Post by ty12004 on Mar 20, 2009 16:14:09 GMT -5
Bushido Blade 2 Review
I found this game at a local garage sale (yes those still exist) for about 25c so I figured it wouldn't matter if it sucked or not. Oddly that was not the case. Bushido Blade 2 has gone down as one of my favorite PSX games of all time, right next to Xenogears and Resident Evil.
--------------Gameplay--------------
The combat in this game was a breath of fresh air. Instead of chaining combo attacks together you had to bide your time and attack when your opponent is at his weakest.
The combat is a 1-hit kill system, what I mean is if you hit a critical area like the chest or head your opponent is dead. If you hit the leg you will knock them down and if u hit them in the arm you can break one of their arms, that stops them from dual wielding or throwing dirt/swords. That may sound easy but along with the choice of 5 weapons (broadsword, katana, nodachi, long sword, yari/naginata) each character has 3 different styles for each weapon, some are unique to certain characters.
Each style has a certain blocking percentage against other styles, since there is no blocking button you have to use the best style for the situation. If your enemy is using a style with his sword above his head it is best to use a style that positions your sword high as well, you can be dangerous and use a low style but whoever hits first in this scenario will be the winner. That sounds complex but that is what makes this game so skill based. There are styles that have stupid sword positions as well but generally they are the fastest styles so it makes it more twitch based in that sense.
Each weapon also has its own advantages and disadvantages:
Broadsword - Breaks weak guards easily and has a long reach but due to slow swings it is vulnerable longer then most other weapons. Also it has stupid sword positions, only one has a good defense style
Katana - Fastest styles but short reach and low defense.
- Dual wield style available - slows it down but gives it better defense, this is what makes the katana a formidable weapon.
Nodachi - Decent attack speed, wide swings, long reach. Good defense rate, low chance to go through guard.
Long Sword A mix of katana and broadsword, slightly slower then katana, relatively short reach (ironic for a long sword) strong styles.
Yari/Naginata Essentially a long spear. Depending on what school you take decides which one of these you use, one gets a basic long spear, the other gets a crescent spear.
- Slow swings, fast stabs, Long reach, Almost no blocking. This weapon is the embodiment of the saying (A good defense is a good offense).
Dirt/Throwing weapons - Not really a main weapon but still start of combat. - You can throw dirt/swords provided that your arm isnt broken and that you still have a throwable weapon or dirt on the ground.
-Dirt does what you would think, it blinds your opponent for a moment which might give you the opening you were looking for, but in the time it takes to bend down u could be killed, or they could sidestep and slash you mid-animation.
-throwing swords are generally blocked unless your fighting a henchmen, then it can be an easy way to kill off an opponent who refuses to get close.
As you can see, this game is quite deep despite its age. It manages to hold up in this day and age. I get together with friends and we have tournaments, the multiplayer will be discussed later.
--------------------------------------
----------------Story----------------
I use the term story loosely, you fight on behalf of the Meikyo school to protect the school or you fight on the Shainto side to break an ancient curse which can only be broken by killing the last of the Meikyo with a sacred blade.
After a cutscene explaining that situation you pick a side and get a small video explaining ur mission. Protect or destroy essentially. Then you fight a series of small henchmen, then a "boss" who is generally a named character who uses something other then a crappy katana style, these people are not to be taken lightly. This continues on for a few levels until you get near the end. Either you get the sword then have a choice (shainto) or you kill the last of the shainto (Meikyo).
As you can see the story isnt the highlight of this game, but it doesnt need to be with such a deep combat system.
--------------------------------------
-------------Multiplayer-------------
2players only
It is single player but with a friend instead of AI. (duh, lol)
The combat system makes multiplayer quite tense when there is a fight between 2 experienced players. Instead of attacking when the opponent is using a bad style you really have to pick your shots since your opponent is most likely smarter then a PSX AI.
Only in multiplayer can you use a character with a gun, they are only unlocked after finishing a survival mode which you have to kill 100 guys within 15mins. Luckily the gun in this game isnt all powerful like you would think. Versus a sword you only have an advantage at far range, at close range the gun has a small block percent from the front and thanks to slow movements with a gun you can hit them from behind easily and that is an instant kill.
I cant really describe it much better, only in multiplayer did I realize how exciting the game can be, and because of this game my PSX gets more use then some of my others systems on the weekend.
--------------------------------------
--------------Graphics---------------
What can I say, its a PSX game. Despite saying that this game isnt all that bad looking, in fact it is one of the nicer PSX games I have owned.
Image borrowed from gamesethingych
- see...not bad eh?
--------------------------------------
----------------Sound----------------
This was another surprising part of this game. Most of my previous PSX games have crackling audio. This game had appropriate sounds, albeit the voice acting was pretty bad, especially the stereo-typical black guy in a 1970's leisure suit who speaks all in disco slang.
Video shows the opening cutscene for one of the Shainto and showcases the voice acting and general fight sounds. Dont judge the combat system by this video though, the guy playing was a button masher. Although he did use a low style to defeat a high style, that's the only thing he did right I believe.
--------------------------------------
-------------Conclusion-------------
This is a fine psx game and it is a shame it didnt get more renown. Since Squaresoft is essentially gone bushido blade 2 will not get another sequal, although they did made a spiritual successor called Kengo but unfortunately that game goes back to the mortal kombat HP system so it defeats the reason why Bushido Blade was so great.
All-in-all I recommend you pick this game up! it is worth the price if you can find it.
--------------------------------------
Thanks for reading my review.
I found this game at a local garage sale (yes those still exist) for about 25c so I figured it wouldn't matter if it sucked or not. Oddly that was not the case. Bushido Blade 2 has gone down as one of my favorite PSX games of all time, right next to Xenogears and Resident Evil.
--------------Gameplay--------------
The combat in this game was a breath of fresh air. Instead of chaining combo attacks together you had to bide your time and attack when your opponent is at his weakest.
The combat is a 1-hit kill system, what I mean is if you hit a critical area like the chest or head your opponent is dead. If you hit the leg you will knock them down and if u hit them in the arm you can break one of their arms, that stops them from dual wielding or throwing dirt/swords. That may sound easy but along with the choice of 5 weapons (broadsword, katana, nodachi, long sword, yari/naginata) each character has 3 different styles for each weapon, some are unique to certain characters.
Each style has a certain blocking percentage against other styles, since there is no blocking button you have to use the best style for the situation. If your enemy is using a style with his sword above his head it is best to use a style that positions your sword high as well, you can be dangerous and use a low style but whoever hits first in this scenario will be the winner. That sounds complex but that is what makes this game so skill based. There are styles that have stupid sword positions as well but generally they are the fastest styles so it makes it more twitch based in that sense.
Each weapon also has its own advantages and disadvantages:
Broadsword - Breaks weak guards easily and has a long reach but due to slow swings it is vulnerable longer then most other weapons. Also it has stupid sword positions, only one has a good defense style
Katana - Fastest styles but short reach and low defense.
- Dual wield style available - slows it down but gives it better defense, this is what makes the katana a formidable weapon.
Nodachi - Decent attack speed, wide swings, long reach. Good defense rate, low chance to go through guard.
Long Sword A mix of katana and broadsword, slightly slower then katana, relatively short reach (ironic for a long sword) strong styles.
Yari/Naginata Essentially a long spear. Depending on what school you take decides which one of these you use, one gets a basic long spear, the other gets a crescent spear.
- Slow swings, fast stabs, Long reach, Almost no blocking. This weapon is the embodiment of the saying (A good defense is a good offense).
Dirt/Throwing weapons - Not really a main weapon but still start of combat. - You can throw dirt/swords provided that your arm isnt broken and that you still have a throwable weapon or dirt on the ground.
-Dirt does what you would think, it blinds your opponent for a moment which might give you the opening you were looking for, but in the time it takes to bend down u could be killed, or they could sidestep and slash you mid-animation.
-throwing swords are generally blocked unless your fighting a henchmen, then it can be an easy way to kill off an opponent who refuses to get close.
As you can see, this game is quite deep despite its age. It manages to hold up in this day and age. I get together with friends and we have tournaments, the multiplayer will be discussed later.
--------------------------------------
----------------Story----------------
I use the term story loosely, you fight on behalf of the Meikyo school to protect the school or you fight on the Shainto side to break an ancient curse which can only be broken by killing the last of the Meikyo with a sacred blade.
After a cutscene explaining that situation you pick a side and get a small video explaining ur mission. Protect or destroy essentially. Then you fight a series of small henchmen, then a "boss" who is generally a named character who uses something other then a crappy katana style, these people are not to be taken lightly. This continues on for a few levels until you get near the end. Either you get the sword then have a choice (shainto) or you kill the last of the shainto (Meikyo).
As you can see the story isnt the highlight of this game, but it doesnt need to be with such a deep combat system.
--------------------------------------
-------------Multiplayer-------------
2players only
It is single player but with a friend instead of AI. (duh, lol)
The combat system makes multiplayer quite tense when there is a fight between 2 experienced players. Instead of attacking when the opponent is using a bad style you really have to pick your shots since your opponent is most likely smarter then a PSX AI.
Only in multiplayer can you use a character with a gun, they are only unlocked after finishing a survival mode which you have to kill 100 guys within 15mins. Luckily the gun in this game isnt all powerful like you would think. Versus a sword you only have an advantage at far range, at close range the gun has a small block percent from the front and thanks to slow movements with a gun you can hit them from behind easily and that is an instant kill.
I cant really describe it much better, only in multiplayer did I realize how exciting the game can be, and because of this game my PSX gets more use then some of my others systems on the weekend.
--------------------------------------
--------------Graphics---------------
What can I say, its a PSX game. Despite saying that this game isnt all that bad looking, in fact it is one of the nicer PSX games I have owned.
Image borrowed from gamesethingych
- see...not bad eh?
--------------------------------------
----------------Sound----------------
This was another surprising part of this game. Most of my previous PSX games have crackling audio. This game had appropriate sounds, albeit the voice acting was pretty bad, especially the stereo-typical black guy in a 1970's leisure suit who speaks all in disco slang.
Video shows the opening cutscene for one of the Shainto and showcases the voice acting and general fight sounds. Dont judge the combat system by this video though, the guy playing was a button masher. Although he did use a low style to defeat a high style, that's the only thing he did right I believe.
--------------------------------------
-------------Conclusion-------------
This is a fine psx game and it is a shame it didnt get more renown. Since Squaresoft is essentially gone bushido blade 2 will not get another sequal, although they did made a spiritual successor called Kengo but unfortunately that game goes back to the mortal kombat HP system so it defeats the reason why Bushido Blade was so great.
All-in-all I recommend you pick this game up! it is worth the price if you can find it.
--------------------------------------
Thanks for reading my review.
