Job #23: Classic Namco Solo Unit - Taira no Kagekiyo
For reasons (with a huge backstory in case people doesn't know about this series) and a playstyle, prepare to read these long words below.
Taira no Kagekiyo is the protagonist of Namco's 1986 arcade classic
Genpei Tōma Den, it's Famicom-exclusive virtual board game adaptation (
Computer Board Game) and a sequel,
Samurai-Ghost which was released for the TurboGrafx-16/PC Engine console in 1992. Based on the
real-life historical figure, he was a samurai from the Taira Clan who died in the
Battle of Dan-no-ura, the last battle of the Genpei War, which resulted in his clan being destroyed by the Minamoto clan led by his arch-nemesis,
Minamoto no Yorimoto. To avenge his clan's destruction after having been revived as a undead warrior by
Andaba, the guardian of the Sanzu River, Kagekiyo has to obtain the three sacred treasures,
Imperial Regalia of Japan (which consists of Magamati's jewel that makes Kagekiyo immune to poison, Kagami's mirror which grants invincibility to electric/lightning attacks and Kusanagi's sword, which is very powerful and doesn't break down) as he travels into Kamikura in order to defeat Yoritomo and his
army of demons & henchmen,
Minamoto no Yoshi-tsune and
Saito Musashibō Benkei.
The series was resurrected as a webcomic titled "
Scar" as part of Namco's defunct subsidiary
ShiftyLook's library, where Kagekiyo (now named Scar, hence the title) fought against cyborg samurais instead of demons. He
later appeared in other video games such as a WonderSwan tactical role-playing game Namco Super Wars,
Namco High as a captain of the school's wrestleball team,
Tales of Eternia as a cameo where he prevents the player from advancing through certain doorways in the Aifread's Tomb dungeon (alongside Splatterhouse's Rick Taylor), Tales of Phantasia: Narikiri Dungeon, Soul Calibur III and Tekken 6 as a costume (for Yoshimitsu in latter two),
Pac-Man 99 and finally,
Namco x Capcom (spiritual predecessor of Project X Zone), where he teamed up with Soul Calibur's Mitsurugi and Yokai Dochuki/Shadow Land's Tarosuke.
For Project X Zone 3, during battles, Kagekiyo would use his katana/sword for quick slashing attacks, counters and techniques such as his signature "
Senpuken", which involves him spinning it around in a circle with one arm in order to quickly eliminate/kill enemies and shooting
energy shockwave projectiles forward with "Shinkuzan". He can also use magical spells (
a list for explanations) as seen in Genpei Tōma Den: Computer Board Game and the Imperial Regalia of Japan treasures themselves for a destructive attack.