Sengoku BASARA 15th Anniversary

[FelixFox]

There sure hasn't been any news in awhile...
This will be a mixture of both good and bad news, and I'll briefly discuss my opinion on the fate of the series and address other fans' concerns.

Sengoku BASARA Character Popularity Poll 2020

CAPCOM held a character popularity poll for the Sengoku BASARA series on the BASARA CLUB site from November 9, 2020, to November 20, 2020. A live stream to announce the poll results happened on December 13, 2020. There were a total of 64 characters to vote for. Voting required being a member of the BASARA CLUB. Members were able to vote for their top 10 characters once per day, with every rank adding a certain amount of points to the tally. Once the results were announced, the overall top 10 characters, as well as the 20th, 30th, 40th, and 50th ranked characters, will feature in new merchandise. There will also be a joke prize for the 63rd-ranked character. Watching the poll results live stream required purchasing a ticket from the site. Purchasing a ticket required either being a member of BASARA CLUB or having a Rom Mall account. The live stream featured Kōji Okino (the current stage play actor for Ishida Mitsunari), Yūsuke Seto (the current stage play actor for Akechi Mitsuhide, and Tenkai), and Hideto Mashima (the current stage play actor for Date Masamune). Merchandise from this poll will be sold on the BASARA CLUB site for members to purchase.

https://www.basara-club.jp/posts/pages/dqbnps

Good News and Bad News

The good news is that there is a new official poll for the series. There hasn't been one for a few years (I'm pretty sure the last one was in 2016). Also, this gives a chance for the 3 new characters that were added through Sengoku BASARA Battle Party (Izumo no Okuni, Katō Kiyomasa, and Komatsuhime) to be featured in new merchandise. This also gives the female characters (they don't really feature in much merchandise, as most of the male characters tend to be more popular), and/or unpopular characters (of course, if they're not popular enough, they won't feature in most merchandise) a chance to feature in new merchandise. The bad news is that this is the first time an official poll for the series is limited to BASARA CLUB members, as previous polls were open to the public. Also, previous polls had their results published in magazines and on websites, but the results for this poll is on a live stream, and requires purchasing a ticket to watch. Another thing is that I already have a feeling as to who made it into the top 10, and some of the characters that I feel should receive more merchandise (Ashikaga Yoshiteru, Azai Nagamasa, Ii Naotora, Matsunaga Hisahide, Oichi, Saika Magoichi, etc.) might only have a chance through the 20th, 30th, 40th, and 50th spots.

The Fate of Sengoku BASARA

Before I discuss my opinion on the fate of the series, I'd like to briefly go over on how the games have been. The latest game in the series is Sengoku BASARA Sanada Yukimura-den, which was released for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 in Asia on August 25, 2016. CAPCOM also released Sengoku BASARA 4 Sumeragi: Anniversary Edition for the PlayStation 4 in Japan on July 21, 2020, to celebrate the series' 15th anniversary. Sadly, it's just a re-release of Sengoku BASARA 4 Sumeragi with all of the DLC included, and CAPCOM hasn't decided to try releasing it for the Nintendo Switch despite fan demand. The series’ mobile gacha RPG, Sengoku BASARA Battle Party, released in Japan on June 24, 2019, and was shut down on December 21, 2020. Luckily, the series was added as cards into CAPCOM's mobile card game, TEPPEN, worldwide on October 1, 2020. Honestly, I feel like the series is very much on the verge of death, and a lot of fans feel this way too. Ever since the announcement of the SB BP shutdown, most fans have just been losing all hope for the series, whereas before, most fans have had very little hope for the series. A possibility of a Sengoku BASARA 5 happening (or just a new console game in general) seems extremely unlikely, especially since CAPCOM had the SB team shut down SB BP. Who knows what the series' future holds, but for now, we can just enjoy the fact that the series is in TEPPEN, and that there's still that manga that started with its first chapter on December 1, 2020.

[FelixFox]

Sengoku BASARA Character Popularity Poll 2020 Interim Announcement

On November 16, 2020, CAPCOM had an interim announcement to announce the results of the poll so far. The final results of the poll will be announced during the live stream on December 13, 2020. Below are the poll results from the interim announcement as of November 16, 2020, with P marking how many points the character has received, and the bold names indicating which characters are winning.

1. Ishida Mitsunari (2936P)
2. Date Masamune (2928P)
3. Tokugawa Ieyasu (2672P)
4. Sanada Yukimura (2238P)
5. Katakura Kojūrō (2232P)
6. Bontenmaru (2076P)
7. Sarutobi Sasuke (1592P)
8. Takenaka Hanbei (1586P)
9. Shima Sakon (1484P)
10. Ōtani Yoshitsugu (1476P)
11. Chōsokabe Motochika (1474P)
12. Mōri Motonari (1204P)
13. Benmaru (1202P)
14. Matsunaga Hisahide (1032P)
15. Maeda Keiji (904P)
16. Kuroda Kanbei (848P)
17. Takechiyo (832P)
18. Toyotomi Hideyoshi (814P)
19. Akechi Mitsuhide (808P)
20. Saika Magoichi (769P)
21. Tsuruhime (746P)
22. Gotō Matabei (728P)
23. Komatsuhime (694P)
24. Tenkai (688P)
25. Oichi (626P)
26. Azai Nagamasa (622P)
27. Kasuga (586P)
27. Sanada Masayuki (586P)
29. Fūma Kotarō (580P)
30. Shibata Katsuie (568P)
31. Katō Kiyomasa (564P)
32. Takeda Shingen (540P)
33. Nōhime (526P)
33. Sanada Nobuyuki (526P)
35. Kyōgoku Maria (484P)
36. Oda Nobunaga (446P)
37. Sen no Rikyū (436P)
38. Itsuki (396P)
39. Izumo no Okuni (354P)
40. Amago Haruhisa (324P)
41. Utsunomiya Hirotsuna (310P)
42. Honda Tadakatsu (306P)
43. Ashikaga Yoshiteru (288P)
44. Nanbu Harumasa (278P)
45. Mogami Yoshiaki (256P)
46. Matsu (252P)
47. Naoe Kanetsugu (228P)
48. Uesugi Kenshin (196P)
49. Satake Yoshishige (194P)
50. Ii Naotora (176P)
51. Maeda Toshiie (158P)
52. Hōjō Ujimasa (150P)
53. Miyamoto Musashi (146P)
54. Anegakōji Yoritsuna (130P)
55. Yamanaka Shikanosuke (124P)
56. Mori Ranmaru (116P)
57. Shimazu Yoshihiro (104P)
58. Kobayakawa Hideaki (90P)
59. Xavi (88P)
60. Imagawa Yoshimoto (84P)
61. Tachibana Muneshige (74P)
62. Honganji Kennyo (38P)
63. Ōtomo Sōrin (10P)
64. Miyoshi Trio (0P)

https://www.basara-club.jp/posts/pages/rsykuz

[FelixFox]

Sengoku BASARA Battle Party Update

Sengoku BASARA Battle Party received an update on November 25, 2020, where players were able to play through all of the main story and "Drama Scroll" side stories without having to level up a certain amount. Instead, players just had to beat the current chapter they were on to move on to the next one. Sadly, the main story ended on a cliffhanger because the game was supposed to last longer than its shutdown date of December 21, 2020.

https://basara-bp.capcom-s.jp/lp/index.html

Sengoku BASARA Elysium of Two Extremes

On November 24, 2020, CAPCOM announced that the official name of the Sengoku BASARA 15th Anniversary manga is titled, Sengoku BASARA Elysium of Two Extremes. The new manga celebrates Sengoku BASARA's 15th anniversary, and debuted with its first chapter in monthly Japanese manga magazine, HERO'S, on December 1, 2020. The first chapter was also made available to be read for free on the HERO'S website on November 27, 2020. The first chapter is titled, Return to the Heavens. A new HERO'S magazine releases on the 1st of every month. The new manga stars Date Masamune and Sanada Yukimura as the main protagonists. The manga is written by Rando Ayamine and drawn by Yukai Asada.

https://viewer.heros-web.com/episode/13933686331750165415

[FelixFox]

Sengoku BASARA Battle Party UR Gacha

A gacha was added into the game on December 2, 2020, and lasted till the game’s shutdown date of December 21, 2020. Players could do a 1x daily free gacha, a 1x gacha for 100 red or blue jewels (appears after the doing the daily free gacha), and a 10x gacha for 900 red or blue jewels. 23 of the game’s 28 UR (Ultra Rare) characters were available in it, and players were guaranteed to get some of them through this.

https://basara-bp.capcom-s.jp/lp/

Healsio Hot Cook Customization Service <Sengoku BASARA Sanada Yukimura Ver.>

A second collaboration between "SHARP Healsio Hot Cook" and the "Sengoku BASARA" series was announced on December 10, 2020. Sanada Yukimura is featured on the cooking appliance this time. The cooking appliance features voice acting from Sōichirō Hoshi (the voice actor for Sanada Yukimura). Orders started on December 10, 2020, and deliveries are scheduled around late January 2021. It is priced at 80,000円+tax. Those who purchase by January 31, 2021, will be entered into a lottery and have a chance to receive a signed autograph by Sōichirō Hoshi. Only 3 people will be able to receive it. There’s also a video on the product below.

https://www.e-capcom.com/shop/g/gC00006019/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWQGjSKtz3w&feature=emb_title

Sengoku BASARA Character Popularity Poll 2020 Goods

From December 10, 2020, to December 27, 2020, there were 4 different goods available for BASARA Club members to purchase in celebration of the “Sengoku BASARA Character Popularity Poll 2020 Results Announcement” that happened on December 13, 2020. Deliveries are scheduled around early February 2021. The goods were as followed:

Character Poll Mug

This was priced at 800円+tax.

Character Poll Hand Towel

This was priced at 500円+tax.

Character Poll Poster

This was priced at 1,800円+tax.

Character Poll Neck Pillow

This was priced at 3,000円+tax.

https://www.basara-club.jp/ec/products?category=508

[FelixFox]

Sadness (at least for Sengoku BASARA fans)

Since Sengoku BASARA Battle Party shut down on December 21, 2020, I decided to put some info about what I was able to accomplish during my time playing. I was able to level up my party to 83 (the highest character level is 135). I was able to get a total of 66 out of the game's 78 characters. I got all 15 R (Rare) characters, 30 out of 35 SR (Super Rare) characters, and 21 out of 28 UR (Ultra Rare) characters. The highest online rank I was able to achieve was 496, with my online rank being 723 before the game shut down. Players have to be in the top 30,000 to be featured on the leaderboard. There was also a special leaderboard for the top 100 players. I was also able to play through all 23 chapters of the main story, and all 23 "Drama Scroll" side stories. Also, my main party (in this game, a party consists of a maximum of 6 characters) I ended the game with included Dragon King: Date Masamune, Katō Kiyomasa, Komatsuhime, Kyōgoku Maria, Matsunaga Hisahide, and Tenkai.

[FelixFox]

Sengoku BASARA Battle Party: Story Complete Works

Since Sengoku BASARA Battle Party shut down on December 21, 2020, later that same day, CAPCOM announced the release of a new book titled, "Sengoku BASARA Battle Party: Story Complete Works." This book is sold through CAPCOM's online Japanese store, e-CAPCOM for a straight price of 3,800円, starting December 21, 2020. There are a limited number of copies, and deliveries are scheduled for spring 2021. The book is 192 pages long, and contains all of the story content featured in the game.

https://www.e-capcom.com/shop/g/gC00006045/

Sengoku BASARA Christmas Game Sale

To celebrate Christmas, the Sengoku BASARA 4 Sumeragi: Anniversary Set, and Sengoku BASARA Sanada Yukimura-den on PS4 joined the CAPCOM Christmas Sale on the Japanese PlayStation Store (CAPCOM also held a Christmas sale on the Japanese eShop as well) from December 22, 2020, to January 8, 2021. The Sengoku BASARA 4 Sumeragi: Anniversary Set was 25% off with its price being lowered from 5,445円+tax, to 4,084円+tax. Sengoku BASARA Sanada Yukimura-den was 72% off with its price being lowered from 6,472円+tax, to 1,812円+tax. Also, CAPCOM confirmed that the PS4 Sengoku BASARA games are backwards-compatible with the PS5.

https://store.playstation.com/ja-jp/product/JP0102-CUSA01159_00-4SANNIVERSARYSET

https://store.playstation.com/ja-jp/product/JP0102-CUSA04243_00-60GAMEPACKAGE000

[FelixFox]

TEPPEN Expansion: The Battle of Amatsu no Kuni

Following the previous TEPPEN expansion, The Tale of Amatsu no Kuni, another expansion titled, The Battle of Amatsu no Kuni, continued to support both the Ōkami and Sengoku BASARA series. The new expansion was announced on December 26, 2020, and was released worldwide on January 5, 2021. Unlike the previous expansion which added new gameplay elements, this new expansion didn't add any new gameplay elements, but it did expand on some of them. Also, this expansion added Oichi (the woman with black hair in the picture, and a major supporting character of Sengoku BASARA) from the Sengoku BASARA series as a new hero character for players to play as, new cards from both the Ōkami and Sengoku BASARA series, and another brand new story based on both series. Amaterasu (bottom right), Issun (green glowing guy near Amaterasu) and Rao (top left) from Ōkami, plus Honda Tadakatsu (top right), Ishida Mitsunari (middle left), Oichi (bottom left), and Tokugawa Ieyasu (middle right) from Sengoku BASARA all feature in the picture. Honestly, I was even more excited for this expansion than the previous. TEPPEN is showing continued support for Sengoku BASARA, and added a character from the series as a hero. Sengoku BASARA is a dying franchise, but TEPPEN has plans to continue to support Sengoku BASARA. Also, I was expecting them to choose either Date Masamune or Oda Nobunaga as the next hero if they decided to continue to support Sengoku BASARA. Choosing Oichi shocked me, but I'm happy that she was chosen as it gives the female characters better representation (I would've preferred Saika Magoichi over Oichi as a female hero, but Oichi is cool too). There have also been some rumors going around that they will do at least 1 more expansion after this that will support both Ōkami and Sengoku BASARA, and that the new hero added into it will either be Date Masamune or Ishida Mitsunari, who are both from Sengoku BASARA (these are just rumors, BTW). This all makes me really happy! I couldn’t wait to try out Oichi, and the new Ōkami and Sengoku BASARA cards when they got added into TEPPEN!

https://teppenthegame.com/en/update/2021/boa/

[FelixFox]

Sengoku BASARA Wishes Everyone a Happy New Year + New Manga Chapter

This is a bit late, but during the new year in Japan, the official Sengoku BASARA Twitter posted a special tweet to wish everyone a happy new year of 2021 after the long and harsh 2020 year. They also told fans that they have announcements, plans, and projects for the year, and for them to stay tuned. Of course, many fans responded with happy new year tweets, hopes for a Sengoku BASARA 5, and questions about the future of the series. Also, the 2nd chapter of the manga, Sengoku BASARA Elysium of Two Extremes, was released in the HERO'S magazine on January 1, 2021. The 2nd chapter is titled, Incarnation. While the 1st chapter was available to be read for free online, following chapters require purchasing the magazine either physically or digitally. A new HERO'S magazine release on the 1st of every month.