Weekly Famitsu magazine reveals the final four Sengoku Basara 4 characters: Sourin, Muneshige, Hisahide and Kotarou

Well, the suspense of this final character announcement was greatly reduced by last week's reveal in the Taiwanese gaming press. Given that it wasn't taken down, I'm presuming that Capcom knew the cat was out of the bag but didn't want to damage their relationship with Weekly Famitsu by acknowledging it in public. It doesn't matter any more though as we now have official confirmation of the final four characters for Sengoku Basara 4, bringing us up to a grand total of 40 characters (with 32 of them playable!). The promise to finish revealing the playable characters by the end of the year has officially been kept.

Tomorrow's issue of Weekly Famitsu (dated 2nd January 2014) has the full scoop as usual. The game is now ranked in 6th place in their chart of upcoming titles, a major improvement since the last time I checked. Here's a translation of the article.

Ootomo Sourin 大友宗麟
Character image phrase: 古今奔放 Kokon Honpou ('Uninhibited In Any Era')
Seiyuu: Sugiyama Noriaki
Weapon: Kudou Kunikuzushi ('The Destroyer Of Provinces Drive' i.e. the Xavi tank)
Playable: Yes
Description: The young head of his house who leads the Ootomo forces. Holding a firm belief in the shady religion 'Xavism', Sourin bothers those around him by preaching at every opportunity. He heads off on a journey with his loyal retainer Tachibana Muneshige to make the most of the turbulent era and construct 'Xavi Land' parks all over the land of Hinomoto. On the battlefield, Sourin rides on the Kudou Kunikuzushi and gains more believers even while he's fighting.

"The popularity of Xavi Land will bring Xavi-sama back to the land of Hinomoto once more!"

Caption: By using his unique skill 'Sou, Anata No Omokage' ('Yes, Your Visage'), the Kudou Kunikuzushi gains limbs and becomes capable of high-speed attacks for a set time.

Tachibana Muneshige 立花宗茂
Character image phrase: 青天白日 Seiten Hakujitsu ('Found Innocent Of All Charges')
Seiyuu: Inada Tetsu
Weapon: Raikiri (dual chainsaws)
Playable: Yes
Description: A commander who serves Ootomo Sourin. Overflowing with loyalty, Muneshige is known as a man of integrity but that's not all; he's also regarded as a paragon of great courage in the land of Hinomoto. Even while he's being ordered about by the self-centred Ootomo Sourin, Muneshige is firmly loyal to his lord - and his famous blade Raikiri is renowned on the battlefield.

"Tachibana of the Western Skies is here...let anyone who has cause be my opponent."

Matsunaga Hisahide 松永久秀
Character image phrase: 天我独尊 Tenga Dokuson ('Divinely Self-Important')
Seiyuu: Fujiwara Keiji
Weapon: Treasure sword and gunpowder
Playable: Yes
Description: Hisahide is someone who doesn't think twice before trampling on other people and uses any means necessary to get what he wants. Although he's working on behalf of the Ashikaga faction, it's only because he's looking for 'something' himself. In battle Hisahide releases explosive techniques utilising his signature gunpowder, together with his treasure sword.

"To be scorched by flames or cut to pieces...well, there isn't all that great a difference."

Caption: Scatter the enemies before you with flowing movements!
Caption: When his enemies have been covered in gunpowder from Hisahide's attacks, he can wait for something to set them ablaze, or ignite the gunpowder-coated enemies for additional damage.

Fuuma Kotarou 風魔小太郎
Character image phrase: 疾風翔慟 Shippuu Shoudou ('Soaring Gale')
Seiyuu: None
Weapon: Ninjatou (dual ninja swords)
Playable: Yes
Description: The legendary shinobi who once served the Houjou family. Kotarou is a mysterious being who simply keeps on fighting according to the orders of his employer, without speaking a single word or displaying his intentions. In Sengoku Basara 4, he's been hired for 'a certain reason' that Matsunaga Hisahide has in mind, fighting all over the land of Hinomoto as ordered. In battle Kotarou's quick, ninja-like movements toy with his enemies as he releases a continuous flurry of attacks.

".............................."

Caption: Kotarou has plenty of aerial skills at his disposal, and abilities which launch enemies up into the air.

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The bulk of the rest of the article is devoted to the game's boss, Ashikaga Yoshiteru. It's mostly duplicated information as shown in the NPC trailer already, such as the three coloured 'modes' he can adopt in boss fights (red, black and gold) and an introduction to his three weapon transformations.

We also have some new information about four of the game's stages.

A stronghold of the Ashikaga army, 'Eiroku Palace'.

Ashikaga Yoshiteru's residence, luxuriously decorated with splendid ornaments. The commanders protecting this castle include three of Kyuushuu's military powers: Shimazu Yoshihiro, Ootomo Sourin and Tachibana Muneshige. Matsunaga Hisahide and Fuuma Kotarou are standing by too. On top of all of this, it seems that special traps have been set up which are unique to Eiroku Palace. If you're lucky enough to be able to get past the traps, it might be possible to avoid a confrontation with a powerful foe...

(The screenshots show Hisahide and Kotarou in a purple/gold room surrounded by troops.)

A stronghold of the Ashikaga army, 'Ruins of Ounin'.

Another of the Ashikaga forces' major strongholds, where the scars of the fierce war which once raged still remain. Many warriors of the Ashikaga faction lie in wait in the area, such as Tsuruhime. Prepare for a ferocious battle and advance!

(It's the devasted castle we've seen before. Tsuruhime is shown taking aim at Masamune as he fights a bunch of Ashikaga soldiers.)

The stronghold of the Ootomo army, 'Xavi Land'.

Xavi Land, a place with a cheerful atmosphere. If you look closely, your eye will occasionally catch sight of vulgar ornaments. Muneshige appears wrapped up in the body of the mascot character 'Jumbo Xavi-kun'!

(The pictures show lines of soldiers playing trumpets with confetti flying through the air, and Muneshige wearing a huge stuffed Xavi suit - exactly like a fairground mascot character. He's wielding his chainsaws even while wearing the costume.)

The stronghold of the Amago forces, 'Izumo: Shiraga Castle'.

A desert-like stage. Invading requires that you open up the 'wall of sand' which blocks the way. However, you should take care around the Amago Juuyuushi ('Amago Ten Braves') who ride on waves of sand and specialise in tactics which make use of the local geography.

(It's the same desert stage we've seen in several videos. The pictures show the Amago Ten Braves - a line of nine identically-dressed soldiers standing in front of a gate with Shikanosuke and Oyassan in the middle. Another image shows them surfing across the sand again.)

--

This reveal is actually more interesting for what it doesn't include than the confirmations of the four characters we were already expecting. It seems that poor Houjou Ujimasa really is the only one of the playable characters from Sengoku Basara 3 Utage to have failed to earn a place in Sengoku Basara 4, with the theory that he'd turn up as a surprise non-playable character now looking less likely. It's still possible that he'll appear later on as a surprise - perhaps at the Basara Matsuri event or during a late magazine reveal next month - however, even the most ardent Ujimasa fans must be swiftly losing hope. He came dead last in the Sengoku Basara 3 Utage characters in the BSR48 poll, behind several of the unplayable regional warlords, and his face probably doesn't sell much merchandise. On the bright side it will be easy for them to add him as a paid downloadable character and Odawara Castle would make a nice bonus stage pack one day...

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Errata: I previously gave Shikanosuke's element as ice, but after quickly rewatching last week's Nico Nico special I realised that this was incorrect. Shikanosuke's element is light.

Here's Ieyasu's elemental icon from the broadcast:

And here's Shikanosuke's from the weekend's event coverage:

I apologise for the confusion caused; I thought Ieyasu's was rounder and yellow while Shikanosuke's was more angular from memory. Here are the icons I've seen so far.

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Although this is outside of the scope of my usual news coverage Capcom fans might get a kick out of these Ichiban Kuji lottery prizes for a February promotion. The Capcom Girls cushion uses one of my favourite pieces of artwork...

Anyway, we're in for a number of treats tomorrow. The next live video broadcast is taking place at 20:00 Japan time and the official website update might bring one of the two new videos from last weekend along with it. I'm going to try to write a report after I get home and view the broadcast on a delay as usual, then save my next report until the rumours from this weekend's Jump Festa event start appearing. Let's enjoy Xavi - I mean, let's look forward to the next batch of information!

Update: Added the profile pictures now that the website has updated. 4Gamer, Gamer, Famitsu and Dengeki Online have published their usual reports, and the new video is below.