The Legend of Sword and Fairy

July 7, 1995(31 years ago)·Full Release

Softstar

★

9.3

7 user ratings

★

9.3

7 critic ratings

★★★★★★★★★★

⭐

VOTES

Genres: Role-playing (RPG)

Platforms: PC, DOS, Saturn

Screenshots

FantasyDramaRomanceSingle playerBird view / Isometric

Summary

The Legend of Sword and Fairy is a role-playing video game created by the Taiwanese studio Softstar Entertainment and its affiliated companies. It blends aspects of wuxia, shenmo, and fantasy genres. Since its debut in 1995, it has grown into a popular video game series across Taiwan and mainland China. It also inspired the 2005 Chinese TV drama Chinese Paladin.

Storyline

There are many nuanced distinctions among the various editions of the game. The storyline outlined here is drawn from the PC versions for Windows 95 and 98. The main character, Li Xiaoyao (李逍遥), is a regular 19-year-old living in a quiet fishing village near Suzhou (苏州), China. While searching for a remedy for his ailing aunt, he journeys to a mysterious island in the sea, where he encounters a fairy named Zhao Ling’er (赵灵儿). He is compelled to marry her and stay on the island forever, but he eventually escapes with the cure for his aunt. However, he loses all memory of his time on the island and does not recognize Zhao when they meet again. This time, Zhao’s home has been ravaged by enemies, and Li decides to join her in southwestern China to locate her mother, who may still be alive. Li and Zhao return to Suzhou and meet Lin Yueru (林月如), the pampered daughter of a prominent martial artist. To everyone’s surprise, Li wins a martial arts competition and earns Lin’s hand in marriage. Though Li and Lin become engaged, Zhao vanishes without a trace on their wedding night, prompting them to search for her. Their journey leads them to Sichuan (四川), where the Mount Shu Sect (蜀山仙剑派), a formidable martial arts order, is located. There, they discover that Zhao is actually a half-serpent spirit and has been confined within the Demon Prison Tower (锁妖塔) by the sect’s elders. Li and Lin infiltrate the tower and successfully free Zhao after a dangerous descent to its lowest level, but they are gravely injured when the tower collapses during their escape. The three are rescued by a master of herbal medicine, who informs Li that Zhao is pregnant with his child and that Lin has succumbed to her injuries. Though heartbroken, Li understands he must complete a more urgent mission: to retrieve two rare artifacts to save Zhao and their unborn child. During his journey, he meets and befriends A’nu (阿奴), a white Miao (苗族) princess. They travel to southwestern China, the homeland of the Miao people, where a severe drought has caused conflict between the white and black Miao over dwindling resources. Li completes his task, and Zhao recovers. She then calls forth a rainstorm, bringing peace to the region. They uncover that the drought was caused by an evil black Miao priest. Li, Zhao, and A’nu confront him and defeat him in battle, though Zhao sacrifices herself to destroy a monster summoned by the priest. Li is devastated by the loss of his two beloved companions. He says goodbye to A’nu and walks away alone. Just then, he sees Lin, holding his child. Lin’s return at the game’s conclusion is often debated, but the official narrative from the developers confirms that Lin is truly dead and cannot be revived. While her body may be restored, she will never be the same, as her soul is gone.