Double Edged

Double Edged is an adventure-multiplayer game released on June 22, 2009 on Nitrome.com. Both players are Spartan soldiers who are invading enemy territory. The game was the first revealed game that was to be available for the Nitrome Touchy, revealed the week prior in a mysterious video.

The Nitrome Touchy version is exactly the same as the flash version, only with the Nitrome Touchy version supporting 4 players able to simultaneously play the game, no keyboard necessary, as the controller is a smartphone.

This game was one of the launch titles for the iPhone and Android version of the Nitrome Touchy, released on November 21st 2012 for the Android version, and on October 31st 2012 for the iPhone version.

Flash
Player 1

up down right left Arrow keys - Move

< (comma key) - Attack

> (period key) - Jump

Player 2

A W S D - Move

G - Attack

H - Jump

(Controls can be changed, and mapped to any button on a standard North American keyboard)

Nitrome Touchy
The player's smartphone serves as the controller for the Nitrome Touchy version of Double Edged, buttons having to be pressed in order to control the character on the screen. The layout of the control's of the Nitrome Touchy is reminiscent to the layout of a Super Nintendo Entertainment System/Nintendo Entertainment System controller: a d-pad (a plus sign shaped pad) on the left side of the smartphone, and two buttons on the right side.

The d-pad will be used to move the Spartan, while the lower button will cause the player to attack , and the other to jump. Presumably, both buttons pressed (attack button and jump button) will cause the player to perform a melee attack.

Condensed

 * D-pad up/down/left/right - move
 * Circle button 1 - jump
 * Circle button 2 - attack

Levels
The levels in Double Edged are set in a certain pattern. The pattern goes by a normal level, followed by a half boss level, followed by another normal level, followed by a hard boss level. The pattern continually repeats throughout the game.

Stage 1-1
In the first level the first enemies will be the soldiers of the enemy army. Hitting them with a sword, or one sword combo, will eventually defeat an enemy soldier. After a while, the player will find the first Treasure Chest containing enemy spoils. To pick it up, the player must use the attack key and throw it to collect the spoils hidden inside. The player must then continue onward toward a group of enemy soldiers, including an commander.

The enemy commander is stronger than the usual soliders, and will become unconcious after being attacked, instead of dying. Next, the player will eventually come across some boars. Hitting one with a sword will stun them, allowing the player to pick one up and throw it. Soon, enemies will come at the player from both sides. More boars will be encountered as well as a chicken, which can be welded as a weapon. Soon a enemy commander along with a gladiator.

Gladiators have more stamina than soldiers and are best dealt with using these two methods: The first is to jump and hit them while in midair. The second is to hit them from behind. Continuing on, the player will soon come to three saytrs at the end of the level. Hitting them will give the player coins or (if at low health) a turkey or drumstick.

Stage 1-2
In this level, the player must go forward and a soldier with an axe will approach them. The player must jump and hit him. It is suggested to take his axe for it is a powerful weapon. The player must then continue onward and four soldiers will appear. The player must defeat them and keep going. Next are two enemy commanders and one is holding a axe. If the player goes forward, four soldiers and a treasure chest will be encountered. Once the soldiers are defeated, the player must pick up the chest and throw it forward (the reason for this is because if the player throws it behind, some coins will go into the other stage and the player will not be able to collect them).

Up ahead are two enemy commanders and one gladiator. Next are some soldiers that come out from both ends of the screen. Up ahead more soldiers attack in the same way. The player must keep going and some soldiers, a chest, and a golden statue will be found. The player must pick up the golden soldier and continue onward, where more golden statues will be encountered; up ahead are other enemy soldiers. Upon defeating these enemies, the player can pick up another statue. Up ahead are soldiers and many statues of chickens, boars, soldiers, and satyrs.

The player must pick one up and get ready to throw it. The boss of this stage is Midas. A section below will explain how to defeat the boss of this level. This link will also explain the boss and how to defeat him.

Stage 1-3
In this level the player will first find a few stones. The player must pick one up and move forward. Soon, an enemy commander and two soldiers will become present in the player's path. The player can throw the rock at either enemy and defeat them. The player can then pick up the axe of a fallen enemy and move forward.

Up ahead are three enemy soldiers and a spiked pit. Next are two pits and three soldiers as well as a chest. If the player continues further, five pits will be encountered. The player must move around them. Next, there are three soldiers, a gladiator, and another gladiator with a helmet.

Upon defeating all these enemies, the player must continue on ahead and meet up with many pits, soldiers, tigers, stones, enemy commanders, and a few gladiators. Tigers are very powerful when jumped, as they can perform a very strong lunge attack. At the end of the level are three saytrs.

Stage 1-4
The player must go forward and there will be an enemy commander, soldiers and stones. The player must then proceed onward and there will be four enemy commanders. Defeating them, the player must then continue and there will be a gladiator and many chickens. To defeat the gladiators easily, the player must jump and attack in midair. When the gladiator is stunned, the player can continue to attack until its life meter runs out.

The player must then continue onward. Next are some boars and chickens as well as three gladiators. Once again, the player can jump and hit them or hit them from behind. The player must then continue onward and will soon encounter enemy soldiers and two treasure chests. Next are more soldiers and an enemy commander telling the player about the boss Talos.

To learn how to defeat the boss Talos, look below in the bosses section of this article. This link will also explain the boss and how to defeat him.

Stage 2-1
Two tigers are encountered very early in this level. The player can take one and advance on, encountering enemy soldiers up ahead. The player can go through this level on the tiger defeating any enemies; it is a good tactic to take the weapons of the defeated enemies, as they will often hold good weapons.

Soon, the player will find the lizard men and some more soldiers. The player must defeat them with an axe, for it is the best weapon of choice. Continuing onwards, the red lizard men will be found. Defeating these enemies, more enemies, treasure chests, and four saytrs can be found at the end of the level.

Stage 2-2
The player's main enemies in this level will now be lizardmen, both red and green, and a small number of soldiers. Soon the player will encounter soldiers with the new powerful weapon, the hammer. The player must pick it up and defeat the incoming enemies with it.

The boss of this level is The Minotaur. Look below in the boss section for how to defeat him. This link will also explain the boss and how to defeat him.

Stage 2-3
In this level both lizardmen and soldiers are the player's main enemies. Advancing foreword, soldiers and some lizardmen will be encountered. A new weapon found in this level is the Bow 'n Arrow. Even if the player jumps, the bow 'n arrow's arrow will still hit the player and cause damage. One encountered soldier holds a hammer. The player must choose either to take the bow 'n arrow or the hammer, the obvious choice in this situation being the bow 'n arrow, as it can inflict damage at a faster rate than the hammer.

Up ahead a treasure chest will be found. The player must continue onward but be careful, for there are soldiers with hammers that come out from front and back of the arena. The defeat of these two minions will allow the player to proceed further, towards a treasure chest. Farther ahead the player will encounter a single soldier, which serves as the prelude for the upcoming ambush. Defeating this solider and advancing forward, two soldiers armed with bow 'n arrow's will come from behind the player, and fire their arrows.

It is possible for the player to become stuck in a spot, as they will not be able to get out of the way of the oncoming arrows. Lizardmen are encountered up ahead. Advancing farther, a coupe rocks can be found. As rocks serve as good weapons, carrying them can be helfpul, as they can inflict massive damage when thrown. Up ahead, swarms of red lizardmen will be encountered, a great target for the rock.

After that, there will be seven saytrs, which the player can hit for coins.

Stage 2-4
In this level, the player must go forward, where they will meet up with a multitude of chickens. Along with the chickens, a greater enemy will appear - the Priest of Hecate. This sluggish enemy can turn the player into a chicken for a short amount of time, as well as warp around the arena. The player can jump and hit him in order to avoid being turned into a chicken, or just jump to avoid the circle that transforms them into a chicken. Also, a enemy commander is with the Priest.

After this battle, the player will encounter some soldiers, one lizard man, and plenty of chickens. If the player goes farther, there will be a treasure chest. Right after the chest are two Priests of Hecate. If the player has picked up a hammer from one of the soldiers, he/she must keep in mind that it is not a good weapon for fighting the priests. This is because the hammer only works at close range, and it is best to stay as far away from the priests, and the magic they use. A group of soldiers will be encountered ahead, one holding a bow 'n arrow.

The bow 'n arrow should be picked up, as this weapon is helpful at defeating the priests, as it attacks the enemies from far away. Up ahead, a single priest will be found. After that, more soldiers and another priest will appear. The end of this battle only brings the player to another battle with soldiers, chickens, and three gladiators. With the bow 'n arrow, the player can easily knock out the gladiators.

More soldiers and a multitude of gladiators will attack the player, these foes found farther up. The boss of this stage is Hercules. Look below for how to defeat him. This link will also explain the boss and how to defeat him.

Stage 3-1
An enemy commander will be the first enemy encountered in this level, this enemy holding the immensely powerful lion hammer. Skeletons are the player's main enemy in this level. The player must go through the level, encountering skeletons, and defeating them. At the end of the are four saytrs, which can be hit for coins.

Stage 3-2
In this level, skeletons are the player's main enemy. The player must defeat the skeletons. After that, a priest will be encountered. After the arena of the priest, there are some stones. The player can pick one up, and upon doing so, go forward. After destroying many skeletons, spike pits will be encountered. A spike will come out of one pit. Then, after a few seconds, it will retract and another will come out. Many of these spike traps are ahead.

The player must watch the pattern of the pits, then walk over them. The player will then be attacked by skeletons when the spike pits are still around. Soon, a stone statue will be encountered. The player can either pick the statue up or a rock, and go forward. A cameo statue can be found in this level, this statue being the angel, petrified. The player may choose to pick this statue up and use it as a weapon. The boss of this level is Medusa. Look below for how to defeat this boss. This link will also explain the boss and how to defeat her.

Stage 3-3
The first enemies that are found in this level are two priests and several skeletons. The player must aim for the priest and kill them first, for the Priests can bring the skeletons back to life. Once all of the skeletons and the priest are defeated, the player must move forward with caution, for this is the second to last level, and also one of the hardest.

Next is one priest and many skeletons. After that is four enemy commanders armed with a bow and arrow, a hammer, an axe, and a sword. After that are many skeletons, soldiers, and gladiators. Soon tigers will be encountered. The player can take one of them. If a tiger is obtained, then the player's task will become much easier. At the end of the level are four saytrs, which can be hit for points.



Stage 3-4
This is the last level. The first enemies in this level are a large number of skeletons. After defeating the skeletons, the player must then proceed forward. More skeletons will then come out to attack the player. Going farther, the player will soon encounter boulders that are being thrown across the area. The player must move to one side and wait for the boulders to stop.

More skeletons will then come to attack the player. After that, the giant boulders come back, but this time, skeletons are around. The player must avoid the boulders and destroy the skeletons. Soon, a group of skeletons and a priest will appear, telling the player of the boss. The boss is The Behemoth, the last boss of the game. The player must defeat him to complete the game and unlock the ending screen. (Note: If playing in two player mode, once the boss is defeated, one player must kill the other in order to rescue the princess and unlock the ending.) Look below for a description of the boss. This link will also explain the boss and how to defeat him.

Enemies
The player will have to fight many different types of enemies to progress through this game. Below they are listed.


 * Enemy soldiers - These soldiers come in large numbers (sometimes). The player must hit them two times with a sword to kill them. They will jump on tigers, and pick up a sword if they have no weapon.
 * Enemy commanders - There is usually only one in an area, but the largest number they come in is four. They are stronger than the enemy soldier and take three hits to destroy. They have complex helmets, thick red tassels and will pick up hammers and swords.
 * Gladiators - Gladiators are very large in size, are very muscular, and have the ability to pick up the player, throttle them, and toss them to the ground. They take multiple strikes to destroy, and are incapable of picking up weapons.
 * Lizards - Lizards are green and have two attack methods. The first is attacking with their trident, and the second is attacking with their tongues. If they lose their trident, they will not pick it back up. Lizards will not pink up any other weapon besides their trident.
 * Red lizard men - These lizard men are faster then other lizard. These lizard men are red and have two attack methods. The first is attacking with their trident, and the second is attacking with their tongues. If they lose their trident, they will not pick it back up. Lizard men will not use any other weapon besides their trident.
 * Priest of Hecate - This enemy's only attack is to turn the player's soldier into a chicken or to bring back to life the skeletons that the player has just defeated. They take three or five hits to destroy. When the player hits them they will disappear and reappear somewhere else on the screen. The bow 'n arrow is a good weapon for hitting them, since they operate at long range.
 * Skeletons - Skeletons are enemies the player must fight from level 3-1 to level 3-4. They may come with a helmet or a sword, but if they have no weapon, they will fight with their fists or pick up other weapons. They take many hits of the sword to destroy.

Bosses
A boss fight comes every other level. They are marked as a skull or a thin circle around a level circle on the map.


 * Midas: - He is the first boss. When the player is getting close to his boss arena, gold statues can be found. When he is fought, the player should not get too close or Midas will turn the player's soldier into gold. If the player's soldier is turned to gold, the player's health will slowly begin to deplete. In order to become normal again, the player will have to rapidly press the left and right buttons. The only way to harm Midas is to throw the golden statues at him, because any physical attacks will result in the player being turned to gold.


 * Talos: - This boss is so tall that the player can only see its feet. To defeat it, the player must run and keep hitting the back of Talos's heel until a piece of metal is destroyed. When Talos's heel is hit, his health will go down. Once the piece of metal is destroyed, enemy soldiers will come out. Once both heels are defeated, and Talos's health is completely depleted, it will fall over.


 * Minotaur:- In order to defeat this boss, the player must be very quick. The player must first go as fast as they can straight towards the boss, and hit with a hammer before it starts to talk, which will cause him to faint. When he stands up, the player must hit him again. The player must repeat this until the Minotaur dies. (Note: This is not the proper way to defeat the boss and not the way Nitrome intended the boss to be defeated. If the player would like to defeat the boss the proper way, then the player must wait until the Minotaur is finished talking, then follow the instructions following this note in order to defeat him.) Also, If the player does not hit him in time, the trick will not work and the player will have to follow these instructions: The player must quickly dodge the Minotaur when it charges to avoid getting hit. When it's horns get stuck in the wall, the player must then hit it with a sword. The hammer is also a good weapon to fight the Minotaur with. The player must keep doing this until the Minotaur dies.


 * Hercules: - He may look small, but he is powerful: this boss is able to throw the player's soldier, and also able to pick the player's soldier up by the legs, jump up in the air, and slam the player on the ground. The hammer, again, is a good weapon for fighting him. After the player hits him a few times, some Gladiators will come in to fight the player.


 * Medusa: - The player will know when the soldier is getting close to this boss because of the statues. She attacks in three ways: shooting arrows at the player with her bow, hitting the player with her tail, and turning the player's soldier to stone with her eye sight. The player must remember to look the other way when her hair lifts up, in order to avoid being turned into stone.


 * Behemoth: - He is the last boss in this game. When the player's soldier finds him, he is trying to reach for the princess. The player must defeat him by hitting his face many times. Eventually, his head will come down. When this happens, the player must jump up and hit his eye repeatedly. The player must do this until all of his health is gone. Ever so often, the Behemoth will burp out skeletons, so the player must also defend their soldier from the skeletons that come to attack.

Pickups

 * Coins - An easy way to earn points is to pick up coins. They can be obtained by defeating enemies, picking up and throwing chests, and when hitting a saytr.
 * Chest - When thrown, coins and sometimes drumsticks or turkey may appear. They can also be thrown at enemies as weapons.
 * Mutton - Drumsticks of mutton are rarely found, but when picked up all health will be replenished.
 * Turkey - This item is easier to find then the drumstick, but it will replenish only half of the player's health.

Interactive Objects

 * Saytrs - The player cannot kill saytrs. They run around the screen quickly, and will drop coins or food when hit. Eventually they will run away off the screen.

Animals

 * Tiger - Tiger can be used like a vehicle. To mount one, the player must tap the jump button when near one to jump on it. When the player then comes close to an enemy, they can press the attack button to jump onto the enemy and potentially destroy them. Tigers cannot be killed, and most enemies can jump on them and attack the player's soldier
 * Chicken - The player's soldier can be turned into a chicken when they face the Priest of Hecate. The player can also use chickens as a weapon. The player must press the key they use when picking up weapons when they come up close to a chicken to use one as a weapon. Chickens also cannot be killed.
 * Wild Boar - These animals cannot be killed, but can be picked up and thrown when stunned by a weapon. The player can then use the boar as a weapon by throwing one at an enemy.

Weapons

 * Dagger - This is the player's primary weapon - it cannot be dropped. If the player loses a previous weapon, this will always be in their hand to replace the lost weapon. Every enemy the player faces will have this as their primary weapon, except for skeletons and lizardmen. This weapon is very weak compared to other weapons, and it often takes multiple strikes with a dagger to kill an enemy. This weapon operates at very close range.
 * Sword - The player starts off with this weapon at the start of every level. Some enemies will have this too. This weapon operates at close range.
 * Axe - This is a little stronger then the sword, and is incapable of stunning/killing enemies. This weapon operates at close range.
 * Hammer - This weapon is very powerful. When the player attacks someone with it, the enemy will be stunned and forcefully knocked back towards the edge of the screen. It is good for fighting groups of enemies and bosses. This weapon operates at close range.
 * Trident - These are weapons that the lizard men attack with. This weapon operates at close range.
 * Bow n' Arrow- This is a powerful long range weapon that is able to shoot arrows across the screen and it dishes out large amounts of damage.
 * Lion Hammer - Similar to the Hammer but stronger, the lion hammer only appears on level 3-1 but is strong against the skeletons the player faces. This weapon operates at close range.

Hazards

 * Spike pits - These are really small pits with spikes in them. The player will get stunned if you fall into one.
 * Moving spikes - These spikes come up in two groups. The first group of spikes come up out of half of the holes, then when they retract, the second group of spikes come out from the remaining holes. After group two retracts, the process repeats.

Pre-release
Double Edged is the only known Nitrome game to be released as a playable Beta version. During the second week Cosmic Cannon was released, some who played it at a certain time instead played Double Edged. As mentioned above, this game was still being worked on, progress only up to Hercules done.

The game looked pretty much how it did in its fully released version. The only noticeable difference was the battle with Hercules was incredibly toned down for the full release. Hercules, for the beta pre-release, inflicted much more damage than he did in the full version. This beta was quickly taken down, the reason behind this risky move probably being to allow Candystand (sponsors of the game) to test it out.

Videos
Pre-release videos of the game surfaced on sites such as YouTube. Unusually, these videos were not requested to be taken down by Nitrome, probably because Nitrome did not even know of the existence of the videos.

The below video was posted on June 2nd 2009, twenty days before Double Edged's release.

Nitrome Touchy version
Double Edged was the first revealed Nitrome Touchy game, and also the most notable. On September 18th 2012, Nitrome released a mysterious trailer titled Double Edged????. This trailer showed four spartans moving through the levels of Double Edged. It was only a week later that it was revealed this was one of the Nitrome Touchy games.

This game was one of the 10 launch titles for the iPhone version of Nitrome Touchy, this game launched on October 31st 2012 for the iPhone app and released on November 21st 2012 for the Android app.

September 18th 2012
Nitrome posted a six letter blog post that linked to the trailer of Double Edged????. The blog post, Nitrome, nor trailer revealed anything about the game, other than it will include four Spartans instead of two, all four possibly able to be controlled on the same computer. The trailer ends with four question marks, each a colour that corresponds to a colour of the crest of the four Spartans shown in the trailer.

September 25th 2012
Nitrome acknowledged that this game would be available for Nitrome Touchy.

October 2nd 2012
Nitrome released a diagram of the controller used for the game.\

Awards

 * Jay is Games
 * 2010
 * Best of Casual Gameplay 2009
 * Best Action or Arcade game (Browser games)
 * Nominated - Seventh place (5.5% of votes)
 * }

Trivia
The game might be based off of Ax Battlers.
 * In Level 3-2 there is a stone statue of one of the angels from Twin Shot.
 * This game is one of the three games that appear in Skywire VIP Shuffle.
 * The Hammer is the same hammer used in Ice Breaker: The Red Clan.
 * In Level 2-2 an enemy commander says "Stop...Hammer time!" and says "Can't Touch This..." when he dies, a reference to the song Can't Touch This by M.C. Hammer. This same quote was used by the Hammerhead Sharks in Mutiny when the player is defeated.
 * There is a glitch at the end of the levels. That is, if the player has a weapon and near to him is another one, the spartan can grab the sword and the the CLEAR screen will be showed and the old weapon remains rolling in midair.
 * This is one of few games, like Nitrome Must Die, that has many weapons to choose from.
 * Nitrome has been constantly linking back the Youtube video of the Nitrome Touchy version of Double Edged, using it as an example of the multiplayer capabilities of the Nitrome Touchy.