The Last Blade / Bakumatsu Roman: Gekka no Kenshi - Neo Geo / Beo Geo CD / PSOne / Playstation 2 (1997)

American AES Cover

American CD Cover

Japanese PSOne Cover

The first thing one notices about Last Blade is how beautiful it is. It was like nothing SNK had made before. The sprites are probably the best looking ones you'll ever see on Neo Geo. Even the sprites in newer games like Garou: Mark of the Wolves, Rage of the Dragons and Matrimelee can't compare. They're detailed, lush, vibrant, and the animation is silky smooth. The only thing that looks better are the sprites from Street Fighter III and Guilty Gear X. The characters are far more realistic and mature looking than the somewhat disproportionate, overly colorful Samurai Shodown characters, and the backgrounds have an insane level of detail. The presentation of the game works perfectly. It's dark, solemn, and carries an aura of twilight. You can really feel that an era is coming to an end. For instance, one stage is set in a traditional Japanese village, but you can see the influence of the west creeping down the mountainside as telephone poles snake their way through the streets. Every character that inhabits these settings is believable, and has their very own unique flavor. The game is simply dripping with style, like a delicious double-cheeseburger with ketchup and mustard oozing over the sides of the bun. Every sword stroke is performed with the utmost grace, fluidity, and exaggerated romanticism. It's like art in motion, too good to be real, and yet more realistic than most other attempts at this genre. To match the somber tone of the game is a melancholy, synthed orchestral soundtrack. Where most other games of this genre use traditional Japanese music, this game reflects the western creep of the visual design and follows more European compositions. Not every battle is fought to music. Some battles are tastefully fought to the ambiance of the setting. In Moriya's bamboo forest stage, a shrill wind howls past the leaves as a waterwheel creeks in the background. In Washizuka's stage, a dog barks off in the distance as some other creature rummages through trash in some unseen alley. The lack of music in some battles really makes the tension build up. The level of detail is almost insane, and it really makes you think just how much free time SNK had on their hands when they made this game. Even with such a beautiful presentation, the star of the show is the fighting engine. Like everything else in the game, it works beautifully. Because it's a weapons-based fighting game, one would assume it plays something like Samurai Shodown, but it doesn't. Not in the slightest. It doesn't really play like any other 2D fighting game. It plays more similarly to Soul Calibur (although Soul Calibur was not yet out), with two attack buttons, a kick button, and a repel button. Blocking is still done traditionally, by holding back. The repel is far more effective than the block, though. It repels the enemy's attack and creates an opening for your own. But this requires true mastery to wield correctly. Unlike Soul Calibur, however, Last Blade focuses greatly on long chain combos. The buffer time makes doing combos in Last Blade a wonderful task for the experienced, as you can pretty much punch in the entire button string for a combo you know before you even get the second or third attack out and it'll flow through without a hitch. Almost every character has a great combo string, and you can pretty much pick any character in the roster you think looks cool and be a great player with them, because it's probably the most balanced fighting game you'll ever play. Another great aspect of Last Blade's fighting engine is the Sword Guage. After selecting your character, you can choose from two different fighting styles; Power or Speed. Somewhat like the Slash and Bust system from Samurai Shodown III, the Power and Speed styles greatly changed how a character works. With Power as your style, your character is very strong and can use a special super desperation move, but their potential for chain combos is very limited, usually losing pace after 3 or 4 hits. With Speed, your character is able to pull off 8, 9, 10 hit combos with very little effort, and they can also use their guage to go into a custom combo mode similar to the X-Ism style from Street Fighter Alpha 3, however, the strength of their attacks is toned down considerably. There were several different versions of Last Blade. The Arcade and Neo Geo versions were, of course, virtually the same. The Neo Geo CD version contained a fully orchestrated arranged soundtrack. This soundtrack is absolutely amazing, and is one of the best orchestral soundtracks I've ever heard. However, as per usual with Neo Geo CD games, there's some hefty loading times, and the music reloads after every round, meaning you'll hardly ever hear much of it. The PSOne version was more or less the same as the Neo Geo CD version, but with an absolutely hideous anime intro and the added feature of playing as Kojiroh Sanada (the real Kojiroh Sanada, not his sister), who's actually just a palette swap of Washizuka. For the most part, the port is okay - there are some load screens (with some cute four panel comics), and while the action usually runs at a decent pace, there are some spots of slowdown. However, Yuki's stage is almost impossible to play it, because the added snow effects apparently cause the whole game to run in slow motion. Early in 2006, SNK released a compilation of Last Blade 1 and 2 on PS2. These are pretty much ports of the Neo Geo CD versions, with online play. Unfortunately, there's still some slowdown, and the quality of the sound effects are pretty low. MP3s Moonlight Swordsmen - Before Dawn Change Sword Saint

The Last Blade The Last Blade The Last Blade The Last Blade The Last Blade (PSOne) The Last Blade (PSOne)

PSOne Intro Screenshots

The Last Blade 2: Heart of the Samurai / Bakumatsu Roman Dai Ni Maku: Gekka no Kenshi ~Tsuki ni Saku Hana, Chiri-Yuku Hana~ - Neo Geo / Neo Geo CD / Dreamcast / PS2 (1998)

American Dreamcast Cover

Japanese Dreamcast Rerelease Cover

American Neo CD Cover

It didn't take long for SNK to pump out a sequel to Last Blade. A year after the initial release, Bakumatsu Roman Daini Tobari: Gekka no Kenshi (Bakumatsu Roman The Second Act: Moonlight Swordsmen) was put shoved out into arcades and onto Neo Geo. Last Blade 2 takes everything from the first game, throws in a few new characters, a new sword gauge mode, and refines everything to the point where the game couldn't possibly be any better. First, you have three awesome new characters. Kojiroh, who plays like a non-charge version of Washizuka. Hibiki, a super-fast samurai chick with a concealed sword, a fan favorite. Then you have Setsuna, who's quite possibly the coolest fighting game character ever created, who plays somewhat like Kagami. Then you have EX Sword Gauge style, a special style that combines elements from Power and Speed, which allows for more balanced, less restrictive play. Not only is there a new Gauge style, but the older styles have been modified. With Power style, you can now super cancel your desperation move with certain special moves. With Speed style, the custom combo mode has been replaced with a long chain combo with specific inputs, similar to Geese's Deadly Rave combo from the Fatal Fury/King of Fighters games. Many of the characters have been given new moves, or have had some of their old moves modified, and others, like Kagami, have been totally tweaked. The controls and overall feel of the engine are even tighter than before, allowing for some of the most accurate console play to be had with a fighter. Although the stage count has been bumped down, the stages themselves are far more lively and detailed, and look better overall. Particularly of note is Moriya and Kagami's stage, the aftermath of a navy battle near a beach, with rabid dogs eating rotten meat that's washed ashore in supply barrels. One of the dogs runs away when you make too much of a ruckus during your duel. In another stage, a couple of guys try to tame a wild horse as an infant tackles his own epic task of crawling up a small staircase. My personal favorite is the Fire at the Wadamaya, a burning building. The animation is still fluid as ever, although the newer characters seem to outshine some of the older ones. Setsuna's movements in particular are quite amazing. The sense of style has been amplified. You can almost smell it. There's so many moments that make you just want to say out loud, "Cooool!", like when Setsuna's pet owl swoops in to take his sword's scabbard away, or how Kagami simply stands up and curses at you when he's defeated, or how a stealthy turtle creeps onto a rock in the foreground as your battle rages on. The development team went out of their way to make every single second of this game absolutely cram packed with so many little details and nuances, and such colloquialism that it's almost mind-boggling to take it all in. The soundtrack in Last Blade 2 is infinitely better than the first, and the first was nothing to shake a stick at. The composition of the synthed orchestral is a lot more "professional" sounding, and the quality brings it about as close to actual orchestral music as you can get on a cart-driven system. Like the first game, Last Blade 2 was later ported to Neo Geo CD. This version is the definitive version of Last Blade 2. Not only is there an incredible arranged orchestral soundtrack, but the loading times are cut down dramatically, and there is no longer any loading in between rounds. The same music track keeps playing throughout the whole battle, never restarting abruptly after a victory. There are also some voiceovers for the more important cutscenes. The Dreamcast port, sadly, isn't quite what it should be. The music is from the cart version, not the Neo Geo CD version. The American version, like the arcade version, was censored heavily - instead of just removing the blood, the red spurts have been turned white, giving you this silly milk explosion every time you hit someone. You also can't cut anyone in half anymore, which makes it impossible to get Hibiki's alternate ending. The Japanese version also has a hanafuda card game, and both have an unlockable art gallery. The PS2 version is the same deal as the NGCD version, except with no loading times and the same slowdown and sound issues that plagued the port of Last Blade 1. MP3s Moonlight Swordsmen - Decision at Dawn Way of the Blade Moonlight

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Bakumatsu Tokubetsu Hen: Gekka no Kenshi - Tsuki ni Saku Hana, Chiri Yuku Hana / The Last Blade: Beyond the Destiny - Neo Geo Pocket Color (2000)

Japanese Cover

The Last Blade NGPC

The Last Blade NGPC

Translated as Bakumatsu Special Compilation: Moonlight Swordsmen - The Flower That Blooms in the Moonlight, the Flower That Dies and Falls Apart, is not only a contender for the longest subtitle in gaming history, but also one of the best handheld fighting games ever made. I hate to sound like a hopeless fanboy gushing over this game just because it's Last Blade, but it really is good. Really! Neo Geo Pocket is home so some of the best handheld fighters you'll ever experience. Games like King of Fighters R2 and SNK vs. Capcom are so well made they feel amazingly close to their console brethren. Last Blade adds its chip to the handheld fighting gambling table and turns out on top. What it lacks in technology, it more than makes up for with unlockables and overall cuteness. LB: BtD plays much like its two bigger brothers, so much that it's almost scary. Like almost all other NGPC games, it uses pressure sensitive buttons that work surprisingly well. Lightly tapping the A button yields a weak slash, whilst applying more pressure will unleash a strong slash, and so forth. You can set up repel to be whatever you want it to be in the options menu. What's great about LB: BtD is that at first glance, it appears to be a port of LB1. You only have the LB1 character roster, and the story follows the LB1 story. However, after you beat the game a few times, and acquire points, you begin unlocking characters from LB2. This not only changes the story, but it actually transforms from a portable LB1 into a portable LB2. Unfortunately, a few characters didn't make the cut. Mukuro/Shikyoh is nowhere to be found, but his sickening appearance probably wouldn't have worked well in the cutesy, super deformed NGPC motif anyway. Juzoh and Musashi are also MIA, but they most likely wont be missed. Aesthetically, LB: BtD is one of the better looking NGPC games. It does a very good job of faithfully recreating the look of its console counterparts. The sprites, though super deformed and tiny still have much of the same animation cues. The stages are very well reproduced, and the 8-bit sounding music hits all the same beats that the Neo Geo games did. You'll be able to recognize the themes from the console games the moment they appear. Overall, LB: BtD is everything you could hope for in a handheld fighter. It does the console games justice while not being simply a watered down rehash. It has its own merits and even if you've played the console versions, BtD still gives you its own reasons for you to play it. A definite must-have for any NGPC owner. All 20 of you.

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Artwork

Kaede	Moriya	Yuki
Setsuna	Kojiro / Washizuka	Lee / Zantestsu
Hibiki / Amano	Juzoh / Akari	Okina / Shigen

Unfortunately, it doesn't seem that SNK is going to continue this franchise. At least some of the legacy lives on - Hibiki was featured in Capcom vs SNK 2, and Kaede, Moriya, Washizuka and Akari are all in Neo Geo Battle Coliseum. In closing, Last Blade is amazing fighting game. It is the very threshold of style and grace in the fighting world, and Last Blade 2 CD stands as the greatest fighting game ever. There's plenty of ports out there, so get your hands on one if you haven't experienced this amazing effort by SNK yet. Thanks to NeoRasa for the scans of the Japanese Last Blade 2 manual. Links Neo Geo.com Center of the SNK fanbase. Neo Geo For Life Another excellent site with tons of reviews Bakumatsu Roman - Last Blade A very nice fan site.

PS2 Compilation