Played on a Fat PS2

This is a super unique fighting game and after all these years I can only think of two games like it (Bushido Blade 2 and Hellish Quart)

The game offers extremely intense and deep combat, with many moves and strategies available to the players. The way combat flows and feels is always nerving even for the best players.

Every character has their own advantages and special moves they're able to utilize, though each character only has access to special moves on one or two weapons. So this means if you play a certain character, you should use a weapon that the character can do special moves with. That's mostly as far as character differences go, though there is a special unlockable character that has a gun lol.

The weapons are all completely unique. Every weapon has its own move set, so you may be a master at one weapon, but have no idea how to use a different weapon. Now I don't know what any metas are but I stuck with the katana cause katanas are cool of course, and there's a lot of moves available it's pretty hard to keep track of, like any technical fighting game. I'm also pretty sure every character has a throwable weapon, I don't think these throwables can kill but they can noticeably injure your opponent. The exception is the dude with the gun of course.

Maps are kept pretty simple though they offer uneven terrain, objects in the way such as bamboo, there's definitely variety, it's just not a huge difference. It's notable that you can climb certain steeps on maps and can throw sand/dirt at your opponent if you're standing on it, so there is environmental interaction. It's also of note every character can jump.

The damage system is one of the unique bits of this game. No health bars or anything close to that, instead it's a bodily damage system and how hard a strike is + where you get struck can determine if you simply take damage, lose a function of a limb, become crippled, or die. You can do a light strike and a heavy strike, of course there's a million different variations of the light and heavy strike, but yeah there's two categories. You can strike at an opponents legs, torso, or head. What part of the body you're going for determines what specific move you'll throw. For example, a big overhead swing will only be possible to perform when you're aiming for your opponents head and when you go for a heavy strike. Any hit to the head is usually a kill. Hits to the torso can either just cause damage, or one arm goes limp, or you die. Hits to the leg usually cause damage or crippling, which leaves an opponent in a crouching or crawling stance, from this stance, aiming low now goes for the head or torso rather than legs because your opponent is lower.

I could go further and further in depth on the combat and the functions of this game, I didn't even talk about how blocking and parrying works, but if you're still reading this review at this point just go play it for yourself.

It's a fucking great swordplay game I promise. A definite recommend. I would also recommend playing this with friends.

I honestly hate fighting games but, Bushido Blade is easily the most compelling case for their being enjoyable that I have ever seen.

The combat being so simple and deadly allowed for me to get into it, I didn't feel like I needed to know every combo to win, I just needed to be patient and pick my time. Knowing the combos helps, but most of them can just as easily get you killed. Reading when an opponent is staggered versus blocking or dodging is vital for a combo to go well for you. Knowing your weapons reach and speed is of equal importance in all areas of play.

The balance of zen and violence that we see in classic samurai film fights such as Harakiri is present. The game is every bit as relaxing as it is nerve racking. It's exactly what a game about samurai sword-fighting needs to be.

If you're looking to get into this game, this guide helps a ton; (https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/ps/196844-bushido-blade/faqs/3759)