Reader Reviews

Bushido Blade (PSX)

by CyberClaw

Developed by Lightweight/Square, and published by Sony, this game is a fresh entry in the traditional fighting games genre.

For starters, the traditional life bars are gone, and instead we are presented with a localised damage system. A strike to the chest or head region with your sword will instantly kill the opponent, while hitting limbs will make the opponent slower, or even unable to use the said limb, being forced to crawl or use one arm only. This makes for really tight matches, where the loser or winner aren't decided to until the last second.

The game is set in a present setting, but instead of guns we are presented with swords, staves and even a hammer. There are a total of eight, each with advantages and disadvantages, including all time favorites such as the Katana or Broadsword.

There is also a total of six characters you can choose, each with weapon specific moves and different statistics. Even if the overall number of characters looks small, the combination of both character/weapon is vast, leaving space for a lot of selection.

In the single player portion you are a runaway samurai, pursued by those you used to call friends. You are forced to fight them, and respect the Bushido at the same time [reminds us of TJ Mackey -Ed], which will force you to fight honorably, not attacking anyone from their backs for example. You'll fight through an expansive scenery and slightly interactive, which lets you roam freely while fighting.

Graphically, Bushido Blade has a rough boxy look, but at the same time, has small details like bandages over your wounds after a battle, or cutting down bamboo trees when striking. The sound isn't memorable but fits the realistic theme nicely, with most of the game having just ambient noise (traffic, birds, water, etc).

Bushido Blade certainly has its downside. Once again graphically it isn't something as good as it could be (even for the time), and there are small flaws in the hit detection (some hits don't connect). I’d recommend this game to anyone who likes fighting games, and doesn't mind dated graphics.