Akatsuki Blitzkampf (アカツキ電光戦記 Akatsuki Denkō Senki), or Akatsuki EN-Eins (アカツキ エンアイン, Akatsuki EN-Ain) is a doujinshi fighting game developed by doujin developer SUBTLE STYLE. Released in April 2007 as a full version of SUBTLE STYLE's 2003 game Akatsuki Shisei Ichigou, Akatsuki Blitzkampf got a lot of attention in Japan and elsewhere for its high-resolution sprites and older style of gameplay that was more reminiscent of Capcom fighters like Street Fighter over its fast-paced, combo heavy doujin contemporaries like Melty Blood. In-game visuals convey a specific militaristic theme and environment, portrayed by the flat and somewhat cubist character portraits and story cutscenes. Also, the gratuitous amount of extra modes the game provides (such as Survivalnote , Time Attack, or SUGOROKUnote ) and the ways that they are unlocked is largely reminiscent of a console release of an arcade fighting game, further reinforcing the semi-retro feel.
The game itself is set in an alternate presentnote , and involves characters that more or less resemble the German and Japanese soldiers of World War II. The protagonist is a top officer of this alternate universe's equivalent of the Imperial Japanese Navy, the titular Akatsuki, who was believed to have died 50 years ago during a very important weapon transporting mission in the Arctic Pole. Now that he has "returned" to life and has adquired several new powers, Akatsuki wants to finish what he started... but since he's stuck in a strange land that he doesn't really recognize anymore and there are many people going after the power he holds, which can potentially change history depending on which country gets his hands on it, this goal will NOT be easy to fulfill.
In 2007, Monthly Arcadia magazine confirmed that the game would receive an arcade release published by SUBTLE STYLE themselves. This version was known as Akatsuki Blitzkampf Ausf. Achse and it was released in 2008 for the Sega NAOMI system. Ausf. Achse featured a brand new character, updated graphics, some new voicework, and a balance update. Blitzkampf would receive a proper sequel in 2010 with the Lighter and Softer EN-Eins Perfekteweltnote , which introduced three new characters and changed the game into something faster and combo heavy due to double jumps, autocombos, and wallsplats. In June 2022, more than twelve years after the release of EN-Eins Perfektewelt, SUBTLE STYLE announced a crowdfunding campaign to develop an updated version of the game known as EN-Eins Perfektewelt Anastasis, featuring new characters, a training mode, updated graphics, and balance changes, and it was released on February 21, 2023 on Taito's NESiCAxLIVE arcade service. Although the crowdfunding campaign did not reach all of its goals, it succeeded enough to guarantee at least three new characters and new story content, with the first of these new characters (Inazuma) launching alongside the game and the rest coming in later updates.
Despite its relatively niche status, Akatsuki Blitzkampf maintains a cult status more than 16 years after the game's PC release thanks to its strong simple, yet deep gameplay. Akatsuki would later appear to represent the series in Under Night In-Birth becoming a popular character in his own right as a Guest Fighter. Akatsuki and Blitztank also rep the game in Arc System Works' BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle, increasing the series' exposure further.
Provides Examples Of:
- Alternate History: It looks like the post-war Earth has become a heavily dystopian and militarised Crapsack World. And there's a Nazi-inspired Secret Society, Gesellschaft, that is looking to get even more power...
- Auto-Revive: Anonym's Super, complete with a shaft of light shining down from the Heavens which also hits the opponent.
- The Bad Guy Wins: A pretty possible outcome, if the player chooses a villain's Story Mode or Anonym Merel's. Mycale the Perfecti and Murakumo attain world domination and/or destroy all or some life on Earth (surely at the expense of Akatsuki's life, plus in Mycale's case she almost surely keeps poor Kati's body for herself until the girl's physical death), Anonym Merel is subjected to a Grand Theft Me from Mycale right after defeating Murakumo... And Adler ends up Out-Gambitted but that doesn't deter him.
- Back Stab: Attacks against an opponent facing away from you deals an additional 50% damage compared to a counter-hit's usual 25% bonus.
- Battle in the Rain: It's played straight in Sai's Hong Kong stage, but when it's time to fight Elektrosoldat and Adler in Tibet's Tsangpo
Grand Canyon, what takes place is two Battles In The Snow. - Big Bad: Murakumo in Akatsuki Blitzkampf. Valkyria in EN-Eins Perfektewelt. Despite being a Mini-Boss in both games, Mycale/Perfecti can be this.
- Blood-Stained Glass Windows: Anonym's Home Stage is a church in Hong Kong.
- Bowdlerize: Ausf. Achse removes quite a bit of the blood and Elektrosoldat's "Sieg Heil" victory phrase.
- Cherry Blossoms:
- Murakumo's Super in Ausf. Achse has him slashing the foe upwards several times and then stabbing them back to the ground while some cherry blossom petals fall on them. This is a bowdlerised version of the original super, which is pretty similar save for the lack of petals and the borderline Rain of Blood...
- Also, the original PC version's pre-fight screens had cherry blossom petals raining down on the rivals's portraits.
- Church Militant: Anonym-Guard and her other Anonyms.
- Combat Pragmatist: Murakumo is a pretty dirty fighter who not only uses illusions and his katana, but also sets traps/Blitz Landmines on the ground.
- Confusion Fu: Murakumo and his illusions.
- Darker and Edgier: In contrast to most doujin fighters, the first game had a darker art style and the atmosphere was a lot less anime-like, instead opting for a "used future" style more seen in Western media. EN-Eins Perfektewelt averts this with a more colorful diamond-studded aesthetic but the lore is still dark.
- Deadly Gaze: Other than snake-style martial arts, this is Sai's primary means of assassination: evil eyes that can cause ailments or death on whoever looks into them. Or makes fish drop on them every time they jump.
- Dramatic Wind: Most everyone wearing a cape or other long, billowy garment benefits from this.
- Early-Bird Cameo: Valkyria, the Final Boss of EN-Eins Perfektewelt, shows up during Mycale's parry in Akatsuki Blitzkampf and Ausf. Achse.
- Easy-Mode Mockery: In Ausf. Achse, choosing the Easy Mode locks the player out of the chosen character's Story Path after the fifth match. Instead of anything similar to an ending, it ends with a picture of Mycale's Perfecti form, Murakumo and Blitztank, a "Ninmu kanryou!" ("Mission finished!") from the announcer and a message that urges the player to play in Normal Mode instead.
- Enemy Civil War: All over Gessellschaft. Murakumo's A God Am I mentality clashes with Mycale's own intentions (or Perfecti's for that matter), whereas Adler seems to have his own ideas about what should be done...
- Expy: Elektrosoldat plays pretty much like Guile from Street Fighter. Players refer to his projectiles as Sonic Booms and to his somersault kicks as Flash Kicks.
- Given his choice of hairstyle, usage of wrestling moves, and the significance of red in his clothes, it is very clear that Wei is effectively a more buff version of Shinsuke Nakamura.
- Fanservice: Kanae, Marilyn, Valkyria and her Tempelritter clones, all of whom have large busts and show off their legs. For a male example: Wei/Dawei (who is constantly shirtless).
- Gakuran: Subverted. At some point, a young man◊ in a shadowed environment is seen dressed in what seems to be a Japanese schoolboy outfit aka gakuran... but since this happens in Murakumo's prologue, it's obvious (at last within context) that this "young man" is NOT a middle school/highschool student but an adult wearing a military uniform. note In the game proper, no one wears a school uniform to fight.
- Grand Theft Me: Mycale, being the spirit of a Wicked Witch, has this skill and uses it to snatch the bodies of women with magic/fighting potential. In game/story she uses the body of a 14-year-old German girl named Kati, and in Anonym's ending she steals Anonym's body for herself.
- Gratuitous German: Japan's fascination with German culture and history is really nothing new, but as noted under No Swastikas, they're not always clear on which parts of it aren't cool to emulate.
- Guest Fighter: Akatsuki shows up in Under Night In-Birth and he also appears in BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle along with Blitztank.
- Guns Akimbo: The Anonyms use a pair of chrome-plated Webley revolvers.
- Gun Kata: Anonym, again. Her super is named Tetragrammaton.
- Hey, You!: Characters like Kanae, Fritz, Adler and Murakumo refer to Akatsuki not by his name, but as "Prototyp 1".
- Katanas Are Just Better: Fritz uses a katana to fight, and while he can't go for long combos, every hit causes massive damage. Murakumo also uses a katana, but only for one special move and his super.
- Lady of War: Both Anonym-Guard & her subordinates (especially Anonym Merel) and Marilyn Sue qualify in one way or another. Anonym is calm and collected and fights with revolvers, Marilyn has a very physical but also very elegant fighting style.
- Lighter and Softer:
- EN-Eins Perfektewelt, at least visually. Sure, Nazis are still involved, but it suddenly became a lot flashier and more colorful compared to the previous versions.
- Ausf. Achse might be another example, since it removes most of the blood and has a brighter, also more colorful visual interface. Here's a comparison between a shot of Elektrosoldat's prologue in the original◊ to a shot from its Ausf. Achse rendition◊.
- Lightning Bruiser: Fritz is at first sight a Mighty Glacier, but some of his moves make him dash through the screen rather fast so a player with good timing and nimble fingers will make him this instead.
- Limit Break: In EN-Eins Perfektewelt, there's a burst move called Kanzen Sekai (lit. Perfektewelt/Perfect World), which can be done anytime (by pressing A+B+D), even while getting hit or performing an attack. Activating Kanzen Sekai knocks the opponent away, temporarily changes the background and music, gives the player regenerating health note , freezes the game timer, and provides an attack and defense buff depending on how much meter they had when they activated Kanzen Sekai. Pressing A+B+D again before the time limit ends will initiate a Kanzen Shinsatsu, a very powerful super move that can be cancelled into from normal attacks and immediately ends Kanzen Sekai upon use. However, activating Kanzen Sekai disables your meter and you won't get it back until the next round, and you're wide open if the opponent blocks or parries the activation, so use it wisely.
- Living MacGuffin: Akatsuki is one of these, thanks to his possession of the Blitz Engine, which is heavily implied to be either in his uniform or in his body.
- Magic Skirt: Mycale probably has the most magical skirt of all, considering the hemline ends just below the crotch and it somehow still doesn't show anything. Pretty much the only time she gets a panty shot is when she gets knocked out.
- However, in EN-Eins Perfektewelt, as Kati, she is more susceptible to this.
- Meaningful Name: Akatsuki and Murakumo, hmmmm?
- Mecha-Mooks: Elektrosoldats are robotic soldiers equipped with Blitz Engines.
- Mighty Glacier: Blitztank is incredibly slow, not to mention HUGE, but it can deal massive damage.
- Mundane Made Awesome: Who would say that blocking fish falling on one's head would be fun?
-
Nintendo Hard: The first version had a brutally hard Murakumo. Later versions toned down his AI heavily, but he still manages to be pretty cheap depending on what difficulty you're playing on. - No Swastikas: Subverted. The "Nazi" characters aren't actually called Nazis, nor do they have any of the Nazi regalia other than the general layout of their uniforms. The subversion comes when you see Elektrosoldat win a match, salute, and yell "Sieg Heil!". Ausf. Achse and EN-Eins Perfektewelt removed this winpose.
- Overdrawn at the Blood Bank: Whenever Fritz or Murakumo hit someone with their katanas, each hit draws large quantities of blood. Same goes to anyone unlucky enough to be caught in Sai's Super. Ausf. Achse and EN-Eins removed almost all of the blood.
- Palette Swap: Adler in the first versions of the game, and Perfecti before the Ausf. Achse arcade version of the game. The same goes for Tempelritter and Valkyria in EN-Eins Perfektewelt. (Although Tempelritter is the normal version and Valkyira is the Boss version.)
- Putting on the Reich: Elektrosoldat and Adler, who actually are Nazis note . Later on, Perfecti joins in on the fun in Ausf Achse.
- Arguably, EN-Eins can also count in Perfektewelt, but it's debatable considering his mild case of Pretty In Mink. Let's not forget Tempelritter, who looks like a cross between a Nazi and a valkyrie.
- Punch Parry: Subverted by the "Reflector" mechanic, where the effects are the same but the visuals are personalized: i.e, Sai just ups a hand and takes as indifferent a pose as one can get (and stares at the screen too), Mycale covers herself with her cape while summoning Valkyria wielding a protective shield.
- Rapid-Fire Fisticuffs: Marilyn's Super. 100 hits in 5 seconds. Damn.
- Real Is Brown: The colors were unusually drab for a fighting game. That is until EN-Eins Perfektewelt was announced.
- Revolvers Are Just Better: Anonym and Anonym-Guard use two of them.
- Shock and Awe: Both Akatsuki and Elektrosoldat's schtick due to the Blitz Engines they wield.
- Also Adler and Murakamo, but less emphasized compared to Akatsuki and E-Soldat.
- Shotoclone: Akatsuki, who is more in the mold of Kyo than Ryu. Elektrosoldat's resemblance to Guile is also important to note.
- Shout-Out: Anonym uses Gun Kata and her super is named Tetragrammaton.
- Her resurrection super combines both Gill's own resurrection and his Seraphic Wing super.
- Sai's theme samples Chun-Li's laugh for its record scratches.
- Sinister Shades: Sai. He uses them to cover up his freakish-looking eyes that can cause painful diseases and afflictions in whoever he looks at.
- Stupid Jetpack Hitler: Elektrosoldat is a Nazi robot and a clone.
- Super Mode: Wei's various powerups. They last for six seconds note . The EX version gives him all three at once. His level three super also gives him all three buffs and makes them even stronger than the EX version to boot.
- Tactical Rock–Paper–Scissors: The game operates on this system for the most basic options: Strikes beat Throws which beat Reflectors which loop back to beating Strikes.
- Tank Goodness: Blitztank. Probably the first literal tank playable in a fighting game.
- Tokyo Is the Center of the Universe: Massively averted since the game takes place in a dystopian East Asia. There are three stages located in Japan, but they are NOT in Tokyo, rather they are in the Mount Fuji area which is shared by the Yamanashi and Shizuoka prefectures: Kanae's stage is supposed to feature the ruins of an old military base near Fuji (probably based on the East Fuji Maneuver Area), Akatsuki's is at the entry to the infamous Aokigahara forest, and Fritz's is the top of Mount Fuji itself.
- The Triads and the Tongs: Marilyn and Wei are associated with a Shanghai-based Triad group known as The Black Hand, led by a man named Yin Hu who was a clone of Murakumo. Their Story Modes begin with Yin Hu's murder almost surely done by Marilyn, later revealed to have been ordered to do so by Mycale.
- Updated Re Release: The series has had three so far:
- Akatsuki Blitzkampf itself can qualify as one for 2003's Akatsuki Shisei Ichigou, more or less a proof of concept that launched with just three characters note before reaching a grand total of five after updatesnote . Akatsuki Blitzkampf as we know it released on PC in 2007 with twelve characters, a wide variety of game modes, online play, and an actual plot.
- Akatsuki Blitzkampf Ausf. Achse is the arcade version of Akatsuki Blitzkampf, released a year after the original doujinsoft release in 2008. It features gameplay balance adjustments, updated graphics and voicework, and a new character in the form of Perfecti.
- EN-Eins Perfektewelt Anastasis is an updated version of EN-Eins Perfektewelt, released a staggering thirteen years after the original 2010 arcade release. It features new sprites, gameplay balance adjustmentsnote , new stages and music note , story updates, a training mode, and at least three new characters: Inazumanote , a playable version of Valkyria, and the original Anonym after she was possessed by Mycale, known as "Mycale-A". As of now only Inazuma is playable, with Valkyria and Mycale-A to be released in the future via updates, along with new stages and music.
- Vocal Evolution: When Ausf. Achse was released, some of the characters got updated voice tracks that followed this trope. i.e., Akatsuki still possessed a deeper than usual voice but the delivery was more intense compared with the calmer-sounding original one, whereas Murakumo's initial Tenor Boy voice became somewhat higher-pitched and quite louder.
- The Unfought: Mycale is a playable character, but one couldn't fight against her in the arcade mode until Ausf. Achse. Instead you fought Perfecti, who was just a Palette Swap of Mycale but treated as a separate character in story. Ausf. Achse changes it so that Mycale is fought for the first round of the fight before she transforms into Perfecti, now as her own fully realized character instead of a Palette Swap.
- Also, Elektrosoldat and Adler's Story Modes will not feature one of the Hong Kong characters. In the original, it's Sai; in Ausf. Achse, it's Anonym instead.
- Ditto for Tempelritter in EN-Eins Perfektewelt, though you do fight her Palette Swap boss form, Valkyria. Averted in EN-Eins Perfektewelt Anastasis, where she is fought normally in a few characters' arcade modes.
- Also, Elektrosoldat and Adler's Story Modes will not feature one of the Hong Kong characters. In the original, it's Sai; in Ausf. Achse, it's Anonym instead.
- Year X: The game takes place in Imperial Year 266X, equivalent to 200X on the Gregorian calendar.
