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, also known in the west 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

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 two Power-Up items the 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

Koyori
• Shot: Info here. • Subshot: Info here. • Charge Attack: Info here. • Bomb: Info here.
Info here.

Tengai

Tengai
• Shot: Info here. • Subshot: Info here. • Charge Attack: Info here. • Bomb: Info here.
Info here.

Hagane

Hagane
• 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-wise 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: Info here. • Subshot: Info here. • Charge Attack: Info here. • Bomb: Info here.
Info here.

Junis

Junis
• Shot: Info here. • Subshot: Info here. • Charge Attack: Info here. • Bomb: Info here.
Info here.

Aine

Aine
• Shot: Info here. • Subshot: Info here. • Charge Attack: Info here. • Bomb: Info here.
A guest character from Sengoku Ace.

Items

	Power Up Increases your shot power (max power after the 3rd item)
	Bomb Increases your bomb stock by 1
	Gold 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.

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.

Video References

Video index for Sengoku Blade