Last Bronx

Last Bronx
Developer(s) Sega AM3
Publisher(s) Sega
Director(s) Akinobu Abe
Platform(s) Arcade, Saturn, Windows, PlayStation 2
Release date(s)

Arcade

Sega Saturn

  • JP: August 1, 1997
  • NA: October 14, 1997
  • EU: October 23, 1997

Windows

  • JP: February 27, 1998
  • NA: January 1998
  • EU: 1998

PlayStation 2

  • JP: June 29, 2006

(as part of Sega Ages Vol. 24)

Genre(s) Fighting
Mode(s) Single player, Multiplayer

Last Bronx (ラストブロンクス -東京番外地- Last Bronx ~Tokyo Bangaichi~) is a 3D fighting video game developed by Sega AM3 on the Sega Model 2 mainboard. This is one of the first motion captured 3D weapon fighting games released in Japanese game centers in 1996, the other was Soul Edge. Home versions, shortened to Last Bronx, were produced for contemporary Sega game console and Windows systems. In Japan, the Last Bronx was novelized and serialized into comics and radio drama. A VHS video documenting the motion capture process used for the game and introducing the characters was released in 1996. A year later, Takashi Shimizu directed the live-action movie (V-Cinema). On June 29, 2006, Sega released Tokyo Bangaichi on PlayStation 2 as a tenth anniversary celebration.

Plot

Last Bronx is set in an alternate version of post-Japanese bubble Tokyo, where crime and gang warfare is rampant. The game has the following main characters:

Gameplay

Each match is a best out of two rounds fight with victory by Knock Out or remaining health at the end of the 30-second time limit. The stages are set in real Tokyo city closed areas without any ring outs. However, fighters can jump on the barriers (and eventually make a disqualifying ring out backflip from there).

Sega AM3 used the "PKG" 3-button system introduced by the AM2 in Virtua Fighter – "P" stands for "Punch" (or weapon), "K" for "Kick" and "G" for "Guard". The player uses the arcade joystick to move the character. Certain joystick and button combinations result in special attacks and combination attacks. The "G" button is used to block the opponent's attacks and to perform a feint attack called "Attack Cancel".Strong attacks, throlls and rolling moves can be performed using different button combinations. Taunts can also be used – Last Bronx is part of the rare games in which the CPU uses this feature against the player or even another CPU controlled character.

Saturn/PC Mode

When the home version of Last Bronx was released in 1997, the original arcade game was available in "Arcade Mode" but Sega also added a new story mode named "Saturn Mode" (later known as "PC Mode"). There were several differences between Arcade Mode and this new mode.

The basic change was in the character Yoko – she lost her protagonist status since the final fight with her elder brother Red Eye was no longer the game's climax. The new plot was re-imagined as a complex network revolving around the Soul Crew duel of Yusaku versus Joe, around which all primary and secondary characters are linked to, for individual reasons. As a result, there was no more fixed fighting order with Red Eye as the last boss to beat, but instead the mode features a random route with Red Eye as a Sub Boss and a final match specific to each character.

Each final match was introduced by a real time cutscene with the two opponents, which differed from the Arcade Mode's unique dialogue between Yoko and Red Eye, Yoko being the only character directly connected to the game's bad guy. The Arcade Mode's "Extra Stage", which was only available when beating Red Eye without using a continue did not exist in the story mode. In this bonus stage, the ultimate opponent was a Dural-like metallic mute version of the player's own character (in reference to Virtua Fighter 3). Depending on the version, this extra character was either a solid gray color or reflective. In the console versions, Red Eye was now playable with his own story mode ending movie to unlock.

Winning the story mode's final stage unlocked a different ending anime sequence for each character and each video became available for future viewing in the "Movie" mode. Prolific Japanese studio Telecom Animation Film (テレコム•アニメーション•フィルム) produced all ten videos, including the opening music sequence.

PlayStation 2 extra settings

A hidden bonus menu featuring exclusive options is included in the PlayStation 2 version:

Releases

Last Bronx was first planned to be released in the first week of August 1997, but it was actually first sold in Japan on July 25, 1997. The Tokyo Bangaichi tagline was removed from the original logo in the 1996 American arcade release. The same year, Sega Europe kept the short Last Bronx name for its own cabinet. The home versions released the following years were also named Last Bronx, but the logo's blood squirt was removed in overseas editions. Only the 2006 PlayStation 2 Sega Ages 2500 Series Vol.24 version use the original Last Bronx: Tokyo Bangaichi title name and logo.

The arcade version was developed in Japan by the AM3 team that had developed Virtual On. Tokyo Bangaichi was running on the same mainboard that Tecmo's Dead Or Alive and Sega's own AM2's Virtua Fighter 2 and Fighting Vipers. While the original port of the game was graphically inferior to its arcade counterpart, the port featured new game modes and options, remixed music and exclusive video sequences.

Tokyo Bangaichi was already a hit and popular franchise in Japan before the home version's release, with even a movie (Toei Video) dedicated to it, with its own OST CD. As a result, Last Bronx was launched in summer 1997 with a blockbuster campaign. The SegaSaturn game box contained exclusive extras such a "Special Disc" featuring two training modes, a vocal characters profile and even an "Interactive Tutorial Mode" with extensive vocals. This bonus disc was never released overseas. This package also included a 56-page illustrated color booklet, a dual-side collector poster featuring character art and a gameplay command list and a set of stickers. The console conversion of Tokyo Bangaichi ran at 60 frames per second. This Sega Saturn version was supplemented by extra game modes such as Survival, Time Attack and Saturn Mode. Three Club Remixes by Yoshiaki Ouchi were taken from the movie's OST and added in the game as unlockable BGM for the stages of Tommy, Lisa and Kurosawa.

Last Bronx includes advertising for real life brands such as Shott, Suzuki, Toyo Tires, AM Records, Java Tea, Axia, Wild Blue Yokohama (theme park) and JAL. Most of these advertising bills were removed or exchanged with Sega or Saturn logos, sometimes replaced by "Now Printing" bills, in the oversea releases. An "AAA Act Against AIDS" bill, which is a Japanese nonprofit annual event concert, was introduced in the subway stage of the 1998 Windows version.

After the worldwide release of Last Bronx, Sega PC started a port of the Sega Saturn version for Windows 95/98. This 1998 home version was basically the same as its predecessor but graphically closer to the arcade original with a superior character models and much more detailed fighting environments. The game also ran at a faster frame with the new "Auto Control" option. The "Saturn Mode" was renamed "PC Mode" and there were removed modes such as the CPU versus CPU non-playable "Watch Mode". A new "Replay" feature was introduced and brand extra modes were added including "Team Battle" and "Network Battle", both playable in single, 2-player or 10-player LAN/Internet. Screen resolutions and graphic detail options were also available.

Ten years after the original release, Sega emulated the original Tokyo Bangaichi on the PlayStation 2. This version is a straight emulation of the arcade original, with none of the special modes added to the ports. The four game modes are "Arcade Mode", "VS Mode", "Survival Mode" and "Time Attack Mode". The "Replay Mode" which was introduced in the Windows version is still available and was improved as it now gives the player the ability to save into the memory card their own "Replays" in order to watch them later. In this upgraded mode, the user can now zoom in/out and freely select the camera angle or even rotate over 360° around the moving characters. This version also featured the Sega Ages 2500 usual "Archives" mode with some game art.

The game is fully compatible with the "SegaSaturn Control Pad/Virtua Stick for PlayStation 2" which were specially released on the Japanese market to fit the Sega Ages vintage line. Just like its predecessors, this new version doesn't support the vibration function. However, it does feature extensive display options – including frame rate adjustment and letterbox mode. Also for the very first time, the user can adjust the volume for both BGM, sound effects and voices, which includes the ability to play without music. The Saturn version's extra BGMs are not available as the 2006 edition is a straight-to-arcade port. However, a cheat code can be used to switch between the "Last Bronx 1996" and "Last Bronx 2006". The first one uses the original title screen, game graphics and secret tip messages (how to unlock the Survival Mode, etc.), it even disables the latter's basic features including game modes selection, options and the "Pause" function. The player can virtually insert coins -to add credits- by holding "START" and pressing "SELECT" while playing. To quit this Arcade-only mode, the user must run out of credits and wait for the title screen in order to do the switch trick.

Two campaign editions are released through the Sega Direct online shop, first one is a regular edition bundled with an exclusive "葱 Dumpsters" round badge. This kanji symbol, spelled negi, appears on Zaimoku's 2P suit and means "green onion", which is a Japanese food, while "Dumpsters" is the name of this character's gang. The second edition is named "DX Pack", for "Deluxe Pack", and features a "portable strap set" and a "postcard set". The first set is made of a black "Last Bronx" leather bracelet and nine metallic keyholders, shaped according to each crew's insignia, while the other set features eight color postcards, illustrated with the basic characters. Unlike its predecessors, this version will not be released overseas.

List of releases

Arcade
Computer
Console

Merchandise

Books

A manga series was launched in the Asuka Fantasy DX collection and Last Bronx was also novelized by Asuka Books.

Artbooks
Comics

In May 2005, the Chinese publisher Ching Win has licensed the Asuka Comics DX manga which were created by the game director himself, for an official release in Taiwan.

(illus:Saitou Remi/story:Akinobu Abe, Ching Win Publishing Group, licensed by Kadokawa, 345p.)

Novels
Strategy guides

Toys

In the brand's game centers, Sega used to offer Tokyo Bangaichi related prizes to pachinko gamers and local arcade contest winners. Various goodies such as plush toys and female fighters dedicated super deformed plastic key holders were produced in Japan by the time of the game's arcade release. An all-character plush toy Christmas special edition was even created in December 1996. When the Sega Saturn was released the following year, the famous model kit maker Hogaraka bought the license to sale official Last Bronx dolls of Lisa, Nagi and Yoko.

Film

Documentary
V-cinema

Audio

The Saturn exclusive opening anime's theme song Jaggy Love, performed by the R&B trio D'Secrets (Kaori, Mayumi & Rie) was released as a single, with Kaze No Street as the B-side.

Game OST
Radio drama

Pony Canyon published a four episodes Radio drama audio CD series.

V-cinema OST

Notes

    This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/11/2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.