Blades of Steel
| Company type | Video game |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video games |
| Founded | 1987 |
| Founder | Konami |
| Products | Ice hockey video games |
Blades of Steel, launched by Konami in 1987 for arcades in North America and subsequently adapted for the Family Computer Disk System and Nintendo Entertainment System in 1988, is an ice hockey video game featuring fictional teams situated in authentic Canadian and American cities. Renowned for its rapid gameplay and unique fighting system, it accommodates either single or dual players and offers three AI difficulty settings: Junior, College, and Pro. Each squad consists of three forwards, two defensemen, and one goaltender.
The series continued with two follow-ups: NHL Blades of Steel '99 and NHL Blades of Steel 2000. The NES edition was reissued on Nintendo's Virtual Console in 2007, while the arcade version became available via Microsoft's Game Room service in 2010.
Gameplay
Players can select between "Exhibition" matches or a "Tournament" mode that replicates NHL playoffs through a bracketed competition culminating in a championship win. Fighting plays a central role, activated after three successive collisions between players. During these fights, participants exchange punches with health meters displayed; the defeated player receives a penalty and is sent to the penalty box, creating power play situations. Up to four penalties may accumulate, resulting in a maximum 5-on-1 advantage. Fights occurring near the goal can trigger penalty shots.
Between periods, players encounter either a mini-game or a Konami advertisement promoting titles such as Contra and Gradius. If the match concludes tied, a shootout ensues with each team taking five shots; if still tied, sudden death rounds decide the victor.
The game features eight teams representing NHL cities from that era: Canadian franchises include Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, and Edmonton; American teams are from New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Minnesota. Team uniforms differ in color.
Noteworthy for being among the first NES games to incorporate voice samples, the audio includes phrases like "Blades of Steel!", "Faceoff," "Fight," and "Penalty shot." The arcade version delivers enhanced sound quality due to more advanced hardware.
Blades of Steel departs from official NHL regulations by excluding offsides and simplifying penalties: only two types are enforced—fighting leads to a two-minute penalty for the loser; fights near goals result in penalty shots taken from the blue line rather than advancing toward the goalie. The game implements icing rules with appropriate resets and faceoffs.
Reception
Blades of Steel garnered positive reviews upon release. Allgame’s Skyler Miller described it as "one of the most enjoyable sports games of its era." Critiques of the Virtual Console re-release remained largely positive; Marcel van Duyn from Nintendo Life remarked that it has aged better than other Konami NES sports titles such as Double Dribble. Conversely, Dan Whitehead of Eurogamer criticized its visuals for repetitive player sprites and overly bright color schemes. Although Electronic Gaming Monthly did not include it in their "100 Best Games of All Time," preferring Ice Hockey (1988 video game) for its higher entertainment value despite Blades of Steel having superior graphics at that time.
Legacy
The franchise expanded through two sequels: NHL Blades of Steel '99 on Nintendo 64 and NHL Blades of Steel 2000 on PlayStation. Climax Studios developed Game Boy Color editions for both sequels, broadening the series’ presence across multiple platforms.
External links
- Articles with short description
- 1987 video games
- Amiga games
- Arcade video games
- Commodore 64 games
- DOS games
- Game Boy games
- Famicom Disk System games
- Ice hockey video games
- Konami games
- Nintendo Entertainment System games
- Trackball video games
- Video games scored by Kiyohiro Sada
- Virtual Console games
- Multiplayer and single-player video games
- Konami arcade games
- Video games developed in Japan