The series consists of 3 games, the first two made between 1993 and 1996, and a third title released in 2005 that was also one of the last games made by Psikyo (or specifically by X-nauts, a Korean company that bought Psikyo in 2002.) Out of the various characters in the series, the most remarkable of them would be the Shrine Maiden Koyori, known as the Series Mascot of not just Sengoku Ace, but Psikyo itself, even when she's not The Hero in any of the games in the series.
Although The Other Wiki have two modest articles about Ace
and Blade, Hardcore Gaming 101 dedicates a complete review of the whole series here.
Games in the series
- Sengoku Ace (1993): Known as Samurai Aces in US, it is the first game in the series and the only one that is a Vertical Scrolling Shooter. Released for Arcades by Banpresto and later for PlayStation 2 as part of the Psikyo Shooting Collection with Sengoku Blade as a 2-in-1 game (and as a separate title in Europe under the Samurai Aces name) and the Nintendo Switch in 2018. It also got Steam port on May 20th, 2020.
- Sengoku Blade: Sengoku Ace Episode II (1996): Known as Tengai in US (and the 2014 port for Mobile) or just as Sengoku Blade. The Sequel that becomes more famous than the original title, receiving a lot of ports for various consoles like Sega Saturn, PlayStation 2 (which also received a separate release in Europe as Tengai) and PC, as well for Mobile in recent years. It later received another PC port, this time on Steam on June 22nd, 2020.
- Sengoku Cannon: Sengoku Ace Episode III (2005): Made by X-Nauts for PlayStation Portable only as one of the few games they did after they bought Psikyo, and was (
released for Japan only.) In 2018 it received a port for the Nintendo Switch, but once again only for Japan. It would eventually be released in the west on Steam on July 13th, 2020.
Sengoku Ace series provides examples of:
- Action Girl:
- Koyori, the Hayate sisters (Jane and Junis), Mizuka in Cannon... and also Hagane after it becomes known that its stolen human body is female.
- Kaen.
- Adaptational Protagonist: Overlapping with Market-Based Title, the second title of the series, Sengoku Blade, received outside Japan the name of Tengai. Which is the name of the Warrior Monk of the series and one of his main characters, making him The Protagonist by default instead of Koyori (called here as "Miko").
- Bowdlerise: In the Tengai 2014 port made for iOS and Android, Koyori's Navel-Deep Neckline was covered with more clothes below the haori (kimono jacket).
- Bullet Hell: As the signature mark of Psikyo's shooters.
- Breakout Characters: Koyori, Tengai and Ayin.
- Breakout Villain: Kaen.
- Compilation Re-release:
- The first 2 games were re-released for Psikyo Shooting Collection released for PlayStation 2 in 2004 by X-Nauts (and for separate in Europe by 505 Games.) Also Sengoku Blade (as Tengai) was re-released in 2015 for Mobiles (Android and iPhone.)
- In the European version, both games were released separately with their US names (Samurai Aces and Tengai) with new covers unrelated to these titles.
- Both NISA and City Connection got the rights for Psikyo's games and ported the series to the Nintendo Switch in 2018. Sadly, Sengoku Cannon wasn't distributed outside Japan until 2020, when the former released it as part of their Psikyo Shooting Stars: Bravo Code Red compilation (alongside Ace and Blade), and when the latter released it on PC as a Steam port.
- Cool Plane: Various characters fly in real (and cool) planes in Ace.
- Those Magnificent Flying Machines: Jane and Tengai meanwhile fly in strange, but awesome-looking planes.
- Crossover:
- In their Mahjong games, besides their Mash-Up with Capcom in Taisen Net Gimmick: Capcom vs. Psikyo All Stars, Koyori, Junis and Ayin appear as secret characters in one of the
Taisen Hot Gimmick games. - Tengai and Ayin also appear in other shmups made by Psikyo, like Strikers 1945 and Gunbird as secret characters.
- In October 2023, Koyori and Kaen were added as playable characters in Last Origin. In that game, they are Bioroids modeled after the game characters for live-action adaptations.
- In their Mahjong games, besides their Mash-Up with Capcom in Taisen Net Gimmick: Capcom vs. Psikyo All Stars, Koyori, Junis and Ayin appear as secret characters in one of the
- Damsel in Distress: In all titles, there's always a princess to rescue, whome the Big Bad intends to use as an avatar to Take Over the World.
- Distressed Dude: In Cannon, Tengai is captured and brainwashed as one of the Big Bad's mooks, so you've got to fight him to set him free.
- Dub Name Change:
- The first game was known in the US and Europe as Samurai Aces and the second one as Tengai, giving the titular monk top billing as The Hero. Ditto Sengoku Cannon when it finally got a Steam port, being called Samurai Aces III.
- As for the characters: Koyori is known as "Miko", Jane is "Kunoichi", Kenoumaru is "Dog Spirit", Ayin is "Kain", Shoumaru is "Sho" and Hagane is "Katana".
- Early-Installment Weirdness: If one were to include Sengoku Cannon as part of the series, then Sengoku Ace is most definitely this, being a Vertical Scrolling Shooter with the characters riding in Schizo Tech planes as opposed to the sequels being Horizontal Scrolling Shooters with people who can fly. Also, Koyori is more of a Tomboy in this game as opposed to being a Ms. Fanservice in the other games.
- Fanservice Cover: Any game in which Koyori appears on the front, especially Blade◊.
- Horizontal Scrolling Shooter: Subverted only in the first game, which is the opposite.
- Humongous Mecha: Various bosses in the series are this.
- I Believe I Can Fly/Look Ma, No Plane!: In Sengoku Ace they're planes, but since Blade and onwards, that was changed into having humans (and robots) fly without needing a plane.
- I Will Find You: Various characters in the series are looking for their beloved ones, mostly sisters (Ayin and Junis both come to mind).
- Japanese Spirit: Everything from the main characters to final bosses is based on classic Japanese mythologies and stereotypes.
- Magical Land: The setting of this series is in a world full of magic.
- Miko: Koyori.
- Ms. Fanservice: Koyori, definitely.
- Progressively Prettier/Girliness Upgrade: Koyori goes from a Young Pettanko Tomboy with Boyish Short Hair in the first game to an Adult Big-Breast Pride Lady of War with long hair in the next games and appearances. At least the Miko outfit and aviator goggles are still there.
- Other girls in the series that can be considered as Ms. Fanservice are Jane in the first game, Kaen in the second and third game and some of the bad girls in all three of them.
- Navel-Deep Neckline: Koyori's is the Trope Codifier of the series, with her Miko outfit having a plunging neckline. But there's also Jane in Ace.
- Ninja: Jane in the first game and Junis in the second and third (the latter as a Secret Character). Not to mention some of the bosses.
- It Runs in the Family: Jane and Junis are both sisters, the former is the eldest and the latter is the youngest.
- Only One Name: All characters are only one-named, even when in the story and the manuals they have last names.
- Red-plica Baron: The red biplane used by Koyori in the first game looks a lot like the Albatros D.III biplane that the Red Baron used in WWI.
- Ridiculously Human Robots: Hagane in Blade (not related with the other Hagane).
- Rule of Three:
- Koyori, Tengai and Ayin are the 3 main characters that appear in all 3 games of the series.
- Also, all the names of the series are in the ABC English pattern: Ace, Blade and Cannon.
- And the buttons used in the game are three: normal shoot, charged shoot and bomb.
- Samurai: Ayin. Also Shoumaru and Hagane in Blade, Masamitsu in Cannon and a handful of bosses.
- Samus Is a Girl: In Blade, the robot Hagane joins the hero group to get its human body back. Contrary to the look of the game, the body is a female human, so Hagane was a woman all along.
- Secret Character:
- Ayin, who appears in a lot of Psikyo's games, and not just in their shmups. In Blade you can unlock him via a Classic Cheat Code.
- Also Marion, Gunbird protagonist and series mascot is a secret character in the Sega Saturn port, also selectable via code, but you must first finish the game with all characters (Ayin included) to get her.
- Sengoku Period: This game series is based on this period with some liberties.
- Series Mascot: Koyori, even when she's not the protagonist in any of the games.
- The Sky Is an Ocean
- Spiritual Successor: Ace is one for the Aero Fighters series, except with a Japanese Spirit setting.
- Steampunk: The setting of the series is based in a Japanese version of this, having a feudal look with engines, Humongous Mecha and in general giant machines (as well as bosses in the backgrounds.)
- Two-Part Trilogy: Sengoku Blade and Sengoku Cannon both follow the same pattern, the latter being a kind of continuation of the former instead of a completely new title.
- What Measure Is a Non-Human?: Hagane/Katana is seen at the start of the game as a robot, but its main motivation is to recover its human form taken by the Big Bad of the game, which is revealed to be a woman, to everyone's surprise (in the US version, the robot is called Katana, but the human form is still called Hagane as the original name in Japanese).
