Sengoku Blade



Sengoku Blade, released internationally as Tengai, is a horizontal shooting game developed and published in 1996 by Psikyo. The game is a direct sequel to Sengoku Ace, and features a unique steampunk interpretation of feudal Japan.

Gameplay Overview
Sengoku Blade is a 2 button game. Each game loop consists of 7 stages, with the first three stages being randomly chosen from a possible four. Whichever stage is chosen as stage 3 takes place in an evening setting, and is a more difficult version than the regular daytime stage. After stage 5, the player is offered a choice of two different routes for the final 2 stages.

Controls

 * A Button (Press): Shot
 * A Button (Hold): Charge Attack
 * B Button: Bomb (depletes bomb stock)

Weapons
Main Shot

Basic attack performed by pressing the shot button. This attack is upgraded by collecting Power-Up items, and reaches max power after 4 items have been collected. After collecting the first Power-Up item the basic shot is supplemented by a secondary attack, or sub-shot, which offers some additional screen coverage. Colliding with an enemy will reduce the shot power by one level, and losing a life will reduce the shot to its base level.

Charge Attack

Holding the A button prepares a character-specific attack which is activated when the button is released. These attacks are usually powerful short-range melee attacks. The charge time depends on the character selected.

Bomb

Bombs instantly clear enemy bullets and deal damage within specific areas of the screen. The precise effects of bombs are character-specific.

Characters
Sengoku Blade offers 6 playable characters, each with their own playstyle and unique advantages. 5 Characters are available by default, but a 6th, Aine from Samurai Aces, can be unlocked by hovering over the random select icon and pressing Up x3, Down x3, Up x7.

On the Sega Saturn, there is an additional, 7th character, Marion, making a cameo from the Gunbird series.

Koyori

Tengai

Hagane

Shomaru

Junis

Aine

Loops
After clearing 7 stages and defeating the last boss, the player automatically enters the second loop. The second loop features significantly denser bullet patterns, and enemies will now release revenge bullets on death. Depending on which route for stages 6 and 7 was chosen in the first loop, the player must take the alternate route in loop 2.

Scoring
Scoring in Sengoku Blade is relatively straightforward. Certain enemies, when destroyed, will leave behind gold coins that rotate as they fall downward. These coins will reward the player with 200, 500, 1000 or 2000 points, depending on when they are collected during their spin animation. To achieve the max score of 2000 points, coins must be collected specifically when the entire face of the coin is visible.

If the player reaches the maximum bomb stock of 6, any additional bombs collected will award a 10,000 point bonus instead. Therefore, when playing for score, it is recommended to avoid using bombs wherever possible. In addition, power-up items award 4000 points if the player is already at max power.

Strategy
See Sengoku_Blade/Strategy for secrets and advanced play strategies.

Ports
The game was ported to the Nintendo Switch in 2018 by Zerodiv. After initially only being available on the Nintendo eShop, the game was later released physically as part of the Psikyo Shooting Stars Bravo compilation.

On June 20th 2020, the game was released on Steam by Zerodiv and City Connection.

Video References
Video index for Sengoku Blade