The fight was going poorly for Ayumi. Down to her last shred of life against a foe three times her size, she had just one chance to come out alive. So she fell back on her old standby: time manipulation. In a red flash, one Ayumi became three, and her once-living foe entered the realm of the dead.
There are situations in Blades of Time when Ayumi’s mystical powers come together in such spectacular ways that you can hardly contain your excitement. Figuring out clever ways to lay waste to demons triggers “eureka!” moments, and that feeling resurfaces in a variety of clever puzzles. Blades of Time offers such a novel spin on traditional third-person combat that you might be able to overlook the unresponsive controls and the jarring gun combat for a little while. But no matter how enthralled you become, it won’t take long for the harsh light of reality to illuminate the many pitfalls. Blades of Time is a great concept in an uneven package.
Like all women who don skimpy clothes and know a stunning array of martial arts techniques, Ayumi is a treasure hunter. Her multidimensional tale contains so many opposing factions that keeping everything straight is as difficult as the slaying formidable foes who try to kill you, and her annoying narration only further distances you from her plight. When the perfunctory ending sequence plays out in less than a minute, you wonder why you should even care about the outcome at all.
