News roundup: The Sengoku Basara stage presentation from Tokyo Game Show 2015 - and much, much more

I've been too busy to post frequently lately so here's a bumper roundup of everything that's been happening, including the news from today's stage presentation at Tokyo Game Show 2015. It was a long post even before the stream began; there's been a lot going on, from tickets going on sale for Butai Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi to various new difficult-to-obtain merchandise being announced!

A brief summary of the TGS 2015 stage presentation with KobaP

The presentation began with producer KobaP coming on stage and modelling the pricey Sanada Yukimura jacket from Premium Bandai (more on that below).

They showed a bunch of promotional videos to introduce Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi and the tenth anniversary of Sengoku Basara then launched invited members of the audience onstage to try the live Tenka Medal Challenge in Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi.

Depending on the total number of medals the fans collected, they could win various prizes. Less than a thousand medals awarded a scrubbing brush, 2,000 meant bags of Sengoku Basara prizes for the three players at the event, 5,000 medals earned a special anniversary wallpaper for everyone (it will be posted on the official website) while 10,000 medals was enough to win a prototype Ashigaru-kun mascot reward.

The first player collected over a thousand medals with a Sasuke/Yukimura team, while the second had never played Sengoku Basara before and only managed a hundred with the same characters. The third player picked Mitsunari and Gyoubu and didn't quite manage to accumulate a thousand. After the guests were done, Ashigaru-kun himself started playing (with Ieyasu/Tadakatsu) on the Kawanakajima Intrusion stage to show the audience how it was done and did even worse than the new player. There was a lot of apologising.

Once the gameplay was over, KobaP launched into his announcements by describing the recent Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi patch to the audience. The rest of the announcements will be in their own sections below (I skipped the ones which have already been mentioned before).

The next big Sengoku Basara event is announced

It's not a regular Basara Matsuri this time, but instead Sengoku Basara 10th Anniversary Matsuri ~Feast of Ten Years, Ten Shades~. The event will be held in Hall A of the Tokyo International Forum on Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th March 2016.

The guests for the Saturday will be seiyuu Hoshi Souichirou (Sanada Yukimura), Morita Masakazu (Maeda Keiji), Ookawa Tooru (Tokugawa Ieyasu), Genda Tesshou (Takeda Shingen), Ishino Ryuuzou (Chousokabe Motochika), Nakahara Shigeru (Mouri Motonari) and Hayami Shou (Akechi Mitsuhide/Tenkai).

Sunday's guest list is very similar with seiyuu Nakai Kazuya (Date Masamune), Hoshi Souichirou (Sanada Yukimura), Morita Masakazu (Maeda Keiji), Ookawa Tooru (Tokugawa Ieyasu), Ishino Ryuuzou (Chousokabe Motochika), Nakahara Shigeru (Mouri Motonari) and Hayami Shou (Akechi Mitsuhide/Tenkai).

Additional guests and musical performers for both dates will be confirmed later, and of course KobaP will be there as usual.

Tickets will go on sale from 15th October 2015 for fan club members or 6th December 2015 for general customers.

For the first time in a few years, I won't be able to attend! Aww...

Sengoku Basara-themed alcohol is back on the menu

The next new product in the Sengoku Basara merchandise range is Sengoku Basara 10th Anniversary Sparkling Sake. The bottles will come with decorated labels and there will be a total of six designs: Masamune/Yukimura, Maria/Yoshiteru, Wabisuke/Sabisuke, Mitsunari/Ieyasu, Hideyoshi/Hanbee/Keiji and Motochika/Motonari.

More details have been posted here. The sake will cost ¥3,519 and it's available from select venues starting today.

The Kofu x Sengoku Basara collaboration moves into its second phase

The Kofu x Sengoku Basara project is continuing to attract visitors to the Yamanashi region and the latest announcement is that they will be hosting a Sengoku Treasure Hunting Game starting from 5th December 2015. More details will posted on their tie-in website here.

Release information for the upcoming Sengoku Basara Dokugan manga

Nekoi Yasuyuki's new modern day Sengoku Basara Dokugan manga is scheduled to begin this winter and a new illustration has been released to draw attention to it. The manga will be serialised in Akita Shoten's Young Champion magazine which is released on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month.

You can see the artwork up close here.

New Sengoku Basara drama CDs are on the way

A new series of three drama CDs are coming soon from Frontier Works. Their plots all sound quite similar and it's an interesting formula to set up some character interactions.

The first volume will be about Masamune and Yukimura and the cast will be Nakai Kazuya (Date Masamune), Hoshi Souichirou (Sanada Yukimura), Morikawa Toshiyuki (Katakura Kojuurou) and Koyasu Takehito (Sarutobi Sasuke). The plot is about Yukimura and Sasuke coming across the Date army while roaming in the mountains, and turning what began as a cooking battle into an all-out azure-crimson battle.

The second is about Ieyasu and Mitsunari starring Ookawa Tooru (Tokugawa Ieyasu), Seki Tomokazu (Ishida Mitsunari), Nakamura Yuuichi (Shima Sakon) and Okamoto Nobuhiko (Shibata Katsuie). The four men take shelter from a storm in an empty house, which forces them together unexpectedly under a cloak of darkness.

The third CD is just about Sen No Rikyuu and the cast list is Sakurai Takahiro (Sen No Rikyuu), Ishino Ryuuzou (Chousokabe Motochika), Nakahara Shigeru (Mouri Motonari) and Morita Masakazu (Maeda Keiji). That's an interesting selection of characters. Motonari and Motochika chance upon one another in a Kyoto teahouse. The tense situation develops further when Keiji is called upon to mediate.

In addition, there's going to be a new Animate TV radio show tentatively titled Sengoku Basara 10th Anniversary Radio to celebrate the release of the CDs. Further details will be available at a later date.

Electronics brand Cocorobo will be collaborating with the Sengoku Basara series

Details are sketchy but it seems that Date Masamune is going to be the inspiration for a premium voiced roomba vacuum cleaner in Sharp's Cocorobo line in the near future. It's CLEAN TIME! Let's COCOROBO Party!

The Sengoku Basara Pia mook will be released at the end of September

I'm not sure whether I blogged about this before since I originally mixed it up with the delayed Sengoku Basara Seishi ("The Official History of Sengoku Basara") book, but there's a new publication in the Pia Mook series called Sengoku Basara Pia ~10th Anniversary~ which is coming out on 30th September 2015 priced at ¥1,400. Naturally, the theme is the series' tenth anniversary and the cover illustration is a tribute to the very first game's box art.

The main feature article will be about Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi and it will contain comments from seiyuu Sakurai Takahiro (Sen No Rikyuu). The other content inside the mook includes:

1. Introductions for the various playable characters who appear over the course of the series.
2. Explanations of the stories covered in each game.
3. Special interviews and messages. There will be a pair of joint interviews with Nakai Kazuya (Date Masamune)/Hoshi Souichirou (Sanada Yukimura) and Koyasu Takehito (Sarutobi Sasuke)/Kobayashi 'KobaP' Hiroyuki (series producer). These will be accompanied by messages from T.M.Revolution and the very popular former Butai Sengoku Basara actors Kubota Yuuki (Date Masamune) and Hosogai Kei (Sanada Yukimura).
4. A look back at the series' various adaptations and tie-ins, including the anime spin-offs, stage plays and live events. There will be messages from some of the anime staff too.
5. A guide to the actual historical ties the popular warriors had with various locations.
6. An illustration gallery.

There will also be a desktop calendar included with the mook as a bonus item and covers the 14 months between November 2015 and December 2016.

For those unfamiliar with the terminology, a mook is a blend of a magazine and a book. If you think of the way that most gaming strategy guides are published, you can expect something similar - a sturdy magazine intended to be kept and treasured for a while.

A few extra tickets for the Fan Meeting 2015 Autumn events will be sold at the door

The two Basara Club Fan Meeting 2015 Autumn events will be happening in a few weeks' time, and the fan club has just announced that a small number of ¥5,500 tickets would be available at the venue on the day. If you happen to be (or know) a member of the fan club who is close enough to Tokyo or Osaka to be able to check the venue, you might get lucky and be able to attend one of the shows.

More exclusive merchandise is on the way for hardcore fans in Japan

The official Sengoku Basara qualification exam is drawing closer and its website has updated to reveal the existence of some special merchandise for participants to buy - except that the pictures won't be ready until closer to the late November date of the exam. The illustrations being used have been created exclusively for the event and there will be an acrylic key holder (¥1,000), a set of two original clear files (¥1,000), a set of five original postcards (¥1,000) and a pouch/hand mirror set (¥2,500).

Capcom announces a 'Silver Week' deal for Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi

A special offer will be running until 23rd September 2015 whereby customers who purchase the digital version of Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi from PSN will receive an exclusive limited edition bundle along with it. For the standard price of ¥5,990 (PS3) or ¥6,990 (PS4), customers will receive the Sumeragi Starter Pack (large) and the full moveset unlock DLC. The Sumeragi Starter Pack (large) contains 100 pieces of tamahagane steel, 10,000 whetstones, 75,000 Tenka Medals, 750,000 ryou in cash and 450,000 xp for your Inrou box. That's a saving of ¥800 if you were planning on purchasing those items anyway.

Gift posts proper pictures of the newest Sengoku Basara 4 plushies

Those who have been eagerly looking forward to the new Sengoku Basara 4 plushies from Gift x Algernon can take a closer look at Shibata Katsuie and Date Masamune (Hakama & Wooden Sword Ver.) as the official product pages are now ready for viewing. They look just as high quality as the rest of the Gift product line.

The first batch of these new plushies will be available on 25th October 2015 as part of the Gift Shop 2015 Autumn Plushie Day fair in Tokyo. They'll be made available via other shops after that, so keep checking AmiAmi and other reliable toy specialists if you want to order either of these plushies before they sell out.

Preorders open for the newest Mame Sengoku Basara goods

The Mame Sengoku Basara 4 Trading Rubber Strap Collection mentioned previously is now available for preorder ahead of its release on 27th November 2015, and Dengekiya has posted a sample showing how the individual straps in this ¥9,072 pack are expected to look. AmiAmi have opened preorders for overseas customers.

The matching Mame Sengoku Basara 4 Trading Can Badges are also online at Dengekiya with the same release date and a price tag of ¥4,536. AmiAmi have listed the badges too.

The deluxe Yukimura jacket will be made available again

Remember the extremely expensive Premium Bandai Sanada Yukimura Jacket?

It seems to have been successful enough that it's being made available for order a second time. The preorder period will close on 19th October 2015 with delivery expected for December. If you have a spare ¥100,000 lying around, this is another chance to purchase a very exclusive piece of merchandise.

Visit a Japanese arcade to win Sengoku Basara prizes

Participating amusement arcades in Japan are going to be offering fourteen different 15cm Kyun Chara Illustrations: Sengoku Basara Character-Style Big Tags as prizes from 15th October 2015. The unwieldy name appears to be a fancy way of saying 'keychains'. The art style matches previous goodies released by Banpresto and there's a reasonable selection of characters - so long as you're not a fan of the ladies of the series who are completely absent...

As different arcades will change their prize offerings from time to time, fans will have to keep checking their local facilities to find out when they will be available. I'm encouraged by the fact that Banpresto have created a website specifically for Sengoku Basara prizes. Perhaps there will be more in future, even if it's always hideously difficult to collect them from outside Japan.

Fan report: Pictures from the 'top secret mission' event in Osaka

Fans tacotits and kleptoyade have posted a great picture report from the Osaka: Mysterious Rebellion ~Escape From Namba's Hidden Castle Town~ (Side Story) event starring Sengoku Basara's Sasuke, which has been running intermittently in the Namba Walk complex this year. The post gives a good idea of how fun these historically-themed events are to attend!

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Finally, I want to share some pictures of two of the clear files that were given to Keikyu railway passengers who participated in the Showdown! The Way of Battle Leading to Haneda! Stamp Rally campaign. I wasn't able to take part myself, but my wonderful father and little brother happened to be visiting Japan at the right time so they hopped on a train to Kamata on my behalf. The staff at the station were thrilled to meet two very confused foreigners who kept mumbling about Sengoku Basara tickets and really helped them out.

They had only been intending to pick up the clear files and leave since an untranslated stamp rally isn't that fun for people who aren't interested in the series, but one thing led to another and they ended up taking a ride on the Keikyu trains as well. Thanks, Dad!

News roundup: Patch notes, stamps and seals

A software update is released for Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi

Today (11th September 2015), a software update was made available for Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi with a few small enhancements. The official patch notes list the changes as follows.

For PlayStation 4:

• Battle Roulette can now be toggled ON/OFF on the stage selection screen in Sengoku Creation: Extreme mode.
• The Bomb Soldier and Akatsukimaru transformations can be cancelled with the Circle button.
• A fix for a bug when Shibata Katsuie's eighth weapon (the Neckchopper from V Jump magazine) was equipped at the same time as his Absolute Justice DLC costume.
• Various other bug fixes to improve stability.

For PlayStation 3:

• Battle Roulette can now be toggled ON/OFF on the stage selection screen in Sengoku Creation: Extreme mode.
• The Bomb Soldier and Akatsukimaru transformations can be cancelled with the Circle button.
• Various other bug fixes to improve stability.

I wonder which other bugs were fixed? It's possible that the sound issue on PS3 might have been addressed, or that the glitch fan OneSanitarium found to travel to inaccessible parts of stages could have been removed. In any case, I'm happy to see that Capcom has taken fan feedback on board and made these small, yet significant adjustments.

The next wave of Sengoku Basara merchandise is confirmed

It's rare that I post some gaming information without there also being new merchandise to reveal at the same time, and today is no different. The following items will be available across Japan from 24th September 2015.

First there's a selection of twelve Sengoku Basara stamps priced at ¥500 each. There will be designs for Masamune, Kojuurou, Yukimura, Shingen, Sasuke, Ieyasu, Mitsunari, Sakon, Katsuie, Keiji, Motochika and Motonari:

A choice of four different Sengoku Basara chrome cases intended for storing inkan seals. These are priced at ¥1,000 each and the available designs are Masamune/Yukimura, Ieyasu/Mitsunari, Sakon/Katsuie and Motochika/Motonari:

A seelction of five pouches priced at ¥1,200 available in Masamune, Yukimura, Shingen, Ieyasu and Mitsunari designs:

Finally, there are five different inkan seal sets priced at ¥4,500 and available in Masamune, Yukimura, Shingen, Ieyasu and Mitsunari designs:

I'm pleasantly surprised to see Shingen is featuring prominently in this range of merchandise.

Video: A new Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi gameplay clip

I wasn't really expecting any more Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi videos so I was a little surprised when Capcom uploaded a gameplay demonstration with Yoshiteru and Rikyuu! The video comes from the development team and shows off the characters' moves better than some of the prerelease clips.

News roundup: A new Sengoku Basara stage play is announced

The Butai Sengoku Basara vs Devil May Cry stage play successfully completed its run today, and as it drew to a close a new announcement was made: Butai Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi is coming a few months from now! I was so excited when the fan club email arrived by email.

A new website is already up and running so a few details have been confirmed. Ujigawa Masanari will be handling the composition and direction, while KobaP and YamamotoD are credited with planning and supervising. The game series' scenario writer Matsuno Izuru will be assisting with the story. The cast will be announced on Monday 7th September 2015.

The Butai Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi Tokyo performances will run between Thursday 21st January and Sunday 31st January 2016 at the Zepp Blue Theater Roppongi, after which the show will move to Osaka's Sankei Hall Breeze for five shows between Friday 5th February and Sunday 7th February 2016. There will be special talk show sessions after the performances on 22nd January (19:00), 25th January (19:00), 26th January (19:00), 27th January (14:00) 28th January (19:00) and 5th February (19:00) with some of the as-yet-unannounced actors.

Tickets cost ¥7,800 and the fan club ticket lottery for the best seats will start on 16th September 2015. General sales commence from 22nd November 2015 at 10:00am.

It makes sense that Masamune and Yukimura are back in the spotlight as their current actors have quite a few shows under their belts now, presuming that they haven't been changed, whereas Mitsunari and Ieyasu will probably be played by newcomers - if they're going to be in this play at all. They might choose to base this play on a small number of characters and expand the story in future instalments like the old Butai Sengoku Basara 3 series. Even then, the Toyotomi characters are quite important to Rikyuu...

I wonder whether there will be two different actors for Rikyuu or whether one person will cover both of his personalities? It's tough to be patient and wait for more information!

The official website has also confirmed that the Butai Sengoku Basara vs Devil May Cry DVD which attendees have been able to preorder at the live shows will be available in 'autumn', so I think we can expect preorder listings for its general release to appear in the next few weeks.

Preview of the cover artwork for Sengoku Basara Magazine vol. 10

I stumbled upon this preview last night but only mentioned it on social media. Manga Oh recently updated their listing for Sengoku Basara Magazine vol. 10 in anticipation of its release tomorrow, and the small preview image shows that Kojuurou has been given a brand new CG illustration for the cover artwork. Larger versions should be available very soon as fans in Japan receive their copies.

I'm so happy; his official Sengoku Basara 4 illustration has never appealed much to me but this one is much better, highlighting his sword and looking pretty cool. I wonder who is going to be honoured on the cover of the eleventh volume? News from the magazine should start leaking out over the next few days.

News roundup: The latest stage play updates and plenty of difficult-to-obtain merchandise

The Sengoku Basara vs Devil May Cry stage play has started its run

Promotion for the Butai Sengoku Basara vs Devil May Cry stage play is in full swing now that it has begun its short run and the gaming press websites have obligingly posted details for attendees.

Fifteen luck fans who see the play between the 24th and 28th August 2015 will be given commemorative tote bags. Each bag will have the date of the performance and the picture printed on it will vary depending on the day, making it a truly rare collectible for hardcore fans.

There will be special themed food and drink at the theatre's adjoining cafe like 'half-human, half-demon pizza' and various cocktails, and attendees can preorder the DVD version of the play. The DVD will go on sale in the autumn; thank goodness they're planning one this time!

The stage play will also feature the debut of a 10th anniversary theme song for the Sengoku Basara series. Titled Toki Wo Koete ('Beyond Time'), the song is performed by SOLIDEMO with lyrics and music by Miyakoda Kazushi. KobaP is credited with co-writing the lyrics.

The dress rehearsal for the play took place this week and this has led to a flurry of official reports. You can see the pictures at 4Gamer, Anime Anime, Dengeki, Famitsu and Gamer and a short video at Theaterclip. There are also the usual goofy pictures on Twitter for those following any of the actors.

Limited time offer: The Devil May Cry costume DLC is currently discounted on PSN

To tie in with the launch of the stage play, the two Devil May Cry DLC costumes from Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi will be available at a special discount. The Date Masamune/Ishida Mitsunari Special Costume Set (DMC Dante & Virgil) is a bundle which includes both outfits for just ¥300. It will be available until 31st August 2015. This offer is exclusive to users with the PS3 version of the game.

Attention Spanish speakers: A localised Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi guide is now available

Lacters has been working hard on a Spanish translation guide for Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi and the first parts are now ready for viewing! You can view the guide here; further updates will be added over time.

They're also running a special giveaway for Spanish speaking fans which you can check out at this link.

Further details about the Sengoku Basara x Taka No Tsume Collaboration Exhibition

This was originally announced during the tenth anniversary live stream but now we have more details of the Taka No Tsumedan No SHIROZEME ('Eagle Talon Squad's Castle Invasion') event planned for 14th November 2015. This event simulates an attack on Shimane Prefecture's Matsue Castle and sounds like a brilliant way to increase interest in historical warfare strategies.

It's also the inspiration behind a collaboration between Frogman's Himitsu Kessha Taka No Tsume (Secret Society Eagle Talon) series and Sengoku Basara. This will take the form of a free exhibition in the Shibuya Parco Part 1 basement between 3rd September and 28th September 2015. The official name is Sengoku Basara x Himitsu Kessha Taka No Tsume: ~Sengoku Heroes And Castle Invasion~ and it will involve displays featuring crossover artwork, photo spots for visitors to take pictures with their favourite characters, displays showing the plans for the main Castle Invasion later in the year, displays of armour, weapons and a diorama of Matsue Castle, and an opportunity to dress up in traditional armour and have your picture taken for a fee.

Special crossover merchandise will be available including seven different hand towels (¥734 each), two types of acrylic mobile phone stands (¥1,620 each), seven different rubber straps (¥734 each) and sheets of senjafuda stickers (¥734).

Visitors who spend more than ¥2,000 on merchandise in a single transaction will be given one of ten randomly-packed commemorative coasters as a gift.

Exclusive merchandise is announced for the temporary Minoo Onsen Capcom Shop

A summary of the attractions at the Capcom Shop in Oedo Onsen Monogatari: Minoo Onsen Spa Garden event is showing off the event-exclusive goods which can be purchased.

Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi notelets for ¥750:

And a Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi tenugui towel for ¥400:

Fans, which are obtained through a roulette game which costs ¥500 to enter:

And tote bags, which come from a stamp rally game at the venue:

The official fan club announces more event-exclusive goodies

Different (yet equally exclusive) new merchandise will be available for fan club members who attend the Fan Meeting events this September. Nine new 'favourite warrior' badges will be released to help fill in some of the gaps for people whose favourite character wasn't represented before - Yoshihiro gets to appear on some merchandise for once!

It's the first time that uchiwa fans have been available for the fan club, even though they're popular merchandise items at most gatherings. Eight designs will debut at the events.

Pricing and availability details - as well as a few more items - will be posted at a later date.

The elusive Sengoku Basara Seishi book is really being released - probably

The ongoing saga continues as the preorder listing for Takarajimasha's upcoming book Sengoku Basara Seishi ("The Official History of Sengoku Basara") has returned to some online stores such as Manga Oh. Strangely, in between me drafting this post and finishing it off the title changed once again, so it's now being listed as Sengoku Basara: Shijitsu De Wakaru Sengoku Basara No Sekai ('Discovering The World Of Sengoku Basara Through Actual History'). The release date is listed as 18th September 2015 so perhaps it's actually coming out this time - it's been a long wait since the first solicitations back in January!

A look back at the Sengoku Basara design process with the Capcom Legends blog

The MyCapcom website runs a Capcom Legends blog series and the most recent entry is all about how they created Keiji and some of the series' classic antagonists. The early design pictures have featured in art books before but for some fans this might be the first chance to see them.

The last of the (Approximately) 10-second Theatre video updates

The final video in the scheduled series of Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi promotional clips was posted on Wednesday as promised. (Approximately) 10-second Theatre: The Quickest was one we had glimpsed in photographs from a live event early on in the game's advertising campaigns.


With all of the Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi campaigning gradually coming to an end, I guess that it won't be long now before we start hearing information of the next Sengoku Basara projects on the horizon. I doubt they'll have anything about a new game for a while since most fans are still getting to grips with the current one (the series isn't mentioned on their Tokyo Game Show schedule at all aside from in a note about the merchandise stand). Perhaps there are some other treats planned?

News roundup: Books, videos and an update about that pesky PS3 audio problem

A script collection book will be published for the last two Sengoku Basara games

Listings have appeared on Manga Oh and Amazon Japan for a new book from Futabasha tentatively titled Sengoku Basara 4 & 4 Sumeragi Script Collection, scheduled for release in mid-September 2015 priced at ¥3,024 including taxes. It's been a while since the last script collection was released and this should make answering questions about the game's dialogue easier whenever it's necessary to check details without playing through the whole thing again. Hurrah.

Another new Sengoku Basara book is announced - and Dengeki is running a survey

The Dengeki Online website is asking Sengoku Basara fans to think back over the last ten years and respond to a few questions for an upcoming book. Tentatively titled the Sengoku Basara 10th Anniversary Eiyuu Taizen: Kiwami ('Hero Encyclopaedia: Extreme'), it's scheduled for release in late October 2015 as a follow-up to the old Sengoku Basara 5th Anniversary Eiyuu Taizen.

The book is going to include illustrations, CG artwork and setting materials relating to fifty characters from the series, as well as comments from KobaP and YamamotoD. Cast messages, interviews and commemorative autographs from the seiyuu will ensure there's plenty of content for fans to enjoy.

The survey is quite quick, so even though it specifically mentions that it's supposed to be for Japanese fans I thought some overseas fans might also be interested in sharing their opinions. The questions are as follows.

Q1. Which of the characters from Sengoku Basara is your favourite?
Q2: Please tell us the reason you picked that character. If you picked the final option in the list ('other'), please also name the character you chose.
Q3: Please tell us which scene from the Sengoku Basara series left the greatest impression on you.
Q4: Please select two or three characters from the list below who you consider a famous team or rivalry from the Sengoku Basara series.
Q5: Please provide the reason for the characters you chose in the previous question. If you picked the final option in the list ('other'), please also name the character(s) you chose.

The final question asks for some simple demographic information, namely your Nickname, Email address, Gender (male, female), Age and Occupation (primary school student, middle school student, high school student, university student or graduate, preparatory school student or ronin, vocational school student, company worker or self-employed, part-time worker, unemployed, housewife, other).

Respondents who live in Japan are entered into a draw to win one of ten ¥1,000 QUO cards, but as foreigners all we will have is the satisfaction of sharing our thoughts. Simple Japanese is best if possible since the best comments are going to be printed in the finished book!

The deadline for participating in the survey is 4th September 2015.

Previews of four difficult-to-obtain exclusive Sengoku Basara stickers

The summer Sengoku Basara collaboration event at Nikko Edomura (Edo Wonderland) is still running and Capcom's social media team have been highlighting four exclusive ¥300 stickers you can obtain when you visit the venue. The staff are hoping that the designs will make fans of the series grin knowingly.

Reports from the weekend's live event at a Saitama museum

Several news sites have been covering a recent appearance by Nishimoto Yu-ki, the artist who created the stunning ink illustrations used for Giga Basara attacks in Sengoku Basara 4 and Sumeragi. Nishimoto's paintings are currently on display as part of the Sengoku Zukan -Cool Basara Style- ('Sengoku Reference Book -Cool Basara Style-) tie-in event at the Saitama Prefectural Museum of History and Folklore, and on 16th August he visited the museum in person to demonstrate live ink painting and talk about his work. The photographs in the Famitsu and 4Gamer reports give a good idea of what it must have been like to watch Nishimoto's dramatic performance.

From what the reports describe, it sounds as though Nishimoto works quite quickly once he has decided how the finished artwork should look but some of the Sengoku Basara illustrations took quite a long time to visualise when he was working from scratch. It sounds as though it would have been a very interesting presentation to attend.

The latest Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi videos from the Capcom Channel

Wednesday's special video was (Approximately) 10-second Theatre: The Three 'Bee's.


Friday's new video was (Approximately) 10-second Theatre: Setouchi Conclusion.


And yesterday's was (Approximately) 10-second Theatre: Solitude.


Wednesday's upcoming video should be the last one in this series, so once that's available it's up to Capcom to inform us about any further promotion. I'm still hoping for some more DLC!

Waiting for Heavenly Blue? Try listening to the album preview for now

I'm seeing that a lot of fans are anxious about the continuing wait for Ishikawa Chiaki's upcoming CD with the hauntingly beautiful Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi ending theme, Heavenly Blue. The preview trailer for the album might help in the meantime as you can also hear what the new versions of her older Sengoku Basara songs sound like towards the end.


An update on the problem with muffled sound in Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi

Thank you very much to everyone who shared their experiences about the reported sound problems with Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi. The reports were all extremely detailed so it was easy to see the similarities between what everyone was describing. So far, it seems that:

• The sound problems are only in the PS3 version of the game.
• Most of the sound is fine, but there are certain clips which sound muffled, grainy or just plain strange.
• It's most noticeable during battle, so characters who talk a lot in combat (Kanetsugu/Musashi) and the new characters are affected. In addition, the sounds relating to performing a Giga Basara attack, transforming in the roulette, picking up an item and hitting an enemy are all affected.
• In Sengoku Basara 4, parrying an attack and nullifying an attack with certain special shield abilities made the same sound. In Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi, the normal parry sound effect is muffled while the noise which occurs in those other situations still sounds normal.
• Where it affects clips which were also used in the original Sengoku Basara 4, they sound worse than before - so people who have played the previous game are more likely to notice the problem.
• One fan commented that there were a few muffled lines in Sengoku Basara 4 with the lines which play right before the screen fades out after changing your settings in Sengoku Creation mode.
• This isn't a region locking issue as the same problem can be found on copies played on Japanese PS3s while logged into a Japanese PSN account.
• I was sent a link to an Amazon review which described the exact same symptoms.
• So far, most people mentioned having the physical disc version of the game so I'm not sure whether the PSN download version is similarly affected.
• Edit: It's been confirmed that the problem also exists in the downloaded version of the game.

All of the feedback has convinced me that it's a widespread problem given that there are relatively few importers yet many have noticed the issue. It affects all of the PS3 copies but the individual speaker setup probably affects how noticeable it is. The good news is that the PS4 version seems fine, so presumably there are no problems with the original game assets.

One of the people who contacted me said that someone has asked Capcom for assistance already, so I checked and they have posted a FAQ on their support site which acknowledges the problem and states that they had to reduce the audio quality for PS3 due to memory limitations. That seems a bit weak so I might send them a list of these complaints too so they realise that they need to do something about it.

If you want to complain, please use this link then press the red button to access the form. Pick the top option in the list ('glitch') then the fourth checkbox ('other'), then 'PlayStation 3', then the top option if you bought the game new on disc (if you bought it from PSN, it's the third option).

Next comes the game title (it makes no difference so you can just write 戦国BASARA4 皇 通常版 BLJM-61248) and date of purchase. Pick the first three options to confirm that it happens every time then skip the small text box as there is no error code.

The huge text box is for describing the problem, so go ahead and do that. They will only respond in Japanese but they will probably read English complaints as well (or you can just post the link to the Amazon review and say something simple like "bad audio like this!"). Pick the second option at the bottom of the text box, as the top one is for people with a damaged disc.

Finally, add your personal details. The first four boxes are for your name in kanji then kana, then it asks for your age. You can skip everything else other than the boxes for your email address at the bottom.

Capcom will probably just apologise and say there is nothing they can do, but they're advertising the game as having good quality sound so I think it's fine to complain if you're not happy with the muffled audio. Even if they really did have to compress the sound more for the PS3, it's clearly being compressed too much if it's disrupting the game for a number of users. Good luck!

New roundup: A surprising number of updates about various Sengoku Basara projects

The latest Butai Sengoku Basara vs Devil May Cry stage play updates

The Butai Sengoku Basara vs Devil May Cry stage play is going to start its run just over a week from now, so the official site has been posting a large number of updates recently to get fans in the mood for some time-travelling, demon-fighting action. Shots of the cast in costume have been added along with short video messages from each actor introducing themselves.

It's strange seeing Yoshida Tomokazu, the actor who played Kojuurou for years in Butai Sengoku Basara, elaborately dressed up as the 'black knight' (previously billed as Prototype Nelo Angelo). I'm curious about how this stage play is going to turn out.

Of course, fans lucky enough to visit the theatre will be able to commemorate this strange crossover with a wide range of special merchandise as usual.

An official 32-page colour pamphlet (programme) laid out to feature both series for ¥2,500. It will include an interview with KobaP and the play's director Ujigawa Masanari:

A pair of hand towels for ¥1,000:

A set of two A4 clear files patterned on both sides for ¥1,000:

A large uchiwa fan with Masamune on one side, Dante on the other for ¥1,000:

Eleven different sets of five cast photographs for ¥1,000 per set:

And a selection of 12 randomly-packed 57mm can badges for ¥300 each:

The warriors of Sengoku Basara are to urge gamers to donate to charity

I know I must have been writing about Sengoku Basara news for a while as this is the third year in a row that I've reported that the series will be teaming up with the Akai Hane Kyoudou Bokin ('Red Feather Community Chest') national charity drive.

Brand new Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi posters will be used to promote the campaign across 29 prefectures and (hopefully) raise awareness of the need to donate starting from October 2015. This year, Yukimura is joining Masamune on the main poster artwork for the first time.

A sample of some of the tasty Sengoku Basara food and drink on sale in Japan at the moment

The Pasela chain has updated its website to show off the special Sengoku Basara food and drink available at its various entertainment locations. There's the Capcom Bar's new limited edition Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi menu, as well as the Pasela karaoke menu and the food/drink menus from its two themed cafes. Some of the drink designs are incredible, like the Tadakatsu cocoa, the scary-looking Hisahide drink with hot peppers and the probably-difficult-to-drink Kanbee cocktail complete with iron ball.

I can't believe that even Musashi and 'Poem' Amago have themed drinks available...

Capcom announces a limited price reduction for old costume DLC - on PS3

A new campaign has been launched, during which all seven of the 'former DLC' costumes originally for Sengoku Basara 4 will be available in a ¥1,500 set for PS3 Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi owners. The offer will run from today until 31st August 2015, so if you happen to meet the requirements and don't already have those costumes it's probably a good idea to hurry to the PlayStation store. They're usually only available individually for Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi.

The costumes included in the bundle are those shown above: Date Masamune (hakama/wooden sword version), Sanada Yukimura (azure dragon version), Ishida Mitsunari (DMC Vergil version), Tokugawa Ieyasu (Gakuen Basara version), Shibata Katsuie (absolute justice version), Shima Sakon (twin sword kung fu version) and Ii Naotora (wedding version).

Listings begin to appear for the Sengoku Basara: Bontenmaru-hen manga

I know a few fans have been waiting for this. A Manga Oh listing has appeared this week to confirm that Yoshihara Motoki's Sengoku Basara: Bontenmaru-hen manga from Sengoku Basara Magazine is soon going to be available as a standalone book. The price has yet to be confirmed but the manga will be published under the Dengeki Comics NEXT line on 26th September 2015. If you're one of the fans who have been wanting to read the story without buying all of the individual magazines, this will be a great chance to catch up and read the story of Masamune's past. I expect that the book will collect the entire story since it doesn't have a volume number.

The cover artwork for the series' next drama CD is previewed

The final cover art for the Sengoku Basara 4: Sanbee Souran ~Oushuu Ni Teru Hikari~ ('Three '-bee' Mayhem ~The Future Which Shines On Oushuu~ drama CD has now been posted on the Dengekiya shop.

There are also previews for the bonus illustrations which come with the first press edition.

Yokota Mamoru's artwork looks amazing. I'm looking forward to listening to this CD!

Catching up on the latest Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi promotional videos

Friday's new video was one we have already seen before, but now it's possible to watch (Approximately) 10-second Theatre: Flame Shingen, Ice Kenshin at any time as a standalone clip.


Monday's was (Approximately) 10-second Theatre: Let's Have Tea.


Information wanted: Does your copy of Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi have muffled audio?

A couple of people have sent me messages about their copies of Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi having some kind of issue with muffled sounds. I haven't experienced this at all myself and I haven't heard any Japanese fans talking about it, but I'd like to help if I can.

Out of curiosity, have any other readers experienced audio problems with the game? If you can confirm the symptoms, version (PS3/PS4, disc or download) and any other information you have, I'll try to investigate this further when I have some time.

News roundup: It's time to take a break from playing and update this blog!

I've been a little busy recently so this is a bumper update summarising lots of different news. Since my final 'launch' items arrived I'm going to tweet KobaP today saying that I bought the game; I hope some other foreign fans have been doing the same thing!

By the way, I happen to have an extra set of preorder weapon codes (Yoshiteru/Masamune/Yukimura/Masamune/Ieyasu) which came with my PS3 edition. If you have bought the game, didn't manage to preorder the weapons and play on a Japanese PSN account, please let me know and the codes are yours. There's only one set so it will have to be first come, first served.

Edit: The codes have now been claimed, thank you!

I tested and all of the weapons are recognised across platforms; in fact, since I preordered the game on PSN and then redeemed my PS4 weapon codes on PS4 as well, I actually have two copies of Yoshiteru's element-changing weapon stored on my PS3 save now plus the spare code. So for the purpose of this giveaway it doesn't matter whether you're going to use the PS3 or PS4 version so long as you're using a Japanese account.

Celebrate the Sengoku Basara series' tenth anniversary with more commemorative goods

Two new items have been announced for fans who don't have enough Sengoku Basara merchandise in their life.

The first is a commemorative 2016 calendar which features a different warrior on each page and looks back at the selected characters over the course of the last ten years. It's priced at ¥2,000 before tax and will be widely available from the start of October 2015.

The second new item is a luxury 10th anniversary fountain pen from Sailor. It's based on the Pro Colour 500 model and features a lot of small details which pay tribute to the series. Three different designs are available to suit fans of Masamune, Yukimura or Mitsunari.

The pens don't come cheap at ¥14,800 before tax apiece. They'll go on sale in late November 2015 and the Entersis Factory website is already accepting preorders.

There's not much to report in this week's gaming magazines

I didn't post a magazine summary yesterday because Dengeki PlayStation isn't coming out until next week and Weekly Famitsu had barely any coverage at all. Interestingly Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi picked up a recommendation in the editorial team's internal ranking for the week where it came in sixth place and was singled out as a particularly noteworthy title. There was no update on the game's website either; hopefully some of the staff are taking a well-earned rest!

KobaP, however, doesn't seem to be resting at all. The Famitsu website has posted a report where he guides readers through the Sengoku Basara collaboration event which is currently running at Nikko Edomura (Edo Wonderland). It looks really fun.

Preview for the next issue of Sengoku Basara Magazine

Now that the tenth issue of Sengoku Basara Magazine has been listed on the e-Capcom store, we have a few more details about what it will include along with a glimpse at the rubber strap and cover - though I anticipate that the cover artwork will be changed at the last minute as usual.

The lead 18-page article is all about the 32 new stories in Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi, including an interview with KobaP and YamamotoD all about how they were created. The Katakura Kojuurou coverage will span 17 pages and incorporate an interview with seiyuu Morikawa Toshiyuki as well as the usual detailed character information.

The new 17-page scenario novel about Sen No Rikyuu now has an official title: Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi: Riten Daisanoe ('The Grand Tea Ceremony Cast Out From Heaven'). It tells the story of the events which caused Rikyuu to leave the Toyotomi army from his point of view, and there will be appearances by Mitsunari, Ieyasu, Sakon and Keiji. The illustrations will be provided by Ashika Nozomu once again.

It's also been confirmed separately that the upcoming chapter of the Sengoku Basara 4: Bontenmaru-hen manga is to be the finale, as I was expecting from the general direction of the story. I wonder whether they'll really go ahead and replace it with Benmaru-hen as some of the staff have been hinting?

New merchandise is revealed - exclusively for visitors to specific Marui stores this month

The Sengoku Basara series is returning to the Marui building in Kitasenju, Tokyo with a pop-up shop which opened for business this week. It closes on 18th August 2015. There will also be a similar pop-up store in Shizuoka's Marui building between 12th August and 23rd August 2015. Fans will have to be quick; as well as activities and merchandise from other Capcom titles, some special limited edition goodies will be available.

Canvas artwork of Date Masamune (¥6,000):

Four different Sengoku Basara felt mascot keychains (¥700 each):

Four different Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi clear files themed around the Touhoku, Kantou/Chuubu, Kinki/Chuugoku and Shikoku/Kyuushuu regions (¥400 each):

Four different Sengoku Basara playing card hand towels (¥1,200 each):

A set of four Sengoku Basara postcards (¥700):

There's also a special 'Date & Sanada' canvas illustration which is among various prizes on offer at the stores. Visitors who spend more than ¥3,000 using an Epos card will be entered into a prize draw, so it's likely to become a highly coveted item.

Reminder: This month's V Jump magazine can now be preordered

If, like me, you're one of those people waiting to complete their collection of element-changing weapon DLC for Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi, it looks as though the upcoming October issue of V-Jump can now be preordered on sites such as Amazon Japan ahead of its release in a few weeks. This is the volume which is slated to come with a DLC code for Shibata Katsuie's dark-elemental weapon.

A chat show event is planned for fans in the Kitakyuushuu area

The next real-life event related to Sengoku Basara has been announced. Sengoku Basara ga YATTEKURU ('Sengoku Basara is COMING') is a live talk show which will be held on Saturday 5th September 2015 at the Aru Aru YY Theatre in the Aru Aru City complex in Kokura, Fukuoka Prefecture. The guests scheduled to attend are Hoshi Souichirou (Sanada Yukimura), Miki Shinichirou (Gotou Matabee) and series producer Kobayashi 'KobaP' Hiroyuki. Advance tickets go on sale on 8th August 2015 for ¥3,500 (plus an extra mandatory ¥500 drink) each.

The latest Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi videos

The game may be out now but we still have another two weeks of Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi video clips planned for the official website. Monday's was a Sasuke cutscene clip titled (Approximately) 10-second Theatre: Monkey Show.


And yesterday's new video was (Approximately) 10-second Theatre: Get Costumes With Tenka Medals!