Sengoku Blade

Sengoku Blade

Start screen

Developer:	Psikyo
Release date:	Arcade: 1996 Switch: Jun 21st, 2018 (Zerodiv) Feb 18th, 2020 (City Connection, NIS America) PC: Jun 22nd, 2020 (City Connection)
Previous game:	Strikers 1945
Next game:	Sol Divide

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.

For replay videos, visit the Video Index.

Gameplay Overview

Hagane progresses through the main gate of stage 6

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

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

Weapons

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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 Saturn port, there is an exclusive playable cameo character called Marion from the Gunbird series.

Koyori

Koyori
• Shot: Spell cards fired directly forward. • Subshot: Up to four homing blue orbs. • Charge Attack: A powerful bubble fired from Koyori's familiar. • Bomb: Koyori throws a red spell card that explodes into a circle aoe.

Tengai

Tengai
• Shot: Prayer beads fired directly forward. • Subshot: A wide shot of up to 8 projectiles fired from Tengai's bird companion. • Charge Attack: Tengai's bird charges forward, dealing damage as it passes through enemies. • Bomb: A string of kanji fired forward. Tengai can move during the attack.

Hagane / Katana

Hagane / Katana
• Shot: A basic green shot that fires forward. • Subshot: Up to 4 spears that follow Hagane's movements and fire shots directly forward. • Charge Attack: Hagane launches her spears a short distance forward, dealing huge damage. • Bomb: A screen-wide lightning attack that clears the screen. Hagane cannot move during the animation.
Known as Katana in the western version, Hagane's main advantage is her devastating charge attack, which deals tremendous damage to nearby enemies.

Shomaru

Shomaru
• Shot: A green shot that fires directly forward. • Subshot: Up to 4 mirrors that shoot forward. • Charge Attack: Shomaru deploys his mirrors in front of him. They remain in place and shoot a rapid fire burst. • Bomb: A storm of blades that covers the entire screen. Shomaru can move during the attack.

Junis

Junis
• Shot: A stream of kunai fired directly forward. • Subshot: Two streams of shuriken fired at wide angles from Junis' ring-tailed lemur companion. • Charge Attack: Junis deploys her companion in front, who breathes fire in an aoe for several seconds. • Bomb: A storm of cherry blossoms that covers the entire screen. Junis cannot move during the attack.

Aine

Aine
• Shot: Arrows fired directly forward. • Subshot: A wave attack fired from the katana on Aine's back. • Charge Attack: Aine slashes with his katana. Notable for having a very short charge time. • Bomb: Aine conjures 4 phantoms to attack horizontally across the screen
A guest character from Sengoku Ace.

Items

	Power Up Increases your shot power (max power after the 4th item)
	Bomb Increases your bomb stock by 1 (max stock 6)
	Coin 200-2000 point score item. Point reward depends on when the coin is collected during its spin animation.

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.

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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.