Master of Sword may be derivative, but it does great justice to the action role-playing game genre all the same. In Master of Sword, you travel through a series of differently themed dungeons while leveling up and collecting various keys and items to help you get through. All this effort is devoted to rescuing the princess, who's been captured by the vile Terracoon. Although there's nothing in Master of Sword that hasn't been done before, the whole is truly greater than the sum of its parts. Consequently, you'll find that no such departure from the classic format is really warranted here. So not only is Master of Sword enjoyable, but it's also one of the longest mobile games around.
Master of Sword won't present any surprises for those familiar with games like Castlevania or Metroid. It's a platformer that's heavily dependent on character building, weapon and item collection, and the exploration of sprawling, connected levels. Most of the adventure consists of traveling through dungeon rooms and disposing of enemies. Although there are quite a few different types of enemies, the constant backtracking, coupled with total enemy respawn, means you'll encounter the same enemies fairly often. Thankfully, as you advance in levels, killing the opponents that were troublesome at level one becomes effortless, or even unnecessary. You can often maneuver around the enemies (and in some cases early on, you would benefit from doing so), but leveling up is extremely important for progressing in the game, and it can only be accomplished through fighting. You are awarded varying amounts of experience depending on the difficulty of your opponent, and the experience arc meshes very well with the level layout. You won't often encounter an enemy before you're ready for him, and if you do, then it's a good indicator you're in an area you shouldn't be in.
In Master of Sword, you're following in the footsteps of a previous hero, Varis, who has taken it upon himself to leave signs that clue you in to area objectives. As you progress through the dungeon, you unlock areas of lava, ice, water, and more. In each of these areas, it's typically necessary to have a special suit or a special weapon, and Varis is very good about keeping you in the loop. Although his tutorial is not comprehensive, and you might not realize that you do, in fact, have to brave a few moments of fire to get the very fire boots to make it easier on you, it's designed well enough to keep the gameplay running smoothly. Most of the upgrades are self-explanatory, keys are color-coded with doors, armor protects against areas of the same color, and swords do greater damage against enemies of the opposite. There are also a few rings located throughout the dungeons that change the effects of your magic. Depending on which one you have equipped, you might use magic to either project fireballs or heal yourself. For area bosses, there's one setup of sword and magic that's most effective, and it takes very little trial and error to figure it out.
The visual style of Master of Sword is a little different from Konami's ghouls-and-skeletons oeuvre, because it's more like a generic Zelda than a sexy vampire-themed game. Fortunately, this lessens its appeal only marginally, because the gameplay is absolutely top-notch. While the game's value is not immediately apparent, it gets richer over time, and it continues to stay compelling after quite a while. Although you're merely questing for the next item to open the next area, which consists of a lot of (often repetitive) exploration, the successive levels contain unique enemies and traps, and they change frequently enough that you're not likely to get bored. Master of Sword does require a fair amount of backtracking--a gameplay conceit that is prevalent in this genre--but it also features a map with an indicator that points out the location of your next goal. Sometimes this makes navigating a little too simple. However, later in the game, you'll discover that the indicator merely shows where you're supposed to go, so it doesn't provide you with the quickest path to get there. Consequently, it ends up serving its purpose as a general aide, though without being a crutch.
Master of Sword's presentation is generally pretty good on the LG VX7000. The menus are easy to navigate, and the map, although minimalist, gives you all the information you need. Master of Sword includes features that aren't necessary but contribute to the overall polish as well, such as a percentage indicator that tells you how far along you are. In general, it's not as sleek as other games in the same genre, especially since it seems to concentrate more on gameplay than audiovisual bells and whistles. This isn't to say that Master of Sword looks or sounds bad; it's simply generic. It could have greatly benefited from a more customized visual style and a more diverse arrangement of sound effects and music. As it stands, the gameplay excels, but the style is merely "good enough."
In the long run, though, this has little bearing on a game that's fun for at least 10 to 20 hours, a length almost unprecedented in mobile games. Gameplay-wise, you're not likely to find many other mobile games in either the action or RPG genres that will hold your interest for anywhere near this long. Master of Sword's breadth simply blows most of its competition away. If you like platforming games at all, this one's a very worthwhile download.
