News: A summary of Weekly Famitsu's Sengoku Basara Sanada Yukimura-den article

As promised in yesterday's preview, the 21st April 2016 issue of Weekly Famitsu magazine contained a six-page article about the upcoming Sengoku Basara: Sanada Yukimura-den game. This marks the official unveiling of the two new playable characters, Sanada Masayuki and Sanada Nobuyuki.

Here's a quick recap of what we know so far, for the benefit of those coming in late:

Release date: September 2016
Platforms: PS3 and PS4
Number of players: 1
Playable characters: Sanada Yukimura, Sanada Masayuki, Sanada Nobuyuki, Date Masamune
Genre: Stylish HERO action (Weekly Famitsu just calls it 'action')
Retail price: Unconfirmed
CERO age rating: Unconfirmed
Theme song: T.M.Revolution's Committed RED
Series producer: Kobayashi 'KobaP' Hiroyuki
Series director: Yamamoto 'YamamotoD' Makoto
Producer: Nonaka Daizou
Director: Tanaka Toshihiro

The official website with videos and pictures can be found here and it's likely to update on Thursdays, though videos seem to go up whenever they're ready rather than on a schedule. I explained the name of the game and what's being called the 'Sengoku Basara Retsuden Series' here but in the absence of an official English title I'm using the Japanese name for now.

So, what's new from the magazine article? It's confirmed that the game's story will follow Yukimura's life up until the Osaka Summer Siege, and the theme of this article is Yukimura in his youth and the movesets/stories of the two new characters. The player will take control of the two new characters at certain points in the story. Three R2 special moves have been revealed for each of the characters and I've listed these below their profiles.

Sanada Yukimura 真田幸村
Character image phrase: 天覇絶槍 Ten Ha Zessou ('Spears Reigning Supreme In The Heavens')
Seiyuu: Hoshi Souichirou
Weapon: Dual spears
Playable: Yes
Description: The second son of Masayuki, head of the Shinshuu Ueda Sanada clan. Yukimura possesses a blazing spirit and a powerful desire to support the Sanada family. Having learnt a great deal about surviving in this era of war from his father and older brother, he too encounters a multitude of warriors over the course of his heroic life.

Ippongi 一本気 ('Single-minded): Yukimura links both of his spears together to thrust with all his might. It can be used to sweep away enemies standing in a line. If you chain into it from Heavenly Wings mode, it will turn into a ranged spinning kick.

Funten 噴天 ('Erupting Skies'): With his spears blazing, Yukimura launches the enemy. By holding down the button you can follow up with a kick attack. This move can also be used to initiate Heavenly Wings mode.

Senpuu 閃風 ('Flashing Wind'): An energetic spinning attack which instantly blasts surrounding enemies away. By holding down the button, it's possible to continue attacking using the enemy soldiers as stepping stones.

Notes: This younger version of Yukimura has a different red/white costume to the one we're used to but he's otherwise pretty similar to the passionate guy we're all used to by now. His dual-wielding action is said to have been 'powered up' with this game.

One new feature is that Yukimura can be bathed in a bright red aura called 'Heavenly Wings' mode which the player has to activate by pressing the buttons at the right time after Yukimura's regular and special moves. While Yukimura is in this state he can hurtle around the battlefield performing aerial attacks at very high speeds, flitting from target to target in quick succession.

Sanada Masayuki 真田昌幸
Character image phrase: 奇喜喝采 Kiki Kassai ('Weird And Wonderful Ovation)
Seiyuu: Ootsuka Houchuu
Weapon: Short spear
Playable: Yes
Description: Distinguished by his western-style clothing, Masayuki is a senior retainer to the Takeda clan. He's nicknamed 'The Magician' due to his reputation as an extraordinary strategist brimming with resourcefulness. Taking his positions as head of the Sanada clan and a father into account, Masayuki stands on the battlefield in person to demonstrate his way of life for his sons, Nobuyuki and Yukimura.

Itatsuki 板つき ('Taking To The Stage'): An instant movement attack to fool the enemy. Throwing the short spear at his opponent, Masayuki instantaneously warps at the moment it makes contact and follows up with another attack.

Ooirisen 大入り銭 ('Full House Coins'): The short spear comes hurtling out of Masayuki's hat and flies around, forming a sphere shape. It's possible to affect the direction of the spear while you're pressing the button.

Shushugaeshi 種々がえし ('Mixed Reversal'): A special technique where Masayuki tosses his hat up into the air and has it suck the nearby enemies inside. It's possible to control the hat while the button is being held down.

Notes: He introduces himself as the Magician of Sengoku. Although he uses a spear like his son Yukimura, Masayuki's gameplay is completely different, making liberal use of tricky, outlandish attacks. He can close gaps and appear in unexpected places by teleporting, and he utilises a fun, magic-themed fighting style. It isn't mentioned in the text but his spear seems to have a gunbai war fan built into it (similar to the design of Shingen's axe).

Sanada Nobuyuki 真田信之
Character image phrase: 獅士奮刃 Shishi Funjin ('Lion Warrior's Spirited Blade')
Seiyuu: Hosoya Yoshimasa
Weapon: Ladder spear
Playable: Yes
Description: Nobuyuki is the eldest son of the head of the Sanada clan, and Yukimura's older brother. He wields his spear heroically in battle with tremendous courage, and the fear that his presence instills in his enemies has earned him the nickname 'Lion of Shinano'. Seeking the strength to survive in this turbulent era, he stays focus on what's ahead and pushes forwards, driven by his conviction.

Kouga 刻牙 ('Carving Fangs'): Nobuyuki thrusts his spear into the enemies in front of him and forcefully flings them up into the sky. If the button is held down, he'll follow up with another attack where the grabbed enemies will be smashed back down into the ground.

Mitto 蜜登 ('Honey Climb'): A leaping technique using the ladder spear. Nobuyuki stabs the spear into the ground along with an enemy soldier. He then jumps high into the air from the top of the ladder to land with full force.

Juuoushin 獣央芯 ('The Beast Within'): A spinning attack where Nobuyuki twirls his weapon, grabbing enemy soldiers. When the grabbed enemies are released they're flung away spectacularly.

Notes: He introduces himself as Sanada 'Genzaburou' Nobuyuki. The captions describe him as the Sanada clan's foremost 'power fighter', and the article explains that his colossal weapon is called a ladder spear because of its shape. The essence of his fighting style is said to be the way he can toss enemies around and chain powerful attacks to brutally batter his opponents. Holding down the button will allow him to grab the enemy and hit them away with his weapon to turn them into projectiles. Continuing to attack the enemy then flinging them away lets Nobuyuki perform unusual combos.

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The next two pages are all about scenes from the game's story. They confirm that several other Sengoku Basara characters will appear in the game but there's no indication whether any of them will be playable, so please bear that in mind. Personally, I suspect they'll be unplayable unless there are additional modes we don't know about yet. I also imagine that Katsuyori is going to be in the game as a non-playable character given that his existence is pivotal to the following scenes.

On the subject of other characters, there's a quote from KobaP which says "There's a strong possibility that characters with a connection to Yukimura will appear in the game..." in the article, so make of that what you will.

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With the destruction of the Takeda at stake, the Sanada clan takes to the battlefield.

At the start of the part of the story featured in the article, the Sanada clan are retainers to the Takeda clan. After the renowned warrior and 'tiger' Takeda Shingen has passed away, leadership of the Takeda clan is passed down to his son Takeda Katsuyori. However, Katsuyori is taken prisoner by Oda Nobunaga. Masayuki, Nobuyuki and Yukimura split up into three groups and rush towards Tenmokuzan to try to rescue their lord. Thus begins the tale of the heroic Sanada clan.

Yukimura is shown participating in the battle in the first few pictures, but the majority of the story scenes focus on his family members.

Masayuki confronts Maeda Toshiie and Shibata Katsuie, both of whom are working side by side in the Oda Army at this point in time. A caption points out that Toshiie's hot-blooded manliness and Katsuie's coolness make them very different but they're working together to stop the Sanada clan from advancing to Tenmokuzan. Masayuki has to fend off their ferocious attacks and try to make it to Takeda Katsuyori.

Below that, Tokugawa Ieyasu is shown clashing with Sanada Nobuyuki as he tries to make it to Tenmokuzan on his own. The quotes reveal that even though they're on opposing sides at the time, Ieyasu is trying to persuade Nobuyuki to come along with him and meet his current master, Nobunaga.

The final set of screenshots show Masayuki facing off against Oda Nobunaga and Akechi Mitsuhide alone, with Nobunaga pointing his gun straight at Masayuki's head. Katsuyori is being held captive in a cavern at Tenmokuzan while Nobunaga is urging Masayuki to abandon his lord and join the Oda forces instead. To save Katsuyori, Masayuki will have to face both Nobunaga and Mitsuhide together.

On the very last page a new stage is officially confirmed: Tenmokuzan. It's a creepy stage suited to the 'Demon King' Oda Nobunaga, with skulls and other macabre imagery looming in the darkness.

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That's all for now, however it's extremely likely that the official website will update in a few hours with some of the information from the magazine. We sometimes get a few additional pictures that way so I'll be checking it out when I wake up!