Bushido Blade 2

"This game should be a staple in every houshold that likes 3D fighters"

So my friend and I are in Blockbuster. We're house sitting for the weekend and know that we'll need a game to keep us both busy, so we're looking for a fighting game. But we've already mastered Tekken 3 to the point that it's a dance or neither person will move because there isn't one move we don't know the counter or answer too. I see this goofy little game in the corner that I've never heard of. ''Bushido Blade 2''. Now another friend had told me that Bushido Blade 1 was a great game and raved about it. So I figure, ''What the heck.'' Plus, it's got something on it called the ''Squaresoft Trademark''. I rent it. Now, two years later, the only thing that has prevented me from buying it is that I haven't ever found a copy in ANY store, and I've visited at least 50 gaming stores across the nation (not JUST to visit a store, but while we were in CA or something on vacation)

The gameplay is very solid and fluid.
Controls are not quite intuitive, but very close. They are differant from the first game, which I think is just a great thing. I hated the ''block'' button.
Story is pretty simple, which allows for some flexibility in the way things work out. True, MOST of the characters are good old fashioned Ninja/samurai-esque. However, the few that aren't are great. I never thought that I would see a black guy with an afro (Tony) waving a Nodachi around... It's just great. Also, I think that the kid (Chihiro) is voiced by the same guy that did Jim from Outlaw Star, Ascot from Magic Knight Rayearth, ect... I can't prove it, my memory might be rusty.
There are more than enough characters, which is nice because they all have lots of different moves and their own prefered weapon. Gengoro likes the Yari, Tatsumi likes the Katanas (so much that he carries TWO of them...) sey-ta-rai, sey-ta-rai...

Audio is good, although I would have prefered that they did a bit more... Yelps of pain when a limb is wounded, ki-ais when strikes are sounded, kill-cries... all kinds of cool stuff. Don't get me wrong, this isn't a crime of comission; what they put in there was exceptional. There just wasn't enough. As a side note, I know that this is wishing just a bit much, but I would like to hear the original japanese dialouge and read the subtitles occasionally.

Visuals were exceptional, even for what we've come to expect from Square. Smooth movements, flashes for the blade strikes, FMVs that worked really well, and actually enhance the storyline as opposed to detract from it.

Replay value is great. Once you have the one player mode finished (which should take a while) you have two-player, school vs school, other characters to master... you get the idea.

Buy or rent? BUY. If you can find it, buy. If you can find two copies, send the other to... Just kidding about sending it to me. Buy. Do not hesitate.

Now for the breakdown:
Gameplay: 11/10 It really is that good.
Audio: 9/10 It could have been better, but not by much.
Visual: 9/10 Many of the FMVs were just the character sprites moving around, as opposed to the awesome opening movie.
Replay: 9/10 You'll have enough to keep you going for a long time on this one.
Buy/Rent? Instantly buy.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 09/03/02, Updated 09/03/02