Kalin no Tsurugi (The Sword of Kalin) is a top-down action RPG developed by Xtalsoft and published by Square for the Famicom Disk System in 1987. Taking on the role of a knight in the kingdom of Altenia, you explore an overworld heavily inspired by early 8-bit RPGs, while engaging enemies in distinct action-based encounters. The game notably uses a "bump combat" system where you damage enemies by running into them off-center, similar to Ys or Hydlide, rather than swinging a weapon with an attack button.
How to Play
Use the D-pad (arrow keys) to navigate the world map and move during combat. Instead of pressing a dedicated attack button, you must RAM into enemies on the battle screen to deal damage. Bumping into an enemy directly head-on will cause you to take damage, so aim to strike them from the sides or slightly off-center. The A and B buttons (Z/X) are used for menus, casting magic, and interacting with townsfolk.
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