The Last Blade: Beyond the Destiny is a fighting game released by SNK in April 2000 for the Neo-Geo Pocket Color handheld system. It is the third game in The Last Blade series. The European release was subject to a recall when SNK ceased all foreign operations a month later, making it one of the rarest English language titles in Neo-Geo Pocket Color's library.[1] The game was later re-released as part of Neo Geo Pocket Color Selection Vol. 1 in 2021.
The game features a story mode, a survival mode, a time attack mode, and a training mode. Points are earned through gameplay, which can be spent in the in-game gallery to unlock artwork, playable characters, minigames, and equippable boosts.[3]
The Last Blade: Beyond the Destiny features 16 playable characters, nine of which are available from the start.[1] This includes every playable character from the arcade release of The Last Blade 2, with the exceptions of Juzoh Kanzaki and Mukuro, who are playable only in unlockable minigames; and Shigen Naoe, who is fully absent.
IGN said: "You can't go wrong with Last Blade, but you could go even more right with SNK vs. Capcom and Gals Fighters."[5]Jeff GerstmannofGameSpot called Beyond the Destiny "a good fighting game, with more options and features than you'd expect from a portable fighter" but recommended to get SNK vs. Capcom: The Match of the Millennium instead.[3]Nintendo Life called the Switch port "[...] an excellent little thing, one must keep in mind that it is still a 2001 handheld fighting game, and very much of its time."[1]Nintendo World Report said of the Switch port: "Being able to play with a friend on a single system is nice, though, although The Last Blade won’t give you the multiplayer mileage than Smash Bros. does."[6]Hardcore Gamer called it "may be the finest-playing NGPC game available yet on the Switch".[7] Time Extension placed the game on its "Best Neo Geo Pocket Color Games" list.[8]
