Swords and Sandals!

[xXWebMasterXx_Gina]

We who are about to die, salute you! 

2024 has reignited some old loves of mine. The announcement of Gladiator 2 (It's likely going to suck!  ) means Gladiator is being rerun on TV over and over again; and being one of my favorite movies, I just keep watching it! Secondly, I've been slowly working on building a page on my site dedicated to Flash games so I can distribute a Flashpoint playlist. So what game do I decide to start my walk down Flash lane with?

SWORDS AND SANDALS: GLADIATOR!!!

If you grew up with Flash games, Swords and Sandals was one of the greats! It's a series of turn based combat games that typically follow a gladiator fighting in an arena. You build your character, level up and buy better equipment. A simple premise that is easy to pick up but incredibly difficult to beat! It's also got a neat aesthetic, iconic sound effects and a roughly made yet unforgettable theme that has a new twist with every installment!

One interesting thing about the series is that most, if not all of the games you would find on your usual Flash site were actually demos! To play the full versions you had to purchase them directly from the publisher's websites, Playacholics and/or Fizzy. They also offered the option to pay a monthly subscription fee to get access to all the games.

Back to the present however, after beating the first game's demo on Flashpoint, I learned that most of the games are now available on Steam! And to my great surprise, the series is still going! I bought the bundle that included every available game in the series and have been playing them for like 2 months straight now... I can't stop... even with all their shortcomings, I just keep playing!

I'm on Swords and Sandals 5 now which appears to have originally been a mobile game but is surprisingly expansive, if not a little glitchy. I know once I beat this one, I'm going straight to another spin off or two before I tackle the latest game in the series, Swords and Sandals Immortals!


So Melonland, what are your experiences with the Swords and Sandals series? Does anyone here have experience with the original full versions of the games back in the day? What were the sites that hosted the full versions like? (or maybe you pirated them?  )

I'm also curious, how do you feel about Swords and Sandals being one of the few premium Flash games? Do you know any other Flash games that did something similar?

[BlazingCobaltX]

I LOVED Swords and Sandals! It's one of those games that has exquisite vibes. Never understood the dynamics or strategy of winning but I played it over and over because the world fascinated me. Especially S&S 3 which has that ladder of champions you need to beat.

Never beat any version, so I never even realised I was playing a demo version. It felt complete enough to kid me. I knew the bundle existed for a while, but I haven't purchased it because I don't see myself playing it again.

[94673]

one of my favourites growing up  I bought the bundle on steam which is half broken but it felt like a small payment for something that gave me hours upon hours of fun as a child.

edit: I also once found a website that hosted the full version of, I think, swords and sandals 2? it worked fine and saved your progress and everything, only there were in-game engine ads (not stopped by adblocker  ) often of the more 'adult' variety. Which made it awkward to play when at my grandma's house lol