Sengoku Blade (Arcade/Psikyo/1996 Tengai) [720p]

Описание: Sengoku Blade: Sengoku Ace Episode II, originally released in Japan as Tengai (戦国ブレード), is a horizontally scrolling shoot 'em up video game released for arcade machines in 1996 by Psikyo as a sequel to the 1993 shooter Sengoku Ace. It was later released as a part of Psikyo Shooting Collection Vol. 2: Sengoku Ace & Sengoku Blade for the PlayStation 2. The game is set in a historical fantasy version of the Sengoku period of Japanese history, featuring demons, magic and steam-powered robotics. It was followed by Sengoku Cannon: Sengoku Ace Episode III, released for the PlayStation Portable in 2005.

Sengoku Blade marked a complete breakout of the Sengoku Ace series from the classic Sonic Wings-style system (the first Sengoku Ace was still scrolled vertically), but this time with a much more complex gameplay system in which the player characters fly around on the screen by themselves instead of piloting various aircraft, in a way similar to the 1997 Psikyo game Sol Divide. Episode II was noticeably harder than its predecessor, and featured much better 2-D graphics, including (for its time) impressive parallax scrolling effects and detailed and well-animated characters and backgrounds. Just like the previous game, the sequel features multiple endings, different for various characters, as well as branching paths for the different sets of levels.

Originally released for the arcades in 1996, Sengoku Blade was first ported to the Sega Saturn on November 22 of that same year. This version was released as a two-disc double set, including a bonus omake disc which featured hundreds of Sengoku Ace series artworks (including the official art, guest art, and fan art from a contest by Psikyo), and now is rare and expensive to obtain. Exclusive for the Saturn conversion was the implementation of voices during the brief cutscenes, and the addition of Marion from Gunbird series (voiced by Chiharu Tanaka) as a bonus hidden character.

A manga adaptation was published on August 4, 1996. The game's original soundtrack was released by Pony Canyon and Scitron on May 17, 1996. Several PVC figures were also released for Koyori and Junis, as well as for the demon ninja villainess named Kaen (火燕), one of boss characters who was also of the game's mascot characters.

On December 2, 2004, the game was also ported to PlayStation 2 as part of the Psikyo Shooting Collection Vol. 2: Sengoku Ace & Sengoku Blade by Taito, which too was re-released one year later as a budget-range title. The Japanese release contains both Sengoku Ace and Sengoku Blade, but in Europe the two games were sold separately.