Play Power Blade Online

Summary

Power Blade stands out on the NES thanks to its eight‑direction boomerang, a rarity for 2‑D platformers of the era. I love how Nova can snag the metallic Power Suit, instantly swapping his look and letting him fire energy "Power Blades" through walls while upgrading boomerang range, power, and count via scattered power‑ups. The stage‑select screen lets you tackle any of the six sectors in any order, hunting down an agent, breaking into a security room, and defeating a boss to retrieve a data tape before the final showdown against the alien overlord. The game also offers a password system and continues, so a slip‑up doesn’t force you to start over entirely, though falling off‑screen still means death—a stricter penalty than its Japanese counterpart, Power Blazer. The box art, modeled after Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Terminator look, even sparked a legal note from a movie star’s lawyers, adding a quirky footnote to its legacy. Critics praised the title, and IGN later ranked it #82 on its Top 100 NES Games list.

Storyline

Power Blade takes place on the colony of New Earth in the year 2191. The planet is still healing from centuries‑long wars, and a supercomputer known as the Master Computer controls the colony’s vital systems. When alien forces sabotage the computer, its control program goes offline, threatening the entire settlement.

The player assumes the role of Nova, the Chief Security Officer of the Master Computer and the wielder of the ancient Power Blade – a glowing energy boomerang. To reactivate the system, Nova must retrieve six data tapes hidden in the surrounding sectors. Each sector is heavily guarded, so Nova first contacts an agent to receive an ID card. He then defeats the security‑room guards, claims the tape and disarms the sector.

After all six tapes are secured, Nova fights his way into the Master Computer’s Control Center, destroys the corrupted core, and restores order to New Earth.