Xuan-Yuan Sword: Dance of the Maple Leaves

The first standalone expansion episode in the series, the story of Dance of the Maple Banners (楓之舞) was based on the Warring States period in Chinese History. The Sword fell into the hands of the political radical, Shusangzi (蜀桑子 or Sang Jing 桑凈). The main character Fu Ziche (輔子徹) is an eccentric young disciple of Mozi, and is also an expert in mechanical engineering, especially in the creation and manipulation of Jiguan Ren (機關人), man-sized mechanical golems powered by mystic energy. Jiguan Ren were originally developed for war, but their designs were hidden away for fear of being misused. Shusangzi had re-discovered this technology, and developed a large Jiguan army for his own ends. Upon learning of this, Mozi sent Fu Ziche to investigate, and if possible, to stop Shusangzi. On his quest, he encountered Wenjin (紋錦), the estranged daughter of Sang created with the aid of the power of the Vessel, and they eventually fell in love.

Résumé

Being the first game in the series to have connection with real world history, Dance of the Maple Banners inherited most of the previous game's interface, arts, and battle system, with subtle modifications, and wrapped with new plot. More realistic ancient war machines were made alive, while historical figures such as Mozi, Lu Ban, Sun Bin, could be encountered in the game.

As were the cases with most other standalone tales titles, players do not have the chance to wield the Sword. In this game the Sword is in Shu Sangzi's possession, and is used against players. In the final battle, Shu uses a move called Xuan-Yuan Sword Technique (軒轅劍法), which inflicts serious damage to the player party.