Samurai Aces

Sengoku Ace (Sengoku Ace (戦国エース, Sengoku Ēsu)), fully titled Sengoku Ace: Tengai Episode I and also known as Samurai Aces in the English version, is a vertically scrolling shooter released in the arcades by Psikyo in 1993. The first game by Psikyo, Sengoku Ace was designed by Shinsuke Nakamura, the creator of Aero Fighters (Sonic Wings) and the company's founder.

Sengoku Ace
Japanese arcade flyer
Developer(s)	Psikyo (Arcade) APXSoft (Mobile)
Publisher(s)	Banpresto (Arcade) Taito, 505 Games (PS2) Noritong (Mobile)
Designer(s)	Shinsuke Nakamura
Programmer(s)	Shinsuke Nakamura Hiroshi Yamada Shiori Saito
Artist(s)	Hirofumi Nakamura
Composer(s)	Masaki Izutani
Series	Sengoku Ace
Platform(s)	Arcade, PlayStation 2, Mobile, Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Release	April 22, 1993 (Arcade) December 2, 2004 (PS2) February 15, 2018 (Switch) May 20, 2020 (Windows) July 27, 2022 (PS4 & XONE)
Genre(s)	Scrolling shooter
Mode(s)	Up to 2 players (co-op)
Arcade system	Psikyo 1st Generation

Gameplay

Samurai Aces is a pseudo military-to-fantasy-themed vertically scrolling shoot 'em up game.

Plot

The science fantasy story of Sengoku Ace resolves around the six Feudal Japan (Sengoku period) characters sent on a mission to stop an evil cult and rescue the Shogun's kidnapped daughter, princess Tsukihime (Moon Princess), before she can be used as a sacrifice to resurrect their demon god. The game features 21 endings, different for various characters and two-player pairings.^[1]

Characters

• Flush (Flash) / Ayin / Aine (閃光のアイン) - a 25-year-old, one-eyed, blonde samurai flying a J7W, who is looking for his sister Asuka. He is voiced by Hisao Egawa.
• Gen / Gennai (からくり屋 源内) - a 77-year-old scientist with a small robot assistant named Ranmaru, who flies a small, agile "Super Fighter" plane that resembles an X-wing starfighter from Star Wars. He is voiced by Daisuke Gōri.
• Jane Hayate (はやてのジェーン) - a 21-year-old blonde and blue-eyed beautiful female ninja who flies a glider. She is voiced by Hiroko Emori.
• Kenno (Kenno Maru) / Kenoumaru / Ohmaru (犬王丸) - a "super genius dog" flying a high-tech YF-23 aircraft (according to some of his team play endings, really a young man sealed in a dog form).
• Miko / Koyori (Koyori Togashi) (富樫こより) - a 17-year-old miko with a fascination for money, who flies a biplane. In Sengoku Ace, Koyori is still young and tomboyish. She is also voiced by Hiroko Emori.
• Tengai (Tengai Kano) (ターボ坊主 天外) - a 50-year-old Japanese Buddhist wandering monk who flies a bizarre bird-like plane. He is also voiced by Daisuke Gōri.

Reception

Aggregate score

Aggregator	Score
Metacritic	(NS) 71/100[2]

Review score

Publication	Score
Nintendo Life	(NS) 8/10[3]

Reception

In Japan, Game Machine listed Samurai Aces on their June 1, 1993 issue as being the fourth most-popular arcade game for the previous two weeks.^[4] On Nintendo Switch, it garnered "mixed or average" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic.^[2]

Legacy

The original and arranged soundtrack for the game (GCD-1) was released by Shinseisha on January 22, 1994.^[5] The game's manga adaptation titled Sengoku Ace - Ataru Kadiba (戦国エース - かぢば あたる) (ISBN 4-88199-140-X) was published by Shinseisha in the Gamest Comics series on December 25, 1994.^[6]

In December 2004, the game was released for the PlayStation 2 as part of the Psikyo Shooting Collection Vol. 2: Sengoku Ace & Sengoku Blade by Taito and 505 Games. It was also re-released one year later as a budget-range title. In 2018, it was also released for the Nintendo Switch. In 2022, the original arcade version was included as part of the Sega Astro City Mini V, a vertically-oriented variant of the Sega Astro City mini console.^[7]

Sengoku Ace was followed by two sequels, Sengoku Blade: Sengoku Ace Episode II in 1996 and Sengoku Cannon: Sengoku Ace Episode III in 2004. The Sengoku series characters, along with the ones from Psikyo's Gunbird series, later joined up with several Capcom characters (especially from the Street Fighter fame) in the crossover game Taisen Net Gimmick: Capcom & Psikyo All Stars,^[8][9][10] released for the Dreamcast in 2001.