Bushido Blade is a fairly unknown fighting game released for the Sony PlayStation in 1997. Due to a small advertising budget it went largely ignored, but it’s main selling point at the time was developed by Squaresoft (or rather a subsidiary of them) which had gained fame at the time for their Final Fantasy series. Unlike most of their titles which tended to be RPGs this was a one-on-one 3D fighting game with heavy Japanese influence. You can tell that much just from Bushido Blade’s name. It had one sequel which also released for Sony’s 32-bit console, but since then it has faded into obscurity. The game must not have been a big hit because it wasn’t even released for PSN outside of Japan, and had no other sequels. Today we’re going to take a look at the original and see if it’s still worth playing. Let’s take a look!
The story in Bushido Blade has more focus than in your typical fighting game with an introduction (which is mostly the same for each character) and short vignettes after each battle. I couldn’t bother to care much about it so this synopsis will be light. The story takes place in modern day but focuses on an ancient dojo as the secrets are stolen from it by a rogue member who has escaped. The six different characters are pretty light on background with the aforementioned scenario being the focus. What is nice however are the vignettes I mentioned earlier at the end of each match in story mode where the characters react to the events of the fight. Either way no one plays fighting games for their story, so let’s move on to what really matters.
Bushido Blade is a one-on-one 3D weapons based fighting game, but it takes a lot of unique approaches to the tried and true gameplay. When starting out you choose a character and each has their own strengths and weaknesses. Some are faster, others are stronger, and a few fall in between on the spectrum. They also have a few special moves and abilities to set them apart, but the focus isn’t on their differences. It’s on the weapons. While there are only six characters to choose from you can pick from eight different weapons for them to wield. There aren’t really punches and kicks and so combat is done almost entirely with these tools. What’s interesting is the fact that regardless who you choose as your character they all have access to the same weapons.
That’s why I’m going to focus more on the weapons than the characters themselves. These options are all quite different from one another and largely affect your style of play more than the fighters themselves. You have fast weapons such as the katana, saber and short sword, as well as heavy but more ranged tools like the sledgehammer, broad sword, and nodachi. There are also a few middle of the road items like the katana and long sword. Each of these is used differently. They have different attack patterns and styles behind them, and you can only figure out what’s best for you by experimenting with them. Personally I like faster weapons, but I can tell that if anyone dedicates themselves to mastering the heavier tools they could become downright deadly.
The combat system is a little basic. There aren’t a lot of special moves and instead you have to rely on pure swordplay to win. You can block attacks, and there are low, mid, and high strikes. These counter each other so there’s a lot of sword striking that cancels these strikes. I’ve actually never played a fighting game where you and your foe block each other so often, but there’s a good reason for this that I’ll touch on later. What adds even further to your options is the fact that you can change stances with any weapon. There are three of these, and they change the style of your strikes. At first I didn’t like this feature but after getting used to using it to using it on the fly I came to love it. Gameplay here is more dynamic than in most fighting games because of this.
What truly sets Bushido Blade apart from its contemporaries is the fact that there are no life bars. There’s also no jumping or really anything aerial about this game. This will no doubt turn away many long time fighting fans, but there’s a reason behind this. Bushido Blade attempts much more realism here. It uses a system a mechanic dubbed the ‘body damage system.’ Strikes to specific parts of the body have direct effects on gameplay. If you hit someone in the leg with a low strike they lose use of that limb. This means they’ll kneel down and move slowly. You can also hit their hand which will force them to wield their weapon with just one. This decreases their offensive abilities and changes the way they strike. Sometimes you’ll leave a foe on the ground barely able to swing their weapon around.
You win matches here by striking the foe’s body or head. Upon doing so they perish and you win instantly. This is both a blessing and a curse. On one hand you can’t gain a lead on an opponent. It’s still perfectly possible to win a match without the use of some of the limbs. Often times these handicaps allow you to get a surprise kill shot on unsuspecting human players. On the other hand this also increases the odds of a much better player being bested by a single lucky strike. Personally I love the mechanics and found that I was never able to relax for a minute while playing. Bushido Blade takes a ton of focus because you have to concentrate on how to counter your enemy’s hits or else you’ll soon be dead. It’s a very technical fighting game, and not in the traditional sense.
I’ve never thought the genre would benefit from more realism, but here we are, and it works amazingly well. This does come at a price however. Bushido Blade is much slower paced than your typical fighting game. The characters move slower than other titles (this can change depending on their stance), there’s no jump ability, and sidestepping (done with up and down on the directional pad) is kind of awkward. Bushido Blade isn’t a title where you can focus on dodging. Instead you need to focus on what kind of attacks your foe is using to counter them. On a side note I do really love how different characters are more suited to specific weapons. Using a heavy weapon with a weaker character can really give a big handicap, but I’m sure even this can be overcome with practice.
Bushido Blade is a very technically beautiful game. The environments look amazing, and the character models are a step above the likes of Tekken and Dead or Alive. They also animate fluidly and look great in motion. Unfortunately the color scheme is kind of dull. Backgrounds consist mostly of bland scenery with a mix of browns and grays. I realize they were trying for a more gritty approach but it hasn’t aged well. This is especially true with how low res the textures are particularly on the ground. My biggest complaint however is the fact that this one runs at just 30fps. Other games with more geometry were able to maintain a solid sixty back then so it’s a real shame this one couldn’t. The soundtrack is also kind of bad with a lot of muted scenes with just sound effects.
