| Blackfire Chess | ||||
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| Developer(s) | Dark Heart Games | |||
| Publisher(s) | Fantendo | |||
| Platform(s) | Steam, NX | |||
| Genre(s) | Chess | |||
Blackfire Chess is an umbrella game created and published by Dark Heart Games for Steam and for the virtual console on the NX. Much like what the title says, the game plays like chess, with different styles of gameplay and with multiple characters that can use different abilities.
Gameplay[]
Classic Chess[]
See this for how to play chess. You use the control stick to navigate between options and the chess board. You use A to confirm your action and B to cancel your action. You may choose to have it a timed game or not, and there are three difficulty options Easy, Medium and Hard.
Special Chess[]
It plays very well like classic chess, except you can now use power ups. A power token is placed on the board, and if it is picked up, the piece's special ability is used. The power token then returns to a random location on the board. These boards are the one used in the story mode.
Challenge Chess[]
It plays very much like basic chess, except that there is no 2 player mode, and while your opponent's pieces remain the same you have no queen, one knight, one bishop, a king, a rook, and three pawns.
Amiibo Chess[]
This is game of chess which works just like the basic chess, but only can be activated with an Amiibo. There however are only a few compatible Amiibo. Some Amiibo work for the same board. For example both Mario and Bowser will activate the Mushroom Kingdom Board. Each Amiibo also has their own special ability.
Checkmate[]
Checkmate is the Story Mode of Blackfire Chess. The story follows the Black Empire who have been framed by an unknown force and now is in war with all the other countries. Emperor Kuro heads out with his army to discuss matters with each country, unfortunately ends up fighting them in a game of chess each time. Every time Emperor Kuro arrives in a new country he is free to roam the land and explore several parts of it, but eventually has to go to the ruler of the country. After failing to reconcile they engage into a game of chess. After gaining victory Kuro is quested with solving the problem in the country. The problems are usually puzzles that must completed somewhere in the country.
Once a country is defeated they will become playable in the other modes in the game, with the sole exception of White Kingdom which is available as default. The use of Amiibo isn't supported in story mode.
After reconciling with all the countires they convene and question who could have possibly tricked the Black Empire and ruined the other countries. Then it is revealed that the Sentelenium Skies is behind all of this. Emperor Kuro wants to make the Sentelenium skies pay for their deed and, along with his army, ascends there. They confront The Enemy and The Fan and defeat them in a game of chess. They gain victory and are rewarded with eternal fortune.
Zugzwang[]
Zugzwang is the DLC story that comes along with the two new "countries" and chess boards. It is set in the distant future where the land has separated itself into two countires: Orange Dystopian, a steampunk country with an orange/brown color scheme to it and Lime Cyberspace, a country located inside of a database away from the dangers of the outside world. A pawn with a blank slate finds a time portal to this alternate future and has to decide which side he joins before the war breaks out. After the chess game the side the pawn is on wins. However the pawn is flung back into the past as if nothing ever happened.
Chess Countries[]
| King | Queen | Bishops | Knights | Rooks | Pawns | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black Empire | Emperor Kuro
|
Geisha Ebony
|
Shrine Maidens | Dragons | Pagoda's | Ninja's |
| White Kingdom | King Ivory | Queen Snow | Bishops | Knights | Rooks | Pawns |
| Navy Islands | Captain Indigo | Mermaid Sapphire | Carpenters | Whales | Ships | Sailors |
| Crimson Peaks | Count Rosewood | Bride Scarlet | Witches | Headless Horsemen | Tombstones | Zombies |
| Violet Station | Commander Lilac | Captain Amethyst | Technicians | UFO's | Laser Tower | Troopers |
| Saffron Jungle | Chief Canary | Squaw Amber | Shamans | Bowmen | Totems | Indians |
| Sentelenium Skies | The Enemy | The Fan | Saint | Pegasus | Colosseum | Angels |
| DLC | ||||||
| Orange Dystopian | Lord Bronze | Lady Ginger | Scientist | Airship Pirates | Steam Mech | Ragamuffin |
| Lime Cyberspace | Warrior Shamrock | Archer Emerald | Mage | Mount | Tank | Rougue |
Boards[]
- Chess Board
- A simple black and white checkered chess board. The checkers of the board change depending on the selected countries on the board.
- Black Empire
- Taking place in the high Japanese mountains of Black Empire. On both sides of the board are traditional red Japanese shrines and on the side there are sakura trees as well as a zen garden. In special mode wind may scatter the pieces sometimes.
- White Kingdom
- Taking place in the courtyard of a Victorian English castle in White Kingdom. There are many spectators and the weather always seems to be cloudy. In the distance the London Bridge can be seen and the Big Ben, although they are not these in reality. In special mode it may rain making the board slippery causing some pieces to slip and extra step forwards and may push back other pieces they bump into.
- Navy Islands
- Taking place on one of the many islands in Navy Island. There are many trade posts, taverns and tropical plants in the background, as well as ships sailing by. At times the water may descend or ascend but it doesn't effect the board itself. In special mode a Kraken may emerge from the waters and slap with its tentacles on the board leaving spots of ink. When a piece steps on it they will be stuck there for another turn.
- Crimson Peaks
- Taking place under the dark night sky of Crimson Peaks. There is a crescent moon in the sky and stars shining bright with passing clouds. The graveyard is dirty and has tombs and tombstones everywhere as well as some creepy trees. In the background is a huge Transylvania-like castle. In special mode a scarecrow will skip over the board and leave a giant pumpkin as obstacle on the board.
- Violet Station
- Taking place in a space station high in the sky of Violet Station. It is close to space as one can see many stars and planets in the background. The chess game takes place inside of a dome that is supplied with oxygen. Many futeristic things are placed in the dome board ranging from strange machines to freaky locked-up aliens. In special mode aliens may arrive at the scene and destroy certain boardpieces, however they will regenerate after a few turns.
- Saffron Jungle
- Taking place in the deep jungle of Saffron Jungle obviously. It takes place inside of the indian camp thus many tents are seen around the board, as well as some spectators. Outside of the boundaries of the camp is a thick jungle where sometimes one can see animals passing by. In the middle of the board it a giant totem which in special mode may send out beams that confuses pieces, and make weird moves for the player instead of the move they wanted to.
- Sentelenium Skies
- Taking place in the heavenly temple of Sentelenium Skies. This sentelenium temple is placed between the clouds and a bright heavenly light shines down on the board. Other deities of the Fantendoverse can be seen watching the chess game. In special mode The Other will crash the game and bring back pieces that already were defeated. He only will bring back two pieces which can be weak or powerful, they also can both be on one side or one on each side. There is 0% chance of The Other appearing if there are zero or only one missing pieces on the board.
- Orange Dystopian (DLC)
- Taking place in a futuristic setting inside of a steampunk factory of Orange Dystopian. The place is filled with steampunkish machines and inhabitants. Gears and steam pipes make up for the background of the factory and the air outside can't be considered clean. The board itself takes place on a giant gear. In special mode the gear where the board is placed on can suddenly starts spinning around which causes the all pieces to be returned to their original position at the start of the game, it doesn't revive lost pieces.
- Lime Cyberspace (DLC)
- Taking place inside of the database of the Lime Cyberspace. The whole room is rendered as a greenish pixelated style. It feels like one is trapped inside of a hub from where people can enter and leave through doors and portals. The board itself is pixelated as well and 8-bit music plays in the background. In special mode there may occur a glitch that forces all the pieces on the board to use their tokens and perform the special ability on hand.
Special Abilities[]
Note: None of these attacks damage kings.
Special abilities are obtained by collecting a power token in Special Chess mode. If you collect the token more and more without using it, your special attack gets stronger.
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Trivia[]
- The game was formerly going to be developed and published by Fandraxonian Enterprises on the Fandraxo.
- Originally the game also was intended to be an umbrella game.
- The location of Crimson Peaks is named after the 2015 film Crimson Peak which tells a classic horror story.