''The Last Blade'' is a
fighting game
A fighting game, also known as a versus fighting game, is a video game genre, genre of video game that involves combat between two or more players. Fighting game combat often features mechanics such as Blocking (martial arts), blocking, grappli ...
developed and released by
SNK
is a Japanese video game hardware and software company. It is the successor to the company Shin Nihon Kikaku and presently owns the SNK video game brand and the Neo Geo video game platform. SNK's predecessor Shin Nihon Kikaku was founded in 1978 ...
for the
Neo Geo system in 1997. It was also ported to several home systems. A sequel, ''
The Last Blade 2
''The Last Blade 2'' is a video game developed and released by SNK in 1998. Like its predecessor, ''The Last Blade'', it is a weapons-based versus fighting game originally released to arcades via the Neo Geo MVS arcade system, although it has si ...
'', was released in 1998.
The game takes place during the
Bakumatsu era in Japan, and incorporates various elements of
Japanese mythology
Japanese mythology is a collection of traditional stories, folktales, and beliefs that emerged in the islands of the Japanese archipelago. Shinto and Buddhist traditions are the cornerstones of Japanese mythology. The history of thousands of year ...
(with a heavy emphasis on the symbology of the
Four Symbols). As such, the background music generally incorporates synthesized instruments simulating a sound appropriate to the 19th century setting, in a
Western classical
Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...
, pseudo-
Romantic
Romantic may refer to:
Genres and eras
* The Romantic era, an artistic, literary, musical and intellectual movement of the 18th and 19th centuries
** Romantic music, of that era
** Romantic poetry, of that era
** Romanticism in science, of that e ...
style (unusual for a fighting game).
Gameplay
The ''Last Blade'' series is seen as a spiritual successor to SNK's popular ''
Samurai Shodown
''Samurai Shodown'', known in Japan as is a fighting game series by SNK. The series began in 1993 and is known for being one of the earliest in the genre with a primary focus on weapon-based combat.
Plot
The stories in the series take place in ...
'' series, due to it being a similar 2D weapons-based fighting game. It also took over several elements from cancelled
Technōs/Face's ''
Dragon's Heaven'' (which tentatively was named ''DarkSeed''). The gameplay is characterised by two selectable fighting styles, and a unique combo system along with a "deflect" system which involves pressing the D button at an opponent's attack. Upon deflecting, the opponent is left open to attack.
The two styles are Speed mode and Power mode. Speed mode allows players to chain several normal attacks into a special or desperation/super move, as well as execute a Speed
Combo. Power mode on the other hand, grants the player increased damage potential exponentially and gives access to Super Desperation Moves, which inflict an exorbitant amount of damage (performing them however, requires the player's life bar to flash and have a full power bar). Power mode also allows the player to perform Super Cancels; canceling a special move into a desperation/super move (but not a desperation move, with the sole exception of Awakened Kaede in the first game).
Characters
All of the characters in the ''Last Blade'' series are of Japanese origin, excluding Lee Rekka, who is from China, and Yuki, who is from Russia. Some characters, such as Akatsuki Musashi and Lee Rekka, are based on historical or legendary figures. A number of characters from the ''Last Blade'' series also appeared in
SNK Playmore's ''
Neo Geo Battle Coliseum''.
Versions and re-releases
''The Last Blade'' was subsequently bundled with the sequel ''
The Last Blade 2
''The Last Blade 2'' is a video game developed and released by SNK in 1998. Like its predecessor, ''The Last Blade'', it is a weapons-based versus fighting game originally released to arcades via the Neo Geo MVS arcade system, although it has si ...
'' for a
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...
compilation released only in Japan titled ''Bakumatsu Roman Gekka no Kenshi 1・2'' on January 12, 2006; both games are arcade perfect emulations of the original games. The PlayStation version was re-released for
PlayStation 3
The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on Novemb ...
via
PlayStation Network
PlayStation Network (PSN) is a digital media entertainment service provided by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Launched in November 2006, PSN was originally conceived for the PlayStation video game consoles, but soon extended to encompass smartp ...
in Asia on May 31, 2007, and later for
Vita
Vita or VITA (plural vitae) is Latin for "life", and may refer to:
* ''Vita'', the usual start to the title of a biography in Latin, by which (in a known context) the work is often referred to; frequently of a saint, then called hagiography
* Vit ...
.
It was re-released for
Wii
The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other Regional lockout, regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major ho ...
via the
Virtual Console
A virtual console (VC) – also known as a virtual terminal (VT) – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some Unix-like operating systems such as Linux, BSD, illumos, Unix ...
by
D4 Enterprise
is a Japanese video game publisher currently specializing in content delivery services like Project EGG over the Internet. Some of the titles that have been re-released include many of Compile (company), Compile's titles, like the ''Madō Monoga ...
in Japan on March 13, 2012, in North America on June 7, 2012, and in PAL regions on August 2, 2012.
A version for
Microsoft Windows
Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
,
OS X
macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac computers. Within the market of desktop and lapt ...
,
Linux
Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, which ...
and
asm.js
asm.js is a subset of JavaScript designed to allow computer software written in languages such as C to be run as web applications while maintaining performance characteristics considerably better than standard JavaScript, which is the typical l ...
developed by
DotEmu
Dotemu SAS (originally DotEmu SAS) is a French video game developer and publisher based in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, founded in 2007 by Xavier Liard and Romain Tisserand.
History
Dotemu was founded by Xavier Liard and Romain Tisseran ...
was released by
SNK Playmore as part of the
Humble NEOGEO 25th Anniversary Bundle on December 8, 2015.
It was released on
Steam
Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...
on August 31, 2016, and on
GOG.com
GOG.com (formerly Good Old Games) is a digital distribution platform for video games and films. It is operated by GOG sp. z o.o., a wholly owned subsidiary of CD Projekt based in Warsaw, Poland. GOG.com delivers DRM-free video games through its ...
on May 30, 2017.
Hamster Corporation
is a Japanese video game publisher, with office located in Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan. The game division of Toshiba-EMI Limited spun off Hamster Corporation in November 1999.
On the Japanese PlayStation Store, more than 200 titles are distribut ...
re-released the game as part of their ''
ACA Neo Geo
is a series of emulated arcade games from the late 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, and Nintendo Switch, published by Hamster Corporation. A sub-series called is focused on rereleasing Neo Ge ...
'' series for
Xbox One
The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...
via
Xbox Games Store
Xbox Games Store (formerly Xbox Live Marketplace) is a digital distribution platform used by Microsoft's Xbox Series X, S, Xbox One and Xbox 360 video game consoles. The service allows users to download or purchase video games (including both ...
on May 18, 2017; for
PlayStation 4
The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...
via
PlayStation Store in Japan on May 18, 2017, in PAL regions on May 25, 2017, and in North America on June 15, 2017; for
Nintendo Switch
The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a Tablet computer#Gaming tablet, tablet that can either be docking station, docked for use as a home video ...
via
Nintendo eShop
The Nintendo eShop is a digital distribution service powered by the Nintendo Network for the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS, and by a dedicated online infrastructure for the Nintendo Switch. Launched in June 2011 on the Nintendo 3DS, the eShop was en ...
on December 14, 2017; and for
Windows 10
Windows 10 is a major release of Microsoft's Windows NT operating system. It is the direct successor to Windows 8.1, which was released nearly two years earlier. It was released to manufacturing on July 15, 2015, and later to retail on J ...
via
Microsoft Store on February 28, 2018.
Reception
In Japan, ''Game Machine'' listed ''The Last Blade'' on their January 1, 1998 issue as being the most popular arcade game at the time. According to ''
Famitsu
formerly ''Famicom Tsūshin'', is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly formats as well as in the fo ...
'', the Neo Geo CD version sold over 22,735 copies in its first week on the market.
Rafael Fernández Barbero of Spanish magazine ''Loading'' gave the PlayStation port a positive outlook.
Notes
References
External links
*
''The Last Blade''at
GameFAQs
GameFAQs is a website that hosts FAQs and walkthroughs for video games. It was created in November 1995 by Jeff Veasey and was bought by CNET Networks in May 2003. It is currently owned by Fandom, Inc. since October 2022. The site has a databa ...
''The Last Blade''at
Giant Bomb
''The Last Blade''at
Killer List of Videogames
Killer List of Videogames (KLOV) is a website featuring an online encyclopedia devoted to cataloging arcade games past and present. It is the video game department of the International Arcade Museum, and has been referred to as "the IMDb for pla ...
''The Last Blade''at
MobyGames
MobyGames is a commercial website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes nearly 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms. The site is supported by banner ads and a small ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Last Blade, The
1997 video games
ACA Neo Geo games
Arcade video games
Fighting games used at the Super Battle Opera tournament
D4 Enterprise games
Neo Geo games
Neo Geo CD games
Multiplayer and single-player video games
Nintendo Switch games
PlayStation (console) games
PlayStation Network games
PlayStation 4 games
SNK franchises
SNK games
SNK Playmore games
Fighting games
2D fighting games
Video game franchises
Video games based on Japanese mythology
Virtual Console games
Windows games
Xbox One games
Video games developed in Japan
Hamster Corporation games