Play Brandish Online

Summary

Brandish is an action‑RPG dungeon crawler that throws you into a top‑down maze where the camera swivels automatically as you move, letting you keep an eye on every corner. You’ll hack through hordes of creatures, collect a bewildering array of weapons, armor and treasure, and even cast spells while a forward‑jump lets you vault over gaps or surprise enemies. The original PC version relied on mouse clicks around the character to stride, turn, strafe and strike, putting the warrior Ares—named Varik in the English version—right at the center of a responsive, real‑time overhead view.
The SNES port preserves that feel with a D‑pad translation, letting you navigate the labyrinth’s over 40 floors across five distinct zones—Ruins, Tower, Cave, Dark Zone and Fortress—each packed with monsters, traps and puzzles that demand both reflexes and brainpower.
First released by Nihon Falcom in 1991 for Japanese PCs, the game reached the Super Nintendo in 1994‑95 via Koei, becoming the only official English version. Nintendo’s content policies led to a toned‑down costume for the character Dela and a reshaped plot, but the core exploration and loot‑hunting experience remains intact.

Storyline

In Brandish, the tale begins with the ancient kingdom of Vittoria, built around a sky‑piercing tower and protected by a mighty dragon. King Bistalle, hungry for power, discovers a cryptic tome that promises the "Essence of Power" at the tower’s peak. When his army defeats the dragon and the king grasps the Essence, the creature sacrifices itself, causing the Essence to explode and transform Bistalle into a monster while the entire kingdom and tower sink beneath the earth, forgotten for a thousand years.

Centuries later, the swordsman Ares is chased by the vengeful sorceress Dela Delon, who seeks retribution for killing her master. Their battle triggers a collapse that drops both into the cursed Ruins of Vittoria. The player controls Ares, tasked with navigating the labyrinthine ruins and escaping its dangers.

Dela relentlessly pursues Ares, but she also wants to get out of the maze herself, leading to repeated encounters. The game’s ending shifts slightly depending on whether Ares chooses to aid her during key moments later in the adventure.