Blood Warrior
Encyclopedia
Blood Warrior, known in Japan
as , is a 1994
fighting
arcade game
developed by Atop and published by Kaneko. It is the successor to the 1992 fighting arcade game, Shogun Warriors
, also developed by Atop and published by Kaneko. Blood Warrior uses digitized
images of real actors within the game and is clearly inspired by Midway
's Mortal Kombat
franchise when it comes to both presentation and violence.
The gameplay of Blood Warrior is quite similar to many of the 2D fighting games of the same era. However, Kaneko seem to have taken much of their inspiration from the Mortal Kombat franchise in terms of over the top gore and violence; however, Blood Warriors predecessor Shogun Warriors predates Mortal Kombat in featuring blood, while Barbarian: The Ultimate Warrior predates Mortal Kombat in featuring death moves.
The player's character fights against his or her opponent in best two-out-of-three matches in a single player tournament mode with the computer or against another human player. Like its predecessor, Shogun Warriors, players has a character roster of eight fighters to choose from, and four bosses, each with their own fighting style and special techniques based on the ones in Japanese culture. In one player mode, after selecting a character, the arcade randomly selects an opponent. The opponent order goes randomly and always leaves the final boss last.
After winning two rounds, the winning player can perform a death move much like a "Fatality
" in Mortal Kombat. Most of which tend to be over the top and humorous, which is based on the humor of its predecessor Shogun Warriors. The death moves are considerably easier to perform compared to Mortal Kombat as they only require a tap of any button.
- The protagonist of the game, based on Samurai
from Shogun Warriors. - Based on Ninja
from Shogun Warriors. - A ksitigarbha
. - A kunoichi
. - A kappa. - Resembles Shogun
from Shogun Warriors, but his actual occupation is a samurai. - Based on Kabuki
from Shogun Warriors. - Based on Saitō Musashibō Benkei
, but has a different look compared to himself in Shogun Warriors. - Based on Ishikawa Goemon
.
. The game is best known for being inspired by Midway's Mortal Kombat with over the top and comical violence. The Blood Warrior arcade machine is very rare: the Killer List of Videogames
currently ranks the rarity as 2 out of 100 (with 100 being common, 1 being scarce), meaning finding an original dedicated cabinet for this game is extremely difficult.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
as , is a 1994
1994 in video gaming
-Events:*Nintendo calls this year "1994: The Year of the Cartridge".*Nintendo Australia Pty. Ltd, the Australian subsidiary of Nintendo Co., Ltd is established and opened by Hiroshi Yamauchi and effectively ends Mattel Australia's distribution of Nintendo's products throughout Australia.*"Project...
fighting
Fighting game
Fighting game is a video game genre where the player controls an on-screen character and engages in close combat with an opponent. These characters tend to be of equal power and fight matches consisting of several rounds, which take place in an arena. Players must master techniques such as...
arcade game
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
developed by Atop and published by Kaneko. It is the successor to the 1992 fighting arcade game, Shogun Warriors
Shogun Warriors (arcade game)
Shogun Warriors, known in Japan as , is a 1992 fighting arcade game developed by Atop and Kaneko and published in Japan by Sammy Corporation and published in North America and Europe by Kaneko. It was the first modern-fighting game based on ancient Japanese mythology, and was created during the...
, also developed by Atop and published by Kaneko. Blood Warrior uses digitized
Digitizing
Digitizing or digitization is the representation of an object, image, sound, document or a signal by a discrete set of its points or samples. The result is called digital representation or, more specifically, a digital image, for the object, and digital form, for the signal...
images of real actors within the game and is clearly inspired by Midway
Midway Games
Midway Games, Inc. is an American company that was formerly a major video game publisher. Following a bankruptcy filing in 2009, it is no longer active and is in the process of liquidating all of its assets. Midway's titles included Mortal Kombat, Ms.Pac-Man, Spy Hunter, Tron, Rampage, the...
's Mortal Kombat
Mortal Kombat (series)
Mortal Kombat, commonly abbreviated MK, is a science fantasy series of fighting games created by Ed Boon and John Tobias. The first four renditions and their updates were developed by Midway Games and initially released on arcade machines. The arcade titles were later picked up by Acclaim...
franchise when it comes to both presentation and violence.
Gameplay
The player's character fights against his or her opponent in best two-out-of-three matches in a single player tournament mode with the computer or against another human player. Like its predecessor, Shogun Warriors, players has a character roster of eight fighters to choose from, and four bosses, each with their own fighting style and special techniques based on the ones in Japanese culture. In one player mode, after selecting a character, the arcade randomly selects an opponent. The opponent order goes randomly and always leaves the final boss last.
After winning two rounds, the winning player can perform a death move much like a "Fatality
Fatality (Mortal Kombat)
In the Mortal Kombat series of fighting games, a Fatality is a finishing move that can be used against one's defeated opponent at the end of the final match, after the boss character says "Finish Him/Her." The Fatalities are usually lethal, featuring a brutal and morbid execution of the defenseless...
" in Mortal Kombat. Most of which tend to be over the top and humorous, which is based on the humor of its predecessor Shogun Warriors. The death moves are considerably easier to perform compared to Mortal Kombat as they only require a tap of any button.
Characters
There are nine playable characters, and two bosses. Like its predecessor, the Japanese version contains original voice samples, while the North American and Worldwide versions were dubbed in English for some characters.- The protagonist of the game, based on Samurai
Samurai
is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...
from Shogun Warriors. - Based on Ninja
Ninja
A or was a covert agent or mercenary of feudal Japan specializing in unorthodox arts of war. The functions of the ninja included espionage, sabotage, infiltration, and assassination, as well as open combat in certain situations...
from Shogun Warriors. - A ksitigarbha
Ksitigarbha
Ksitigarbha is a bodhisattva primarily revered in East Asian Buddhism, usually depicted as a Buddhist monk in the Orient. The name may be translated as "Earth Treasury", "Earth Store", "Earth Matrix", or "Earth Womb"...
. - A kunoichi
Kunoichi
is the term for a female ninja or practitioner of ninjutsu .-Etymology:The term is thought to derive from the names of characters that resemble the three strokes in the kanji character for ; said in the order they are written: ku - no - ichi...
. - A kappa. - Resembles Shogun
Shogun
A was one of the hereditary military dictators of Japan from 1192 to 1867. In this period, the shoguns, or their shikken regents , were the de facto rulers of Japan though they were nominally appointed by the emperor...
from Shogun Warriors, but his actual occupation is a samurai. - Based on Kabuki
Kabuki
is classical Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for the stylization of its drama and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers.The individual kanji characters, from left to right, mean sing , dance , and skill...
from Shogun Warriors. - Based on Saitō Musashibō Benkei
Saito Musashibo Benkei
, popularly called Benkei, was a Japanese warrior monk who served Minamoto no Yoshitsune. He is commonly depicted as a man of great strength and loyalty, and a popular subject of Japanese folklore.-Biography:...
, but has a different look compared to himself in Shogun Warriors. - Based on Ishikawa Goemon
Ishikawa Goemon
was a semi-legendary Japanese outlaw hero who stole gold and valuables and gave them to the poor. Goemon is notable for being boiled alive along with his son in public after a failed assassination attempt on the civil war-era warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi. A large iron kettle-shaped bathtub is now...
.
Reception
Blood Warrior is an obscure title due to not many being sold, especially outside of Japan, but it has become more recognized since being emulated with the emulator MAMEMAME
MAME is an emulator application designed to recreate the hardware of arcade game systems in software on modern personal computers and other platforms. The intention is to preserve gaming history by preventing vintage games from being lost or forgotten...
. The game is best known for being inspired by Midway's Mortal Kombat with over the top and comical violence. The Blood Warrior arcade machine is very rare: the Killer List of Videogames
Killer List of Videogames
The Killer List of Videogames is a web site featuring an online encyclopedia devoted to cataloging arcade games past and present. It is the video game department of the International Arcade Museum, and has been referred to as "the IMDb for players."....
currently ranks the rarity as 2 out of 100 (with 100 being common, 1 being scarce), meaning finding an original dedicated cabinet for this game is extremely difficult.
See also
- The Kung-Fu Master Jackie ChanThe Kung-Fu Master Jackie Chanis a 1995 fighting arcade game developed and published by Kaneko. It features the Hong Kong celebrity, Jackie Chan, who was also the producer of it, while it also features other actors from some of Jackie Chan's films...
- another Mortal Kombat-inspired fighting arcade game released by Kaneko.
External links
- Blood Warrior at arcade-history