7 Blades - IGN

With KCEJ East's Seven Blades for PlayStation 2, which is currently scheduled for a late 2000 release in Japan, the company is trying to take the cinematic quality of gaming a step further by incorporating the assistance of Kaizo Hayashi, one of the most respected filmmakers in Japan. Whilst people like Kojima have been inspired by films, this is one of the few times where an actual filmmaker has taken such a large role in the development of a videogame.

Hayashi is serving as the direction supervisor for the game that's currently being worked on by a staff of around 20 people and has been in the works for around two years. In fact, the director's influence on the game can be seen by the fact that it being based on a movie that was directed by Hayashi called Jipang (released in the west as The Legend of Zipang), which has a nice blend of 18th Century Japanese history and science fiction.

While the involvement of a legendary Japanese filmmaker is definitely giving the game a certain cinematic edge that will likely help give it a high quality storyline that should surpass most of its rivals, the development team doesn't plan to go light on the gameplay. Hayashi and Atsushi Horigami, the producer of both Ephemeral Fantasia and Seven Blades, both understand that gameplay must come first and that game players will find that the title is a movie with some very deep action gameplay elements.

Based in a time period that's famous in Japanese history, the mid-17th century during which the Tokugawa shogunate was solidifying its power, the game revolves around a premise where a religious group tries to separate an island called Dejima, which has been used by Japanese authorities to house Western foreigners, from Japan. The game player takes control of one of two protagonists that have been sent by the Japanese authorities after many are sent in that never return. There, they discover that the sect plots not only secession, but the overthrow of the shogunate, and is employing a ninja clan and a massive cache of gold in their effort at rebellion.

The two characters, named Gokurakumaru and Yuri, promise to offer two distinctly different play mechanics, each with their unique strengths and weaknesses. Gokurakumaru is a strong male character that excels at close combat and is very strong, while Yuri, the female character, shines when she's able to use her agility and proficiency with long-range attacks.

Both characters will be able to make use of a wide array of weapons that will be presented to them at key points throughout the game. For example, Gokurakumaru has a total of seven different weapons (seven blades) at his disposal and the game will often require him to use a particular katana in order to effectively pass particular predicaments. Yuri will have around eight different weapons available and her arsenal will often include projectile-based weaponry that will require her to efficiently use her ammunition in order to succeed.

Gokurakumaru
-- doing a cool special sword attack.

Yuri
-- throwing some kind of a fireball.

-- going from the third-person to first-person view to shoot the guy off the roof.

The game's levels total seven, in keeping with the numerical theme of the game. Each one includes a variety of missions and scenarios, are set to include an array of goals that will have the player performing such daunting tasks such as accomplishing things within a specific time limit or taking on hordes of ninjas in a town. This particular scene, where the player must take on around 20 enemies in a town, has been directly inspired from a scene in Hayashi's movie. In it, the movie's hero kills 100 enemies on a bridge in a just one cut. Due to the limitations of the videogame format and for gameplay reasons, it was altered a bit for the game.

The character of the levels gradually develops, moving from outdoor scenes into gradually more urban settings, and the number and variety of opponents increases as you progress - the fifth level reportedly includes more than 60 different types of enemies. You'll have to out-duel ninja, bounty hunters, revolutionaries, government agents, and a few supernatural beasts as well. To counterpoint fights in the open streets, you'll also take on enemies in inns, teahouses, and even a brewery, bringing to mind a similar sequence in Yojimbo.

In any 3D action game of this type, and especially one that has players taking on many fast moving adversaries, the control of the game's characters will always been one of key elements that make or break the game. If it's not done correctly, a great idea can quickly turn into something that nobody will ever want to waste his or her time on. Taking a cue from Miyamoto's The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, the designers of Seven Blades have decided to use the lock-on approach when having players fight enemies from the third-person perspective. Additionally, the game makes use of first-person perspective camera angles that will often be the camera view of choice when using the game's varied projectile based weapons.

If the development team is able to offer an experience that successfully combines the quality of control that has been promised with a cinematic quality rivaling most movies, Seven Blades could end up being the killer app for PlayStation 2 in Japan for the end of 2000. It's an original, non-sequel-inspired, title that has the potential to offer gamers an experience that can't be found on any other system. We definitely hope that they succeed.

--Dave Zdyrko (and a little of David Smith)