News roundup: Maria's move list and those Resident Evil crossover costumes

This week's Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi news from Japanese magazines

Another Thursday in Japan means another new issue of Weekly Famitsu magazine (dated 4th June 2015). We already got a sneak peek at the content thanks to the official preview article yesterday, so let's see what other Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi information can be found within its pages.

I'll use the same numbering as the magazine again for consistency.

25. Super-sadistic action which treats enemies like toys!

The main article is a feature on the last of the game's three new playable characters, the 'wicked beauty' Kyougoku Maria. It mentions that the move where she twirls the cloth around and turns her attackers into spinning tops is called Furukuru♪ ('Swinging Spin♪').

Maria's first special (R2) move is Oshibeshimobe Kuruma♪ ('Stamen Servant Car♪'), the infamous move where she wraps enemies up in cloth and makes them pull her around like a sleigh. It's described as an effective way to travel around since it lasts for a long time and lets Maria move very quickly.

Her second special move is called Warawa No Toriko♪ ('My Prisoner♪'). It's a counter where Maria binds the enemy in cloth then appraises them carefully. The outcome might change depending on how much she likes the person she's trapped.

Maria's final special is Ichiya No Himegoto♪ ('One Night Secret♪') where she performs a spellbinding dance with her cloth which attacks every enemy on the screen at once. It's staged in an unusual way so please look out for it! (Raindrops' note: I believe that they mean the way that she also ensnares the camera with her cloth during the dance.)

For some reason they don't describe the rest of her moves so I may have to add them when the official website updates.

26. Discover more about the 'Priceless' outcome in Battle Roulette!

There's a little more information about one of the results from the Battle Roulette. The gold jackpot reward is called Priceless; as well as making a thousand Tenka Medals appear, it also gives the player some additional bonuses:

• You'll go into Super Fever mode and be able to obtain a lot of coins.
• Your critical hit chance will go up to 100%.
• Dashing will blast enemy soldiers away.

It looks difficult to get the gold result from the gameplay demonstrations we've seen so far so I'm not sure how reliable this bonus will be.

27. The latest Tenka Medal reward updates.

Every news update means more medal rewards, so here's the latest batch. A couple of these were already teased in previous screenshots.

• 16 of 167: Yukimura wearing Shingen's distinctive helmet, the Kai 'Red Bear' Ver.
• 17 of 167: A black/red outfit for Kojuurou called the Pitch Black Duty Ver.
• 18 of 167: A costume for Nobunaga (which looks exactly like his Sengoku Basara 3 one) called the Demon King of the Virtuous Heaven Ver.
• 19 of 167: A strange-looking costume for Oichi called the Leopard Print Ver.
• 20 of 167: A skill enhancement for Ishida Mitsunari which attacks the ground a short distance in front of Mitsunari with a flash sweep to the side. The enemies hit by the attack can also be pulled towards the player.
• 21 of 167: A skill enhancement for Shima Sakon. While in his sword stance, Sakon performs a quick slash which leads into a launching attack. If he's in his kick stance, he rolls forward along the ground and kicks the enemy.
• 22 of 167: A skill enhancement for Gotou Matabee. On the ground, Matabee spreads poisonous mist then immediately takes a step back. In the air, it's a quick attack where he throws his fangblade directly beneath him.
• 23 of 167: A skill enhancement for Maeda Keiji. If Keiji is on the ground, he performs a single huge sweep, then rises up and launches the enemies into the air. If he's airborne, his scabbard flies around in an arc and draws the enemies in.

I guess Kojuurou's medal costume isn't Tengu Kamen, or does that mean he has two like Yukimura? The screenshots showing the skill revisions have the characters wearing alternate costumes. It's hard to tell whether Matabee's is the one from the Nico Nico Choukaigi 2015 stream from the angle but it looks fantastic. I can't tell whether Keiji is wearing his regular outfit or a recolour because of the lighting.

28. The fourth major collaboration is unveiled: the Biohazard series!

The other big news which was teased yesterday was the fourth of the major DLC costume tie-ins. Four Sengoku Basara characters have been selected to dress up in Biohazard (Resident Evil) costumes.

This was all revealed yesterday when the first pictures were released but the article adds descriptions, action shots and confirms that these outfits will be available as paid DLC.

• Maeda Keiji is dressed as Chris Redfield with the Biohazard 5 Chris Ver. costume. According to the brief description, the two men have similar muscular builds.
• Katakura Kojuurou is Leon S. Kennedy. The official name is the Biohazard 4 Leon Ver. costume. It's supposed to make him seem even wilder as he goes around kicking things just like Leon.
• Matsunaga Hisahide dresses up as Albert Wesker in the Biohazard 5 Wesker Ver. costume. The magazine praises the match-up for being a perfect fit for Hisahide's Hollywood-style explosion scenes.
• Saika Magoichi is Jill Valentine in the Biohazard 3 Jill Ver. costume. The article notes that using heavy weaponry is a core part of Magoichi - and uh, remarks that you won't be able to tear your eyes away from her sexy bust during action scenes.

(Raindrops' note: I'm afraid that I haven't played a Biohazard game since the original so please forgive any grievous spelling errors. Though most sites reporting this news appear to be using the wrong names for the Sengoku Basara characters so it would be mildly amusing to get the more famous series' names wrong here.)

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Since I was also suckered into buying last week's magazines, I can also confirm that Dengeki PlayStation had Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi ranked in 4th place in their list of upcoming games - a huge jump from its previous position. The voting split was 79.2% PS3 to 20.8% PS4.

The previous Weekly Famitsu had the game in 24th place (PS3) and 28th place (PS4) in the most wanted list. It's in 26th place (PS3) and 38th (PS4) this week.

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We can expect the official website to update in the morning to confirm all of the new updates as usual. The final demonstration events are taking place this weekend, too, so perhaps we'll get to see the new videos on Monday?

Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi features on episode 21 of Capcom TV

Today's episode of Capcom TV featured a gameplay demonstration for Sen No Rikyuu. If you missed it, don't worry - nothing new was shown and it's likely the highlights will find their way online on the Capcom Channel later on. Capcom TV will be covering the game occasionally from now on so it's a good idea to keep watching their announcements if you want to see more footage.

Dengeki PlayStation includes Sengoku Basara in its anniversary celebration

It's got nothing to do with Weekly Famitsu, but a while ago the official Sengoku Basara Twitter account proudly announced that Date Masamune was selected for Dengeki PlayStation's 20th anniversary edition titled Memorial Characters 200. The series was ranked in 18th place for the feature and Masamune shares the list with some illustrious names.

Learn about history and escape from a shopping arcade with Sasuke

The latest real-life tourism collaboration has been announced on the official Sengoku Basara information site. To complement Takeda Shingen's activities promoting Kofu City and Sanada Yukimura's numerous appearances at fairs around Osaka, it's now Sarutobi Sasuke's turn to be the centre of attention in an event titled Osaka: The Mysterious Rebellion ~Escape From Namba's Hidden Castle Town~ (Side Story).

The Sengoku Basara tie-in is part of a larger event in the area to celebrate its previous identity as a bustling castle town during the Siege of Osaka 400 years ago, long before the train stations and modern shops arrived. According to the official description, Sasuke is being dispatched on a 'top secret mission' to the Namba Walk shopping complex. Visitors who join him for the mission and succeed will earn a special Namba One-themed Sengoku Basara card.

There will be various activities available at the Sengoku Basara booth such as a photography corner with standees and a kiosk playing the latest promotional videos. In addition, the food stalls in Namba Walk will be offering special dishes based on Sanada Yukimura and the Sanada Ten Braves.

The event will take place between 11:00 and 20:00 on the 6th, 7th, 24th and 26th of June, the 12th and 13th of September and the 7th and 8th of November 2015. Attendees can visit the Sengoku Basara booth close to the Whale Park area to pick up their 'mystery solving kit' and begin the mission.

New Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi merchandise is on the way

The Café Reo website has updated to reveal details of three new merchandise items, though Ieyasu fans are likely to feel disappointed by the limited options.

There will be a choice of four acrylic netsuke straps for ¥600 each. The straps show the silhouettes and four-character titles for Masamune, Yukimura, Mitsunari and Sakon.

A selection of ten different blind-boxed character badges. The badges will be available individually for ¥300 or in a pack of ten priced at ¥3,000. The first four designs use screenshots from the anime scenes created by Production I.G. for the game.

A choice of four soft hand towels for ¥1,000 each. This time the available designs are Masamune, Yukimura, Mitsunari and a selection of kamon crests used by various characters.

The new items will be available from all good merchandise shops in late July 2015.

Cover artwork for the most recent Basara Matsuri DVD recording

The official Basara Matsuri website has posted the cover artwork for the upcoming DVD version of February's Basara Matsuri 2015 ~Fuyu No Jin~ event. It's a good fit for the wintery theme.

REMINDER: The 'early reservation' preorder deadline is 24th May

There are only a few days left now to preorder Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi from a participating store to qualify for a Sumeragi ID and those exclusive early reservation weapons. Capcom is advising that the weapons won't be available later so please consider preordering the game if you're worried about missing out.

My code hasn't arrived yet, but I'll be posting a walkthrough for registration as soon as it does next week. Alternatively, if you get stuck please send me some screenshots of the registration screen (don't send me your Sumeragi ID) and I'll translate it from those.

If you read this too late and didn't manage to order the game in time, the mysterious Asian edition may also be offering the special weapons. As far as I know, the method for acquiring the five special weapons in the Asian version hasn't yet been confirmed by a reliable source.

A few tidbits about the designs of the preorder weapons

A recent 'Capcom Legends' blog entry in conjunction with My Capcom had series director YamamotoD explaining a few things about how they developed the preorder exclusive DLC weapons.

• At first, he was only planning for the weapons to alter the visual effects. He wondered about whether it might change the gameplay and recalled his delight when a water-elemental crocodile turned into a lightning-elemental one in an old card game he once had (Raindrops' note: I don't know what this game was).
• Date Masamune's Hyouryuu ('Ice Dragon') is themed on the idea of a 'legendary sword held by a hero'. Things like the blue-bronze texture make the swords look old, but also give the impression of a male dragon's face. Gradually freeze your opponent with this 'six-headed dragon'!
• As for Ishida Mitsunari's Seitou Tomurai ('Sacred Blade: Mourning', there are thorns wrapped around the tsuka and tsuba (i.e. the handle area of the sword). The weapon was designed with the image of its wielder experiencing all kinds of pain as he sends his opponents off to the afterlife. This fits with the new element, 'feeling'; it's an appropriate match for Mitsunari!
• The concept for Sanada Yukimura's Koukosou ('Light Tiger Claws') was 'claws of a tiger, sparkling gold'. They used six claws for the tigers because of Masamune - however since Yukimura has two spears, this means he actually has twelve claws. The tigers also form cute netsuke decorations at the bottom of each spear.
• Since Tokugawa Ieyasu is so closely associated with the image of a tanuki already, YamamotoD ran with the idea and put the animals on both of his hands as Mikawadanuki ('Mikawa Tanuki'). The proportions were adjusted repeatedly in order to make them look adorable - and they even blink their eyes.
• Finally, Ashikaga Yoshiteru's Rinne Genkou ('Light Of Death And Rebirth') is based on a 'clockwork emperor'. They incorporated clocks into the design because Yoshiteru has a move which can stop time, and when it transforms it instils a childlike sense of excitement.