Kensei: Sacred Fist

Overview

Kensei: Sacred Fist (known in Japan as Bugi) is a 3D fighting game developed by KCE Tokyo and published by Konami for the Sony PlayStation in Japan (on November 19, 1998), North America (on November 30, 1998), and Europe (sometime in 1998).

It is the second 3D fighting game by KCE Tokyo (after Lightning Legend: Daigo no Daibouken).

Gameplay

Kensei: Sacred Fist is very similar in gameplay to the Tekken franchise, but with slight differences. The biggest one is it's emphasis on strategy, and planning out your combo's and juggles based on your distance. It was made with an ideal to avoid button-mashing, as missing the first hit in a combo string will leave the player open for a long time. Another difference is in it's blocking system, based on dodging. When pressing the block button, the player will actually move away from the attack. Some characters can incorporate a sidestep into their dodge by holding up. Sidestepping itself is not very useful, as it is very slow, much like the gameplay in general, something that made the game suitable only for the home console experience, as the arcade scene was very much focused on high speed reaction time.

Characters

Kensei: Sacred Fist features 9 fighters in its starting roster, each with their own unique fighting style, their 9 mid-boss counterparts (each with a slightly altered moveset), 2 boss characters, and 3 hidden characters, all of which are unlockable (for a grand total of 23 playable characters).

• Yugo Sangunji - Karate
• Saya Tsubaki - Kenpo
• Hong Yuli - Drunken Fist
• David Human - Professional Wrestling
• Douglas Anderson - Jeet Kune Do
• Hyoma Tsukikage - Ninjutsu
• Allen - Muay Thai
• Heinz Streit - Pit Fighting
• Ann Griffith - Amateur Wrestling

Unlockable Characters

• Akira Sangunji (mid-boss for Yugo) - Karate
• Genya Tsubaki (mid-boss for Saya) - Kenpo
• Su Qingtao (mid-boss for Yuli) - Drunken Fist
• Mark Galeon (mid-boss for David) - Professional Wrestling
• Yoko Cindy Matsudaira (mid-boss for Douglas) - Jeet Kune Do
• Sessue Kanoh (mid-boss for Hyoma) - Ninjitsu
• Steve Laettner (mid-boss for Allen) - Kickboxing
• Natsuki Kornelia (mid-boss for Heinz) - Pit Fighting
• Arthur Stewart (mid-boss for Ann) - Amateur Wrestling

• Zhou Leimeng (sub-boss) - "Original Style"
• Kaiya Tsubaki (final boss) - Kenpo
• Kazane Tsukikage (hidden character) - Ninjutsu
• Jelly Thomas (hidden character) - "Original Style"
• Billy Thomas (hidden character) - "Original Style"

Racing Minigame

After unlocking all the characters, a racing mini-game would unlock, where you would choose any character, a course, and steer him running it. To make the character go faster, you mash on the "x" button.