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Item - Sword of the Samurai

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(Original (Zigzag), UK 1986 1st printing (C&W) [1st])
(Original (Zigzag), UK 1986 1st printing (C&W) [1st])
(Original (Zigzag), UK 1986 1st printing (C&W) [1st])
(Original (American, early printing))
(Original (American, third printing))
(Original (American, third printing))
(Original (American, third printing))
(Original (Dragon, Bronze text, Number spine only))
(Wizard S1 (Special), UK printing (C&W))
(Wizard S1 (Special), UK printing (C&W))
(Wizard S1 (Special), UK printing (C&W))
(Wizard S1 (Standard), UK printing (C&W))
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Combined Summary

Series: Fighting Fantasy (1982-1995, Puffin) — no. 20
Fighting Fantasy (2002-2007, Wizard Books Series 1) — no. 25
Contained In: Fighting Fantasy Adventure Gamebox (Collection)
Translated Into: L'Epée du samourai (French)
A espada do samurai (Portuguese)
A espada do Samurai (Portuguese)
A Espada do Samurai (Portuguese)
Mechat na samuraya [Мечът на самурая] (Bulgarian)
Missione per un samurai (Italian)
Samurai no ken [サムライの剣] (Japanese)
Samurajův meč (Czech)
Das Schwert des Samurai (German)
A szamuráj kardja (Hungarian)
Adapted Into: Sword of the Samurai (Video Game)
Authors: Smith, Mark
Thomson, Jamie
Illustrators: Jones, Peter Andrew (Original (Zigzag), UK 1986 1st printing (C&W) [1st] - cover; Original (Dragon, Bronze text, Number spine only) - cover; Original (American, early printing) - cover; Original (American, third printing) - cover)
Langford, Alan (interior)
Dates: April, 1986 (Original (Zigzag), UK 1986 1st printing (C&W) [1st])
March, 1987 (Original (American, early printing))
2006 (Wizard S1 (Standard), UK printing (C&W))
June, 2006 (Wizard S1 (Special), UK printing (C&W))
ISBNs: 0140320873 / 9780140320879 (Original (Zigzag), UK 1986 1st printing (C&W) [1st], Original (Dragon, Bronze text, Number spine only))
0440977959 / 9780440977957 (Original (American, early printing), Original (American, third printing))
1840467320 / 9781840467321 (Wizard S1 (Standard), UK printing (C&W), Wizard S1 (Special), UK printing (C&W))
Length: 400 sections
Special Thanks: Original (Zigzag), UK 1986 1st printing (C&W) [1st]:
Thanks to James Thompson for the cover scans.
Wizard S1 (Standard), UK printing (C&W), Wizard S1 (Special), UK printing (C&W):
Thanks to Ryan Lynch for the images.
User Summary: The great sword that allows the shogun of Hachiman to rule has been stolen, and you, as his greatest warrior, must find it before the forces of evil can harness its powers.
Braxus's Thoughts:

This book is disappointing and is one of the worst Fighting Fantasy gamebooks in my opinion. The plot failed to hook me from the start, and the writing is not particularly interesting.

Furthermore, the amount of sudden death endings is just stupid. There is one area where there is like an 80% chance of dying! Therefore, you will end up starting over several times, and since the plot is fairly linear, it will not be very interesting.

Towards the end, the battles are also very hard, and you will need a lot of Honour Points (unique value for this book). I couldn't really find enough ways to add Honour Points, so I constantly failed later in the book too.

In short, harder books like this CAN be good since they are challenging, but only if the plot is interesting and the book is very non-linear... try Creature of Havoc instead!

More reviews by Braxus

Fireguard's Thoughts:

Overall, this is a pretty interesting book which presents an interesting environment, and an intriguing set of special skills the player can make use of. My favorite part was a sequence where the player is required to travel to a variety of different worlds and enlist allies for a tournament with a group of demonic monsters. At times I felt shaken by it, though, like when the book asks if you know the secret of using the magic sword's power, and it's a simple "do you/don't you" question. There was a part elsewhere in the book where the player needs to use a letter-number translation scheme to solve a couple puzzles, and it was odd to me to use that for some minor obstacles and not to unlock something that would give them a big advantage in the final battle. Other than the occasional slip, this is a fun book and I enjoy going back to it once in a while.

More reviews by Fireguard

Special Thanks:Thanks to Nicholas Campbell for the jagged-logo British cover scan and to Ben Nelson for the character sheet and dragon logo British cover scan. Thanks to Fireguard for the plot summary.
Users Who Own This Item: aehalpin, Alarion, Alatar001, AlHazred, AndreAntunes (UK), andyr, angriestmonster, Aniline, Ardennes (US), auximenes, Avenger, B0N0V0X, badboybaggins, BarefootJimmy, Barker1952, bigcobra, BobaGabe, bonhomme, bookwormjeff (US & UK), Braldt, Braxus, bunnyhero, cayh_dilg, Citadel1963, Citanul, Count Heydrich, crazydave, Crazyscotsman, crispybacon, CSquared, Cyan, c_wickham, dArtagnan, dave2002a, dblizzard72, DeKoovenWolf (British edition), Demian (American edition), demon of the deep lt, desdichado66, devilsboy, Dirk Omnivore, domj29, Dronak (1st reissue Special Limited Edition), drystan, duckymolmol, eadric, Eamonn McCusker, EarlOfDrumer, Ed, edwebb, egokun, Erikwinslow (US, UK bronze), Fido815, firefoxpdm, Gallicus (Limited Edition), Gamebook, Gamebook Collector, GamebookJourney, Gartax, Gibraltar, gnomeza, greyarea13, gryff, Haoie, Hobgoblin48, hoops4ever, horrorbusiness, Ian2405, Icedlake, iceman, Janner, JDMorgan, jdreller, jeff3333, JiPi, Joe_TC, jr, Jubal, juski (UK first edition), katzcollection, keving, khaxzan, killagarilla, kinderstef, knginatl (US, UK orig., UK jagged, reissue) (US, UK orig., UK jagged, reissue), le maudit, lek, lewstherin, liam0404, LordJR, MacbthPSW, Malthus Dire, MarcusP, marnaudo, MasterChief, mattender, MaxSpender, mir1812, mlvoss, Narananas (Dragon numbered front), nelsondesign, NEMO (Any other), nerelax, Nich, noelob, Oberonbombadil (bronze dragon, 2x zigzag ), odo_ital, Office Linebacker_, Osirian08, outspaced, Pessimeister (Zig Zag edition), peterm2, Pirrakas, plowboy, Pseudo_Intellectual, qazplm (green stripe), Radjabov, redpiper05, Rozo, ryderark, Sabreman, Samus (Toronto), Seizure, Sheridan77, sick_boy, Sir Olli (UK & US), sireeyore, skeleton, Smidgeccfc76, snakefire77 (britisch first edition in good condition (inside perfect, cover some creases and small tear on the top of about half a centimeter)), Soul Reaver, spragmatic, StagQuests (UK 2nd cover), Tamerlane1396, terrysalt, Treguard, Tremendez, truce57, twar, Twoflower, umbra682000, Vampireman, Virtua Sinner, Wardog, wonderfly, xinuz, Yalius, zat, Zolika
Users Who Want This Item: Arcohnz, CSquared, duckymolmol, EarlOfDrumer, exaquint, Ffghtermedic, Lambchop, Mr ?, mrwalker, NEMO (original&american), Nomad, nordik, Ryuran333, SilentGunman, ThisIslandEarth, twar, Uraniborg, Von Scotty, Waluigi Freak 99
Users with Extra Copies: badboybaggins
CSquared - American Black Cover Version
Cyan
DeKoovenWolf - British edition
devilsboy
Ed
Fireguard - UK version, with cover creasing and writing on character sheet.
iceman
Sir Olli
Surcal
twar
Yalius

Known Editions

Original (Zigzag), UK 1986 1st printing (C&W) [1st]
Original (American, early printing)
Original (American, third printing)
Original (Dragon, Bronze text, Number spine only)
Wizard S1 (Special), UK printing (C&W)
Wizard S1 (Standard), UK printing (C&W)

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