Table of Contents:
Version History
About the game
Getting Started
The Basics
Strategy
Fighting
Shoot-outs
Codes & Secrets
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Version History
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This is version 1.0. Written on May 25th 2001.
Probably the only version i'll need to create
but you never know.
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About the game
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This was one of my most played NES cartridges. Fast paced realistic
hockey action with easy controls and great graphics. The fighting was
always fun and plentiful while the 3 difficulty options kept gameplay
interesting. Tired of pounding on the computer? Turn up the difficulty
to college and have your butt handed to you. Beating on the college
jocks? Turn pro and fight the big leaguers.
The exhibition games are fun, but if you want to achieve glory go for
the "Tournament" mode and put the competition to shame.
The sound and graphics are great for this games time. The action is
smooth, although the animations could of been better. The voice announcer
sounds good for an NES game. Although he gets repetitive with his
"Face off!" and "Fight!".
Blades of Steel was a great game for the NES, but it wasn't without its
problems. During especially hectic games, the constantly shifting control
of your defenders can prove to be frustrating, aside from that, this game
is a blast! Also included was a half-time mini game to boot!
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Getting Started
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Break out your NES, blow the dust off of it. Now, grab your "Blades
of Steel" cartridge, go through the same ritual, blow in it, lick it wipe
it on your shirt, whatever is neccessary. Now, lets play!
"BLADES OF STEEL!"
Unless you have an amigo handy, just hit start on "1 Player"
"2 Player" mode with a buddy is very fun, try it some time.
--Game Modes
Exhibition
Tournament
"Exhibition" is a single game against the computer. You pick the
teams and go at it.
"Tournament" is a one game elimination tournament pitting you and the
team of your choice against the computer. The tree looks a bit like
this:
You!-----|
|-------You-----|
CPU -----| |
|------You-----|
CPU -----| | |
|-----CPU/CPU---| |
CPU -----| |
|-------The Champion!
CPU -----| |
|-----CPU/CPU---| |
CPU -----| | |
|------CPU-----|
CPU -----| |
|-----CPU/CPU---|
CPU -----|
You face off against 3 teams in hopes of winning the big generic
hockey trophy at the end. You can play tournament on "Rookie" "College"
or "Pro".
--The Teams
There are 8 teams to choose from in "Blades of Steel". As far as i
know and according to the official game manual, the team choice does
not make a difference in anything but the color of your team during
play, and if say you are in New York and want to be the "New York"
team, but they aren't called "The Rangers", just a generic city
hockey team.
The 8 teams are:
New York
Chicago
Los Angeles
Montreal
Toronto
Edmonton
Vancouver
Minnesota
Now that you've got your play mode and team, lets go over the basics.
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The Basics
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After the players hit the ice and do that little dance they do, its time
for some hockey mayhem!
--Face offs
There are 2 basic methods to winning a face off, choose whichever works
best for you.
1. "Mash the buttons!": Just let loose and give those thumbs a good
workout! As soon as you see the referee skate to the center start
slamming on those buttons fast and hard and you will usually win
the face off.
2. "Precise Timing": Although not as fun (or straining) as the button
mashing method, this one usually works better for veteran players
who want to *always* win the face off. Just wait for the ref to
drop the puck and hit the B button as you see it land. This takes
a bit of practice, but its worth mastering.
--I have the puck! Now what?
There are essentially 2 sides of the actual game which i will describe
now.
--Playing Offense
So, you got the puck eh? Time to scorch it up the ice and ram it down
the goalies throat!
"Movement and Controls"
---Direction Pad (D-pad): Use the D-pad to move around the ice.
---A Button: Used to shoot the puck
---B Button: Used to pass the puck to another team mate
---Start Button: Pauses the game
---Select Button: No Function
The gameplay can be a bit overwhelming at first, but thats just the fun
and excitement that is "Blades of Steel". First thing you're going to
wanna do is move around the ice and get a basic feel for skating around.
Got it? Good, now i'll discuss the finer points of offense.
"Passing"
Passing is fairly straight forward in "Blades of Steel". Just hit
the B button and the puck will go soaring to your nearest team
mate. Be careful when passing though, an opposing team member in
the right spot at the right time can easily pick off your pass.
"Shooting"
Shooting is a bit harder than passing. When you approach the
opposing teams goal you'll see 2 things. The opposing goalie and
a red arrow sliding up and down the ice. That red arrow serves as
your aiming tool for placing your shots. The stupider goalies
tend to float around it, not really guarding it, but on pro it
can be a good challenge to slip one by. Get close to the opposing
teams goal. Wait for a clear line of fire, and shoot
(A-button) when you feel the goalie will not be able to make it
back to the arrow in time and you will enjoy success more often
that not.
--Playing Defense
Defense can be alot of fun, but can also be frustrating to the point of
madness on the harder difficulties. Flipping back and forth from your
defenders can be challenging. Also having fast enough reflexes to be a
good goalie is tough as well. Here are the 2 sides of defending.
"Get the puck!!"
The defender you control is flashing white. You can switch to the
defender closest to the puck by pressing the A-Button. You will
be doing this alot when the computer has the puck as they like to
pass alot. Position yourself to intercept passes when you see a
to perfect to resist pass oppurtunity for the computer. Also ram
into the puck handler as much as possible, if you can knock him
on his butt, you can take control of the puck. Be warned, he will
knock you down almost as much as you get him.
"Block the shot"
So the computer is taking a shot. Now you have to stop it! You
have to react quite fast sometimes to stop a computer shot. When
you see the computer player with the puck wind up, you get
control of the goalie. Get to the red arrow as fast as you can,
it will be moving before he shoots, and stopped just after he
begins to shoot. You have to get your goalie directly over the
arrow for a successful stop. Otherwise the puck can be knocked
loose right back to the computer for another shot, or worse it
can bounce right into the net! When your goalie stops and holds
the puck, you can pass it to one of your team mates.
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Strategy
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As of right now, i only remember one strategy from the "Blades of Steel"
playing days of my youth, that is the "Around the World" shot for easier goal
scoring. Basically you take your player behind the opposing teams goal to throw
off their goalie and get him off center. Then as you round the net and reach
the other side, at very close proximity to the goal line, shoot the puck with
the pass button straight into the semi-empty net.
If anyone else has some strategies they'd like to contribute, send them to
me at VidgamerMJ@hotmail.com i will post them in an updated version of his FAQ
(if neccessary).
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Fighting
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Ahh, everyone's favorite part of "Blades of Steel", fighting. Fighting
happens quite often in this game if you want it to. Here is how to get into a
fight and how to control your character once you're brawling.
"Scuffles"
These happen alot. Scuffles lead to the big fights, they happen
when 2 opposing players bump into each other enough, usually only
the puck carrier will be aggressive enough to get into a scuffle.
When you start to duke it out on the ice, one of two things will
happen. You will either pound on each other until you or the
computer is knocked down or you will enter the fight screen for a
hockey brawl! If you just want the puck, pound the buttons
mercilessly in a scuffle until you knock the computer down. You
will usually avoid a fight. If you want a fight (and don't we
all?), lay back a bit, punch him slowly, and a fight will usually
begin.
"FIGHT!!"
Its on now! You and the opposing team member will enter a new
screen, the fight screen! Here are the controls for fighting:
---A-button: Blocks incoming enemy attacks
(Note: The A-button itself will block a face shot from an
opposing player. You will have to hold "down" on the D-pad
and A to block body shots.)
---B-button: Throws a punch
(Note: The B-button itself will throw a punch to the face
holding "down" on the D-pad and pressing B will throw a
body shot.)
Fights can be hard to win. Master the art of blocking well to
avoid un-neccessary hits. You only get 5 hit points which can
amount up to anywhere from 7-10 punches before you get knocked
down. Block and wait for an oppurtunity to arrive, then seize it.
Alternate between face and body shots and you should win most
fights easily. Also the *loser* of the fight is sent to the
penalty box for a stint. The winner goes back on the ice to keep
playing.
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Shoot-outs
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Whats that? tie game? Drat, now you'll have to do a shoot-out. Depending
on how fast your reflexes are these can be fun or hell. Here are the various
shots and saves for the shoot-out.
"As Goalie"
This is tough, blocking the shots can be difficult if you dont
have good reflexes, here are the saves and how to do them.
---Kick save left: Hold diagonal down and left then press
A-button
---Kick save right: Hold diagonal down and right then press
A-button
---Glove save left: Hold left and press A-button
---Stick save right: Hold right and press A-button
---5-hole save: Hold down and press the A-button
---Normal save: Don't press anything
"As Shooter"
This can be tough, sometimes the goalie is a complete idiot
(unless human controlled) and sometimes they're a reflex
machine. Just vary your shots each time and you should slip
enough by to win. You can aim for any corner of the net using
the diagonal directions on the D-pad. Or shoot for the 5 hole
by holding "down" on the D-pad. Holding left or right will
shoot to that direction of the net. Holding no direction will
shoot into the center of the net.
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Codes & Secrets
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Here are some codes and secrets for "Blades of Steel":
No Goalies:
Hold A B and press start on both controlers.
Easy Victory:
Score a goal then take the puck behind your own net. If you do it fast
enough, you will end up behind the net, and the lone defender will repeatedly
run into your goalie and get knocked down.
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Misc. Stuff
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Each period in Blades of Steel *says* its 20:00. Implying that its 20 minutes
long, when in reality, its about 2 minutes per period.
Sometimes during intermission, you will get an advertisement from Konami about
"Contra". Also a tiny mini-game for you to play. You control a small space ship
and you must shoot down a bigger ship. Get hit and you lose.
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Thanks
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Thanks to Vin, Sean, Jake, Paul, Andy, PAC, and all my friends for being so
cool.
Thanks to GameFAQ's for having the coolest gaming site on the net.
Thanks to www.gamewinners.com for supplying me with some codes to stick in this
FAQ.
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Legal Junk
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Copyright of Mark Bullard (VidgamerMJ@hotmail.com) 2001
You can use this thing anywhere you want, just keep it
full and intact and don't try to make money with it!
Laters.
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Drop Me A Line!
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My E-mail addy for the... 3rd time is VidgamerMJ@hotmail.com
send praise, jeers, death threats and other things there.
My AIM screen name is KoRnKidMJ. And look for me on the
GameFAQ's message boards as WhateverMJ.
Yes, my initails are MJ :)
