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Great Swordsman
大剑客
Great Swordsman is a 1984 arcade action game from Taito Corporation that puts players in the role of a fencer competing in sword-fighting duels. The game supports two players, allowing head-to-head competition. Players control their swordsman using a joystick and buttons to execute attacks, parries, and lunges against opponents. The action is viewed from a side-scrolling perspective, and players face a series of increasingly skilled adversaries across multiple bouts. The goal is to score hits on opponents while defending against their strikes. Matches follow fencing-style rules, rewarding precise timing and positioning over button-mashing. The two-player mode lets friends compete directly against each other, adding a competitive dimension beyond the single-player progression against CPU opponents.
- Developer
- Taito Corporation
- Released
- 1984
- Platform
- Arcade
- Genre
- Action
- Players
- 2P
- Rating
- 4.5 / 5 (2.9K)
- Last updated
Great Swordsman Controls — Arcade Keyboard Keys
Default keyboard bindings for Great Swordsman on our in-browser Arcade emulator. Plug in a USB or Bluetooth gamepad to auto-detect mappings, or rebind any key from the emulator settings menu.
| Keyboard | Console button | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| ↑ | Joystick Up | Move up |
| ↓ | Joystick Down | Move down |
| ← | Joystick Left | Move left |
| → | Joystick Right | Move right |
| X | Button 1 | Primary action (jump / confirm) |
| Z | Button 2 | Secondary action (attack / cancel) |
| S | Button 3 | Tertiary action |
| A | Button 4 | Quaternary action |
| Q | Button 5 | Fifth button |
| W | Button 6 | Sixth button |
| 5 | Insert Coin | Insert coin |
| 1 | 1P Start | Start / Pause |
Coin and Start are convention "Insert Coin: 5" and "1P Start: 1". Some arcade boards expect specific button mappings — check the in-game prompts on coin-up.
Rebind any key from the EmulatorJS in-game settings menu (gear icon → Controls). A connected gamepad auto-maps to the same buttons.
Great Swordsman Longplay & Gameplay Videos
Watch a full playthrough of Great Swordsman on Arcade before you dive in — recommended for getting a feel for the game's pacing, story beats, and difficulty curve.
Watch longplay on YouTube
"Great Swordsman" Arcade longplay 1984
External references
Frequently Asked Questions
When was Great Swordsman released?
Great Swordsman was released in 1984 for the Arcade.
Who developed Great Swordsman?
Great Swordsman was developed by Taito Corporation, available to play in your browser on RetroGameSpace.
How many players does Great Swordsman support?
Great Swordsman supports up to 2 players, ideal for couch co-op or competitive sessions on the Arcade.
What type of game is Great Swordsman?
Great Swordsman is a Action game for the Arcade, playable instantly in your browser — no downloads, no installs.
How can I play Great Swordsman for free?
Open this page and click "Play Now" — Great Swordsman runs free in your browser via WebAssembly emulation. No account, no payment, no installer.
Do I need to download anything to play Great Swordsman in the browser?
No. Great Swordsman streams from a public archive into a browser-side Arcade emulator. Nothing is installed on your computer.
Can I save my progress in Great Swordsman?
Yes. Save states are stored in your browser (IndexedDB) per game, and you can also use any in-game save the original Arcade cartridge supported.
Does Great Swordsman work on mobile devices?
Yes — the Arcade emulator runs on iOS Safari and Android Chrome. Touch controls overlay the game; landscape mode is recommended.
Is it legal to play Great Swordsman this way?
RetroGameSpace is a transient caching reverse-proxy and does not host first-party copies of Great Swordsman. Game files are fetched on demand from publicly-accessible archives. You are responsible for compliance with your local laws and the bring-your-own-ROM principle.
