The Last Blade 2: Heart of the Samurai

"One of the great underappreciated games"

Last Blade 2 was one of the final games to be released for the venerable Neo Geo system. We DC owners are extremely fortunate to see this game (and Fatal Fury: Mark of the Wolves) ported to another system, since many SNK games never made it to most store shelves at all. Last Blade 2, however, rises above even the excellence of most SNK fighters. Although some Samurai Shodown fans might argue with me, Last Blade 2 is probably the best weapons-based fighter other than Soul Calibur, and is easily the best one in 2d. This is truly one of the most unique and beautiful fighting games ever made, and an easy must-buy for any fighting game fan.

Graphics: Last Blade 2 will not impress in terms of actual graphical quality. As much of a Neo Geo fan as I am, I'll admit that the system was really not much more than a supercharged 16-bit console. Last Blade 2 probably did not stretch the Neo Geo to its limits - some of the animations aren't too smooth, especially jumping kicks, and it lacks the 2d quality of Garou: Mark of the Wolves, for example. Last Blade 2 has some fairly impressive special moves, but nothing earth-shattering.

However, the real graphical strength of this game lies in its artistic design. A real analogy could be made by comparing Dead or Alive 2 to Soul Calibur. While DOA2 betters SC in number-crunching, SC is undoubtedly the more attractive game simply because of its gorgeous design. Last Blade 2 relies on its artwork and historical setting (approximately 19th-century Asia) to win us over. It works. The character designs are just great, and some of the backgrounds are simply spectacular, especially the mountain waterfall and the burning building. This may not be everyone's cup of tea, but for those who prefer style over polygon count, it can't be beat.

Sound: outstanding. You'll be amazed that the sound and music is not CD-quality. Swords clash and fighters gasp, while haunting period music plays in the background. In a very unique twist, some stages eschew music altogether. With no music playing, you're treated to ambient nature sounds, such as crickets chirping. This must be heard to be appreciated; I'm surprised no other game has tried this.

Gameplay: as if the game wasn't excellent in its other respects! This is where Last Blade 2 really shines, and where we find a real one-of-a-kind game. The controls resemble a 3d fighter more than they do a 2d one. There are only 3 attack buttons: weak slash, strong slash, and kick. Depending on whether you're pushing forward or backward, close, quick attacks or long-range attacks are used. Different characters can take advantage of this in different ways. Yuki, with her long halberd, excels with long-range stabs, while Lee, with no weapon besides his hands and feet, can really do some up-close damage.

The 4th button is the ''repel'' button. Time it right and push repel while your opponent is attacking, and he'll stagger backwards, completely open to counterattack. Time it wrong, and your recovery animation leaves you just as open! You might think that this feature would slow down the game, as players constantly tried to repel each other, but because of the do-or-die timing that's not the case. I love this feature; it works much, much better than the countering in DOA2, for example.

Another superb and unique feature of this game is the ability to choose between Power, Speed or Ex for your character. Whichever you pick will be shown at the bottom of the screen, beside the super-meter common to many fighting games. Choose Power and you'll do more damage, but many combos go out the window. Speed gives you speed (duh); combos are easily chained together, but you'll do less damage. Ex gives you both power and speed (!), but you'll take much more damage when you're hit, and your super-meter charges more slowly. Most characters are designed with either Power or Speed in mind, but some, such as Moriya, do fine with any of the 3 setups.

This game is the absolute antithesis of a button-masher. Button-mashing will do nothing for you in this game except make you look very, very silly. Last Blade 2 is all about timing and understanding the game system; as such, it's much slower-paced than many fighting games. This might turn off some gamers, especially those who only like 2d versus fighters. Those of us who appreciate strategy, and believe there should be more to a figting game than running your fingers over the buttons, however, have found a godsend in Last Blade 2. That's not to criticize versus games, or 3d games for that matter - they can be lots of fun. Just keep in mind that Last Blade 2 is in a very different category.

Summary
Best features: wonderful artistry; unique fighting system; not a button-masher at all; very balanced characters; overall uniqueness of the game.

Worst features: some lazy animations; many people feel Last Blade 1 was better (including me - I'd actually give it a 10); cheap boss (typical SNK though); nothing really to unlock; many won't appreciate its finesse.

Overall: 9/10. A must-buy. Beautiful.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 04/23/02, Updated 04/23/02