For those of you who have a fond spot for this PSX-era "stylish kendo simulator" series as much I do, you might be interested in what I have to say.
For those of you who don't even know what I'm talking about, well, allow me to elaborate.
Bushido Blade and its sequel were fairly popular fighting games during their era, that were developed by a company named "Light Weight" and published by Squaresoft. The main thing that separated this series from everything else out there, was the way the fights themselves were conducted.
While it was still "1v1", this 3D fighter did some very different things. For one, there was no time limits, no life gauges, no super meters, nothing that you would consider "status quo" for fighting game interfaces. For two, you and your opponent had free reign to wander about the given arena you were in, which often were multi-tiered stages that allotted for being able to roam about as you pleased. Oh, and then there's the big thing: One hit KOs were very much the norm, and, at least in the US versions, that meant grisly death for your character.
A number of different weapons and different characters, all with their own attributes and styles, made for nice variety all around.
This type of innovative fighter was something that people dug very much....and then were heart-broken when it was found out that Light Weight and Squaresoft parted company. The exact details of what happened during that time may never be known, but it was reported that Squaresoft, legally, kept the "Bushido engine" for themselves. I suppose that would be a good reason why none of Light Weight's future and similar games in the "Kengo" series, were never quite what Bushido Blade was.
But any way....so an old pal of mine gets in contact with me about a few days ago. While we were talking rather casually and catching up through IM, eventually, one thing leads to another, and then he spilled the beans....
Bushido Blade 3. It's FINALLY happening. No, this is not my lame attempt at a "Reserved" topic, or whatever that particular meme is called. This [parasitic bomb] is for real. And he would be at the liberty to say as such, because he's helming the project himself.
Any way, he's still being relatively tight-lipped about the thing, which won't probably be officially unveiled for another matter of months. But he was able to whet my appetite with a few choice details.
* currently, the game is still at least 13 months away from being complete (so sometime in 2010 is probably going to be the release date)
* will continue to use the Bushido Blade engine, and seeks to just add more to it (more weapons, stances and etc, is what I could glean)
* will be VERY, VERY gory; the game definitely is more of a Western/American-focused project
* will NOT be a continuation of the story from the last two games, and won't have any of its characters come back, due to the legal snafu with Light Weight (so sorry, no Tony Umeda
)
* will be 360 exclusive, he and his team have no interest in developing the game for the PS3
* trying to shoot for showing off the game for the first time no later than Summer 09 (if not earlier)
* website will be up "very soon"
So, needless to say, as an old Bushido Blade fan, color me all the various shades and tints of excited. While it's still a long way from being complete, the thought of being able to throw swords into people's faces again, is enough to make me melt.
I'm just sorry I don't have much more in the way of proof to back up my claims. But my friend, in the while I've known him, has never given me reason to doubt on what he stands to deliver.
Stay tuned...