Issue #46: Live by the Sword – May/June 2020 (Patreon)

Swordplay is simple.

Not in the real world, of course! Goodness knows if I ever found myself in the middle of an actual duel, I'd then soon find myself skewered shortly thereafter. But in the world of video games, nothing's more natural than hacking and slashing.

It's one of the easiest interactions to understand. You, a good guy, have a pointy blade. You press a button and it makes bad guys go away. Rinse and repeat. Instantly satisfying gameplay!

Swords have been the most common weapon wielded by video game heroes for decades as a result of that  simplicity -- and no, I'm not going to go back and try to verify that claim. Who could? The number of different games that have pressed a virtual blade into the player's hands are countless at this point. 

But among that myriad, a handful of truly special swords have emerged over the years. Iconic weapons that make you feel especially powerful and especially special when you use them to make the bad guys go away, versus whatever nondescript hunk of sharp metal might have been offered to you otherwise. 

In this NF issue, we springboard off the upcoming launch of Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition to pay homage to several of those incredible weapons. Our titular feature, Live by the Sword, asserts our Top 20 selections from the armory of the ages. That leads into our final preview of the new Xenoblade Chronicles remake for the Switch, itself focused on Shulk's multi-functional Monado -- arguably the greatest weapon ever wielded by any of Nintendo's many first-party heroes.

Other swords then carve their own places throughout the remainder of this edition, through our reviews of games like Katana Kami, Samurai Shodown and Trials of Mana to our exclusive final preview of Panzer Paladin and our interview with its creator, Jonathan Lavigne. We're even kicking off an all-new, hopefully recurring column in the Retro section called Left in the Past. It'll look back at decades-old games that have never been rereleased on any more modern hardware after their original launches -- first up is the Wizards & Warriors series. I know you old-schoolers remember IronSword!

So kneel, good knights, and arise again with greater knowledge of gaming's best blades. This NF is preparing you for combat!

Digital subscribers, keep an eye on your email inbox this Wednesday, April 22. A download link will be sent your way on that day.

Print subscribers, this issue is in production now and will be mailed to you this week. Right now the print company we work with is operating normally, not effected by the shutdown orders in place for many businesses around the country. Delivery to your homes may be slower than normal due to the ongoing pandemic . . . but then again it might be faster since overall mail volume has dropped in the past month. Just be understanding either way! This is a difficult time in human history right now, and NF is going to stay on schedule, but bear with us in the months ahead if we have to adjust to new realities! Cool?

Thanks as always for your support, Force fans! Xenoblade's one of my personal favorites, so this issue was a lot of fun to work on for me in particular!

~ Lucas M. Thomas