battle screen. Luna is used for casting magic spells in the world of Foo.

JAN Code: 4948872101790

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» In the save and restore screen, the protagonist Lance is shown hefting his sword above his head while the reflection of Tess the elf archer appears on the blade.

» In the intro to the game, Lance and friends are shown in serene settings on top of mesas, on their ship (accompanied by seagulls), and other locales. In one sequence, Lance pulls Tess up from the ground on top of a hill and the two stare out into the distance while petals fly through the air. They're eventually joined by Gozen and Felis and the whole gang stands there. Afterwards, Lance is shown fighting like a demon and is featured in a face to face against the dark knight. The song that plays in the cinematic introduction is "Mirai e" by mao. The title translates to "To the future."

» After starting a game, another intro starts where the camera swoops down and engages a face to face meeting between the hero Lance and red-haired girl named Tess as whitish orbs shimmer in the air and columns of light gleam in the background. Soon afterwards, Lance is seen lounging on a galleon as his pet sits close by. The little beast looks like a white feline of some sort with big ears that point downwards, a furry collar, and a tail that looks like a wispy feather. As the ship courses through the water, a camera shot shows the little pet standing on the front mast of the ship while Lance is on deck. Both are staring at the land mass that's in the distance and the hero expresses his glee that their destination is near.

» Controls are standard RPG triggers as follows:

Analog Nub / Character movement
D-pad / Camera movement
L-Trigger / Rotate camera clockwise
R-Trigger / Rotate camera counter-clockwise
TRIANGLE / Bring up menu screen for weapon, stats, items, etc
SQUARE / Targeting cursor
CIRCLE / Action button
SELECT / Map overlay

» Upon disembarking, the sound of water lapping against the wharf may be heard and control is handed over to the player. Lance may run around town, explore, and speak to NPCs. To talk to a person, target him or her with the SQUARE button and press the "O" button to trigger a conversation. This targeting system is also used to open doors and treasure chests. The designers made what was essentially one-button-press actions into two-button-press action. Instead of stepping in front of a character and pressing the "O" button to talk, you have to press SQUARE and then O to chat. If there's any advantages to the system that Hitmaker/SCE decided to use, it's that when walking around a town, pressing the SQUARE button will show which doors or items are available for interaction that might not be readily apparent when rushing through an area. Another advantage is long distance talking - you no longer have to sidle right next to a character to engage and you can stand a few feet away to trigger a conversation. This also applies to opening doors.

» When traveling, pressing the SELECT button plops a transparent map over the center of the screen. If you move, your position on the map will move also. However, SCE botched the design aspect of the overhead map. Instead of positioning the map to the right side of the screen when called upon, it sits right in the middle of the screen and blocks your view of the action.

» The world is designed well if not a bit drab. Lance's animation is smooth when he jaunts around the oceanside city but there were times when we would have liked a button to hold down to speed up the movement. The pace is very measured and deliberate.

» In the Now Loading screen, Lance's little pet is showcased on the lower left corner of the screen in various states of repose.

» To save your progress, find the whirling blue circle on the ground and press the SQUARE button to create a save data file.

» When out of town and in the wilderness, creatures may be seen as they amble up in the distance. The first bunch of monsters appear as skulls which roam around the countryside. If you're in a hurry and aren't in the mood for battle, you can avoid them but if they spot you, they'll chase you around with jaws snapping. Once a battle starts, Lance is viewed from behind and enemies are arrayed in the background. When an enemy attacks, the view shifts to a side view of the action as the foe's blow is shown in full animated motion. The players attacks are also shown from a side view where each attack is animated in short sequences. The battle is turn-based where each side takes a turn at attacking until the other is dead. Before an attack can be made, a little indicator on the lower left portion of the screen must show an exclamation mark. Up until that time, a little yellow sphere moves in a clockwise direction until the mark appears. After the creatures are defeated, Lance exults and continues on his way.

* Monsters regenerate very quickly and the countryside is soon filled with moving skulls after you've plowed through them the first time around. Of course, this is very useful when you're in need of experience and gold. After you've gained a certain level of stature, you'll have to chase the skulls since they'll start running away from you instead of preying on you.

* When a serpent is killed, it writhes realistically in a dance of death.

» In the world of Foo, all weapons eventually suffer the rigors of normal wear and tear. At the outset of the game, you'll have a single sword but additional blades may be purchased at the smithy. NCS recommends purchasing 3-5 extra weapons when you have the gold since all of your weapons will eventually crumble during the course of battle. If you're without weaponry, Lance has to resort to fisticuffs which isn't as effective as a bladed weapon.

» Up to four players may join the game for cooperative action. The four characters in the game are Lance, Tess, Gozen, and Felis.

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