News: Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi information from Weekly Famitsu (16th April 2015)

Now it's the 2nd April in Japan, the 16th April 2015 issue of Weekly Famitsu has been released. Here's the latest Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi information as promised!

The news is split into sections numbered to follow on from the announcements in this old article, so I'll do the same here, though I've adapted the headings to be more clear when read in this format without pictures.

9. The game's release date has been decided and the box art has been revealed!

First of all, the magazine article opens with a new render of Ashikaga Yoshiteru fighting Date Masamune. Yoshiteru is wielding six swords and the text explains that this will be the artwork used on the packaging when the game goes on sale on 23rd July 2015.

10. All forty playable characters are now confirmed.

A group shot of all of their Sengoku Basara 4 renders confirms that Takeda Shingen, Uesugi Kenshin, Kasuga, Maeda Toshiie and Matsu will be joining the 3 new playable characters and the 32 warriors from Sengoku Basara 4 for a total of 40 characters. The text singled out Shingen and Kenshin as familiar series veterans returning to the roster together, and for anyone curious, Mitsuhide is dressed as Tenkai in the picture.

(Raindrops' note: We all figured this out long ago, right? But it's still good to have official confirmation.)

11. Yoshiteru rules the battlefield with his ever-changing shaku and powers which change according to the outcome of his 'roulette'.

This section explains Yoshiteru's fighting style in slightly more detail with a lot of tiny new screenshots. We already know that when Yoshiteru spins his shaku he triggers roulette, which changes his stats. To recap, when the roulette stops on red he glows red and the speed of all of his actions increases. When it stops on black his attack power increases, and gold makes time stop around him - which is apparently great for gathering koban coins. There's apparently also one more outcome of the roulette: it can fail and weaken him in some way.

Yoshiteru's sword and spear are good for close and mid-range combat. However, his bow isn't just for ranged attacks; it's also good for covering a wide area. By firing arrows upwards with Eikou No Tsuyu ('Dewdrops Of Glory') he can take out a whole group of enemies at once.

The magazine describes Yoshiteru's special (R2) attacks as being very strong due to the risk involved in using them. His first special move is called Inochi No Kagiroi ('Blaze Of Life'). Flames rise from his hand as a roulette wheel marked with Square and Cross button indicators appears in front of him. It looks as though there may be an element of skill to getting the outcome you want; if you succeed, the surrounding enemies' 'flames of life' will be extinguished.

Yoshiteru's second special is Muken No Tobira ('Infernal Gateway') which warps you behind the enemy for a surprise slash. His third special is Senban No Kiwami ('The Lathe's Zenith') which makes a roulette appear in mid-air. This roulette has options for fire, ice, thunder and darkness. You can determine the element used for the attack by hitting it in the correct place. The picture shows him summoning a blast of fire to demonstrate.

The last new screenshot shows Yoshiteru's basara move again. Weapons rain from the sky and he uses a ridiculous number of them to carve up his opponents.

12. A perfect copy of T.M.Revolution? Round two of the collaboration DLC is revealed.

The second of the six major tie-ins is the new costume for Ieyasu which was teased yesterday. The costume is officially called the 'T.M.Revolution HOT LIMIT Ver.' and it's been confirmed as paid DLC.

13. Naoe Kanetsugu will appear in the battle roulette!

For the first time in the series Kanetsugu will be playable - in a sense. He's one of the bosses you can transform into with the battle roulette system. The screenshots show his portrait and an attack where he's slashing a group of enemy soldiers with the kanji for 'love' appearing in glowing circles. Another shows him upside-down in the ground during a fight with Yukimura. The text explains that he's super-strong and can defeat enemies in a single blow, but in return you'll lose the transformation the moment he gets hit.

A mini-interview with director Yamamoto Makoto explains that Sumeragi offers a unique chance to go on a wild rampage with 'legendary generic NPC' Naoe Kanetsugu. He jokes around cheekily and hints that even the camera clings to Kanetsugu more than usual.

14. More Tenka Medal prizes are revealed.

There are four new screenshots previewing the latest rewards you can trade the in-game medals for:

8 of 167: A (rather sexy) black costume for Ii Naotora called the 'Exotic Queen Ver.'.
9 of 167: A new Takarazuka-inspired costume for Kenshin - which looks like the normal one except with fancy feather accessories - called the 'Echigozuka Ver.'.
10 of 167: A new costume for Takeda Shingen with his mask from the Takeda Dojo story: 'Hyottoko Kamen Ver.'. The writers joke that you can find a stage where Yukimura is a boss and recreate classic scenes.
11 of 167: A skill enhancement for Oda Nobunaga.

It's not mentioned in the article but it's worth pointing out that Nobunaga is wearing what looks like his alternate costume from Sengoku Basara 3 in the picture.

15. For the first time in the series, weapons which can change their user's element.

Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi will be the first game where you can use weapons which differ from a character's usual assigned element. The catch is that five of these special weapons will be allocated as preorder bonuses.

The first four are 'early preorder bonuses' for people who reserve the game in advance.

• Date Masamune's Hyouryuu ('Ice Dragon') changes his element to ice.
• Sanada Yukimura's Koukosou ('Light Tiger Claws') changes his element to light.
• Ishida Mitsunari's Seitou Tomurai ('Sacred Blade: Mourning') changes his element to kan ('feeling') like Sen No Rikyuu.
• Tokugawa Ieyasu's Mikawadanuki ('Mikawa Tanuki') changes his element to wind.

(Raindrops' note: I'm not sure I could bear to punch enemies with weapons which look like cute animals...)

To qualify for the 'early preorder bonuses' you have to make your reservation before the 24th May 2015. There will be more information on the 'early reservation campaign' page at this link.

(Raindrops' note: The page isn't up yet at the time I'm writing this post).

The final bonus weapon is Rinne Genkou ('Light Of Death And Rebirth') which changes Ashikaga Yoshiteru's element to light. The code to unlock this weapon will be distributed as a first press bonus in a limited number of copies of the game. There are (currently) no plans to make this reward available at a later date so it's advisable to preorder without delay if you want to guarantee you'll receive it.

16. It's possible to import your Sengoku Basara 4 save data

The game will include more characters, weapons and a higher level cap than Sengoku Basara 4, and weapon parameters will go all the way up to 3,000 for each stat. You can break the previous limits by affixing a special inscription which allows you to increase the weapon's rarity up to level 10.

Save data from Sengoku Basara 4 can be carried over into Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi so those who played the previous game won't lose their progress. There will be a prompt asking whether you want to import your save data the very first time you play Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi.

No details were provided as to how this will work for people who plan to pick up the PlayStation 4 version other than a note that you'll require your PlayStation 3 Sengoku Basara 4 disc. I guess people who bought the downloadable version will be covered too; there might be an update closer to the time to add a save transfer facility.

The stats which will be imported are your character levels, weapons, inscriptions, costumes and play books (all types). Unlocked stages from Free Battle mode, unlocked difficulty levels and Fugitive Bingo progress will also be preserved.

The game will store a record of which characters have completed Sengoku Creation mode but any unfinished campaigns will not be included, so make sure you don't leave anyone a few stages from the end or you'll lose that progress.

The content which is specifically not going to be included in the save data import is your accumulated money, unused experience points and consumable weapon upgrade items. The consumables will be converted to Tenka Medals. In addition, the game will give item rewards for those who have a Sengoku Basara 4 save.

The article doesn't say what the level cap actually is, but since a screenshot shows Maria at level 266 and Nagamasa at 247 it's safe to say it's higher than before. The same screenshot shows that the number of weapons each character can hold has been expanded to 40.

17. There will be 32 new stories - in addition to those from the previous game.

The title says it all here. There's going to be a lot of content.

18. The DLC from all six major tie-ins will be released simultaneously in a limited package!

The standard version of the game will cost ¥6,990 before tax (PS4) and ¥5,990 before tax (PS3).

In addition, there will be a special limited edition package called the Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi 21 Costume Hobby Box. This will be priced at ¥11,990 (PS4) and ¥10,990 (PS3). It will contain download codes for all 21 of the collaboration costumes from the six major tie-ins as well as an 152-page art book with illustrations of all of the special outfits.

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The PlayStation 3 version of Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi is currently ranked 29th in Weekly Famitsu's list of most wanted upcoming games, down from 25th last issue when it first entered the ranking.

Import store Play-Asia already has the PS4 and PS3 versions of the game up for preorder. It's not yet available on Japanese websites so I'm waiting for the full preorder details to appear before choosing my supplier - it's likely that the listings will appear on 18th April as that's when the preorder period officially begins.

If the Capcom staff follow their usual pattern, the official Sumeragi website should update in the next few hours to confirm the details from the magazine (and fix that campaign link which doesn't currently work). As YamamotoD said in his interview, "Finally!". It's great to have some solid news to report at last.