Throne of Darkness
Throne of Darkness is a Japanese-themed action role-playing game released in 2001 by Sierra On-Line, a subsidiary of Vivendi Universal Interactive Publishing. Players control up to four (out of seven) different samurai at a time. The game has three separate multiplayer modes which support up to 35 players.
Throne of Darkness
- Date
- 2001
- Genre
- hack and slash
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Documentary summary
Throne of Darkness is a Japanese-themed action role-playing game released in 2001 by Sierra On-Line, a subsidiary of Vivendi Universal Interactive Publishing. Players control up to four (out of seven) different samurai at a time. The game has three separate multiplayer modes which support up to 35 players.
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wikidata · Q3525986 · wikipedia · Throne of Darkness
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Key facts
Key facts
• Title — Throne Of Darkness • Developer — Click Entertainment • Publisher — Sierra On-Line • Producer — Mark Seibert • Designer — D. Isaac Gartner Ben Haas • Programmer — D. Isaac Gartner • Artist — Ben Haas Victor Lee • Composer — Etienne Grunenwald-Rohr Mark Hardy • Platforms — Microsoft Windows • Genre — Action role-playing, hack and slash • Modes — Single-player, multiplayer
Plot
Plot
The game is set in Yamato, a medieval version of Japan ruled by the shogun Tsunayoshi and the daimyō of the four clans. To become immortal, Tsunayoshi transforms himself into the demon Zanshin, the Dark Warlord, who unleashes his army of darkness to conquer Yamato. Zanshin's forces sweep across Yamato one night, catching the clans by surprise and annihilating them. However, believing that the four daimyō were killed, Zanshin recalls his soldiers prematurely, leaving one daimyō and seven of his retainers alive. As dawn breaks, the daimyō decides to counterattack, ordering his seven surviving samurai to destroy Zanshin and his minions. The four clans and daimyō are named after historical Japanese clans and persons: • The Mōri clan, led by daimyō Mōri Motonari. • The Oda clan, led by daimyō Oda Nobunaga. • The Tokugawa clan, led by daimyō Tokugawa Ieyasu. • The Toyotomi clan, led by daimyō Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
Gameplay
Gameplay
Gameplay resembles Diablo II, as many of the game's developers worked on Diablo.
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Places
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Throne of Darkness is associated with United States.
Country
Reception
The game received "average" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. Blake Fischer of NextGen said that the game was "Fun but frustrating. Ultimately, the steep learning curve (formations? Don't even ask...) and increased micromanagement keep this game from being a Diablo II killer.'" The game was a finalist for The Electric Playgrounds "Best RPG for PC" award at the Blister Awards 2001, but lost the prize to Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura.
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Throne of Darkness”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q3525986: Throne of Darkness
General reference · Wikidata
Citations
References
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reference work
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General reference
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 18 August 2026.
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