Game:

Asura Blade: Sword of Dynasty (1998)

Duration: 7:24

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Now that we've started with a decent amount of Arcade titles, this is the last Arcade video we're putting up for the time being (in succession anyway). What is it? It's a so-so fighting game developed towards the end of 1998 by the low-key developer/publisher, Fuuki, and rumor has it that it was rushed to market and had some unfinished elements and characters left in the game's internal code, a few things of which were used in the game's only sequel, "Asura Buster: Eternal Warriors". This was Fuuki's first fighting game attempt.

"Asura Blade: Sword of Dynasty" deals with skilled fighters in a war-torn world who each fight to reach the game's final boss, S. Geist, and stop him from awakening the "Superior Dragon" for their own reasons, which is odd as the actual dragons were planned and in the game's code but never actually surfaced in the game (and it's believed that one could've acted as another boss character). There are small dialogues between characters before a match starts which add a little to the plot.

There are eight normal characters and two bosses (who can be played with using a code) who are all pretty distinct from one another. Some prioritize on range, others on speed, and some can lose their weapons and fight completely different. The game uses a relatively easy-to-use fighting system with three attack buttons (light, medium, fierce) and EX attacks, Super Moves, a "Boost" Mode (think of Darkstalkers where characters gain special properties), attack clashes, stationary healing, and a "Push Back" system. The game features pretty good audio/visuals -- they're not particularly amazing for an Arcade fighter near the turn of the millenium (and some of the graphics and animations look ripped from Capcom fighters) but are pretty appealing-- 2D can maintain a certain level of ageless charm even when you acknowledge that there's clearly better looking titles out there. Even despite this, some things look a little cheap.

While the game crams a lot of different mechanics in, you'd be surprised to know that it's not very complex (and it's been reported that there are a couple of infinite combos) and matches go by too quickly and your special gauge isn't really charged by attacks, but by time. Each character has two health gauges so you'd think they last a little longer, but a single attack can take half of one gauge or more. Speaking of special gauges, different characters have different gauge lengths which allows them to stock more EX attacks but take longer to charge. The computer can be beaten incredibly fast if you really go after them, but the game is a little better when fighting against human players.

It's a good first effort by Fuuki, but it's not something I'd play regularly (more like once every few months). This is a video of the game in action. Enjoy.