Babel Sword

The Babel Sword is a shoot 'em up/versus fighting game hybrid created by TsMUGEN using the M.U.G.E.N fighting game engine for the PC. The player controls a selectable M.A.R.S., mechs not unlike gundams, to take one of five sides in a conflict over Earth's resources. The game is notable for being the only hybrid of the two genres made for the engine, an irony given the engine for fighting games was originally designed for shooting games. The game requires the engine be downloaded separately and to have the EXE and dlls put in the root folder to function (this is due to the engine's EULA).

Gameplay is not unlike that of WarTech: Senko No Ronde. You select a pilot and a M.A.R.S. (Machines of Assured Resourceful Structures, the game's gundam-like mechs). While pilot selection has no effect on the gameplay at all, each mech fights in a very different manner, making for variety.

Despite the manual having English and Chinese language translations, the game itself is for the most part solely in Japanese. While the graphics are mostly original, the game itself makes use of sounds from various commercial sources, including the Metal Slug series and similar games, and some graphics for effects are edited from other fighting games (such as Capcom vs. SNK).

The game itself is designed to run in high-resolution for the most part (640x480), though the default configuration sets the game to 320x240. Many objects in game, notably the characters, are designed of smaller pieces and combined in various ways, with individual parts rotated to create the necessary animation, much like the animation seen in games like The Rumble Fish or Namco X Capcom to an extent. With this also many parts are reused between individual M.A.R.S. units, allowing for a mix and match of looks while cutting down on file size and memory usage.

While freeware, the game has seen distribution through German and Japanese based magazines on demo disks. It also has had a brief mention in GAMER magazine's article on the Mugen fighting game engine.