Once again , I have returned to my old stack of PS1 games ( Just to remininsnce a bit ) and I found my good ol' Bushido Blade disc lying amongst the pile of forgotten CDs. Well , I have started playing it again but my skills have rusted to such a state that I keep getting killed at least once per match :P
The gameplay of Bushido Blade is similar to most weapon basedfighting games , except that the concept is a bit different. Such as being able to turn around and run , easy to use control schemes ( Unless your using advanced attacks ) , bigger map etc. etc. There isn't a HP bar either , one good slash and your dead. Though some attacks might simply just cause one of your hands to become handicapped , which makes it impossible to toss or dual wield.
Naturally , since I bought the Japanese version , I don't understand a word about it , though I got used to it fairly quickly. ( I still remember which option = to which ) To challenge myself , I tried the 1st Person View Mode , which looks something like this.
It does make things extremely challenging as you can't exactly be as sure as whether the blade would touch the target as in the side view mode.
Gameplay :
Well , there is a large variety of weapon and characters. Each character have their own weapon specialty which they can use a certain weapon particularly well , but you have to figure it out yourself. There is a large variety of weapon ( I had a rough time remembering which is which ) and there are even guns in this , though you need to unlock it first.
Depending on the weapon you choose , if it is a melee weapon , you can go into a total of 3 stances. Depending on the stance , your attacks would be significantly different. Some characters are able to dual wield katanas as well ( That particular character is my favourite ) .
Depending on the character you choose , they might be able to throw or usedifferent objects , ranging from daggers to guns. Instead of disappearing , they'll land on the ground provided that it's a throwable and your free to pick it up again. Note that the enemy can pick up your own throwable and use it against you. ( There is a Ninja in this...naturally , his throwable weapon is Shurikens , man , I had fun throwing those XD ) Note that if your arm is injured , you can't throw anything.
As a cheap trick , if your area is filled with sand or water , you can send dust or water into their eyes , stunning them temporarily but gives you enough time to deal a fatal blow.
Also , having a pistol or rifle doesn't make you all powerful either , just by running around , you can avoid the bullets , you can even block one or two of them but it'll cause a stun , but that's better than getting killed. I have played against one of my friends before and I blocked one of his shots and threw a katana which resulted in his character's demise :D
In sword fights, you can repel enemy blows by making sure the blade comes across with each other , this causes both characters to be stunned but you can quickly counter back by pressing the right buttons. Though this often results in long sword battles at times :P Also , like Dynasty Warriors , if your blade comes across each other at a specific angle , you will be in a lock of which you have to rapidly press the attack button to push your enemy down. If your enemy is downed , you can press the L1 button to leap up and deal a finish blow on the target. Though this is unlikely as the enemy ought to recover by then and would have dodged it. You can jump over your enemies as well but that is unwise as a high sword blow would kill you :P
Either way , this game is really addictive , unlike most fighting games where HP and plenty of button smashing is involved , even if you don't know about advanced attacks , you can still win in this game. It's really a shame that there isn't a sequel for this in the PS2 and PS3.