Thy Sword Trophy Guide & Road Map

Thy Sword
Thy Sword Trophy Guide

Overview:

Estimated trophy difficulty: 4/10 (personal estimate) (Platinum Difficulty Rating)
Offline trophies: 17 (4, 2, 10, 1)
Online trophies: 0
Approximate amount of time to Platinum: 1.5-2.5 hours (personal estimate) (Estimated Time to Platinum)
Minimum number of playthroughs: 1
Number of missable trophies: 1, Loot!. Many of the miscellaneous trophies are technically missable but you have many chances to get them so see the Guide for more details.
Glitched trophies: None.
Does difficulty affect trophies?: No.
Do trophies stack?: Yes, the following stacks exist: EU PS4, EU Vita, NA PS4, NA Vita and Asia PS4
Do cheat codes disable trophies?: No cheats available.
Additional peripherals required?: No.

Introduction:

The Dark Overlord has returned! It is up to you, lowly adventurer, to collect the five ancient crystals and restore peace to the land!

Welcome to Thy Sword, a combat platformer brought to us by GamePhase. This game features screen-by-screen levels and retro-style graphics (you can even choose old-school CRT monitor effects if you like). Although you can complete this platinum in about two hours, it does require some skill to learn the mechanics and the attack patterns of all the enemies. This one took me 3.5 hours to finish, but I was doing some note-taking and the final boss took me the longest to get through. Please remember that this is a trophy guide and not a “how to play the game” guide, although I will offer some tips.

I didn’t like the default control scheme so I changed it in the options menu; you’ll probably want to do the same. Below are the defaults and what I recommend:

Default Controls:
Jump:
Attack:
Special Attack:
Bow: hold to ready, aim with , release to fire.
Block: hold

Recommended:
Jump:
Attack:
Special Attack:
Bow: hold to ready, aim with , release to fire.
Block: hold

At the start of the game, you can play as the Barbarian, the Rogue, the Paladin, or the Valkyrie. The Barbarian only starts with the broadsword and is stronger than the Valkyrie, who starts with the short sword and longbow. The Paladin starts with a short sword, the Ring of Protection (adds poison resistance), and the Talisman of Light (helps you to see in the dark). Finally, the Rogue starts with a short sword, the Bow of Rigor (helps you to aim) and Lightfeet (prevents damage on spike traps). I recommend the Barbarian or the Paladin (you can buy the bow later as it is needed for some trophies) because they are a bit stronger and can take more hits. You can play on the easiest difficulty.

Difficulties:
Apprentice (recommended): Every item you purchased will remain when you die. You also have infinite credits for a retry (think old-school arcade machines).
Adventurer: Every item you purchased will remain when you die. You only have three credits for a retry.
Hero: Once you die, you start all over again (permadeath). No items or gold kept. No retries.

The game is separated into zones consisting of five “days” (Nid-Gap has eight days). Each day is one screen. You have to kill all the enemies on the screen in order to advance to the next day (except for those that spawn from the sky on occasion). This game uses procedurally generated levels. Some areas have a “nightfall” zone at the end of them and others have a boss. Not all zones are required to beat the game; however, playing through them is beneficial because at the end of each zone you can return to camp and purchase items (which are randomized every time you enter camp after a zone). It is important to note that once you clear a zone, you cannot return to it.

There are four NPC’s at camp: The Gamblers, The Ranger, The Cleric, and the Merchant. The Gamblers let you place a wager on a game of Blackjack. The Ranger gives you some lore. The Cleric sells potions and amulets. The Merchant sells weapons and arrows. My advice is to save up for the Flame Sword (300 Gold); it’ll make your life easier. Also, look for the boots that give you double jump and the amulet that gives you one extra life bar. Buy the cheapest bow for trophy reasons as it is really clunky to use and not that helpful.

Tips:
1. If you can hit an enemy from below by jumping and swinging your sword, it will almost always jump down to your level, making it easier to kill it, especially if the platform has a lot of enemies on it.
2. Learn how each enemy attacks. Learn to block (and which attacks you can’t block). It really helps.
3. Pressing down on the D-Pad or the left analog stick and pressing will let you fall to the lower level.
4. Your special attack is a spin move that ends with a sword chop, removing the heads of your enemies. You need a bit of distance in order for it to work, though. Practice this in the tutorial on the dummy. It will take some getting used to.
5. There is a zombie with a red shirt and a meat cleaver that can only be killed by cutting off its head using your special attack. This will help with the Head collector trophy. If you just attack it normally, it’ll get back up.
6. Break boxes and barrels (the non-damaging kind) for money. Be careful…sometimes an enemy will pop out instead!

IMPORTANT TIP: If you die, the game will ask you if you want to “retry.” Select NO every time. This will bring you back to the main title screen. Select “Continue” and you’ll be able to restart from the same day you died on. If you answer YES on the retry screen, the game will take you back to the beginning of the zone. For example, if you are on day three of five in a zone and die, selecting NO then “Continue” at the main title screen will return you to day three of the same zone. If you select YES instead, you’ll have to start from day one again. This is important to remember if you are trying to kill a boss; you don’t want to replay the entire zone just to try a boss again.

Walkthrough:

Step 1: Hit the lantern and play the tutorial.
At the start of the game, select your character. Once you do, you’ll notice a lantern on a pole near the exit door…walk up to it and slash it with your sword or shoot it with an arrow for Ring the Bell. After exiting the screen, choose “tutorial” from the menu. Follow the directions on each sign and exit through the door.

Although both of these are technically missable, it’s really easy to start a new game and earn them (taking less than five minutes), so I will not mark them as such. In this step, you’ll earn:

Ring the Bell
Ready for battle

Step 2: Play each zone and collect all five ancient crystals while working on the miscellaneous trophies.
Move through each zone while keeping in mind the miscellaneous trophies, earning them as you go. See the individual trophy descriptions below for more information. Most of these are technically missable because you cannot return to previous zones; however, this shouldn’t be a concern because you have a lot of chances to earn them. Even if you do miss something, it’s really easy and fast to start a new game and mop them up. The only true missable trophy is Loot! because you have to earn it in a specific zone and on a specific “day.” See the trophy description for more details.

The five ancient crystals are all held by a boss, and you need all five to finish the game, so they are not missable. In this step, you’ll earn:

Heads up
Treasure
Bullseye
Marksman
Smithereens*
Loot! — Missable!
Head collector
Arachnicide
Back to the Abyss
Dragonslayer
Might over magic
Pile of bones
Unite the crystals

Step 3: Kill the final boss.
Once you have all five crystals, head to the final zone. You’ll have five “days” to move through and then the final showdown against the Dark Overlord. Once you kill him, the platinum will be yours. See his trophy description for more details. In this step, you’ll earn:

Victory!
Platinum Hero

Step 4 (optional): Mop up miscellaneous trophies.
If you missed any of the miscellaneous trophies, start a new game and move through the zones any way you want to earn those. It shouldn’t take you too long.

[PST Would Like to Thank Timmah200 for this Roadmap]

Platinum Hero

Get all other trophies.
Earn all the other trophies and this one will be yours. Well done, adventurer!
Heads up

Headchop an enemy.
See Head collector. This trophy is not missable because there is an enemy type that can only killed by removing its head; all enemies need to be killed on each screen before advancing.
Treasure

Get the key to a chest.
Missable!

On some screens, there will be a crow flying around with a key. If you’re not quick or get too close, it’ll fly away. Arrows are best for this, although you can kill it with your sword if you’re fast. Collect the key and the locked chest will open, giving you a lot of coins and jewels. The crows and chests are random, but they appear frequently.
Bullseye

Get hit by your own arrow.
Missable!

Once you have a bow and some arrows, find an area with open sky above your head. Aim straight up (defaut is holding ) and let the arrow loose. It’ll fall straight back down and hit you…unlocking the trophy. Some hero you are…at least it didn’t go through your knee.
Marksman

Kill a flying enemy with an arrow.
Missable!

Aim at a bat or fiery bat with your bow and kill it. Bats will infinitely spawn in some levels from the sky…you’ll have many opportunities to earn this trophy.
Smithereens

Get killed by an explosive barrel.
Missable!

Some barrels will have a red top and will be smoking a bit…these will cause damage if you hit them with your sword (enemies can hit them too, killing themselves). Get your life down to one bar and go hit one of these barrels…you’ll die, but you’ll also earn this trophy.
Ready for battle

Finish the tutorial.
After choosing your character, exit the screen and select “Tutorial” from the menu. Follow the instructions on each sign; they’ll turn into a green (!) when you complete the task. Exit the level and earn this trophy.

Some may argue this is missable because you can choose to just start the game and skip it. But, it’s really simple and fast to start a new game from the title menu. So, I will not include it as a missable trophy.
Ring the Bell

Hit the lantern on the title screen
After choosing your character, you’ll see the lantern hanging from a pole on the right side next to the exit door. Hit the lantern with your sword or an arrow to earn this trophy.

Just like Ready for battle, some may argue that this is missable. Because it’s so easy to just start a new game from the title menu and earn this during character selection, I will not label it as missable.
Loot!

Find the secret gate to the loot room.
Missable!

This trophy description is a bit misleading because there is no secret gate. You can find the loot room in the Dura-Las zone on day 5 of 5. You’ll see a hole in the floor, which usually means death, but jump down it anyways. You’ll earn a lot of cash and this trophy. The earlier you can do this, the better, because it’ll help you get a new sword and/or bow.
Head collector

Chop 15 heads enemies in one game.
Missable!

Use your special attack (default ) to cut off heads on humanoid enemies. You need a bit of distance to do this; you’ll do a spin before swinging your sword. Practice a bit and you’ll get the hang of it. You need a total of 15 dismembered heads in one playthrough; continuing after death does not void the trophy. Tip: The zombies with a red shirt and a meat cleaver need to be killed with your special attack. If you don’t, they’ll just come back to life. These kills will help you earn the trophy, but you’ll most likely need others as well.
Arachnicide

Kill the Spider Queen.
Story related; cannot be missed.

The Spider Queen is the boss at the end of the Ur-Berg zone. You can climb the vines to slice her head, at which point she’ll briefly move to the ground, allowing you to further damage her head. Periodically, she’ll drop two spiders to the ground which will poison you, so be sure to kill them once in awhile. She’ll give you the Eye of the Widow crystal.
Back to the Abyss

Kill the Lurking Horror.
Story related; cannot be missed.

The Lurking Horror is the boss at the end of the Borg zone. He has four tentacles that will move around the screen and throw energy orbs at you. Slice at the ends of the tentacles until one of them disappears; the boss will move from the shadows and into the center of the screen, shooting purple lasers from its eyes across the floor. You can jump through these; the damage comes from them hitting you on the floor. Get close to the boss and hit his head while jumping over the laser sweep.

The boss will move back to the shadows and the remaining tentacles will come back, doing the same as they did before. Rinse and repeat until the boss is dead. You’ll earn the Aegir’s Tear crystal as a reward.
Dragonslayer

Kill the Dragon Lord.
Story related; cannot be missed.

The Dragon Lord is the boss at the end of the Fiery Mountains zone. There are three platforms on the left side of the screen (one is really high and can only be reached by double-jumping, although you don’t need this). Stay on the second platform to avoid almost all his attacks easily; stay far to the left on the platform when the dragon is flying back and forth (see below). There is only one really good chance to damage the boss (see #1).

1. The Dragon Lord will bend down and shoot a jet of fire across the screen. After he does this, he’ll keep his head down for a bit. Move in quick and deal some damage.
2. If the Dragon Lord is standing straight up and you get too close, he’ll immediately tail whip you. You can bait him into doing #1 on this list by getting *kind of* close, but not too close. Use caution.
3. The Dragon Lord will take to the sky and fly across the screen, sending fire down upon you. If you stay on the second platform, all the way to the left, you can avoid the fire 99.9% of the time. Don’t try to hit him when he does this.
4. Finally, the Dragon Lord will fly up and out of the screen, raining fireballs down upon you. Again, stay on the second platform and move right/left to avoid the falling fire.

Once dead, he’ll give you the Dragonheart crystal.
Might over magic

Kill the Sorcerer of Thorn.
Story related; cannot be missed.

The Sorcerer of Thorn is the boss at the end of the Thorn zone. This boss may take some practice. In between pairs of attacks, he’ll disappear and reappear with two illusions of himself that cannot be damaged; if you’re observant, the real one will flicker really fast upon reappearing. If you miss the flicker, only the real sorcerer will attack; the other two just stand there. The boss will do a combination of two different attacks every time he appears. They are:

1. Sending out four waves of energy orbs.
2. Summoning 2-3 bats.

That’s the whole fight. Choose your timing wisely to do damage on the real sorcerer and don’t get greedy. You’ll kill him eventually; he’ll drop the Dying Star crystal.
Pile of bones

Kill the Lich King & Queen.
Story related; cannot be missed.

The Lich King and Queen will both be found at the end of the Ancient Ruins zone. You only need to hit the King; the Queen will stay above the fight moving back and forth sending lightning down upon you; keep an eye on her hands. All the king does is fly around the screen swinging a flaming skull on a chain (maybe like a flail?). You can jump through the chain and the boss; only the flaming…thing…will damage you (and the Queen’s lightning of course). Be aware of the spikes in the center of the floor and the grey platforms will temporarily disappear once you step on them. Slice at the king to damage him.

Once the king is dead, the queen will die too. You’ll get the Crown of Death crystal as a reward.
Unite the crystals

Gain all five crystals.
Story related; cannot be missed.

Once you kill the Spider Queen, Lurking Horror, Dragon Lord, Sorcerer of Thorn, and the Lich King/Queen, you’ll have all five crystals and this trophy. See Arachnicide, Back to the Abyss, Dragonslayer, Might over magic, and Pile of bones for the boss locations and some tips to help you defeat them.
Victory!

Finish the game.
(1)
Story related; cannot be missed.

After gaining all five crystals, you can start heading to the final zone, The Dark Tower, where you’ll fight the Dark Overlord (the tower has five “days” just like the other zones). This is the toughest boss in the game with a large health pool and two phases. You will most likely have to practice this a few times before you learn the attack patterns. Once you do, you’ll realize he’s not that bad. Don’t get greedy; this is an endurance fight. Also, don’t let him corner you on the side of the screen. Use the disappearing platforms to jump over him and move back to the center. Here’s a breakdown of each phase:

Phase 1: Large Health Pool; Will Heal Himself A Bit
1. A raised sword at an angle means he’s going to do a 3-combo slice towards you. Run away and jump back at the end of the third slice to get a well-time hit or two. Risky.
2. A raised sword straight up in the air means he’s going to call down lightning and slam the floor with waves of fire. Use the disappearing platforms on the side of the screen to avoid these at the right time. IMMEDIATELY after this, he’ll call lightning again and send out a wave of spinning swords. Be sure they don’t hit you.
3. If he leaps into the air, he’s going to slam his sword down on you. If you are close to him, move under him and turn around for some easy hits.
4. Finally, if he raises his sword straight up and floats into the air, he’ll conjure falling swords from the ceiling. This is a great time to get some hits in because there’ll be a delay between the animation and the falling swords. Once he lands, he’ll start to heal himself a bit. Avoid the falling swords and do some damage to him to stop his heals.

Phase 2: Small Health Pool; Floats Around
1. In his new form, he’ll float around above your head with two outstretched hands. They will either summon two lightning orbs that bounce around the screen (and eventually disappear) or he’ll summon waves of spinning swords.
2. I found the swords difficult to dodge. By moving to the right side of the screen and staying on the floor, they were a lot easier to avoid.
3. To get him to move down to you, use the disappearing platforms to jump up and slice one of his hands. He’ll move to the floor where you can get some hits in before he ascends again. Rinse and repeat.

Once the boss is dead, you’ll earn this trophy. If you did everything else before this, you’ll also earn Platinum Hero. The credits can be skipped by pausing the game with and selecting “Quit to Title.” Wait for the trophy(ies) to pop before you do.