Sengoku Basara Heroes 2

Capcom’s answer to Dynasty Warriors takes the same Sengoku period Koei had been mining and treats it with no historical restraint whatsoever. Date Masamune fights with six swords at once and speaks in English catchphrases; Sanada Yukimura shouts every line. Sengoku Basara 2 Heroes is an expansion of the second game with new characters and a fresh mode, and its faster, more combo-driven combat separates it clearly from the series it was chasing. It runs well on PCSX2, AetherSX2, and ArmsX2.

Storyline

The campaign runs through warring-states Japan with the historical figures reimagined as flamboyant action heroes, each with their own route through the conflict. Nobunaga Oda is styled as a demon king, Kenshin Uesugi as an ethereal swordsman, and so on — accuracy is not the ambition.

Heroes adds Heroes Gaiden, a mode built around character-specific scenarios that fill in relationships and rivalries the main routes skip. The writing is played broad and loud throughout, and the appeal is the cast rather than the history. Anyone approaching it expecting a serious treatment of the period will be disappointed; anyone who enjoys the anime it spawned will find exactly the register they expect.

Gameplay

The core is one-versus-army combat, but the systems lean much harder on combos than its competitors. Characters have long strings, air juggles, and cancel options, and clearing a field is closer to playing a crowd-control action game than to swinging through a mob. Basara gauges fill to unleash screen-clearing specials, and each fighter plays substantially differently — reach, speed, and crowd coverage vary enormously across the roster.

Battlefields still involve capturing bases and responding to objectives, but map control matters less here than raw offensive pressure. Weapon crafting, skill loadouts, and levelling run through the campaign, and character routes are short enough to encourage playing several rather than exhausting one. Split-screen co-op is supported throughout.

Playing Experience

It is faster and more technically satisfying than most games in this genre, and the enormous roster gives it real longevity if the combat clicks with you. The presentation is deliberately over the top, with a rock soundtrack and voice performances pitched at maximum volume. Note that this release never received an official English localisation, so a fan translation or a working knowledge of Japanese menus is part of the experience. On PCSX2, AetherSX2, or ArmsX2 it runs well, and the higher resolution suits its bold character designs.

Conclusion

Sitting in Dynasty Warriors’ shadow has kept it obscure outside Japan, which is a shame given it plays the genre’s combat better than most of its rivals. For anyone who has worn out the Koei catalogue, this is the obvious next stop. You will need PS2 firmware to run it — download a BIOS file here.