The Last Blade

The end of the 1990's was a bad time for new 2D fighting games due to the sheer amount of them released over the course of the decade. Capcom and SNK both released quality title after quality title, but despite their consistent good works many games flew under the radar due to their own marquee series' overshadowing some of their lesser known IPs. It also didn't help that by 1997 3D gaming was clearly the focus of most developers and the public's consciousness. Hell, SNK and Capcom both already had 3D fighting games by this point as well, with Samurai Shodown 64 releasing just a few months prior to Last Blade. Because of the timing of its release, The Last Blade falls into the category of "lesser known works" when taking the general public into account. That said, the series is still well known and well respected in the fighting game community, and for good reason. 

When it came out in late 1997 in the arcade, The Last Blade was a breath of fresh air in an otherwise sequel laded landscape. It had a fresh, new fighting system, a refreshing take on weapon based battles, and some of the most lavish 2D sprite animation yet seen on the Neo - right up there with and arguably surpassing the stunning Art of Fighting 3 and Waku Waku 7. Sales were apparently very good, with Japanese publication Game Machine touting it as the top grossing arcade game in January of 1998.

Personally, I have a fair amount of nostalgia for this title. See, the Last Blade was the first, brand new Neo-Geo AES game I got on its release date when I was 16. I had purchased my first AES console in January of 1998, and with the Last Blade releasing shortly thereafter, I quickly put down my pre-order at a specialty game shop I found advertised in Gamefan magazine. I had a couple hundred bucks left over from purchasing my AES package, so this was perfect timing. Once I had the game in my hands I was blown away - I had never see any game animate this well, save for Street Fighter 3. What's more, there was still little to no coverage in game magazines, so I had only seen one or two screenshots on the still infantile internet. I had no idea what to expect, but what I got was nothing short of magical. What was even more fun is that I had only played about 5 total games on the actual Neo-Geo to this point because the MVS was just not popular in arcades around where I grew up. The Last Blade is important to me personally because it helped to solidify what I would come to expect from SNK moving forward and looking backward. 

I have much to say about what I consider to be one of the true 2D fighting game masterpieces, so strap in and let's talk about The Last Blade.

Our story begins in Japan - it's 1863, the Bakumatsu age - and the reign of the Tokugawa Shogunate was beginning to topple as the new Meiji government was trying to take hold to reshape Japan into a less violent and more open state. The events that embroil the cast of the game are based around four sealed gods who become unleashed through the opening of Hell's Gate by a unknown force. 

Kaede, the protagonist of the series, was the adoptive son of a great warrior who trained him in the art of bushido (sword arts). Not knowing he is the human surrogate of one of the four sealed Gods, Kaede's strength and tenacity is unrivaled even at an early age. Kaede's journey begins when he purportedly witnesses the murder of his father by his adoptive brother Moriya when he was just 13. Now five years later, Kaede seeks out Moriya for answers in the midst of the brewing trouble brought about by the forces bent on opening Hell's Gate.

If you thought - "wait, that sounds kind of like the classic manga Ruruouni Kenshin" - you are correct. The developers behind the game were inspired by Nobuhero Watsuki's work in the plot, setting, and visual design. SNK would go on to have a working relationship with the famed mangaka directly a few years later as he was commissioned by Yuki Enterprises to design some of the new characters for 2003's Samurai Shodown V including its main protagonist Yoshitora Tokugawa.

The events in the Last Blade purportedly take place in the cannon SNK universe, setting up the plotline that eventually leads to the South Town saga that comprises the Art of Fighting and Fatal Fury series. As such, Eiji Kisaragi, from the Art of Fighting series, is the Kisaragi style descendent of Zantetsu from Last Blade, among other connections. 

To this point, SNK has two weapons based fighting series, Samurai Shodown and Savage Reign. Rather than borrow gameplay elements from either of those series, Last Blade introduces an entirely unique set of mechanics - which was a breath of fresh air in the crowded fighting game space in 1997. 

First up, players have 4 action buttons to use during a fight: light and heavy strike buttons, a kick button, and a deflect button. While this sounds standard enough, players also get to choose an "ism" that best fits their play style on top of a bevy of command normals, wall bounces, and other mechanics.

The Isms:

Each ism, or gameplay mode, allows the player to choose what play style works best for them personally or for their character of choice. Neither option is an "easy" mode, and each have strengths and drawbacks to help balance things out. 

Speed mode: If you are a more offense oriented player, the Speed mode will suit you well as it allows a bit of freedom to create chain-combos and you can also perform a full custom combo (ala Street Fighter Alpha 2) when certain conditions are met (explained below). Even though individual attacks do less damage than Power Mode, the chain-combo system balances this out by having longer combo strings leading to slightly more damage overall if you can get in.

Power Mode: Power mode takes away the ability to chain-combo, but does grant your character a Super Desperation Move (SDM) that is unavailable in Speed mode. Attacks do more damage individually, and the ability to cancel normal attacks into each other is not present. Because of this, combo timing is more traditional in this mode making it a good balance between offense and defense. If you're coming from King of Fighters or Street Fighter, this might be the mode for you.

All characters can use either mode, but some characters are designed to play better in one mode over the other. My personal favorite character, Hyo Amano, plays best in Power mode while characters like Lee or Zantetsu see their potential unleashed in Speed mode. Some characters, like Lee, have command normals that are only available in one of the two modes but not both. The two main characters, Moriya and Kaede, are balanced enough to excel in either mode. It feels like these are intentional choices by the development staff, but I've not been able to source any material that directly states this was the intent.

Regardless of ism, all characters have two life bars (like the Real Bout series). As you attack and defend, your power meter on the bottom of the screen will fill allowing you access to your normal Desperation Move once full. Once you are down to your last quarter of health, your life bar will begin flashing red and opens up additional options. In Power Mode you gain access to your Super Desperation Move and in Speed Mode you gain access to your true custom combo if you have both a flashing red life bar and a full power meter.

In addition to the isms, there are a few universal mechanics that work the same across all characters. First up is the wall-bounce attack done by pressing forward + kick. Upon hit, this strong kick knocks the opponent to the other side of the screen and smacks them against the wall. This isn't like a wall bounce in many other fighting games, though, as there are not many juggling or combo opportunities. That said, it is a great "get off me" move when you need to create space. It can be deflected, though, and is very unsafe on block. The other universal move is a mid/overhead attack done by pressing hard slash + kick together. This mid-hitting move will hit crouch-blocking opponents, or it will break an opponents guard and put them in a brief stagger state which leaves them vulnerable to attack for a few frames. 

The Last Blade also isn't without some defensive options to compliment the overtly more aggressive gameplay than your average weapons based fighter. The deflect mechanic is the most prominent defensive option in the game, and proper use of this technique is what will keep the opponent on their toes. Dedicated to a single button press (D on a Neo-Geo controller), deflect allows you to cleanly knock away attacks on the ground as well as in the air. A successful deflect provides you a short window of opportunity to land a lethal counter attack; just don't abuse it. If your opponent anticipates a deflect or bates it out of you, you are left at a massive disadvantage in recovery frames. In addition to normal blocking functions, you can also air-block in certain situations.

Movement options hue closer to King of Fighters than Samurai Shodown with the ability to forward or backward dash and perform the "SNK short hop" in addition to the normal jumping mechanics. This single mechanic, along with the generally quick tempo of the game, will be most familiar to fans of the King of Fighters series, and many of the same footsie tactics that incorporate the short hop in those games translate over into Last Blade. 

Kaede, the game's protagonist, has a special mode where he can effectively go "Super Sayian" during battle once he has a full power meter. By pressing down, down and BCD together he enters his awakened state. In this state he has flowing yellow hair instead of black, and his entire move set is upgraded along with his attack power and overall speed. The downside to this state is two fold: one, your life bar slowly drains to zero to balance out the big increase in power and speed; two, once he is in this state he cannot revert back to his normal self. While Kaede is the most balanced character overall (the "Ryu" of the cast), this mechanic also makes him one of the game's most interesting. In Last Blade 2, due to the continuation of the story, Kaede is permanently in his awakened state by default with his normal state being a hidden character option. 

The Last Blade is gorgeous - strikingly gorgeous. Due to having more cartridge space than King of Fighters 97 (which released just a few months prior) with less than half the number of characters, the artists on the development team had a massive amount of space to cram in a staggering amount of detail and animation. Rich, vibrant colors and abundant animation round out a cast of 13 unique characters and two bosses. Capes ripple realistically in the wind. Shirts and pants react accurately according to the motions of the fighters. Key animation frames are strong, and all attacks have an attention to detail that was unrivaled at the time. No two characters are alike, and there are no pallet swapped fighters to save memory space. 

Backgrounds are also stunning, and longtime SNK fans often point to this game as being the high point of their work. From the amazing ambiance of Kaede's stage, Yuki's snow covered court yard, Moriya's moonlit wilderness, and everything in between, there is a level of detail in these backgrounds that few pixel artists then and even today can match. Despite the minute attention to detail, the backgrounds never get in the way of the action and feel just as much an organic part of the game world as all other assets.

What awaits arcade goers after they insert some credits and press start is a real treat, but it is the expertly stylized attract sequence that initially draws you in. Once the player presses start everything from the character select screen and even the life/power meters that adorn the game screen are created with such detail and care that it all feels like a natural part of the environment rather than an overlay on top of an anime. Every asset in this game is expertly crafted by true masters of their art.

Music and sound effects are also a highlight here and fit the overall tone of the game and story well. The music is especially well written and has a more symphonic vibe that fits the western influence seen in Japan at the time this game takes place (the 1860's). All character themes and stage music carries through the main musical hook of the game in different arrangements that make the music feel like integral part of every moment. The arranged soundtrack is especially beautiful on the Neo CD release, but the MVS/AES OST is still exceptional. 

Visually and aurally, the Last Blade is a testament to the innovation and artistry of classic SNK and it stands up well today as a stunning example of timeless 1990's hand-drawn sprite work and sound design. 

The Last Blade is a masterpiece and marquee title for the Neo-Geo. The marriage of beautiful visual design, abundant animation, excellent mechanics, a unique and interesting cast, and a truly refreshing battle system provide gamers an engrossing landscape in which to lose themselves. The Last Blade doesn't just hold up visually in 2023, it holds up as a stand-out fighting game full stop - one that this gamer feels needs much more attention. 

Despite its good sales upon release, excitement for Last Blade dwindled quickly as the general gaming consumer was more than a little tired of the tsunami of fighting games by 1997. Still, plenty of AES home cartridge copies were made for the Japanese market, while the US version saw a very limited release (as was tradition). In the current 2023 market you can expect to pay no less than $450 for the Japanese version, but probably closer to $500. The US version is prohibitively expensive, usually landing in the ball park of $5000 or more these days. The MVS version, of course, is still quite affordable, and you can grab a loose cartridge for under $150. 

Of course, given it was 1997, SNK ported the game to their ill-fated Neo CD platform with plenty of concessions. As with most Neo CD games, loading is a key issue with this and most post 1995 releases on the console. Here's a brief overview of how the game loads data from pressing start at the title screen after a 30-45 second initial load. 

• Press start, 15 second load

• Character select, eight second load

• Character portrait versus screen, 10 second load

• Stage introduction, 30 second load

• Character intros, eight second load

• Between each round, eight second load. 

Every one of these loading instances, even if just a few seconds, has a loading screen. For ONE match, you have up to  1:32 of load times and up to eight separate loading screens. Want a little more salt in the wound? There are nips and tucks to the animation as well.  

Listen, while Last Blade on Neo CD is still very good, it's not arcade perfect and the frequent loading and obtrusive loading screens really kills the pacing and immersion. Sadly, just due to the architecture of the Neo CD, this is a trend we would continue to see until SNK axed CD game production in 1999. Despite these drawbacks, though, the Last Blade CD version sold well over 20k copies its first week on sale in Japan, which is no small feat considering the niche market for Neo-Geo games. Additionally, the Last Blade did see just one other port.

While the Last Blade was far too sophisticated for the limited RAM in the 32-bit consoles of the day, SNK decided to see what they could muster anyway. While the Sega Saturn would have been the obvious choice, given the expandable RAM cartridges available, I would wager that a port to the Saturn may have actually faired better than the Neo CD itself had they made use of the 4mb RAM expansion. Unfortunately, SNK decided to go the PS1 route which had no such niceties. Due to the Playstation having 3x less ram than the Neo CD, you can only imagine the cuts made to the animation and sound quality. It's a choppy mess with really only the key frames of animation left and all the incredible flourish and subtle movement is gone. That's not to mention the super low bit rate, muffled sound and cut voice overs. 

Fortunately, there was a port of the game to the Playstation 2 years later in a combo pack that also includes the second game and a bunch of extras - this is a great release and is still affordable in the modern retro market. Of course these days you can check it out on multiple emulators or pick up an $8 digital copy in Hamster's Arcade Archives series on just about all modern platforms. There is also a standalone release on Steam for a few bucks as well. 

As with any Neo-Geo game in the present day, modern emulation and FPGA solutions are going to present the player with the best way to experience these classics, so classic ports should be avoided unless you have a particular nostalgia for them. 

So, should you spend your hard-earned money on the AES release? This is tough to answer because while it's not the most expensive AES game, it's expensive enough that it is prohibitive to many collectors. It's an essential Neo-Geo game for fighting game aficionados, though, so the price for a Japanese copy is 100% worth it from my perspective. The Last Blade is also a great "shot-in-the-dark" purchase if you've never played the game because I haven't met one person that didn't enjoy the game upon first playing it. It is simple enough in approach to pick up and play, and deep enough to be satisfying long term. It is a masterpiece inside and out, and if you deem it worthy, it will be a cherished part of your Neo-Geo library. What are you still doing here? Go play this game! 

Check out the Last Blade 2 review if you want the full picture.