Sengoku Blade: Sengoku Ace Episode II

Sengoku Blade

Japanese arcade flyer
Developer(s) Psikyo
Publisher(s) Psikyo
Taito (PS2)
Blue Bean Soft (Korea)
MOBIRIX (mobile)
Designer(s) Hirofumi Nakamura
Artist(s) Tsukasa Jun
Composer(s) Masaki Izutani
Series Sengoku Ace
Platform(s) Arcade, Sega Saturn, PlayStation 2, iOS, Android
Release date(s) 1996
November 22, 1996 (SS)
December 2, 2004 (PS2)
Genre(s) Scrolling shooter
Mode(s) Single player, co-op
Cabinet Horizontal

Sengoku Blade: Sengoku Ace Episode II, originally released in Japan as Tengai (戦国ブレード), is a horizontally scrolling shoot 'em up video game released for arcade machines in 1996 by Psikyo as a sequel to the 1993 shooter Sengoku Ace. It was later released as a part of Psikyo Shooting Collection Vol. 2: Sengoku Ace & Sengoku Blade for the PlayStation 2, and separately for iOS and Android devices. The game is set in a historical fantasy version of the Sengoku period of Japanese history, featuring demons, magic and steam-powered robotics. It was followed by Sengoku Cannon: Sengoku Ace Episode III, released for the PlayStation Portable in 2005.[1]

Gameplay

Sengoku Blade marked a complete breakout of the Sengoku Ace series from the classic Sonic Wings-style system (the first Sengoku Ace was still scrolled vertically). It has a much more complex gameplay system in which the player characters fly around on the screen by themselves instead of piloting various aircraft, in a way similar to the 1997 Psikyo game Sol Divide.[2] Sengoku Blade is also much more difficult than its predecessor, and features improved 2-D graphics, including (for its time) impressive parallax scrolling effects and detailed and well-animated characters and backgrounds. Just like the previous game, there are multiple endings, different for various characters, as well as branching paths for the different sets of levels.[3][4][5]

Characters

The game features five regular playable characters and one secret character. The characters were designed by the now-famous[6] Tsukasa Jun (at that time still an "underground" artist), based on the works of Hirofumi Nakamura in the original game. Tsukasa also returned to design the characters for the second sequel.

Release

Originally released for the arcades in 1996, Sengoku Blade was first ported to the Sega Saturn on November 22 of that same year.[9] This version was released as a two-disc double set, including a bonus omake CD-ROM which featured hundreds of Sengoku Ace series artworks (including the official art, guest art, and fan art from a contest by Psikyo), and now is rare and expensive to obtain.[4] Exclusive for the Saturn conversion was the implementation of voices during the brief cut scenes, and the addition of Marion from the Gunbird series as a bonus hidden character.[10]

In 2004, the game was also ported to PlayStation 2 as part of the Psikyo Shooting Collection Vol. 2: Sengoku Ace & Sengoku Blade by Taito, which was re-released one year later as a budget-range title. The Japanese release contains both Sengoku Ace and Sengoku Blade, but in Europe the two games were sold separately.[9] In 2006, the game was also released for the PC and mobile phones in Korea only by Blue Bean Soft.[5] In 2014, the game was released internationally for iOS and Android mobile devices in Japanese, English and Korean.[3][11]

The game's manga adaptation was published on August 4, 1996.[12] The game's original soundtrack was released by Pony Canyon and Scitron on May 17, 1996.[13] Several PVC figures were also released for Koyori and Junis,[14][15] as well as for the demon-ninja villainess Kaen (火燕[16])[17] who has became one of the game's most popular characters.[18][19]

Reception

The game was well received. According to a gamesTM retrospective, "Sengoku Blade was quite a departure for Psikyo as it marked the first time the developer had created a horizontally scrolling shooter. Fortunately, it got everything right and delivered a great game that's highly reminiscent of its Gunbird series."[20] Similarly, Meristation too described it a "great" shooter game.[4] In 1997, Japanese Sega Saturn Magazine ranked the game's Koyori as the 47th best female character on the platform.[21]

References

  1. ↑ "クロスノーツ、「戦国」シリーズ最新作がPSPで登場。PSP「戦国キャノン」". Game.watch.impress.co.jp. Retrieved 2016-04-01.
  2. ↑ "Sol Divide - Videogame by Psikyo - International Arcade Museum". Arcade-museum.com. Retrieved 2013-09-11.
  3. 1 2 "Arcade Shoot-Em-Up Tengai Reappears For Smartphones". Siliconera. 2014-06-14. Retrieved 2016-04-01.
  4. 1 2 3 "Reportaje Juegos Ocultos y Olvidados, Vol 10 PC". MeriStation.com.mx. 2014-11-30. Retrieved 2016-04-01.
  5. 1 2 David DeRienzo (2007-04-21). "Sengoku Ace". Hardcore Gaming 101. Retrieved 2016-04-01.
  6. ↑ "人気絵師が勢ぞろいした「絵師100人展」が秋葉原UDXで開催 - GAME Watch". Game.watch.impress.co.jp. Retrieved 2016-04-01.
  7. ↑ "Ending for Tengai-Sho, Miko Team(Arcade)". Vgmuseum.com. Retrieved 2013-09-11.
  8. ↑ "long range bullet: Tsukasa Jun: Game Contributions". Longrangebullet.namakoteam.com. 2004-04-29. Retrieved 2013-09-11.
  9. 1 2 "Sengoku Blade". Arcade Gear. Retrieved 2014-05-04.
  10. ↑ "Sengoku Blade Koyori & Marion translated dialogues (Sega Saturn)". YouTube. 2010-12-29. Retrieved 2013-09-11.
  11. ↑ "戦国ブレードがせっかく移植されたのに、おっぱいが見えないだけで騒ぐゲーマーの見苦しさ - iPhoneゲーマーな日々". Gamecast-blog.com. 2014-06-05. Retrieved 2016-04-01.
  12. ↑ "刃−Ｙａｉｂａ−". Interq.or.jp. Retrieved 2014-05-04.
  13. ↑ "PCCB-00216 | Sengoku Blade". VGMdb. Retrieved 2013-09-11.
  14. ↑ "Koyori ‹ Characters ‹ Encyclopedia - MyFigureCollection.net (Tsuki-board.net)". MyFigureCollection.net. Retrieved 2016-04-01.
  15. ↑ "Junis ‹ Characters ‹ Encyclopedia - MyFigureCollection.net (Tsuki-board.net)". MyFigureCollection.net. 2012-12-31. Retrieved 2016-04-01.
  16. ↑ "ゲームのおにゃのこ敵@ wiki - 戦国ブレード". 9.atwiki.jp. 1980-01-01. Retrieved 2016-04-01.
  17. ↑ "彩京 戦国ブレード 1/6 「火燕」 岡山フィギュア 新品 の通販 | カラメル". Calamel.jp. Retrieved 2016-04-01.
  18. ↑ "ロングソード連合プレイ日記 聞き取りレビュー2014 回答者：MLさん 戦国ブレード（サターン） 弱小チームには参加をご遠慮していただきましょうか、ねぇ？カナディアンマンさんにスペシャルマンさん". Gamaboy.ken-shin.net. Retrieved 2016-04-01.
  19. ↑ "年齢認証確認". DiGiket.com. Retrieved 2016-04-01.
  20. ↑ "gamesTM 27". Archive.org. Retrieved 2014-05-04.
  21. ↑ Sega Saturn Magazine (Japan) 25/1997 (1997-07-25) p.129.

External links

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