Battle Arena Toshinden
Encyclopedia
is a weapon
s-based fighting game
for the PlayStation, Sega Saturn
and PC
in 1994. It was one of the first fighting games to boast polygonal characters in a 3D
environment, and it is credited for taking the genre into "true 3-D" due to its introduction of the sidestep maneuver.
It was an early killer app
for the PlayStation, and Sony
promoted it eagerly. However, they soon left the series, which was published
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 2
, 3
, and 4
, along with many spin-offs and ports. Battle Arena Toshinden was the first 3D weapons fighter, and was succeeded in spirit by Soul Edge
and other games of the genre.
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 which will decide their fortunes.
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.
. However, during their 200th issue leadup, they ranked Battle Arena Toshinden as their single most overrated game. They explained that it "was 3D, it was flashy--Battle Arena Toshinden was exciting and new. But later Namco
showed us what really could be done with 3D fighting on the PlayStation (Tekken
, Soul Blade). ... But is it actually good? Oh God, no."
IGN
gave the game a score of 7 out of 10 in 1996, by which time it was seen as slow and "not as impressive" as the more recent Tekken 2
, though they praised Toshinden for important innovations to the fighting game genre, such as taking "the fighter into true 3-D" and "one little move" that "changed the fighter forever. Behold: the sidestep!" Battle Arena Toshinden was reviewed in 1995 in Dragon
#221 by Jay & Dee in the "Eye of the Monitor" column. Jay did not rate the game, but Dee gave the game 3 out of 5 stars.
/Sega
to the Sega Saturn under the name Toh Shin Den S in Japan
and Battle Arena Toshinden Remix in the United States
and Europe
. A few new features were added, including an exclusive new character called Cupido and a different story mode.
Interestingly, the PC port uses the Japanese
PlayStation version's voices and music in all regions, unlike the original PlayStation version. There also exists a German
specific version of the game, though the differences it has to the non-German version are unknown.
and was produced by Takara
, titled Nettou Toshinden in Japan. The game is based mostly on the original PlayStation version, but it includes a slightly altered story mode and an early appearance of the character Uranus and the Battle Arena Toshinden 2 version of Gaia (without his armor).
in 2008. http://www.fightersgeneration.com/newspics/toshwii.jpghttp://www.fightersgeneration.com/newspics/toshwii2.jpg It was developed by DreamFactory for the Wii
and as of this post has no connection to the previous games storywise. 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/ The game was released in Japan on December 10, 2009.
Weapon
A weapon, arm, or armament is a tool or instrument used with the aim of causing damage or harm to living beings or artificial structures or systems...
s-based fighting game
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...
for the PlayStation, Sega Saturn
Sega Saturn
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console that was first released by Sega on November 22, 1994 in Japan, May 11, 1995 in North America, and July 8, 1995 in Europe...
and PC
Personal computer
A 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...
in 1994. It was one of the first fighting games to boast polygonal characters in a 3D
3D computer graphics
3D 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, and it is credited for taking the genre into "true 3-D" due to its introduction of the sidestep maneuver.
It was an early killer app
Killer application
A killer application , in the jargon of marketing teams, 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, gaming console, software, or an operating system...
for the PlayStation, and Sony
Sony Computer Entertainment
Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. is a major video game company specializing in a variety of areas in the video game industry, and is a wholly owned subsidiary and part of the Consumer Products & Services Group of Sony...
promoted it eagerly. However, they soon left the series, which was published
Video game publisher
A 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 2
Battle Arena Toshinden 2
Battle Arena Toshinden 2 is a weapon based 3D fighting game. It was released for the PlayStation, Sega Saturn, Arcade and PC. It is the sequel of Battle Arena Toshinden.-Gameplay:...
, 3
Battle Arena Toshinden 3
Battle 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...
, and 4
Battle Arena Toshinden 4
Toshinden 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 June 30, 2000, and it was re-released on The White...
, along with many spin-offs and ports. Battle Arena Toshinden was the first 3D weapons fighter, and was succeeded in spirit by Soul Edge
Soul Edge
is a 3D arcade fighting game developed by Project Soul and published by Namco. It is the first installment in the Soul series of fighting games...
and other games of the genre.
Story
Eight traveling 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 which will decide their fortunes.
Gameplay
Each character has his or her own unique set of basic moves, special attacks, 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 - A young Japanese swordsman seeking to find his long lost older brother, Sho.
- Kayin Amoh - A Scottish (later retconned as English) swordsman who happens to be a friend and rival of Eiji. He seeks to avenge the death of his foster father, who was killed by last year's champion.
- Sofia - A blonde Russian woman who works as a private detective. She seeks to find her lost memory.
- Rungo Iron - A strong, yet kind-hearted miner who seeks to rescue his wife and son from the Secret Society.
- Fo Fai - An elderly Chinese magician who doubles as a cold-hearted killer.
- Mondo - An emotionless ninja warrior who infiltrates the tournament under orders from a rival group of the Secret Society.
- Duke B. Rambert - A chivalrous French knight who seeks to find and defeat Eiji in order to avenge a past loss against him.
- Ellis - A cheerful dancer of a traveling theater troupe who seeks to discover on whether or not her father is still alive.
Unlockable characters
- Gaia - The sponsor of the tournament and "final" boss of the game. His reasons for holding the tournament in the first place is shrouded in mystery. He is known to be the father of Ellis.
- Sho Shinjo - The secret and true final boss of the game. He is a merciless swordsman who holds nothing back from within the fights that he participates in. He is Eiji's older brother.
- Cupido (Sega Saturn version) - A mysterious woman who speaks with cryptic riddles and messages. Her past is shrouded in mystery and not much is known about her.
- Uranus (Game Boy version)
- Earthworm Jim (PC version)
Reception
Battle Arena Toshinden was critically acclaimed when released, and holds an average GameRankings score of 85%. Electric Playground gave the game a perfect score of 10 out of 10 in 1995. Battle Arena Toshinden was awarded Best Fighting Game of 1995 by Electronic Gaming MonthlyElectronic Gaming Monthly
Electronic Gaming Monthly is a bimonthly American video game magazine. It has been published by EGM Media, LLC. since relaunching in April of 2010. Its previous run, which ended in January 2009, was published by Ziff Davis...
. However, during their 200th issue leadup, they ranked Battle Arena Toshinden as their single most overrated game. They explained that it "was 3D, it was flashy--Battle Arena Toshinden was exciting and new. But later Namco
Namco
is a Japanese corporation best known as a former video game developer and publisher. Following a merger with Bandai in September 2005, the two companies' game production assets were spun off into Namco Bandai Games on March 31, 2006. Namco Ltd. was re-established to continue domestic operation of...
showed us what really could be done with 3D fighting on the PlayStation (Tekken
Tekken
is an arcade fighting game franchise created and developed by Namco. Beginning with the original Tekken arcade game released in 1994, the series has received several sequels, as well as various home conversions and spin-off titles released for consoles...
, Soul Blade). ... But is it actually good? Oh God, no."
IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
gave the game a score of 7 out of 10 in 1996, by which time it was seen as slow and "not as impressive" as the more recent Tekken 2
Tekken 2
Tekken 2 is the second installment in the popular Tekken fighting game series. It was first released in arcades in 1995, and later released for the PlayStation in 1996...
, though they praised Toshinden for important innovations to the fighting game genre, such as taking "the fighter into true 3-D" and "one little move" that "changed the fighter forever. Behold: the sidestep!" Battle Arena Toshinden was reviewed in 1995 in Dragon
Dragon (magazine)
Dragon is one of the two official magazines for source material for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game and associated products, the other being Dungeon. TSR, Inc. originally launched the monthly printed magazine in 1976 to succeed the company's earlier publication, The Strategic Review. The...
#221 by Jay & Dee in the "Eye of the Monitor" column. Jay did not rate the game, but Dee gave the game 3 out of 5 stars.
Toshinden Remix (Sega Saturn)
The original PlayStation version was ported by NextechNex Entertainment
Nex 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...
/Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
to the Sega Saturn under the name Toh Shin Den S in Japan
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...
and Battle Arena Toshinden Remix in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Europe
Europe
Europe 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 watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. 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 PlayStation 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 Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
PlayStation version's voices and music in all regions, unlike the original PlayStation version. There also exists a German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
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 Super Game BoySuper Game Boy
The is a 16-bit adapter cartridge for Nintendo's Super Nintendo Entertainment System, as well as the Super Famicom in Japan. The Super Game Boy allows game cartridges designed for use on the Game Boy to be played on a TV display using the SNES/Super Famicom controllers. When it was released in...
and was produced by Takara
Takara
Takara 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 to form Takara Tomy, also known in English as TOMY Company Ltd....
, titled Nettou Toshinden in Japan. The game is based mostly on the original PlayStation version, but it includes a slightly altered story mode and an early appearance of the character Uranus and the Battle Arena Toshinden 2 version of Gaia (without his armor).
Toshinden (Wii)
A new game was unveiled in Weekly FamitsuFamitsu
is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Enterbrain, Inc. and Tokuma. Currently, there are five Famitsū magazines: Shūkan Famitsū, Famitsū PS3 + PSP, Famitsū Xbox 360, Famitsū Wii+DS, and Famitsū Wave DVD...
in 2008. http://www.fightersgeneration.com/newspics/toshwii.jpghttp://www.fightersgeneration.com/newspics/toshwii2.jpg It was developed by DreamFactory for the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. 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 the two others...
and as of this post has no connection to the previous games storywise. 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/ The game was released in Japan on December 10, 2009.
External links
- http://battlearenatoshinden.wikia.com/ at Central Park MediaCentral Park MediaCentral 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 manhwa titles in North America prior to its bankruptcy in 2009...
(Archive) - Battle Arena Toshinden at Wikia