This led into the gameplay details for the adult version of Date Masamune, which had been strangely absent until now.
Masamune's new gameplay mechanic is similar to Bontenmaru's, which was revealed previously; in fact, it's specifically described as being an advanced version of it.
By powering Masamune up using Mad Drive, you can unleash 'Rampaging Dragon' mode. To use Mad Drive, the player has to hold down the button after each attack. This will add a follow-up attack to the move and gradually, as you chain more of these, a blue aura will start to surround Masamune to indicate 'Rampaging Dragon' status. This status significantly increases his attack speed and allows him to attack the enemy without offering them any chance of a counter.
Details of some of Masamune's other regular moves are also listed. The names are already in English which keeps things simple (and Masamune seems to have discovered lowercase).
Ground Dragon: Thrusting his six claws into the ground with force, Masamune releases a thunder dragon which snakes across the ground. Enemies that it hits will be drawn towards Masamune, allowing for further attacks.
Deadly Cross: Masamune makes a cross in the air and launches the enemy upwards. You can hold down the button to activate Rampaging Dragon mode, and also follow up with another attack.
Kill Shake: A chopping attack while Masamune spins quickly in the air. Holding the button down will increase his rotation speed, and consequently the destructive power.
His Basara move: Masamune draws the surrounding spirit energy into his own body and releases it as an azure wave, resembling a dragon. The rampaging wave brings about a massive explosion on the battlefield.
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Edit: The official website update a few hours later added a fourth move description for Masamune.
Magnum Dunk: Masamune charges while twirling his six claws, and any enemies caught up in the attack are struck to the ground. With the wide range of this attack it can be used to sweep away enemies standing in a line. Furthermore, by holding down the button you can increase the distance Masamune will cover with his charge.
There are also screenshots showing him with an extra move called Heart Bolt, and we can see the abilities both characters unlock via the Bushin system at Odawara.
| Japanese | English | Level | Character | Stage seen | Colour |
| 武心獲得量アップ | Bushin Acquisition Up | 2 (弐) | Masamune | Odawara | ??? |
| 武心伝心延長 | Extended Bushin Denshin | 4 (四) | Masamune | Odawara | ??? |
| 大将討伐 | Subdue Generals | 6 (六) | Masamune | Odawara | ??? |
| 武心獲得量アップ | Bushin Acquisition Up | 2 (弐) | Yukimura | Odawara | Green |
| 武心伝心延長 | Extended Bushin Denshin | 4 (四) | Yukimura | Odawara | Green |
| 大将討伐 | Subdue Generals | 6 (六) | Yukimura | Odawara | Blue |
The second half of the article focuses on stages and story details as usual. Masamune, still intent on conquering the land and fully prepared for death, heads to Odawara Castle to face Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Ishida Mitsunari, dressed in his white outfit emblazoned with a crucifix. Another panel shows Matabee and Sen No Rikyuu (Sabisuke) who will both be standing in Masamune's way. Meanwhile, Hanbee and Kojuurou are going to be trying to stop Yukimura as he rushes to see what's happened to Masamune.
Stage: Guide Masamune and Yukimura to the honmaru as they advance against Odawara Castle
Masamune is trying to get to the heart of the castle in order to face Hideyoshi, while Yukimura is desperately trying to stop him; the player will control both characters as they work through the stage. Yukimura is shown with a mission of having to break through the cavalry guarding Odawara Castle before unlocking the gate and continuing. A screenshot shows there are fifteen Date cavalry officers to defeat as part of that mission.
(Raindrops' note: I guess that's why there are so many Toyotomi NPCs confirmed - they want to make the enemy seem overwhelmingly powerful for the sake of the narrative, instead of having all of the factions appear to be similarly tough as they are in the main game series.)
Masamune and Yukimura are also shown in their 'classic' outfits for the first time since this game started its promotion, both as new renders and in-game. It seems that they'll be confronting one another at the Osaka Summer Siege that way, some time after the events at Odawara have played out.
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Edit: The official website has since updated and it shows Wabisuke as well as Sabisuke. Masamune's costumes are labelled the Azure and White Cross versions, while Yukimura's are the Hinokaku ('Scarlet Horns'), Crimson and Phoenix versions.
An extra bonus for fans who preorder the new game from e-Capcom
It has been announced today that anyone who preorders their copy of Sengoku Basara: Sanada Yukimura-den from the official e-Capcom online store before 24th August 2016 will be automatically entered into a prize draw.
The seven winners of the draw will each receive an exclusive bath towel with one of the designs shown above. The chance of winning is relatively low, but what a unique bonus...
The fifth Basa-ranking fan survey is now online
The time, the survey is asking fans to name the game with the characters they were most interested in by the 30th June 2016. This will be the fifth and final Basa-ranking survey as the tenth anniversary festivities wind down, so don't forget to vote!
More details about the BIC Camera in-store event this weekend
I mentioned the plans for an event in Shinjuku's huge BICQLO store a few days ago and we now have a little more information. Unfortunately, it seems that gameplay demonstrations from Sengoku Basara: Sanada Yukimura-den won't be available but producer Nonaka Daizou will be attending and talking to the audience about the game.
Kofu City's Sengoku Basara-themed stamp rally returns for 2017
History fans who take a trip to Kofu this summer will be able to participate in an updated version of last year's successful stamp rally activity between 23rd July and 30th September 2016. More details should appear at a later date.
Another cute new illustration is revealed for the Capcom Cafe Sengoku Basara tie-in
A tweet from Capcom has added a (very small) picture of a different mini towel available to fans who visit the Capcom Cafe during its Sengoku Basara campaign. This is different to the design which fans who attended the Machi★Asobi event were able to purchase.
The team popularity contest earlier in the year leads to some unusual merchandise
Remember that last Ichiban Kuji event where the 'teams' of characters which sold the most pictures would feature on some merchandise in a future lottery? The details of the followup event Ichiban Kuji MINI Sengoku Basara ~Hisshou Kigan!~ ('Inevitable Victory Prayer!') have now been published. For each ticket you buy you'll win a randomly-drawn prize and a code, which you can enter into a second draw for a chance to win one of twenty sets of 'charamide' pictures of the teams which topped the ranking.
There will be fifteen different omamori mascot charms available as A-rank prizes:
And twenty-one different ema mascot charms as B-rank prizes:
Since the teams which ranked highest included niche characters alongside the popular ones, it's brought about an odd situation where characters like Itsuki, Nouhime, Ranmaru, Kennyo, Musashi and Yoshihiro get to appear on merchandise over some of their substantially more famous counterparts. Cool.
This new lottery will run in hobby stores from 2nd July 2016 and each entry costs ¥500.
Read the new Sengoku Basara manga for free (in Japanese)
If you haven't had a chance to read the new Sengoku Basara: DOKUGAN manga yet and are holding out for a legal way to do so, there's good news since Akita Shoten have published the whole first chapter for free in Japanese on their site. Fans with some basic Japanese reading knowledge can enjoy following the insane story but it's also worth it for the crazy artwork alone (or even if you just really, really like Masamune's thighs).
I'm assuming it's available worldwide, because of all of the countries in the world the UK is probably one of the last that would specifically get access to a random Japanese action manga. Please support it so that they continue to publish the chapters for people who can't afford to import the fortnightly magazine!
What an unusual survey... I wasn't sure what it meant. If it meant what game had the best roster, I'd be hard pressed to choose between SB2/HD collection or Utage, so I just voted for SBX in hopes of finally getting that cover as a background.
ReplyDeleteAlso side-eyeing Rikyuu showing up outside of cutscenes for... reasons.... But it is good to see the Toyotomi army fully united rather than all split up as per usual.
"Masamune seems to have discovered lowercase" line made me chuckle :P.
I'm happy someone reads my silly remarks (lol).
DeleteThe way I worded the survey description is a little hackneyed, sorry! But yes, you're right. And I approve of that logic (even though I chose Utage because I didn't think about it so cunningly).
Rikyuu is a strange choice, setting aside the (assumed) story considerations. I think they may have just drafted in all of the Toyotomi characters they could and thrown them together, but maybe they have some interesting anecdotes they want to draw attention to. Maybe that's too much to hope for... but they did use him very effectively in the standalone text-only story from the last issue of the magazine (which I still haven't posted about *drowning in guilt*) to highlight some unexpected sides of Mitsunari.
Still missing the ladies, however.
Question: Is there a reason why Masamune wears a coat that looks like it belongs to a Christian priest?
ReplyDeleteSo many male characters being announced to appear...it seems KobaP's statement about no female characters is true. And it will just look weirder and weirder, the more men they add.
Pretty happy about my 3 fave white-hair guys Mitsuhide, Hanbei and Mitsunari appearing though, I will probably buy this game and cheer for the villains.
I don't really understand the Basaranking question either...the one game with the best cast in general?
I can answer the Masamune question- it's a double layered historical/cultural reference. First, historically, Masamune is said to have worn a white robe going to meet Hideyoshi at Odawara. See, Hideyoshi had ordered all the northern clans to help punish the Hojo, but several, the Date included, refused. Kojuro ultimately convinced Masamune to go as it seemed evident the Toyotomi would win and then punish the northern clans who defied him. So Masamune, feeling clever, donned the white robe. White robes were typically what corpses were buried or burned in- indicating Masamune was communicating he was ready to die as punishment for defying Hideyoshi if it meant saving his clan. Secondly, some stories also mention him dragging a cross on his back while going to beg forgiveness to further hammer home his willingness to die as penance- crucifixion was a common punishment in Sengoku Japan, separate from Christian implications... but it certainly unintentionally helps emphasize Masamune's admiration for the West for those not in the know, eh?
DeleteOkay now it makes more sense, thanks!
DeleteThanks for the great explanation, Mewshuji!
DeletePoor Yukimura, he finally gets to be the star and Lumi is going to be supporting the bad guys :)
Deal with it Yuki-boy, those white haired guys are cooler than you.
DeleteCapcom should be grateful yet more of my money will come their way despite lady situation etc. X_X
Ps. Raindrops that was false advertisment on that manga I didn't see any naked man-thighs anywhere.
Yukimura might not understand why his beloved brother doesn't qualify with the villainous-yet-handsome white-haired guy trio.
Delete(P.S. But... but... the tight pants are just as good, right?)
Wow, Sen no Rikyuu! I didn't expect that! Rikyuu is one of my favorites, and according to the site, he's going to test Masamune's will *O*
ReplyDeleteAnd how great is that we will see Yukimura and Masamune's usual outfits! But something is bothering me, and is the fact that: will they use these outfits in the last battle one against each other? Probably in Masamune's case I don't mind it, but in Yukimura's case, I rather prefer to see him fighting with his Phoenix outfit instead, because it's more majestic and climatic than his usual one, and it gives to Yukimura a vibe that he's now more grown up.
Apart from that, I love the new information! *O*
All I can say is that I'm as baffled as you. Going from being a Phoenix to being regular Yukimura seems like a downgrade somehow (even though there's nothing wrong with Yukimura's normal outfit). A mid-stage costume change...?
DeleteOh, yes, I didn't mean I don't like his normal outfit (I was happy when I knew he will use it anyway) XD XD
DeleteBut yes, I want to know when exactly will they use these outfits...
Oh, just saw the link for the new manga. It seems pretty cool. It's neat they introduced Shigezane in it. I couldn't identify the other three characters they seem to be introducing though... the ramen guy, the guy with the skull broach, and the girl with the glasses. Maybe they're completely original? I guess the skull broach guy could be a Mogami retainer I'd not heard of before, though.
ReplyDeleteI think the evil-looking guy is meant to be Ujiie Morimune (a Mogami retainer I know very little about). Not read the subsequent chapters myself yet but perhaps he's going to be an early villain before some bigger clashes later on?
DeleteHasuike (bespectacled lady) seems quite intimidating somehow. Not sure whether she's a reference to a historical figure (there's a Hasuike Castle, though it's miles away from anywhere relevant to the story so far). Maybe the creators just thought the name ('pond of lotus') sounded sexy and feminine and wanted to use it?
Ramen guy might be a minor character to establish the storyline but he seems sweet enough so maybe he'll stick with Masamune for the long term. His name is Yoichi and according to more learned people than me, it could be an obscure reference to Okuyama Kensuke, a Date retainer who was also known as Yoichizaemon (with a different spelling).
Ah, thanks for filling me in. I just found a building not even in Japan when I searched Hasuike's name so it's neat to know there is an actual one. She might just be an original character too, though. ... given the glasses though, maybe she's a certain other castle-named character in disguise and messing up the Mogami crime ring...? ... sorry sorry. xD
DeleteAh, okay, the only Ujiie I found was a Saito/Oda retainer, so that would explain it. He definitely seems more sinister than Yoshiaki. And Yoichi seems like a cool dude, OC or no.
What a crazy manga!
DeleteI admire the bold idea to involve Kasuga right away! :)
DeleteA clash with the Uesugi at some point seems reasonably likely in this manga; they do quite like showing the ultra-powerful Kenshin as an intimidating figure in stories about Masamune/Kojuurou and they'll probably want some of the regular characters to show up periodically. But what would their designs be like?