is a
weaponA weapon is a tool used to apply force for the purpose of hunting, attack, self-defense, or defense in combat.Weapons can be as simple as a club, or as complex as an intercontinental ballistic missile, and include those that damage individual or group morale.-Prehistoric weapons:Very simple weapon...
s-based fighting game for the
PlayStationThe PlayStation is a 32-bit fifth generation video game console released by Sony Computer Entertainment in December ....
,
Sega SaturnThe is a 32-bit video game console that was first released on November 22 1994 in Japan, May 11 1995 in North America, and July 8 1995 in Europe...
and
PCA personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end user, with no intervening computer operator...
. It was one of the first fighting games to boast polygonal characters in a
3D3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...
environment. It was an early
killer gameA killer application , in the jargon of computer programmers and video gamers, has been used to refer to any computer program that is so necessary or desirable that it proves the core value of some larger technology, such as computer hardware like a gaming console, operating system or other software...
for the PlayStation, and
Sonyis a video game company specializing in a variety of areas in the video game industry, and is a full subsidiary of Sony. The company was established on November 16, 1987 in Tokyo, Japan prior to the launch of the original PlayStation video game system...
promoted it eagerly. However, they soon left the series, which was
publishedA video game publisher is a company that publishes video games that they have either developed internally or have had developed by a video game developer....
by Playmates Interactive. By that time, fighting games like
Tekken started emerging and
Battle Arena Toshinden quickly declined in popularity.
is a
weaponA weapon is a tool used to apply force for the purpose of hunting, attack, self-defense, or defense in combat.Weapons can be as simple as a club, or as complex as an intercontinental ballistic missile, and include those that damage individual or group morale.-Prehistoric weapons:Very simple weapon...
s-based fighting game for the
PlayStationThe PlayStation is a 32-bit fifth generation video game console released by Sony Computer Entertainment in December ....
,
Sega SaturnThe is a 32-bit video game console that was first released on November 22 1994 in Japan, May 11 1995 in North America, and July 8 1995 in Europe...
and
PCA personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end user, with no intervening computer operator...
. It was one of the first fighting games to boast polygonal characters in a
3D3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...
environment. It was an early
killer gameA killer application , in the jargon of computer programmers and video gamers, has been used to refer to any computer program that is so necessary or desirable that it proves the core value of some larger technology, such as computer hardware like a gaming console, operating system or other software...
for the PlayStation, and
Sonyis a video game company specializing in a variety of areas in the video game industry, and is a full subsidiary of Sony. The company was established on November 16, 1987 in Tokyo, Japan prior to the launch of the original PlayStation video game system...
promoted it eagerly. However, they soon left the series, which was
publishedA video game publisher is a company that publishes video games that they have either developed internally or have had developed by a video game developer....
by Playmates Interactive. By that time, fighting games like
Tekken started emerging and
Battle Arena Toshinden quickly declined in popularity. However it did spawn
Battle Arena Toshinden 2Battle Arena Toshinden 2 for the PlayStation is the sequel to Battle Arena Toshinden. As with its precursor it is a weapons-based 3D fighting game....
,
3Battle Arena Toshinden 3 for PlayStation is a 3D weapons-based fighting game and sequel of Battle Arena Toshinden 2.Toshinden 3 is the first of the main series not to be ported to other platforms. It is also the only game in the series that has game play differences between the Japanese version and...
, and
4Toshinden 4 is the fourth installment of the fighting game series Battle Arena Toshinden. Unlike previous installments, it only saw release in Japan and the PAL region. It was released a total of three times in the UK.It originally came out on August 21, 2000, and it was re-released on The White...
along with many spin off's and ports.
Battle Arena Toshinden was the first 3D weapons fighter, and was succeeded in spirit by
Soul Edgeis the first installment in the Soul series of fighting games developed and published by Namco. Soul Edge is the name of the demonic sword around which the story revolves....
and other games of the genre.
Story
Eight travelling fighters brought together by a common destiny now meet at the Battle Arena Toshinden, a fighting tournament hosted by a mysterious organization known only as the "Secret Society".
Many years have passed since this tournament, known only to those in the underworld, was last held.
Some fighters have come for personal glory. Others have come to fight for those they love, but all will do their best to be victorious in this tournament that will decide their fortunes.
Gameplay
Each character has its own unique set of moves and a desperation attack that can only be used when the player has low energy (around 10% or less). The player is able to move in 3D using the L/R shoulder buttons, which makes them dodge projectile attacks, or get away from a dangerous spot, however, if they consistently move too far away from the arena, they will fall off it, resulting in a "ring out" and thus they lose the round.
Players move using the directional pad. Holding the backwards directional button allows the player to block basic attacks and reduces most of the damage from opponents' special moves. Players can also run by quickly tapping the forward directional button.
Initially playable characters
- Eiji Shinjo
- Kayin Amoh
- Sofia
- Rungo Iron
- Fo Fai
- Mondo
- Duke B. Rambert
- Ellis
Unlockable characters
- Gaia
- Sho Shinjo
- Cupido (Sega Saturn version only)
- Uranus (Game Boy version only)
- Earthworm Jim (PC version only)
Reception
Battle Arena Toshinden was awarded Best Fighting Game of 1995 by
Electronic Gaming MonthlyElectronic Gaming Monthly is an American video game magazine being re-launched by EGM Media, LLC. It was previously published by Ziff Davis as part of the 1UP Network and released 12 issues a year Electronic Gaming Monthly (often abbreviated to EGM) is an American video game magazine being...
. However, during their 200th issue leadup, they also would list
Battle Arena Toshinden as their single most overrated game and when asked if it was still a good game, replied with "Oh hell no."
Toshinden Remix (Sega Saturn)
The original PSX game was ported by
NextechNex Entertainment, formerly known as GAU Entertainment and Nextech, is a Japanese developer of video games. The company usually does not market or publish the games it develops, instead they primarily develop games for other companies on a contract basis...
/
Segais a multinational video game software and hardware development company, and a home computer and console manufacturer headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan...
to the
Sega SaturnThe is a 32-bit video game console that was first released on November 22 1994 in Japan, May 11 1995 in North America, and July 8 1995 in Europe...
under the name
Toh Shin Den S in
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of 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...
and
Battle Arena Toshinden Remix in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
. A few new features were added, including an exclusive new character called Cupido and a different story mode.
Toshinden PC (PC)
Developed by Digital Dialect, this is a DOS port of the PSX version that adds an exclusive new character, Earthworm Jim, complete with his own unique arena music, but he only uses the moves of Rungo Iron. It also supports resolutions up to 640x480.
Interestingly, the PC port uses the
Japaneseis a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family. There are a number of proposed relationships with other languages, but none have gained general acceptance...
PSX version's voices and music in all regions, unlike the original PSX version. There also exists a
GermanGerman is a West Germanic language, thus related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. It is one of the world's major languages and the most widely spoken first language in the European Union. Around the world, German is spoken by approximately 105 million native speakers and also by...
specific version of the game, though the differences it has to the non-German version are unknown.
Toshinden Game Boy (Game Boy)
The first game was also ported to the
Game BoyThe is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America on , and in Europe on . In Southern Asia, it is known as the "Tata Game Boy" It is the first handheld console in the Game Boy line...
and was produced by
TakaraTakara Co., Ltd. was a Japanese toy company founded in 1955, that merged with another prominent Japanese toy company, Tomy Co., Ltd., on March 1, 2006.The company motto was 「遊びは文化」 which means "playing is culture."-Toys:...
, named
Nettou Toshinden in Japan. The game is based mostly on the original PlayStation version, however it includes a slightly altered story mode and an early appearance of the character Uranus and also Gaia sans armour.
Upcoming sequel
A new Toshinden game was unveiled in Weekly Famitsu in 2008.
http://www.fightersgeneration.com/newspics/toshwii.jpghttp://www.fightersgeneration.com/newspics/toshwii2.jpg It is being developed by DreamFactory for the
WiiThe is a home video game console released by Nintendo. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of both...
and as of this post has no connection to the previous titles story-wise that anyone outside of
TakaraTakara Co., Ltd. was a Japanese toy company founded in 1955, that merged with another prominent Japanese toy company, Tomy Co., Ltd., on March 1, 2006.The company motto was 「遊びは文化」 which means "playing is culture."-Toys:...
or
TamsoftTamsoft Corporation is a Japanese video game developer, founded in 1992. The company currently employs 39 people and 20 contract staff....
knows. It is known as
War Budokai, roughly translated as
War Tournament. While the past Toshinden installments have featured mainly weapons-based combat,
War Budokai will feature hand-to-hand combat alongside the weapons-based battles. A total of 8 characters have been unveiled in official illustrations.
http://www.takaratomy.co.jp/products/gamesoft/blog/t9730/http://www.siliconera.com/2008/10/21/make-your-own-simple-combos-in-toshinden/ An official release date has yet to be announced.
External links
- Battle Arena Toshinden at Central Park Media
Central Park Media was an American multimedia entertainment company based in New York City, New York that was active in the distribution of East Asian cinema, television series, anime, manga, and manwha titles in North America from its inception in 1990 to its bankruptcy in 2009...
(Archive)