The Last Blade 2

About The Last Blade 2

The Last Blade 2 (1998) is SNK's darker sequel to its Bakumatsu-era sword fighter, adding an EX style and new characters including the evil spirit Setsuna and the swordsmith's daughter Hibiki.

The Last Blade 2 in Depth

The play is much as before, with minor adjustments, plus a new EX mode that combines the Speed and Power styles. The mood is grimmer from the introduction on, characters are coloured slightly darker, and cut-scenes are longer to emphasise the story. Characters are also less equal than before, with greater differences in strengths and weaknesses. Three newcomers join. Hibiki Takane is the 17-year-old daughter of the renowned swordsmith Genzō Takane, who was compelled by a silver-haired man radiating evil to forge the Yaso Magatsu Hi no Tachi over almost three months, work that left him bedridden; with his last cryptic words, she sets out after the man and the blade.

That man is Setsuna, a powerful spirit released when Kagami was defeated by Kaede, who possessed a dead baby on a battlefield, grew into an adult and now walks a path of destruction, hating humanity and wielding a black blade that trails dark energy. Kojiroh Sanada was captain of the fictional Shinsengumi Unit Zero, which investigated demonic forces; after he died investigating Hell's Gate, his sister Kaori took his identity to continue the work and restore faith in the Shinsengumi, a secret known only to Washizuka, with whom she shares moves without needing to charge them. Hibiki has two endings, one earned by defeating every Arcade mode opponent with super moves in every round.

Making The Last Blade 2

SNK developed and published it in 1998 for the Neo Geo arcade and home platforms as the sequel to The Last Blade. It was released on the AES and Neo Geo CD, whose version sold 9,379 copies in its first week, and on Dreamcast in 2001. Next Generation gave the Dreamcast version three stars, calling it "a unique 2D fighter" and "a welcome break from the plethora of Street Fighter variants", though only available as an import. It was later paired with the first game in a Japan-only PlayStation 2 compilation, released by Code Mystics on PlayStation 4 and Vita in 2016, and included in Hamster's ACA Neo Geo series. In 2012 GamesRadar+ named it among little-known classic fighters deserving HD remakes.