Blades of Steel
Encyclopedia
Blades of Steel is an ice hockey
video game released by Konami
for the arcade
in , and ported to the Nintendo Entertainment System
in . All teams are fictional but based out of real Canadian
and American
cities. The game is known for its fast paced hockey action and especially for the fighting
. It is a one or two player game. When playing against the computer, there are three difficulty levels to choose from: Junior, College, and Pro (with Pro being the most difficult and Junior being the easiest). Each team consists of three forwards
, two defencemen
, and a goaltender
.
The NES version was re-released on Nintendo
's Virtual Console
service on December 24, 2007. The arcade version was re-released on Microsoft
's Game Room
service on November 24, 2010.
playoffs. It starts out as one team of the player's choice going against other teams in a playoff style tournament. The team that is successful in beating all of the opposing teams is awarded the Konami Cup.
Fighting
in the game occurs whenever two players bump into each other three times in a row without hitting another player. The fight screen appears and the gamers take control of their players. The loser is given the penalty
and sent to the penalty box
(the winner is not punished), creating a power play opportunity of 5 on 4 skaters. Up to 2 players can be penalized, for a maximum of a 5 on 3 advantage. If a fight occurs close to one of the nets, the referee may break up the fight and call a "penalty shot
".
During the second intermission, either a video game will appear for Player One to play or a Konami ad will appear featuring a bear shooting the puck into a net mouthing the words "Nice Shot!" The video game is actually an advertisement for Contra and other Konami games, in which (at one point) a little spaceship is trying to destroy a much larger spaceship, this being a reference to Gradius
.
If the score is tied at the end of the game, a shoot out
(similar to a penalty shot) is used to determine the winner. Each team gets five shots. The team with the most goals after five shots is the winner. If, after that, the game is still tied, each team keeps getting one more shot until a winner is determined.
, Vancouver
, Montreal
, and Edmonton
. The four American teams are from New York
, Chicago
, Los Angeles
and Minnesota
.
, Canadian Football League
and even National Football League
counterparts. Some team jerseys look similar making it difficult to distinguish between them, particularly when playing Chicago vs. Vancouver and to a lesser extent Montreal vs. Los Angeles.
Several of the uniform palette swaps from football teams are logical, such as Minnesota from the NFL's Vikings, Edmonton from the CFL's Eskimos, and so on. New York and Toronto had the serendipitous occurrence of having great similarity between the colors of their football franchises and their hockey franchises. The New York Rangers
(NHL) and the New York Giants
(NFL) both wear Red and Blue. The Toronto Argonauts
(CFL) and the Toronto Maple Leafs
(NHL) both wear blue, albeit different shades, and the twin blue colors of the Toronto team's uniforms suggest the Argonauts' attire more than the Maple Leafs'. Los Angeles is the only team to wear colors solely associated with the local NHL team, although the Los Angeles Kings
changed their uniforms to a black and silver motif shortly after the release of this game. Chicago's red and grey uniforms likely refer to the Chicago Blackhawks
, but the Chicago Bulls
also wore a similar color scheme. Montréal and Vancouver's uniforms arose out of esoteric decisions—the Montréal Canadiens
, Montréal Alouettes
, and Montréal Expos
had all adopted Red, White, and Blue color schemes, whereas the Montréal team wears Brown and Red uniforms that might suggest the old Montréal Maroons
' uniforms. Vancouver's uniform combines the green of early Canucks uniforms from the 1970s with the brown of then-current Canucks uniforms into an awkward mix of the two styles. Vancouver's BC Lions
(CFL) wore gold and black.
City - Colors - Point of Reference (NHL/NFL/CFL/NBA)
New York — Blue & Red - New York Rangers
(NHL) and New York Giants
(NFL)
Chicago — Red & Grey - Chicago Blackhawks
(NHL) and Chicago Bulls
(NBA)
Los Angeles — Yellow & Indigo - Los Angeles Kings
(NHL)
Montréal — Amber & Coral Red - Montréal Maroons
(NHL)
Toronto — Teal & Sky Blue - Toronto Argonauts
(CFL)
Edmonton — Bright Green & Yellow - Edmonton Eskimos
(CFL)
Vancouver — Burnt Orange & Forest Green - Vancouver Canucks
(NHL)
Minnesota — White & Purple - Minnesota Vikings
(NFL)
, "FIGHT!" when a fight breaks out, "With the pass..." after a successful pass is made, "Hit the Puck", "Icing", "Penalty Shot", and an "aaahhh" made by the losing player after a fight or when a player skates into a goalie. The arcade version, having better speech software and more memory available to use, offered a much greater variety of sound bites and commentary.
infractions, with an appropriate game reset and faceoff in the liable team's zone.
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
video game released by Konami
Konami
is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...
for the arcade
Video arcade
An amusement arcade or video arcade is a venue where people play arcade games such as video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, merchandisers , or coin-operated billiards or air hockey tables...
in , and ported to the Nintendo Entertainment System
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
in . All teams are fictional but based out of real Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
cities. The game is known for its fast paced hockey action and especially for the fighting
Fighting in ice hockey
Fighting in ice hockey is an established tradition of the sport in North America, with a long history involving many levels of amateur and professional play and including some notable individual fights. Although a definite source of criticism, it is a considerable draw for the sport, and some fans...
. It is a one or two player game. When playing against the computer, there are three difficulty levels to choose from: Junior, College, and Pro (with Pro being the most difficult and Junior being the easiest). Each team consists of three forwards
Forward (ice hockey)
In ice hockey, a forward is a player position on the ice whose primary responsibility is to score goals. Generally, the forwards try to stay in three different lanes, also known as thirds, of the ice going from goal to goal. It is not mandatory however, to stay in a lane. Staying in a lane aids in...
, two defencemen
Defenceman (ice hockey)
Defence in ice hockey is a player position whose primary responsibility is to prevent the opposing team from scoring...
, and a goaltender
Goaltender
In ice hockey, the goaltender is the player who defends his team's goal net by stopping shots of the puck from entering his team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring...
.
The NES version was re-released on Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
's Virtual Console
Virtual console
A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...
service on December 24, 2007. The arcade version was re-released on Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
's Game Room
Game Room
Game Room is a gaming service for the Xbox 360 video game system, Microsoft Windows PCs, and Windows Phone 7. Launched on March 24, 2010, Game Room lets players download classic video games and compete against each other for high scores...
service on November 24, 2010.
Gameplay
At the beginning of the game, players can select either "Exhibition" or "Tournament" matches. An exhibition match is just one game played against either the computer or another player. Tournament matches are similar to the NHLNational Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
playoffs. It starts out as one team of the player's choice going against other teams in a playoff style tournament. The team that is successful in beating all of the opposing teams is awarded the Konami Cup.
Fighting
Fighting in ice hockey
Fighting in ice hockey is an established tradition of the sport in North America, with a long history involving many levels of amateur and professional play and including some notable individual fights. Although a definite source of criticism, it is a considerable draw for the sport, and some fans...
in the game occurs whenever two players bump into each other three times in a row without hitting another player. The fight screen appears and the gamers take control of their players. The loser is given the penalty
Penalty (ice hockey)
A penalty in ice hockey is a punishment for inappropriate behavior. Most penalties are enforced by detaining the offending player within a penalty box for a set number of minutes, during which, the player can not participate in play. The offending team usually may not replace the player on the ice,...
and sent to the penalty box
Penalty box
The penalty box is the area in ice hockey, rugby league, rugby union and some other sports where a player sits to serve the time of a given penalty, for an offense not severe enough to merit outright expulsion from the contest...
(the winner is not punished), creating a power play opportunity of 5 on 4 skaters. Up to 2 players can be penalized, for a maximum of a 5 on 3 advantage. If a fight occurs close to one of the nets, the referee may break up the fight and call a "penalty shot
Penalty shot (ice hockey)
In ice hockey, a penalty shot is a type of penalty awarded when a team loses a clear scoring opportunity on a breakaway because of a foul committed by an opposing player. A player from the non-offending team is given an attempt to score a goal without opposition from any defending players except...
".
During the second intermission, either a video game will appear for Player One to play or a Konami ad will appear featuring a bear shooting the puck into a net mouthing the words "Nice Shot!" The video game is actually an advertisement for Contra and other Konami games, in which (at one point) a little spaceship is trying to destroy a much larger spaceship, this being a reference to Gradius
Gradius
The Gradius games, first introduced in 1985, make up a series of scrolling shooter video games published by Konami for a variety of portable, console and arcade platforms. In many games in the series, the player controls a ship known as the Vic Viper...
.
If the score is tied at the end of the game, a shoot out
Overtime (ice hockey)
Overtime is a method of determining the winner and loser of an ice hockey match when the scores are tied after regulation. The two main methods are the overtime period and the shootout.-Overtime periods:...
(similar to a penalty shot) is used to determine the winner. Each team gets five shots. The team with the most goals after five shots is the winner. If, after that, the game is still tied, each team keeps getting one more shot until a winner is determined.
Teams
There are a total of eight teams, four from Canada and four from the United States. The four Canadian cities are TorontoToronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, and Edmonton
Edmonton
Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...
. The four American teams are from New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
.
Jerseys
Each team sports a different colored sweater, inspired mostly from National Hockey LeagueNational Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
, Canadian Football League
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
and even National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
counterparts. Some team jerseys look similar making it difficult to distinguish between them, particularly when playing Chicago vs. Vancouver and to a lesser extent Montreal vs. Los Angeles.
Several of the uniform palette swaps from football teams are logical, such as Minnesota from the NFL's Vikings, Edmonton from the CFL's Eskimos, and so on. New York and Toronto had the serendipitous occurrence of having great similarity between the colors of their football franchises and their hockey franchises. The New York Rangers
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the borough of Manhattan in New York, New York, USA. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Playing their home games at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers are one of the...
(NHL) and the New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
(NFL) both wear Red and Blue. The Toronto Argonauts
Toronto Argonauts
The Toronto Argonauts are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League. The Toronto, Ontario based team was founded in 1873 and is one of the oldest existing professional sports teams in North America, after the Chicago Cubs and the Atlanta...
(CFL) and the Toronto Maple Leafs
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
(NHL) both wear blue, albeit different shades, and the twin blue colors of the Toronto team's uniforms suggest the Argonauts' attire more than the Maple Leafs'. Los Angeles is the only team to wear colors solely associated with the local NHL team, although the Los Angeles Kings
Los Angeles Kings
The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles, California. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...
changed their uniforms to a black and silver motif shortly after the release of this game. Chicago's red and grey uniforms likely refer to the Chicago Blackhawks
Chicago Blackhawks
The Chicago Blackhawks are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . They have won four Stanley Cup championships since their founding in 1926, most recently coming in 2009-10...
, but the Chicago Bulls
Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago, Illinois, playing in the Central Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was founded in 1966. They play their home games at the United Center...
also wore a similar color scheme. Montréal and Vancouver's uniforms arose out of esoteric decisions—the Montréal Canadiens
Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is officially known as ...
, Montréal Alouettes
Montreal Alouettes
The Montreal Alouettes are a Canadian Football League team based in Montreal, Quebec.The current franchise named the Alouettes moved to Montreal from Baltimore, Maryland, in 1996 where they had been known as the Baltimore Stallions...
, and Montréal Expos
Montreal Expos
The Montreal Expos were a Major League Baseball team located in Montreal, Quebec from 1969 through 2004, holding the first MLB franchise awarded outside the United States. After the 2004 season, MLB moved the Expos to Washington, D.C. and renamed them the Nationals.Named after the Expo 67 World's...
had all adopted Red, White, and Blue color schemes, whereas the Montréal team wears Brown and Red uniforms that might suggest the old Montréal Maroons
Montreal Maroons
The Montreal Maroons was a professional men's ice hockey team in the National Hockey League . They played in the NHL from 1924 to 1938, winning the Stanley Cup in 1926 and 1935...
' uniforms. Vancouver's uniform combines the green of early Canucks uniforms from the 1970s with the brown of then-current Canucks uniforms into an awkward mix of the two styles. Vancouver's BC Lions
BC Lions
The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team competing in the West Division of Canadian Football League . Based in Vancouver, British Columbia, the Lions play their home games at BC Place Stadium in Downtown Vancouver, having previously played at Empire Stadium in East Vancouver from 1954...
(CFL) wore gold and black.
City - Colors - Point of Reference (NHL/NFL/CFL/NBA)
New York — Blue & Red - New York Rangers
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the borough of Manhattan in New York, New York, USA. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Playing their home games at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers are one of the...
(NHL) and New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
(NFL)
Chicago — Red & Grey - Chicago Blackhawks
Chicago Blackhawks
The Chicago Blackhawks are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . They have won four Stanley Cup championships since their founding in 1926, most recently coming in 2009-10...
(NHL) and Chicago Bulls
Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago, Illinois, playing in the Central Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was founded in 1966. They play their home games at the United Center...
(NBA)
Los Angeles — Yellow & Indigo - Los Angeles Kings
Los Angeles Kings
The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles, California. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...
(NHL)
Montréal — Amber & Coral Red - Montréal Maroons
Montreal Maroons
The Montreal Maroons was a professional men's ice hockey team in the National Hockey League . They played in the NHL from 1924 to 1938, winning the Stanley Cup in 1926 and 1935...
(NHL)
Toronto — Teal & Sky Blue - Toronto Argonauts
Toronto Argonauts
The Toronto Argonauts are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League. The Toronto, Ontario based team was founded in 1873 and is one of the oldest existing professional sports teams in North America, after the Chicago Cubs and the Atlanta...
(CFL)
Edmonton — Bright Green & Yellow - Edmonton Eskimos
Edmonton Eskimos
The Edmonton Eskimos are a Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. They currently play in the West Division of the Canadian Football League . Edmonton is currently the third-youngest franchise in the CFL, although there were clubs with the name Edmonton Eskimos as early as 1895...
(CFL)
Vancouver — Burnt Orange & Forest Green - Vancouver Canucks
Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver, :British Columbia, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The Canucks play their home games at Rogers Arena, formerly known as General Motors Place,...
(NHL)
Minnesota — White & Purple - Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
(NFL)
Voice sampling
This game also features distinct voice samples, which were rare at the time in NES games. Most notably, the voice says "Blades of Steel!" on the title screen, "FACEOFF!" before each faceoffFaceoff
A face-off is the method used to begin play in ice hockey and some other sports. The two teams line up in opposition to each other, and the opposing centres attempt to gain control of the puck after it is dropped between their sticks by an official. One of the referees drops the puck at centre ice...
, "FIGHT!" when a fight breaks out, "With the pass..." after a successful pass is made, "Hit the Puck", "Icing", "Penalty Shot", and an "aaahhh" made by the losing player after a fight or when a player skates into a goalie. The arcade version, having better speech software and more memory available to use, offered a much greater variety of sound bites and commentary.
Rules
Blades of Steel differs from the professional game in the NHL in the late 1980s in that it has no offsides rule, and its interpretation of penalties is somewhat unique. The game's officials only call two penalties. Players who lose a fistfight are penalized 2 minutes, an abstract reworking of the 5 minute offsetting majors normally assigned in the event of a fight. Should a fight break out in front of one team's net, then the player on offense gets a penalty shot. The penalty shot is administered in the style of a soccer penalty shot, in that the shooting player must stand on the blue line, instead of moving towards the goaltender. The game also recognizes icingIcing (ice hockey)
Icing in ice hockey occurs when a player shoots the puck across at least two red lines, the opposing team's goal line being the last, and the puck remains untouched. It is, however, not icing if the puck is shot from behind the halfway line into the goal, or when the shot must be played by the...
infractions, with an appropriate game reset and faceoff in the liable team's zone.
External links
- How to play Blades of Steel(tm) Instruction manual.
- Official entry into the Hockeywood Video Game Hall of Fame Official entry into the Hockeywood Video Game Hall of Fame.