Xuan-Yuan Sword (, literally "Sword of the Xuan-Yuan") is a long-running historical fantasy role-playing video game series developed for personal computers by the DOMO Studio (DOMO小組/多魔小組) of the Taiwanese game developer Softstar Entertainment. The games incorporate heavily elements of Chinese mythology, and is one of the so-called "Twin Swords of Softstar" (大宇雙劍) along with The Legend of Sword and Fairy, a sister fantasy RPG series also developed by Softstar.
In time immemorial, the titular Xuan-Yuan Sword was wielded by Yellow Emperor to defend Ancient China against the warlord Chi You and his aggressive subjects. After Chi You's defeat, the future for the five-thousand-year-old history of China was secured, and the sword was passed on from Yellow Emperor to future generations to continue to defend the world against evil. Due to its great power, the sword was often sought by treacherous individuals to further their own ends.
A recurring item of the series is the Monster Fusion Vessel (Lian Yao Hu, 煉妖壺), created by the goddess Nüwa in emulation of the Immortal Creation Ding (造物仙鼎) to cleanse the world. Within the Vessel resides an immortal entity known as the Spirit in the Vessel. The Vessel's powers are to absorb nonhuman creatures, and to transmute them into other creatures or items.
Main series
The Xuan-Yuan Sword series is the oldest and longest living Chinese RPG series, totaling 13 RPGs with ancient Chinese-style stories set in ancient Chinese backgrounds. They are: Xuan-Yuan Sword Xuan-Yuan Sword II Xuan-Yuan Sword Gaiden: Dance of the Maple Leaves (The story happened in Warring States period of China) Xuan-Yuan Sword III: Mists Beyond the Mountains (The story happened around the time of the An Lushan Rebellion. The protagonist started from Venice, Italy, and crossed the entire Eurasian continent to reach Chang'an, the capital of the Tang dynasty of China) Xuan-Yuan Sword III Gaiden: The Scar of Sky (The story happened in late Sui dynasty) Xuan-Yuan Sword IV: The Black Dragon Dances as the Storm Rages (The story happened in the late Qin dynasty) Xuan-Yuan Sword Gaiden: The Millennial Destiny (Part of the story happened in the Spring and Autumn period of China, in the 6th century BC, and the other part 1000 years later, during the Battle of Fei River, during the East Jin dynasty) Xuan-Yuan Sword V: A Sword Above the Clouds and the Sentiments of Shanhai (The story happened in an alternate world called the world of Shanhai, or literally the world of the Classic of Mountains and Seas. The time is equivalent to late Three Kingdoms period in our world) Xuan-Yuan Sword Gaiden: The Cloud of Han (The story happened in the period of Three Kingdoms of China) Xuan-Yuan Sword Gaiden: The Clouds Faraway (The game consists of 3 chapters: the main chapter, the chapter of Lan Ying, and the chapter of Wuzhang Plains. The story happened in the period of Three Kingdoms.) Xuan-Yuan Sword VI: The Phoenix Soars over Millennial Clouds (The story happened in the West Zhou dynasty) Xuan-Yuan Sword Gaiden: The Gate of Firmament (The story happened in the Shang dynasty) Xuan-Yuan Sword VII (The story happened in the late West Han dynasty)
Xuan-Yuan Sword
(, literally "Xuan-Yuan Sword")
In the beginning of the world, the goddess Nüwa created two kinds of intelligent life: those of men, and those of monsters, who warred among each other all the time. The Sword was created by men in an attempt to end the everlasting war. Led by a single heroic figure, Xuan-yuan Swordsman (軒轅劍俠) who wielded the Sword, the war between humans and monsters ended with both sides suffering heavy casualties. Seventeen years later, the main character, He Ran (何然), a young swordsman left his mentor to set off on a journey into the chaotic world to carve his own path.
The first game in the series, Xuan-Yuan Sword was also Softstar's first RPG product and was released in 1990. The time period the game is set in is ambiguous. The game features a Dragon Quest-like user interface. Players started the game as a novice adventurer with minimal fighting skills and can gain combat experience through battles to enable progression to other areas and advance the plot. The main characters were named after the characters from A Chinese Ghost Story in this game, but their names were retconned in the second game.
The game featured standard VGA 16-colored 640x480 screen, complete with party-members, round-based combat, full-screen sprite animation, various monsters, Chinese-styled AdLb music, sound effects, animated spell effects, as well as full Chinese interface, which was a great hit in Taiwan's computer game market at that period.
Released on October 13, 1990.