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"SQUARE GAME? SQUARE GRAPHICS!" With the second installment of the series set to arrive in the next few months, Square is expanding on the experimental and enjoyable aspects of their first realistic fighting game, "Bushido Blade". Unlike their sci-fi brawlers of the "Tobal" series, "BB" is set in a realistic era from Japanese feudal times in which Japanese samurai and warriors lived and breathed the code of honor that meant having the ability to kill another human being with cold metal and being able to go their business smiling. Cliche? You bet, but Lightweight (internal team of Square programmers that developed the game) went the distance with an engine that, while not perfect, is the closest thing to a fighting game without arenas/life bars/scores. Being available for $34.95 as part of the Christmas '97 line-up helped sales tremendously, but does the game hold enough replay value for the long-run? Get the word from someone who has been playing the game since Jan.'98. You select from six different characters (which range from caucasian men with blond hair to big bad-ass dudes, with some females in-between) and eight different weapons (from the No Dachi sword to the agile European Rapier), and then are set to go at any of the game's many modes (Story, Kumite, Practice, etc.). Although there are well-rendered FMV cinemas explaining the different backgrounds and storylines at work here (each character, for example, faces a different ending depending on their final combatant), "Bushido Blade" is somewhat confusing and messy in its overall presentation. Maybe Square went a little too overboard with the atmospherics, since even the game's logo is in Japanese fonts and there is an option to play the game in b/w (ideal for game purists that play N64's "Goldeneye" in the letterboxed format). GAMEPLAY / FUN FACTOR: B- A subtle artistic triumph that makes the most of the game's graphics to convey mood, atmosphere and involvement; I'm struggling to make my writing cohesive because there is such an overwhelming avalanche of information that comes to mind when discussing "Bushido Blade". Please bear with me, because the overwhelming fact that Nickelodeon's "The Secret World of Alex Mack" is moving to Mon-Fri at 6:30PM beginning October 5th, combined with the mountain of facts about this game, makes my head go "Ouch!". Controlling the fighters is smooth because of the responsiveness of the control pad commands, but you can be overwhelmed by the enormous variety of potential moves depending on the character's many stances: high, medium and low. While low, the stance is perfect for blocking but may not provide the most offensive hits; high stance allows for overhead attacks that cause (if properly placed) massive damage and have quite a reach (again, depending on the weapon). The medium stance is the all-around average option, but discriminating fighters everywhere will want to dig deeper into the dish of depth "Bushido Blade" provides. The game doesn't rely on diagonal commands (yes!) because many of the same moves and inputs that are shared by the characters vary depending on the stance; a command to roll-over and forward may have one result while the character is on a low stance, and a totally different one on medium or high. This game is full of enough gameplay techniques and new tricks to satisfy the most jaded fighter looking for their next treat; those who haven't yet dug deep into the secrets of the game are in for a treat (and those who have are probably alredy anxiously awaiting the sequel). There are even auxiliary weapons (small knives, usually) that can be thrown as last-ditch efforts to keep the ghost from leaving the body. The most important thing that you should know is that the game is realistic to a fault, and that affects how much fun you can have with the game: fighters can be injured in their limbs, and that may affect the ability to defend or deflect an incoming attack. It is literally possible for a match to end with a single well-placed blow to a sensitive part (like the head) or to go on for minutes as the combatants parry it out with their weapons AND their agility/weight; never has making the correct combination of character and weapon being so integral to a victory. Kumite mode is a bonus addition in which you select a character, a weapon and go at it against 100 faceless ninja thugs (the 'one hit' death rule still applies, although the limbs cold be disabled and you could still keep going); beat them all and get a good bonus (extra characters, maybe, but I'm not saying). Story mode is the bread and butter of the single-player options, and is where most of the fun is. Pick a character and a weapon and go though several levels as you fight many assorted enemies (the other characters in the game); fight them head-to-head, or go around them and try to sneak a surprise evading maneuver that, with the snap of a button command, can turn their heads into an empty cerebral container. Run away from them, or jump into a river and seek a better position from which to send the deadly strike; the environments on which the fights take place contribute a lot to the atmosphere and the unfolding of the plot, all leading to a suitably melodramatic ending complete with FMV cinemas and hilarious dialogue (via subtitles, since the speech throughout is in English). Hardly a shock! Two-player matches are much better than single-player experiences, simply because the unpredictability of two different gamers trying to outwit the other one make for so much fun. The variety of backgrounds in which you can fight (from a sunset-drenched beach to a bamboo-filled forest) add to the fun of the game, since you're not limited to a 2D playfield or a small arena from which you could ring-out; you can literally run away from the enemy and reposition yourself for a comeback, as long as your legs aren't incapacitated by too many blows to the artery. Practice mode is like Two-Player, except there is a dummy fighter that stands there and receives damage from a single-player until your skills are polished. Other gameplay-enhancing options include the ability to Link with another PSX for head-to-head fighting on different monitors and a first-person view for "Doom"-like fighting.
GRAPHICS / VISUALS: B FMV cinemas aside (not up to the standards of Namco and Capcom's "Resident Evil 2", but dripping in atmosphere), the in-game graphics are a careful balance between unattractive and pixelated roughness, and the technical limitations of a 'go anywhere' environment that isn't usually attached to a fighting game. Although the fighters are somewhat blocky and show quite a lot of weird joints and unpolihed surfaces, they look fine and show plenty of personality through their selection of outfits: either a typical outfit from the Japanese time period, or a comical and light-hearted attire with blinding colors and hues. There are even a handful of cinemas that use the game's graphics (ala "Jersey Devil" and "Starfox 64") to advance the plot further, which is both a blessing (lesser loading times) and a slight curse (too blocky to convey emotion). Menu screens have an acceptable (if somewhat lackluster) layout, with Japanese fonts and motiffs covering several surfaces and locations. The weapons look impressive, and they have a suitable display of lighting pyrotecnics when wielded around (check out those blocky sparks); a Katana looks like the real deal, and that goes a long way toward the authenticity. The backgrounds are somewhat blocky and rough-looking and seem straight out of the "Tomb Raider" series, except they load everytime you run toward the edge of the background; beaches, barnyards, caves, snow-covered mountains, bamboo forests, etc. all contribute to the game's sense of authenticity. Not the prettiest fighter on the PSX, but when considering the technological limits of the machine and the ambitions of the programmers atLightweight, a fine effort. Let's see what "Bushido Blade 2" does to increase the odds.
MUSIC / SOUND EFFECTS: B- The American team of localizers that kept "Final Fantasy VII" uncensored have done it again, keeping all the dialogue and artistic touches of "Bushido Blade" intact, even the annoying mix of traditional Japanese tunes with somewhat lackluster wannabe-rock music. An acquired taste, but it is made tolerable by the melodramatic voice-overs and dialogue, in which we hear (and see, via the game's graphics) characters confess long-held secrets on their dying breath and we get screamed at by our deadly enemies in a final showdown (its like "Kung-Fu Theatre" on Saturday afternoons, only far more serious). Environmetal sound effects are OK, especially the clash of the swords and the eerie silence that accompanies some stages (other stages have equally well-done sound effects like water washing out on a beach, or collapsing structures).
OVERALL: B- I don't think I have ever written so many words for a game that I don't particularly hold to a high-regard. It may have all the bells and whistles of a 32-bit game with concepts that simply couldn't be achieved on older platforms (which makes it an innovator in a field full of copycats), but "Bushido Blade" comes awfully close to being too complicated and anal-retentive for its own good, sacrificing gaming thrills for unnecesary complexity and (at certain spots) cheap AI. The reason I've kept it this long is for the sentimental value (it was a gift from a dear friend), and for the always-enjoyable Two-Player matches that play and control unlike any other fighting game ever created. Never has a game deserved the cliche phrase of "rent before buying" as much as this one, because there are those who will simply be turned-off by the proceedings and there will be those who feel it's the second-coming of the genre. My advice: RENT! (you'll thank me later). To order Bushido Blade
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