"Orochi K Ultimate Award"

SNK has always been known for making great fighting games since it was with titles like The Art of Fighting, Garou Dentetsu, Samurai Shodown and The King of Fighters that it became recognized. While The King of Fighters was mainly an extra title with characters from Art of Fighting and Garou Dentetsu, as well as from other games and new ones, Samurai Shodown was a very innovative title because the characters all fought with blades and this indeed made a very interesting game. I've always thought that this was in fact the best game in the genre due to all the features it provided. Well, it finally seems that I was wrong…Because Last Blade 2 is way better than all the Samurai Shodown titles put together and even more, just by itself, it shows how much SNK progressed during all those years.

Now, just grab a snack and something to drink before sitting comfortably in your chair because you're about to read a pretty huge review. And still, what you're reading is a cut-down review because the original one exceeded 3500 words but I decided to cut some parts in case you slept along the way…

Last Blade 2 takes place a long time ago when swordmanship was still an essential quality and these warriors still fought for honor and pride while others liked to fight for more obscure reasons. Unlike its predecessor which had only a limited cast, this second title comes packed with more than 20 characters for you to master. Heck, there are so many characters that SNK even had to make 2 of those share the same background and music instead of making a whole new one for each. Among all these characters, there's of course Kaede who's the main cast and behold, he can even be selected in this first form [with all the moves he had in Last Blade 1] through a code.

The other characters are all as deep and well-designed as Kaede and among my favourites are Zantetsu, Setsuna, Jizoh, Kojiroh and, of course, Kaede himself. The strange fact is that I usually have a tough time against these characters because they are so damn hard to defeat and yet, I've developed a real liking for them. This must be because they are so cool, good-looking and have a good storyline around them which shows you how interesting Last Blade 2 can get. There's also the annoying Akari with her unpredictable moves. You'll never know from where she'll hit you next and well, good luck in defeating her…

Upon choosing your character from the kick-ass cast, it's on to battle against worthy opponent who've got lots of tricks up their sleeves. And I'd better warn you right now, don't expect going even onto the fourth battle on your first play. Because Last Blade 2 is a game which requires basic knowledge and, most of all, skill. You'll need some time to get used to the game and to play it well, and mastering it is another story on which I won't go into details so as not to frighten you ! :)

Each character fights with a weapon and it's up to you to make the most of it. Like it is very commonly known, a sword is not a weapon but it is an extension of your arm and you need to control it just like you would control your arm. The weapons differ though with Kaede wielding a sword while Zantetsu walks around with a dagger in each hand , which also explains where Eiji Kisaragi from The King of Fighters got his moves. Even more funny, Jizoh fights with a…baseball bat !!! And he's very good with it too, he should have been on a pitch instead, scoring home runs !

While the game is skilful and requires good strategies and patience, this is made even more important by a feature known as the ''Repel'' system. This is achieved by pressing D nad if you need to repel low or high, you just press the appropriate direction for your character to do so. Mastering this feature is essential since it enables you to place in good combos and like you will surely understand after a lot of matches, that's the key in beating the game. Attacking like mad or turtling or playing cheaply with constant fireballs won't take you anywhere and instead, I don't even think you'll go as far as the second battle.

Instead, be prepared for some serious mind games. And you need to be on the look-out for the enemy's attacks to repel those before hopefully attacking yourself. Truthfully, if you're a buttonmasher, Last Blade 2 is not your type of game because it will only succeed in making you feel stupid and, because of this, you will most likely hate the game. Go play Marvel vs. Capcom instead ! And just because you've mastered a character doesn't automatically imply you'll win because the characters all have a high AI and they adapt to every one of your strategies.

You may think from all I've said that Last Blade 2 is a very difficult game…Well, it is but I do think that's what makes the game even better. This game is very challenging and you'll need to play it a lot before being able to claim you're good at it. And the vast variety of moves and specials give rise to a lot of combos and possibilities for you to explore. And heck, there are 3 modes for you to choose from !

The first mode is POWER and of course, it's just about power. In this move, you can perform some kick-ass moves when your gauge is full just like in Garou or KOF and you can cancel some moves into these specials for major damage. The second mode is SPEED where you character can attack at a frightening speed when this gauge is full. Your character has less specials though and is less powerful than he would be in POWER mode. There's even a third one known as EX which is, in fact, a mix between the 2 first modes. It takes all the good points like strength and speed and combines those but you are severely handicapped though and you'll die more easily…Unless you're very ,very good with the mode, in which case nobody will ever be able to beat you !

You've probably already guessed it, choosing the mode is important since it affects how you'll play the game. Obviously, some characters can also be played under one mode like Jizoh who is all about strength and Akari who will find POWER mode very useless since she's very swift. But some others will kick major ass in any mode and you may just imagine those in the EX mode. Ooooh, is that an EX Zantetsu ? …Run for your life !!

VISUALS : 10

Has the MVS board finally reached its full potential ? From the looks of Last Blade 2, it most certainly looks like it ! Simply put and excluding Mark of the Wolves, LB2 has the best graphics that SNK have come up with so far. This is ,without doubt, the MVS pushed to its limits because it is way better than what we saw in KOF '98 which was already spectacular. The graphics are as clear as possible and the characters are really well-designed. While they have become more colorful than in the prequel, the colours aren't too lfashy but instead, they do seem to belong right in the game.

Their outfits are yet another example of how much SNK has progressed in this series [yeah,this series…KOF is another thing…]. Just take Setsuna's outfit as an example. His outfit is just plain ''dark'', probably to put more emphasis on the character, yet I find it very good and it truthfully suits him. Besides, heck, Setsuna's looks alone would make you freak out. And just realize that you're usually fighting him at night ! All the characters are just as good with some kick-ass outfits too and you can't help being amazed at those.

As for backgrounds, it's about the same thing with some excellently drawn and highly-detailed ones. Kaede's/Hibiki's stage, which is probably the first one you'll see, has those horses that actually seem like those that race every Saturday in my country and that I always enjoy watching. Talking about realism ? Akari's/Jizoh's stage will amaze you with the big elephant in the background and all the crowd that just goes on with its usual activiities. But none of those, however good they are, can compare to what I consider the 2 best backgrounds ever created, Zantetsu's and Kojiroh's stages.

These are 2 entirely different backgrounds and they do not share it but I can't decide between these 2, so might as well describe both ! Zantetsu will always fight you at night and his stage is simply breathstriking. The trees and the leaves shuffling, the birds flying by from time to time are just small examples of the plentiful details in LB2. Kojiroh's stage with the fire and the building crumbling to pieces as the battle rages on will make you stare wide-eyes at the magnificent details in the splinters of wood and the fire. You will even feel hot here [due to the fire but also because Kojiroh will humiliate you :)].

And while LB2 is a very difficult game, some details are just plain funny too. The little cartoon that appears during Akari's intro with that little devil near her still makes me chuckle even though I've seen this countless time. Ans speaking of Akari, watch out for Jizoh in the background to the right. I won't tell you what it is because that has got to be the funniest moment in a beat-em-up and I don't want to spoil your fun but I'll still advise you to hold on to your seat. Otherwise, you're bound to fall off and hurt your back through too much laughing.

AUDIO : 10

Stands up as one of the best soundtracks SNK have created. Well, SNK is also known for its kick-ass music but LB2 is way better than I would have expected, even in my dreams [I do make a lot of those…]. And I had the privilege of listening to Kaede's music on my first try too and this immediately charmed me. There is such melancholy in this theme and yet, it gives you the boost you need to defeat someone as tough as Kaede. I will truly never go tired of listening to this single theme and most of the time, I now choose Kaede since Hibiki will be my first match and the music's gonna play !

But it's not just about one theme ! Every single theme is excellent and favors the game to a great extent. Even more, SNK have tried to do something different in Zantetsu's stage. There is no music but instead, you'll just hear the wind, the birds and all the leaves shuffling just behind the characters. However, this doesn't prevent his stage from being one of the best and why, I even enjoy the absence in music. The true reason behind this is because of Zantetsu's motives but still, SNK took risks and things really turned out very well.

Sound effects are as good too, specially when it comes to the voice-acting. I don't undertand a single word of Japanese but I always enjoy listening to the dialogues in the intros and when the characters lose. Done by professionals and done is style, that's how I would describe it ! But the best part concerns the presentator who starts the fight and who is just too awesome to describe. And keeping it in Japanese even in the translated game is really a good idea because that man does it magnificently.

The moves' effects are well-done and come out with adequate timing, which just tells everything. Actually, these effects can be done just as the developers want since the players are going to see these for the first time and they can't compare it to anything and thus, complain. So, I'll just say they're good and let's get on with it. There is, however, one thing, that needs to be said and that concerns the other realistic sound effects.

The birds and the crowd in Zantetsu's and Jizoh's stages will just give you this realistic feeling. All the sounds that you hear in real life have been reproduced exactly in the game and we can just be pleased at how excellent everything is. Setsusna's electricity move where he gets surrounded by sparks will just amaze you as the noises seem to come directly from those movies that cost millions of dollars. And no, this game didn't require millions of dollars !! [SNK went bankrupt, remember dude…]

CONTROL : 10

Unless the local arcade you go to never takes care of the machines and doesn't check whether everything is functioning properly, I challenge you to find something in the controls to complain about. The moves come out as quickly as you perform them and like in every SNK title, the control is as smooth and as responsive as can be. There are no problems with the control, so please stop saying you lost because of the control !

Once you become used to the game, you'll see yourself ! You'll be pulling off these super cancels and these speed combos as often as…err…as often as Doodleheimer writes reviews… Well, this isn't really a surprise coming from SNK but if I'm stressing on this, it's because I don't usually like weapons-based fighting games. But with the Repel system and all those darn effective moves, it's very difficult to not like this game.

GAMEPLAY : 10

With all those characters and 3 modes to choose from, you can already start saving your money because once you start playing Last Blade 2, all your quarters will go towards it. Start saving now and forget about the other games ! LB2 is one of those rare games that you'll never grow tired of because even if you manage to master all the characters [I'm saying it here but don't hope, this is an impossible task], the game remains as tough as hell mainly due to the opponents' AI. I've never played a game as hard and as challenging as this one. If you thought Goenitz was hard, I wonder what you will think the first time you battle against Kouryu. And there's something even more incredible about Kouryu, he never plays cheaply but he'll take advantage of all your mistakes and missed moves. Goenitz would thorw the kitchen sink at you…Well, Kouryu will throw the whole kitchen at you !

And even if you can actually think you've mastered all the characters, what about the hidden characters ? Well yeah, there are hidden characters in LB2 but good luck in unlocking them because the code seems to think you're Flash Gordon or something. You even get to play as The Original Kaede from the first LB. And playing with Hagure is a must because she isn't just a ''normal'' character…This character appears in the intro and she then changes to the opponent you're currently facing such that you'll always be in ''Mirror Matches''. And, of course, input a code and choose the mighty Kouryu to kick some major ass if you think you're worthy of his skills.

OVERALL : 10

Overall, huh ? Last Blade 2 has just got to be the best beat-em-up ever created, regardless whether that game is in 2D or in 3D. Huge titles like Guilty Gear, Tekken, Street Fighter, Soul Calibur, The King of Fighters and Dead or Alive are all excellent in gameplay and overall, and this probably explains why they're so popular…But they have a long way to go to become as deep, skilful and technical as Last Blade 2. Of course, button mashers won't like this game and to those, I'll just say ''Just too bad !'' because they don't know what they're missing !

Last Blade 2 requires a lot of skill and practice and this is probably where most of its charm lies for me ! I've always loved challenging games and well, it seems that Bushido Blade now has a 2D except counterpart…except that this counterpart literally crushes it !! And the human matches are a real bonus to the game where you need to develop sound strategies instead of just pressing all the buttons together to win !

If you consider yourself a good player and know what makes good fighting games, save all your quarters for Last Blade 2. You're gonna need them and you'll love spending these because the game is well worth it ! SNK may have gone but they left a true masterpiece behind so that they would never be forgotten : Last Blade 2 !

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 10/01/01, Updated 11/09/02