''Sengoku'' is a

beat 'em up The beat 'em up (also known as brawler and, in some markets, beat 'em all) is a video game genre featuring hand-to-hand combat against a large number of opponents. Traditional beat 'em ups take place in scrolling, two-dimensional (2D) levels ...

arcade game. It is the first entry of the ''Sengoku'' trilogy by

SNK is a Japanese video game hardware and software company. It is the successor to the company Shin Nihon Kikaku and presently owns the SNK video game brand and the Neo Geo video game platform. SNK's predecessor Shin Nihon Kikaku was founded in 1978 ...

. It was ported to numerous home consoles including the

Neo Geo Neo Geo is a family of video game hardware developed by SNK. On the market from 1990 to 2004, the brand originated with the release of an arcade system, the Neo Geo MVS and its home console counterpart, the Neo Geo AES. The Neo Geo MVS was ...

Neo Geo CD The is the second home video game console of SNK Corporation's Neo Geo family, released on September 9, 1994, four years after its cartridge-based equivalent. This is the same platform, converted to the cheaper CD format retailing at per titl ...

Mega-CD The Sega CD, released as the in most regions outside North America and Brazil, is a CD-ROM accessory for the Sega Genesis produced by Sega as part of the fourth generation of video game consoles. It was released on December 12, 1991, in Japa ...

and

Super Famicom The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in ...

. The arcade version was part of ''

SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 1 ''SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 1'' is a video game compilation created and published by SNK which includes sixteen Neo Geo games. The compilation was released on the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, and the Wii. In Australia, it was only releas ...

'', released in 2008. The Neo Geo version was re-released on the Japanese

Virtual Console A virtual console (VC) – also known as a virtual terminal (VT) – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some Unix-like operating systems such as Linux, BSD, illumos, Un ...

in 2011, with the sequels for the North American Virtual Console on November 8, 2012 (''

Sengoku 2 ''Sengoku 2'' is a beat 'em up arcade game. It is the second game of the ''Sengoku'' series by SNK. It was ported to the Neo Geo and Neo Geo CD consoles. In 2009 the series was compiled on a CD titled ''Sengoku Anthology'' for the PlayStation 2 ...

'') and June 6, 2013 (''

Sengoku 3 ''Sengoku 3'' is a 2001 side-scrolling beat 'em up arcade video game developed by Noise Factory and published by SNK. It is the third and final entry in the ''Sengoku'' series. In the game, players battle against undead enemy spirits. Though ini ...

'') and for the PAL region on February 7, 2013 (''Sengoku 2'') and September 5, 2013 (''Sengoku 3''). In 2009 the series was compiled on the ''

Sengoku Anthology ''Sengoku'' is a beat 'em up arcade game. It is the first entry of the ''Sengoku'' trilogy by SNK. It was ported to numerous home consoles including the Neo Geo, Neo Geo CD The is the second home video game console of SNK Corporation's Neo ...

'' for PlayStation 2 and

Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for ...

Gameplay

A player has a maximum of six health points. When certain enemies are defeated, spirits of powerful forms are available to transform into. In the SNES version transformation cannot be toggled, but stays constant for a limited time. The three different forms are a

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of History of Japan#Medieval Japan (1185–1573/1600), medieval and Edo period, early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retai ...

, an armour-clad

wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly u ...

and a more agile ninja. These forms have a limited use. Their attacks and jumps differ from the original form and their powers are enhanced by any power-ups collected. Throughout the game the player would need to survive the hordes of enemies by collecting coloured orbs as power-ups. Five Green orbs heal one health point. A Red orb gives the player a single sword, a Cyan orb gives the player a double sword, the Purple orb gives the player a two-handed holy sword and a Yellow orb gives the player a limited magical attack.

Plot

Centuries ago a cruel and insanely tyrannical warlord was defeated by the two elite Samurai but had sworn to return in the future. When he does he unleashes undead forces of

feudal Japan The first human inhabitants of the Japanese archipelago have been traced to prehistoric times around 30,000 BC. The Jōmon period, named after its cord-marked pottery, was followed by the Yayoi period in the first millennium BC when new inven ...

ese warriors to destroy the world and its people. The warlord is opposed only by the two protagonists, a

ninja A or was a covert agent or mercenary in feudal Japan. The functions of a ninja included reconnaissance, espionage, infiltration, deception, ambush, bodyguarding and their fighting skills in martial arts, including ninjutsu.Kawakami, pp ...

and a

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US * Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that i ...

cowboy (named Ninja Dave and Cowboy Kev in the Neo-Geo version and named Dan and Bill in the SNES version), who turn out to be descendants of the two elite Samurai responsible for vanquishing the wicked warlord centuries ago.

Reception

In Japan, ''Game Machine'' listed ''Sengoku'' on their March 15, 1991 issue as being the thirteenth most-successful table arcade unit of the month. Likewise, ''RePlay'' reported ''Sengoku'' to be the fourth most-popular arcade game at the time. On release, ''

Famicom Tsūshin formerly ''Famicom Tsūshin'', is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly formats as well as in the ...

'' scored the Neo Geo version of the game a 19 out of 40. ''

Electronic Gaming Monthly ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' (often abbreviated to ''EGM'') is a monthly American video game magazine. It offers video game news, coverage of industry events, interviews with gaming figures, editorial content and product reviews. History The ...

'' gave the Super NES version a 4.4 out of 10, commenting that it "has an interesting concept as you can change into different types of fighters, yet it just doesn't come together."

Power Unlimited ''Power Unlimited'' is a Dutch multi-format video games magazine. It is the biggest gaming magazine in the Benelux. The first issue was released in June 1993. History ''Power Unlimited'' started in June 1993 in Bjørn Bruinsma's basement as a ne ...

gave the Neo Geo version a score of 85% writing: "A top-shelf brawler, even for people who aren't much of a fighter. The game gives you a real fighting feeling, thanks to the great sounds and images."

Notes

References

External links

''Sengoku''
at

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''Sengoku''
at

Giant Bomb ''Giant Bomb'' is an American video game website and wiki that includes personality-driven gaming videos, commentary, news, and reviews, created by former ''GameSpot'' editors Jeff Gerstmann and Ryan Davis. The website was voted by ''Time'' ma ...

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