Wednesday 6 April 2016

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.

--

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.

--

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!

30 comments:

  1. Finally some tasty info! Thanks as always Raindrops.

    Beefy twintails ladder spear (!?) using brother totally overshadows lil’Yukimura. I’m watching the historical drama Sanada-maru right now so the designs seems extra crazy. As for the father I guess fedora tipping has less unfortunate associations in Japan. He could be an interesting fighter though.

    It’s little bit shocking that Shingen is dead in this game.

    So Katsuyori his son is there instead huh. That means another new character confirmed to appear.

    I’m happy that the Oda is in the game >:)

    Now they just need to add some ladies too please… would be cool to see some crazy hotblooded Sanada-related women.

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    1. We have to see in that case Komatsu-hime, the wife of Nobuyuki, who is also daughter of Honda Tadakatsu; and Akihime, the wife of Yukimura, who is also Ootani Yoshitsugu's daughter! If they add them, their designs would be incredibly crazy considering who are their fathers and husbands XD XD

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    2. Yeah, I'd love to see those two, especially Komatsu-hime but the problem is that Basara's Honda probably can't have children O_O;
      Since they have a father the Sanada brothers surely have a mother too, and a grandmother (I have been wishing for a badass old lady character since forever), and other relatives...
      There is a lot of space on the offial website's character section which is promising!

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    3. Komatsu/Ina could work if she's a 'robot' too- just less a Gundam, more something else. Maybe take some cues from Vocaloid or Ghost in the Shell.

      I really hope there is some female presence in the game, regardless. I don't have high hopes for a playable woman, but there should at the very least be some NPCs with decent exposure.... Maybe Naotora being an enemy at Ueda, or Magoichi being an ally for the Toyotomi forces at Odawara.

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    4. I don't think Naotora will appear: she died the same year as Nobunaga. And his son, Ii Naomasa, was on Sekigahara fighting against Shimazu clan. About Magoichi... Probably could be there, I don`t know. But if we talk about Odawara, there it was this Kaihime who fought with the Houjou first, and after that, she went to serve Toyotomi. I think Akihime could be very probable, althought she is not known for being a fighter as Komatsu-hime or Kaihime.

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    5. I recognize that a lot of histories put Naotora down as dying shortly after Honnoji, and indeed, even the Japanese wikipedia notes her as having died on September 12, 1582. But, I THINK that was something that was only really discovered recently, so I think if they wanted an easy way to incorporate female characters, having her stand in for her son could work wonders.

      I don't see Kaihime being added in this game, at all. It'd be nice, but I think for her to have a chance, it'd need to be a Toyotomi or Hojo centered game- especially as she wasn't even at the Odawara siege proper, but defending her father's castle.

      Akihime and Inahime/Komatsu are definitely much more possible and I would LOVE her... but given the fact that Capcom KNOWS how much Yukimura and Masamune are, ah, paired together by the fanbase, I find it hard to believe she'll be added, especially in a game that started out its marketing with showing the two squaring off. So I think of your suggestions, Komatsu is most likely.

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    6. Really? Hmm... Perhaps if she was related somehow to Yukimura's history we will see something then n_n "Zannen da", it would be awesome if we could see Kaihime and Akihime here (I want to see Yukimura's wife in any anime/manga/videogame so much).

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    7. Akihime appearing would be nice but perhaps unlikely for the reasons Mewshuji stated.
      I’ve mentioned before I think it would be neat to see Yukimura grown up with a wife and children in some story, and see how he’d handle that hehe.

      Which leads me to the question how are they treating the story mode(s) - has that been clarified? Multiple characters with multiple endings like in an normal SB game?

      If this game is more historically correct I wonder what they’ll do with the time line. The Sanada family went through a lot of different alliances (including the Oda for a few months until Nobunaga died) and then there’s the infamous ending of the real Yukimura’s life. Are they going to just compress that timeline/his life into a game, hmm. Probably not.

      I hope there will *soon* be a gameplay/story trailer that show the Sanada brother and father in action and perhaps some other new character (s) and no long wait this time.

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    8. No idea about the story; they make it sound as though it's one massive narrative which occasionally shifts between different characters as you play to give additional perspectives to the main Yukimura storyline. I'm sure I remember some kind of comment from an interview which implied it would be possible for the game to end on a less depressing note than Yukimura's definitive defeat at Osaka. I'm unsure whether that means alternate endings (with one being him rising up like a phoenix for a traditional Azure-Crimson confrontation) or just the usual made-up Sengoku Basara ridiculousness in the game's main ending.

      I think they could possibly get away with Akihime if they introduced her as a girl with a huge crush on Yukimura (naturally he wouldn't even notice, to avoid making things awkward with his fanbase - if Nagamasa can completely fail to pick up on Katsuie's intentions I'm sure Yukimura will have no problems overlooking the finer points of romance). Otherwise, if we get Sasuke yet no Kasuga it would be nice to have a little more female represention somewhere to balance all of the raw masculinity bursting from the Sanada clan members. Perhaps they can have a few members of the Sanada Ten Braves appearing alongside Sasuke and one or more of them can be a girl for Sengoku Basara?

      Vocaloid-themed Komatsuhime would be the best thing ever. I want to see this now.

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  2. Noboyuki is Beast looking its like Koba made a character i always wanted

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    1. Great! I can't wait to see his fierce-sounding moves in action :D

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  3. Katsuie, Toshiie, Ieyasu, Nobunaga and Mitsuhide! Besides Takeda Katsuyori. WOW! I already want to see images!!! And I love Masayuki design, as expected of BASARA: they had to introduce sooner or later a magician XD XD

    By the way, the website has been actualized!

    http://www.capcom.co.jp/basara_yukimuraden/

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    1. I love how Yukimura's weapon and outfit change according to events. Tenmokuzan outfit looks interesting, it gives Yukimura a more youthful appearence, while "Phoenix" outfit makes look him as an ultimate warrior n_n

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    2. It was nice to see all those familiar faces including a more unexpected Toshiee/Katsuie team up. I wonder just how historically correct the game will be regarding the Oda situation.
      Yukimura's youthful outfit looks great.

      Hype is on!

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    3. If Shingen is dead, then Nobunaga will die soon: Tenmokuzan ocurred the same year as the Incident at Honnouji.

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    4. Thanks! I quite like Yukimura's Tenmokuzan design, it's a nice blend of his usual gear and a more traditional look (though still stylised, of course). The Phoenix version is awesome but very showy. It will feel good to work our way through the story and eventually earn it, I think.

      I wonder whether we'll get the story hints released in chronological order from now on, so there'll be more Oda fallout soon, or whether it will all be thrown at us randomly to make it hard to tell what's coming next.

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  4. Always fun to wake up in the morning and check ur site and read recent Basara news thanx raindrops;)

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    1. It's my pleasure! I'm so happy to have news to report again at last after that long, long wait (lol).

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  5. From images Noboyoki is real muscular makes keiji look small , some say his weapon is a space satellite and some say it's a ladder spear

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    1. It's definitely a ladder, though I can see how the shape resembles a satellite (perhaps an idea for his joke weapon...?)

      Nobuyuki's physique and general combat style seems like a blend of Keiji and Hideyoshi. Which isn't a bad thing.

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  6. If you are able to contact koba please tell him we want more hulky characters
    I am a gym rat so I relate to such characters

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    1. Haha, I wish! He does respond to fans on Twitter sometimes so if you want to send him a message in simple English you can give him a try: @HiroKobap

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  7. Oyaji sama , Yukimuraaa , oyaji samaaaaaaaa yukimuraaaaaaaaaaaaaa

    MAKE IT HAPPEN

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    1. Oooh, it's very probable. I found interesting how "Oyaji-sama" sounds very similar to "Oyakata-sama", though not being precisely a polite way to say "father" ("Chichiue-sama" or "O-tou-sama" is more respectful), but definitely it will become that way XD XD XD

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    2. Yes, it has to be the reason they chose "Oyaji-sama" when some variant of "Chichiue" would have been my guess for Yukimura! Hoshi-san is going to be screaming that name a lot :D

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  8. Shingen being dead is a bit of a shock- I thought at the least we'd see him at the beginning. I wonder if there's any hope for Kenshin (and Kasuga by proxy) to show up at all then, given Temmokuzan takes place in 1582... Given how the timeline Capcom put out placed some emphasis on the Sanada being allied/retainers to the Uesugi during Ueda, though, maybe we'll see Kagekatsu if they don't extend Kenshin's lifespan? But it doesn't seem like we'll even see Katsuyori physically so maybe not.

    "Characters with a strong connection to Yukimura"... Hmm, hopefully Sasuke is in then. I could see him either not being in at all because "history" (even though magic skulls popping up on top of mountains isn't historical at all...), or showing up sometime before Osaka to serve Yukimura.

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    1. I'd hope that we can at least see Shingen in some flashbacks or in the opening scenes to give context to the loyalty Masayuki and his boys clearly feel towards his clan, even if he's not participating in the game itself. They have the model ready and telling the whole story as text scrolls will be boring, so I hope they stuff as many actually-relevant characters into story cutscenes as possible to make it easy for gamers to follow the plot. I'd like to see the following in an ideal world:

      1. Katsuyori, even if he sucks (it will feel weak if he lives and dies off camera).
      2. Some indication of how Shingen felt about his successor (or vice versa) to add emotional weight to the Sanada family's struggle at Tenmokuzan.
      3. Masayuki and Shingen punching one another in a cutscene, even if it's a flashback or some kind of artistic parallel between something Yukimura does and his dad's actions in the past. Maybe Yukimura can punch his dad and it reminds him of Shingen, or something. There has to be punching!

      If Kojuurou appears I'm pretty sure they're going to continue blurring the different Katakura Kojuurou title-holders together into a single character in order to keep him relevant to the battles, which might give your hope about a sneaky Kenshin reference some extra weight (at the possible expense of Kagekatsu). Kenshin has the advantage that he sort of transcends everyday human trivialities such as mortality and gender, so a few extra years added to his lifespan probably won't confuse anyone all that much. If Ieyasu can continue looking like an eighteen year-old for most of his adult life I'm sure nobody will mind Kenshin representing the Uesugi clan for longer than it should be possible.

      Though on the flip side, Kenshin being gone sends a much stronger message that this is the era when the great clans of the past are going through periods of upheaval. I was surprised when I read Hokuto No Ben's theory about Kasuga watching over Kagekatsu as I'd been mulling over something extraordinarily similar myself; it could give them an excuse to be cheap and avoid actually designing and showing Kagekatsu in the game if they used Kasuga to represent the Uesugi, and even though she's lead firmly by her heart I quite like the idea of her finding something to live for after losing Kenshin by protecting the clan in his stead. I think it would require major character growth on Kasuga's part and I'm not sure they're going to invest that kind of effort in a fictional character in a spin-off game about Yukimura, but KobaP certainly knows she's popular and a beautiful, tragic female ninja with a great moveset is a very marketable option in a game they want to appeal to male gamers too.

      I'm going to remain optimistic, especially since they went out of their way to feature an often-overlooked character like Toshiie in a more prominent role this time (for once).

      I also think they're going to play with the 'Yukimura meets Sasuke for the first time' scenario they've shown a few times before. There's obviously someone on the staff who loves the idea of it, and with Sengoku Basara 4 and Bontenmaru-hen treating the Masamune fans to plenty of that kind of fan service it's only fair that Yukimura gets something similar now that there's an opportunity to tell the story without having to work around quite such a complicated storyline as that of the main game series. That's just my personal view :D

      (Sorry for the excessively long reply, I've been thinking about these comments for days!)

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  9. I hope Kojuuro appears along side Masamune , if Kojuuro gets new design then i will be 100% SOLD

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    1. Hmm, Kojuurou's yakuza-samurai design is already one of my favourites but I wonder how they could rework it for this game. Take more inspiration from the 'Oni Kojuurou' imagery around the second generation Kojuurou? Or try to integrate a more historical look? I'm interested (assuming he's even in the game at all)!

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