The only cool effect in the game is the reaction from most enemies when they’re hit with a sword. The graphics are really bland, the colors washed out and pale, the character sprites, particularly the player’s, are stiff and awkward with huge upper torsos and tiny legs. Sengoku is also pretty lax in its presentation, at least compared to later SNK games. This all gets repetitive after awhile, and Sengoku is pretty long for a beat-em-up. This proves to be an annoying problem with larger enemies, because the combat basically consists of hitting someone once, waiting for them to recover, and then hitting them again after a few moments. This is because many of the enemies can be dispatched in one hit. You can’t hit your enemies in rapid succession like you can in Final Fight, and the frenzied button mashing and chain combos of beat-em-ups are one of their biggest accolades. While the weapons and alternate characters are cool and all, it just doesn’t have a very good structure. ![]() In spite of all of its originality, Sengoku is still a pretty mediocre game with major flaws in almost every layer of its design. It’s pretty odd… but somewhat cool in a weird way. Usually in these segments you’ll fight a long succession of enemies or a boss, after which you’ll be dropped back down to the city. You’ll travel along a horizontal plain beating and slicing up badguys, but at various moments, you’ll be warped from the city into the heavens and a creepy chanting begins in the background. Progression through stages is a bit different from your usual beat-em-up fare. These weapons can either be changed by collecting a different orb at any time, and there are also orbs that add projectiles to your standard attacks. Each colored orb gives you a different weapon, most of which being different variations of swords (the coolest of which are a pair of katanas). Unlike Final Fight, you won’t lose these weapons if you’re knocked down or randomly after hitting someone. These orbs bestow upon your character enchanted weapons. These heroes essentially cause the generic brawlers to function in an entirely different manner, making it seem like there are half a dozen different characters in the game, which is a lot more variety than usual for an early 90s beat’em up.Ī really flimsy ninja who somersaults everywhere and is best used as an extension of your main character’s life bar.Īs you fight your way through the city, you’ll encounter different colored orbs. The fusion of the two time periods allows the two brawlers to invoke the spirits of the heroes from the period for limited amounts of time. No, they don’t transform into giant robots or anything, but they do transform. To combat them is a duo of generic beat’em up dudes, but there’s more to these guys than meets the eye. At least until it gets caught in a trans-dimensional rift linking it to the astral plain, from which a horde of samurai and other denizens of feudal Japanese culture flow into the city and wreak havoc. It’s your generic post apocalyptic beat’em up city. Due to the setting, the title of their only beat-em-up franchise is Sengoku Denshou (literally translated as “The Folk Tale of Sengoku”), known simply as Sengoku in non-Japanese territories. Taking a cue from Magician Lord, your heroes could transform into other characters, each with their own abilities. Rather than the typical game featuring rough guys and punk gals fighting their way through gangs of thugs on the mean streets of a corrupt city, SNK made a beat’em up where the world was being invaded by an army of undead warlords from the Sengoku period of Japan. SNK’s second attempt at a beat-em-up was a much more admirable effort, and a lot more original. Meanwhile, Capcom was cranking out incredible games like Final Fight, Knights of the Round, and King of Dragons, and Konami was nearly matching them with titles like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Simpsons, and X-Men. SNK’s first attempt on Neo Geo, Burning Fight, was an abysmal Final Fight ripoff, and right up there next to Legend of Success Joe as one of the worst Neo Geo games SNK has ever produced. But one area where SNK just could not best Capcom despite all their attempts was in the field of beat-em-ups. These games were typically at least on par with Capcom’s work despite differences in graphical styles. SNK made Kizuna Encounter which featured tag-team combat, while Capcom made the Marvel vs. games… this goes and on and on for quite a while. ![]() Capcom made the 1943-vein WWII shooters, SNK made Ghost Pilots. Capcom made Street Fighter, SNK made Fatal Fury. Every game that Capcom made, SNK made their own version of it. SNK was Capcom’s only true competition in the fighting game genre (omitting Mortal Kombat, which was only popular in the West). In the early and mid-90s, an all out war was brewing between arcade titans Capcom and SNK.
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