Blandia

 is a weapons-based versus fighting game developed and released into video arcades by Allumer in 1992. It is the sequel to Alummer's "Gladiator". Along with Strata's "Time Killers", "Blandia" is one of the earliest weapon-based fighting games modeled on the success of Capcom's "Street Fighter II", a subgenre later typified by SNK's "Samurai Shodown" and "The Last Blade".
Plot.
The plot of "Blandia" takes place five years after "Gladiator", set in the "Great Continent of Eurasia". After the swordsman Gurianos defeated the evil warrior Gildus, peace returned to Eurasia and the people forgot about the darkness sealed by the evil spirit. Five years later, living in the interior of Eurasia, Guarianos learns that Gildus has been resurrected, and returns to the to investigate.
Gameplay.
"Blandia" drops the side-scrolling feature of its predecessor, but retains its versus segments with the addition of elements of other 2D versus fighting games released at the time. The player's chosen character fights against his or her opponent in two-out-of-three matches in a single player tournament mode with the computer or against another human player. Unlike most other similar fighting games at the time, "Blandia" combines the style of Capcom's "Street Fighter II" with the use of weapons in every character. Another feature is the possibility to cause visible damage to the armor of the characters, originally used in "Gladiator". However, unlike "Gladiator", "Blandia" requires players to attack the uncovered parts of the opponent's body multiple times to defeat them, instead of one hit like in "Gladiator".
In one-player mode, the player must choose one of the "Original Six Warriors" to control. Instead of fighting other characters in a random order like in many contemporary fighting games, the player moves the sword-shaped cursor on a map to choose a region where one of the other characters is located, fight against them in each battle and then advance to the Golden Castle. In both one-player and two-player modes, each round lasts for five minutes, and if neither of the characters are knocked out before then, the one with the most health wins the round; however, if both lifebars are even, the players must fight in a rematch. If both lifebars are even in the rematch, the fight ends with a game over.
Ports.
"Blandia" was later ported by Ving to two home computers exclusively in Japan: the FM Towns on September 30, 1994, and the NEC PC-9821 on June 22, 1995. Compared to the original arcade version, the FM Towns version (titled Blandia Plus) features an extended, less-repetitive soundtrack plus some exclusive tracks that include a vocal one; however, it also has a smaller screen. The PC-9821 version was titled Blandia 98 and has a wider screen than the FM Towns version.