Does this only emulate "local" same-screen multiplayer games, or can it also emulate the LAN-style dedicated-screen multiplayer games that supported the PS1's obscure Playstation Link Cable?[0]
I used to work at a video rental store so I had access to two TVs, two PS1s, this cable, and the space to set it up. It's a lot of setup when you could just play the game normally on one screen. Still neat.
That aside, Bushido Blade to me is still the best fighting game. If they revamped the location damage detection, and redid the graphics, I would rebuy it in a heartbeat. Most people favour the sequel, but to me it lost a lot of the charm and simplicity the first one had.
One hit kills really spice up fighting games for me. Positioning and timing are even more crucial then in other games.
The "juggling" and ten button combos really take the fun out of the genre for me. (nothing against the other games, just not my cup of tea)
I haven't found another like it. HMU with recommendations if I missed a game!
- Another PSX
- Another copy of Bushido Blade
- A spare TV that they could bring over
- A room big enough to have two TVs and consoles setup within a few feet of each other so that the cable could reach.
After taking the time to set all that up, simply playing the game in POV mode felt like a disappointment.
But I agree, Bushido Blade 1 was the superior entry. BB2 fell into the common trap of "fix up the kinks and 'polish' the sequel, but lose what made the original feel special along the way". The other thing that most people don't know is that while each character can technically wield any of the weapons, everyone has a preferred weapon, and wielding it unlocks unique moves for that character. This wasn't mentioned in the manual, nor in any of the online FAQs back in the day, so unless you had shelled out for the Strategy Guide, that whole dimension of combat was unknown to most people.
The original developer behind Bushido Blade went on to make the "Kengo: Master of Bushido" series, which was something of a spiritual successor, but IMO all of them were garbage. The closest thing it ever got in my mind was the original Way of the Samurai for the PS2 (another game which got a bunch of sequels, all significantly worse than the original).
Which was good, because there was a critical bug in the split-screen mode (one player had no radar).
And yes, I miss Bushido Blade. Even back in the 90s I was annoyed how much emphasis fighting games put on combos and complicated inputs.