Bushido Blade was released on the PlayStation 1 by Squaresoft, making it one of the rare games they developed that wasn’t a traditional JRPG. Instead, this is a fighting game.

Despite being part of the fighting game genre, Bushido Blade is quite a unique title. It features one-hit kills, no health bars, no time limits, and even allows you to cripple your opponent by targeting specific body parts.

However, for a fighting game, Bushido Blade has a relatively small roster, with only six playable characters and eight traditional Japanese weapons.

“Bushido” is actually the Japanese code of honor for samurai, and the game enforces this concept. You can be prevented from reaching certain endings if you fail to follow the code properly during battles.

Bushido Blade was partly inspired by Japanese cinema, especially the films of Akira Kurosawa.

Throwing knives were intended to be usable weapons in Bushido Blade, but they were cut from the final version because they were considered overpowered for a game that emphasizes realistic combat.

There has never been an HD remaster or modern port of Bushido Blade, leaving all legal methods of playing the game stuck on the original PlayStation 1.

Interestingly, the American version of Bushido Blade added blood effects. The original Japanese release only featured a yellow flash to indicate fatal attacks.