246: The Last Samurai

[Shjade]

BlazBlue is misspelled on the bottom of page two. Speaking of which, this is probably the only thread where BB will be assumed to reference Bushido Blade.

Indeed. In all other threads everyone knows that BB defaults to Blues Brothers.

*complete straight face*

I kind of like the idea myself. Start out small then work your way up to full on meelee wars. Add the option of doing things from horseback and you can pull off some neat stuff.Admittedly it would look like oblivion or mount and blade but probably with gameplay more akin to GTA. Add in the idea of honorable duels between rival samurai, orders from your lord ot be carried out (which can actually be very ninja like in and of themselves and you have the makings of a great game). Just add in a decent storyline or steal a few from Japanese literature and it's money in the bank.

Hm. The way you describe it does sound quite a bit like Mount & Blade...which I didn't like much. Combat system is incredibly clumsy - good ideas behind it, hate the execution - sieges are terrible mosh pits of chaotic mashing, and there's really very little depth to the world itself. Would need to flesh out the environments and combat mechanics substantially, but I could see this theoretical samurai game blooming out of a foundation similar to M&B's layout. Of course, the biggest problem combat-wise with M&B combining with this concept is the roving bands of badass bandits from day 1 of the game. Would have to cut back on the randomness of that when one well-placed strike means you're in two pieces. When it just means getting captured and dragged around the map for a while it's no big deal. (Of course, you could surrender...but who would surrender to roving bandits? )

Archery in M&B is pretty nifty, though, if nothing else. Just an aside there.

 

[ChocoFace]

The Last Samurai

While most fighting games feature overblown characters with borderline magical abilities, one short-running series offered an unflinching view of weapon-based combat. Jonathan Palmer looks at Bushido Blade and what made the pair of PS1 sword fighting games so special.

Read Full Article

typo on page 2. "BluBlaze"?
Otherwise a good read

 

[Aiberg]

I'd like to remind you K-1 kickboxing games on PS2. It is also realistic in that a one unguarded heavy punch or kick can knock you down or leave a serious injury that will carry on.

By the way Mount and Blade is awesome for players who are not afraid to try a new combat system.

 

[Ares Tyr]

I miss Bushido Blade dearly. I still wish I could find a copy. If they put it on Live Arcade I'd DL it instantly. It's the closest thing to "Zen" a video game has ever truly gotten. A beautiful, subtle work of art it was and still is. Way before its time I think.

I wish they'd release a sequel or a copycat. I loved that game.

 

[Spookimitsu]

Whats really sad is, while Bushido Blade had that inherent flaw of every victory feeling cheap due to being "one hit", no developer really seemed to be interested to at least look at how fighting games COULD be different.


A Bushido Blade sequel could've, for example, done away with one instant kills, and rather make it a match of who manages to first make enough strikes in a row, throwing the enemy off balance and give the attacker the chance of a killing blow, as well as giving the opponent a last chance to counter it.

Kengo tried that, and claimed to be a spiritual successor but I don't recall the game having the feel of its origins. The BB methods was tried and true.


I personally preferred Bushido Blade 2 though. Slightly refined combat and controls, but after a while everything felt really... natural. My dorm would have impromptu match sessions that would last for hours. My roommate and I even had a few duels that were a couple of minutes in length (and no turtling! just alot of parries and repels and blocks) Good times.


I would happily pay 60 bucks for a re-make.
and Kengo does not count.

And to the gent that asked,
Sadly most GS's and other franchises do not carry PS 1 games.

 

[yanipheonu]

I'm sorry but I stopped reading as soon as I saw BlazBlue was misspelled. *shakes head*

 

[TarkXT]

I'm sorry but I stopped reading as soon as I saw BlazBlue was misspelled. *shakes head*

Mmmmmm irony.

 

[starlight2098]

You know, I have hated almost every fighting game I played. I only ever took a liking to Bushido Blade and Die by the Sword (PC). All the others feel the same: Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, Dead or Alive, Tekken, Virtua Fighter, etc... Why do people play all this copycat garbage? I suppose it's no better than all the FPS and RTS games coming out lately. C&C 4 = Starcraft 2 = Supreme Commander 2 = every other modern RTS. Many who liked the first Supreme Commander feel my pain.

Oh and it's a great pain indeed... but it's just another symptom of potential creative death in the industry. Too much money is involved now and shareholders want guaranteed returns.

I never did play Bushido Blade, but it was always on my 'one day I'll...' list. What I saw of the game's story mode, character development, atmosphere and play style seemed like something along the lines of the way games should be. Is it just me or did the medium just play show a lot more promise back then? When technology was developing and the possibilities for creative new types of game had not yet been closed off for the sake of easy bets?

Unfortunately, by the time i got a PS1, getting ahold of this game was nigh on impossible. It's almost certainly impossible now.

Hmmmph... well, in the absence of an obtainable disk, since they're certainly not selling it any more, methinks I might seek out an ISO and play it on an emulator, wherein I may crank up the resolution up to my monitor's limit and pretend the lo-res textures are merely an artistic touch...

 

[MNRA]

"In the end, it was a fun and bold experiment that I hope will one day return to modern consoles. That's what I would like to see: poetry in motion, a pair of skilled swordsman striking, parrying and riposting with a deadly grace that does the art of sword fighting justice. In the meantime, Bushido Blade reigns supreme."

That piece of the article really sells it to me and sums it up so nicely. A good read indeed.

 

[sunpop]

GRR why didn't I buy this years ago for 2$ when my video store closed!!

 

[naab]

I WANT THE RECORD TO SHOW THAT I SAID THIS WAS ONE OF THE IF NOT THE BEST FIGHTING GAME OUT THERE. AND WAS ONE OF THE IF NOT THE FIRST PERSON TO BRING THIS UP IN AN EARLIER THREAD WAYYYY BACK WHEN.

now people who have been playing FPS's, low-budget Soul Caliber, and Dynasty Warrior blunt hack and slash knock offs finally recognize the beauty that was and is Bushido Blade. Sure the story, graphics and even some of the dialogue is hilarious when compared to that of some of the later 09 games. However that's what made it good. It didn't need to be complicated. You didn't need to know your opponent's back story, or his meaning about fighting you, or the premise why he betrayed blah blah blah.

Your going to kill the fool in one hit, maybe two f he gets lucky... the fight isn't even going to last five minutes.

And my second favorite aspect, the two gun slingers. The one with the 6 shooter, and the second chick with the M9 American Rifle. Probably the most hilarious moments in sword combat games. No Cervantes type idiots who never use the gun thats embedded in their sword.

*sigh* But I digress, only a few can truly appreciate this game for what it is, and that is a TRUE weapon combat game. Thank you for making Bushido Blade, thank you so very much.

 

[Rigs83]

I played Bushido Blade for hours with my brother. It was a treat to see the round counter reset to zero and I loved how insane the matches could get. I have stopped playing games because the new ones lack that visceral feel of clutching victory from defeat. Kratos may have had sex with twins in between slashing and tearing apart man and monster alike but I doubt any player felt truly the intense feeling of being on the razor's edge, not knowing who would win or lose.

All the videogame characters today are some ridiculous uber-men and woman who can absorb more bullets than an elephant and have nothing to fear because they can simply wait and hide in a corner to rejuvenate health, shields or ham sandwiches.

Long live the Yeooohhhhh!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KkYOlKk4vI[/youtube]

 

[2xDouble]

I have to admit, I never played Bushido Blade. I've heard many mixed opinions of it on both sides. I love fighting games in general, and I welcome a unique challenge.

I'm curious if an upcoming new IP could breathe some life into the hyper-realistic fighting game... I'm referring to the soon to be released XBLA download game, "Deadliest Warrior" (based on a scientific TV show, if you happen to be a fan). It too offers realistic and localized damage, to the point where "a single spear to the face will end the match". Effects such as blinding, crippling, and intense pain are also taken into account and affect how the character performs. Most of the comments on the various forums have been vehemently negative. (Honestly, I don't know what they expect from a game that took maybe 1-2 months to make, focuses on realism, and is available for download. But I digress...) I'm curious to hear what the OP and fellow realistic fighting lovers have to say about it.

Here's a vid with some other details, in case you haven't heard of this:
http://www.gametrailers.com/video/warrior-techniques-deadliest-warrior/63622

PS: Great article, btw!

 

[The3rdEye]

I remember playing Bushido Blade waaaaay back in high school.

If someone were to pick up the style of Bushido Blade and not cock it up, that would be an instant buy for me. No questions asked, just give me the game and I'll walk away grinning like the cat that ate the canary. And when you consider how much detail could be crammed into the character models, textures, normal maps and environment, especially if they kept to a large arena style combat system... my mind, she is blown.

 

[Riobux]

I remember when I got it and I still love it because the main reason mentioned: It's realism in fighting is simply unmatched. For a PS1 game to still fit a hole that no other games have even tried to fit. I think a weapon-fighting game that attempts realism is way over-due. Why stop at just swords though? Why not have staffs and pole-arms and knives? There is simply so much untapped potential here for a new game. It's obvious others would enjoy it, even as just a pick-up-and-play game. It'd also become one of very few games that will reward people for honourable kills and punish them for dishonourable kills.

Maybe an update in the graphics, the option to create a character that you customise the fighting style. I'm not so sure about having an option to adjust skills/abilities like speed, power and bleed-out control, but everything else I'd love to see in a real sequel.

 

[Cray Z Munkey]

Seeing an article about this game brought a smile to my face. It was a pretty big game in my circle of friends back in high school.

 

[Falseprophet]

I loved these games. Nothing came closer to approximating the style of a classic Japanese chanbara film. I loved swordfighting in the bamboo forest, complete with the cutting down of trees.

I still have these--I'm going to dust them off and fire them up as soon as I get home tonight.

 

[frozenfox]

How so? The only thing stopping them is the conservative nature of the genre which is really a poor excuse when you consider that it has been a rather bland genre in the past decade. The technology is there, the graphics are there, what's lacking is the willingness and desire to take the risk and do it.

And therein lies the difficulty. Getting someone to accept that there is innovation needed, and then implementing it. Convincing a company that has the fiscal means to develop a current gen version of Bushido Blade would be the most difficult part. That being said, if an indie studio was willing to try and pull something like this off, it would be incredibly impressive.

 

[DTWolfwood]

cant believe i never read this article. Bushido Blade will always hold a special place in my heart those exact reasons.

 

[uzo]

As mentioned by several others ... I have to say that KENGO is freakin' AWESOME.

I played it whilst living in Japan - funnily enough, I was studying iaido at the same time. There's something particularly awesome about learning a martial art you can see demonstrated quite accurately in a game. My sensei would have kicked the crap out of me if I tried 95% of the moves in Kengo, however.

Bushido Blade, Way of the Samurai, Kengo .. all great duelling games. I get the shits when I see Shinsangokumusou and - and I am not shitting you at all here - I close my eyes and mash the keys for ten minutes. And I am awarded by hearing my allies cheer 'Huzzah! You have slain 1,000 of the enemy' .... WITH MY EYES CLOSED. Srsly. Retarded pandas can excel at those damned games.


But all this said, I am a huge fan of Mount & Blade. Open world, limitless challenges, and fiercely brutal combat. The panic that sets in when your horse gets speared from under you; you're thrown from the saddle into a swarm of enemy infantry. You fend off a strike or two, cut down a pikeman, turn to run .... just to see 6 enemy cavalry levelling their lances at you. Even if the lances don't get you, the horses' hooves will. Ahhh yes ... Blood for the blood god.