When did WeaponLord release?

WeaponLord was first released on September 1, 1995.

WeaponLord

Sep 1, 1995FightingSportSuper Nintendo Entertainment System Sega Mega Drive/Genesis

WeaponLord — frequently asked questions

What platforms is WeaponLord on?: WeaponLord was released on Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Sega Mega Drive/Genesis.
When did WeaponLord release?: WeaponLord was first released on September 1, 1995.

About WeaponLord

A barbarian battleground. Seven different warriors, eached armed with a unique weapon set forth on a fighting game quest where they will clash and conflict with one another in this fighting game from Namco. Their ultimate foe is the mysterious Demonlord. An early relative of the popular Soul Calibur series, the main claim to fame of this game is the weapon play. Blocking and combos are present along with special "frenzies" of increased attack and death combos. The backgrounds are all hand drawn and meticulously detailed. Each character carries their own storyline with them between arenas, jungles and firey mountains on a quest to oppose the Demonlord. Note: Laid the groundwork for Soul Edge (1995)--the first of the Souls games. Visual Concepts (developers of WeaponLord) would send builds of the game to Namco (the publisher of WeaponLord) to playtest. Inturn, Mace: The Dark Age (1997 arcade)--developed by Atari--heavily "borrowed" from Soul Edge.

Summary via IGDB.

Game details

Platforms: Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Sega Mega Drive/Genesis
Developer: Visual Concepts
Publisher: Namco Hometek
Game modes: Single player, Multiplayer, Split screen
Themes: Action, Fantasy

Details via IGDB.

Every version compared

Prices, contemporary reception and the studio credited for each release

Platform	Year	Loose	Complete	Sealed	Period reviews	Fake risk
Sega Genesis	1995	$20	$58	$133	11 reviews	Low

Also released on: Super Nintendo Entertainment System · Sega Mega Drive/Genesis. We haven’t priced or authenticated those versions yet.

Collector value & authenticity

Sega Genesis · PriceCharting sold data · Verified 2026-10-29

Loose

$20

Complete

$58

Sealed

$133

few sales

How often it sells

Loose: about 2 times a month
Complete: about once a month
Sealed: about once a year

Prices marked “few sales” rest on about one recorded sale a year, so treat them as a rough guide: the next copy could sell well above or below. Expect to wait for one to come up.

Sales frequency from PriceCharting's completed-sale records, as of 2026-10-29.

Price over time

Loose
Complete

A loose copy sold for about $4.74 in Oct 2010, $19.99 five years ago, and $20 as of Oct 2026.

Show as table

Month	Loose	Complete
Jan 2011	$5.49	—
Jan 2012	$3.50	—
Jan 2013	$8.00	—
Jan 2014	$7.95	$35
Jan 2015	$8.24	$20
Jan 2016	$9.95	$19.99
Jan 2017	$9.99	$50
Jan 2018	$15.00	$40
Jan 2019	$15.88	$49
Jan 2020	$11.99	$52
Jan 2021	$11.38	$47
Jan 2022	$21	$70
Jan 2023	$19.77	$56
Jan 2024	$18.61	$56
Jan 2025	$11.00	$78
Jan 2026	$19.99	$75
Oct 2026	$20	$58

Monthly price estimates from PriceCharting's completed-sale records, sampled quarterly, through Oct 2026.

Release record

Territory	Date	Product number	Barcode
North America	September 1995	T-14136	722674020466

Source: Product numbers: MAME's Mega Drive software list and the No-Intro serial records in the libretro database, published where both agree on the same cartridge dump, or from the libretro records alone where MAME lists no number for that dump. Board and ROM numbers: MAME's software list

Region: NA
Released: 1995
Authenticity: Low

Modern re-releases, such as Sega Ages, the Genesis Mini and Nintendo Switch Online, are not tracked hereLow counterfeit risk

Sega Genesis prices, all games & how to spot a fake

A gory, deep weapons fighter with choppy animation and a price above the middle among US carts.

WeaponLord is a weapons-based fighting game with a deep counterattack system, developed by Visual Concepts and published by Namco in North America in September 1995. The Genesis version was added late in development, under a tight schedule.

Electronic Gaming Monthly's four reviewers were divided over the Genesis game, and Next Generation said the Super NES version looks better while sharing the same choppy animation.

What the press said at the time

AllGame		4.5/5
Computer and Video Games		87/100
Electronic Gaming Monthly		6.5/10, 4/10, 5/10, 7/10
Game Informer		8.5/10
Game Players		70%
Hyper		82/100
Mean Machines Sega		84/100
Next Generation		4/5
Sega Magazine		87/100
Sega Power		88%
VideoGames		8/10

“WeaponLord would be just another SF2/Mortal wannabe if it weren't for the dazzling array of weapon attacks. This feature sets it apart from the pack and makes WeaponLord a good game in it's own right.”
— Game Informer, September 1995

Undated scores are from the review table in the game's Wikipedia article, limited to reviews of the Genesis version.

How the Sega Genesis version differs

The Genesis version was added later in development than is typical for multi-platform games.

Each character's special moves, finishing moves and combos are identical on the Super NES and Mega Drive.

Also on other platforms

Super NES

Visual Concepts

Super NES. The SNES chief programmer wrote an in-house tool called Hero to hand-tune the collision frame by frame.

How the other versions reviewed

Super NES	AllGame	4.5/5
Super NES	Computer and Video Games	86/100
Super NES	The Electric Playground	8.5/10
Super NES	Game Informer	8.5/10
Super NES	GameFan	93/100, 95/100, 92/100
Super NES	GamesMaster	78%
Super NES	Hyper	82/100
Super NES	Next Generation	4/5
Super NES	Official Nintendo Magazine	92/100
Super NES	Sega Power	75%
Super NES	Total!	(UK) 73/100 / (DE) 2
Super NES	Super Gamer	91/100
Super NES	VideoGames	8/10

These are the other versions’ scores, not this one’s. Ports of this era were frequently built by different studios, so they do not transfer.

Before you buy

Among US carts it sits above the middle, and the risk is low. Sega Retro lists it as using the six-button pad and as working with XBAND. A complete US copy means the case, cartridge and manual.