Sengoku 3

Overview

Sengoku 3 (known in Japan as Sengoku Denshou 2001, loosely translated to "Legacy of the Warring States 2001") is a belt-scrolling brawler developed by Noise Factory and released by SNK for arcades (running Neo Geo MVS hardware) on July 18, 2001 and the Neo Geo AES on October 25, 2001.

The third installment of SNK's Sengoku series, Sengoku 3 is the first Neo Geo game headed by Noise Factory. Set in modern times, plays pick from one of four "Ninjas of Peace" as they purge cities around the world from undead ancient Japanese warriors.

The game plays differently from the other Sengoku games, eschewing concepts like power-up orbs and transformations while adding powerful super moves (with a super gauge system), throwable projectiles (such as shurikens and bombs), new pick-ups (such as food for restoring vitality), and multiple playable characters (with some characters locked out until a certain point in the game). Gameplay-wise, it's considered a spiritual sequel to Noise Factory's earlier arcade game Gaia Crusaders.

The game, along with Sengoku and Sengoku 2, were later included in the 2009 Europe-exclusive compilation Sengoku Anthology (for the PlayStation 2 and PC). It was also included in some Humble NEO GEO Bundles starting in late 2015 for the PC, Mac, and Linux (both downloadable, with ROMs included, and on modern browsers).

Gameplay

The game features two melee attack buttons (one for weapons and one for hand-to-hand), one button used for jumping, and one button used for throwing projectiles.

Comboing is a crucial factor for success in this game. The combos can be done through different combinations of jump attacks, free hand attacks and weapon attacks. Executing successful combos fills your spirit meter, which you can use to unleash three devastating attacks. All characters have two regular special attacks and an ultimate attack. You can stock three spirit bars and each can be used to unleash an ultimate attack.

Occasionally, enemies will drop projectiles like bombs, knives and shurikens. These can be picked up and stored. Interestingly, you can stack up to 9 of these projectiles of the same type, but if in the course of action you pick a different type, the earlier weapon just falls out and can be picked up again.

Characters

There are six total playable characters in the game, two of which are locked out until the players finish the first three levels.

• Kagetsura
• Falcon
• Kongoh
• Kurenai
• Byakki (locked out)
• Okuni (locked out)