Index
Kiki KaiKai (1987) Samurai Shodown (1993) Bushido Blade (1997) Tenchu: Stealth Assassins (1998) Onimusha: Warlords (2001) Total War: Shogun 2 (2011) Nioh (2017) Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (2019) The Middle Ages have always inspired dozens of entertainment works, including video games. Faithful to history or seasoned with fantastic elements, of games set in this era in the west and east, we have seen many over the years. We, in homage to the next
Ghost of Tsushima, have selected a handful historically located in medieval and / or feudal Japan, drawing up a list of those that we consider the most interesting also according to the type of gameplay.
Everything, as always, without claiming to have absolute reason from us, but only to propose some ideas and stimulate the debate among you readers. But no more talk and let's get started.
Kiki KaiKai (1987)
The first game on our list is a title to which the writer is particularly attached, namely Kiki KaiKai. This arcade video game, developed and published by Taito Corporation in 1986, was in fact one of those "coin-devouring" cabinets, although in our part it was not initially too successful. Set in a feudal fantasy-like Japan, the player had to control "Sayo-chan", a young miko (women who traditionally work at Shinto temples) engaged in fighting hordes of spirits and monsters from Japanese mythology. Ultimate goal, free the Seven Gods of Fortune and end the invasion. Funny, with colorful graphics and well-drawn local folklore characters, with a well-deformed style, Kiki KaiKai could be defined as a shooter, with the character framed from above who could cast spells and objects in eight different directions. In Japan it was the second most successful cabin cruiser in 1986.
Samurai Shodown (1993)
the Samurai Shodown series was one of the longest-running and most famous in the history of gaming. With its sprites are huge and colorful, has been able to carve out an important space in the universe of fighting 1Vs1 two-dimensional since, by the founder, one of the first to change the structure of the game of the King of the genre, namely Street Fighter II, choosing a different approach to the combat, thanks to the use of weapons, and the introduction of new graphical effects, and
zoom in during the battles. The characters are inspired by japanese figures of the 18th century, but reinterpreted in a "souls" and the bizarre from the charts of SNK, who became the protagonists of a series of securities of the chapter in the chapter decorated or added to the mechanical and highly technical, such as the one that allowed you to disarm the opponent, the "fatality" in the style of Mortal Kombat or the suicide in the Samurai Shodown 5 Special concluded immediately the round, but loaded to the maximum the bar of the Rage of the player that he had given up, offering you an advantage in the next one. These mechanics, together with the historic setting and the music relatively authentic for the period, made the fighting game SNK really unique.
Bushido Blade (1997)
Staying on the subject of brawler meetings, but this time of a strongly more war, Bushido Blade is a fighting game without frills, where there are no time limits, superpowers and ultra combos are spectacular. It is "simply" a work in which two wrestlers competed for their skills in battles tactical where it was required some skill in the timing of execution, to attack or parry, and especially in the master adequately the weapon supplied. The latter was selected from a substantial list which included, among other things, katanas, nodachi, naginate (the famous blades inastate), and even a huge sledge-hammers, all of them characterized by a series of parameters related to length and weight, which influenced directly the gameplay. Each swing could be lethal, and if not killed the opponent on hit, could still menomarlo, preventing them from doing certain actions, such as aiming the weapon with two hands, and so on. Dulcis in fundo, the story, the dialogues and the final, that changed depending on the chosen character.
Tenchu: Stealth Assassins (1998)
Among the productions of the most famous on the original
PlayStation, there was Tenchu: Stealth Assassins . The game, developed by the small japanese team Acquire Corp, was a particular adventure with third-person view released in 1998 under the label Activision. By combining typical elements of the traditional culture of the feudal japanese, with elements of fantasy, Tenchu focused its gameplay on the infiltration and silent action. A perfect style for a title where you had to play a ninja of your choice between the expert eventually revealed and the young and enterprising Ayame, both of the clan Azuma, good acquaintances in the art of ninjutsu, but each then has its own ability. In the game, in fact, were awarded the strategy and the tactics typically from guerrilla warfare and espionage practiced by the shinobi, rather than the action that is naked and raw, in a series of missions where he had to engage to achieve its objective, that could be the killing of a particular enemy or recovering a valuable document, trying to avoid the fight face to face.
Onimusha: Warlords (2001)
Still ninja and samurai in a medieval japanese fantasy. Onimusha led in fact to the player hand in a Japan of the SIXTEENTH century, where the real characters are in large part taken from the popular tradition of the Country of the rising sun, they moved side by side with fantasy creatures in the background of the historical events of the era Sengoku. The game told the story of Nobunaga Oda, a daimyo existed really, that he returned to life thanks to the power of the Genma and their king, Fortinbras. The goal was to get him to continue the work of the unification of Japan under the auspices of the demons. To try to stop the ambitions of these horrendous monsters came and then the samurai Samanosuke Akechi who was leaving on a mission to free the daughter of the head of his clan, princess Yuki, kidnapped by the same Nobunaga, but ended up then to be involved in a war with even greater hordes accursed, to bring peace to those tormented lands. Top-selling game on the PlayStation 2 in Japan, Onimusha: Warlord, will give life to a franchise successful, which unfortunately is then interrupted a long time ago.
Total War: Shogun 2 (2011)
With Total War: Shogun 2 we enter in the field of strategy and of those productions which are highly realistic from the point of view of the historical and cultural. Developed by the Creative Assembly for PC, it is in fact a title at the time able to completely change the cards on the table of his saga. If, on the one hand, in fact, recalled the cliché, on the other, them being enlarged and redefined in such a way as to make them more deep and interesting, especially at the level of content, the strategic map and tactical field. The campaign was set in the Japan of the mid-SIXTEENTH century, structured in about fifty years, for a total of over 200 game turns, each representing a season. Once you have selected the clan to be a part of, each distinguished by a peculiarity of war or trade, you had to do everything to increase the power by defeating the families of the enemy, and at the end claim the power under the Kyoto protocol. Even if the true flagship of the Shogun II was represented in our opinion by the administration of the characters, whether general or agents: inspired by the distinct culture of honor that characterizes Japan, in fact, the developers had made relations between them more complex and well designed than ever.
Nioh (2017)
Of the nature diametrically opposite to that of the previous title is, instead, Nioh. Initially known by the title of Oni, this is an action RPG with fantasy elements, characterized by a difficulty level set up. The game, developed by Team Ninja, is in fact set in a Japan ravaged by a terrible civil war, and by the Oni during the last years of the era Sengoku. The strong charisma of its protagonist, the ex-pirate and a samurai, irish William, and an experience characterized by a precise identity and a strong personality, Nioh stands undoubtedly as a great success, "a test that is courageous and convincing, that traps the players in a web of emotions and leads them exactly where he wants, justifying the technical imperfections, the inevitable backtracking, and the systematic repetitiveness of certain situations because of the strength of a combat system deep and multi-faceted, design ruthless but consistent, and the boss really challenging, and spectacular", as we wrote in his review. By march 2020 there is also the following, which actually is the prequel, titled Nioh 2.
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (2019)
another title from the tone of the fantastic and the mechanics typically from souls-like is Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice . Set in a feudal Japan with strong hues, dark fantasy tells the story of a master shinobi, fallen in disgrace, the "Wolf without an arm", whose fate is tied to a boy of noble origins, Kuro, kidnapped under his eyes after a clash in which he lost an arm. To redeem his honor and to rid the young lord, the Wolf is ready to everything, even to face enemies that are beyond simple human nature. Sekiro tip on a magical atmosphere and a gameplay, where is enhanced the hardness of the clashes, the difficulties inherent in overcoming obstacles, even those in appearance most simple, and some tactics. The game pushes the user to think, to improve and to progress in the adventure, even through their mistakes, learning well and with patience and mechanical without being discouraged by the first difficulties and the learning curve is more steep than that of Dark Souls.
