Video Game / The Last Blade 1

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Long ago, in a distant land, death was unknown to the world. Eventually, however, death first showed up, and with it, the "messenger from afar." The cause was found to be "Hell's Gate," and a sealing ritual was performed to keep the dead behind there, thus creating the two worlds. The Four Gods keep a constant eye over the gate. Eventually, Shinnosuke Kagami (Suzaku's earthly avatar) becomes tired of how foolish and weak people have become, and decides to take advantage of the power of the gate for himself.

Meanwhile, three adopted children of a great swordsman, Kaede, Yuki and Moriya Minakata, find their lives in turmoil. Kaede and Yuki, off on an errand, return to find their father dead, Moriya standing over his corpse. Kaede, assuming that it was Moriya, attacks him. Moriya takes the beating without fighting and walks away afterwards.

Kaede, feeling that he was too weak to help, goes to train with the old hermit Genbu Okina, and discovers that he holds the power of Seiryuu. He eventually fights with Kagami, and not only defeats him and saves the world, but also discovers that Kagami is the true killer of his father.

Life or Death! Bout 1 - Slash!

• Alliterative Name: Moriya's first and last name start with an M.
• Big Bad: Kagami schemes to bring forth destruction to the entire world with demonic powers.
• Costume Copycat: In the PS1 port of The Last Blade, an alternate version of Akari, known as "Akari" Ichijou or "Ponta" Akari, is selectable, sporting darker hair, goldenrod robes, and a tail. This is because the "Akari" in question is a male tanuki in disguise, who is parading around and making mischief. Understandably, the real Akari is none too pleased by these developments and gives chase.
• Demoted to Extra: Juzoh and Mukuro/Shikyoh are reduced from playables to just mini game-only characters in the NGPC version of the game. Musashi just disappears completely.
• Dub Name Change: The Korean version of the first installment (Renamed to The Last Soldier) gave new names to half of the cast: although some of them are quite generic (Juzo = Back Chon-ji, Akari = Choi Jae-eun, Yuki = Kelly, Washizuka = Yagyu), some of them are quite creative: Okina became Jiang Taigong (of Fengshen Yanyi fame), Lee Rekka became Wong Fei-hung, Shigen was renamed into Quasimodo, Kaede was renamed after gangster/figstfighter Kim Du-han (of Janggunui Adeul / Yainsidae fame), and Kagami somehow became Mr. Bin.
• Final Boss: Kagami is the final opponent and it's a fight to determine the fate of the entire world.
• Omnicidal Maniac: Kagami seeks to use demonic powers in order to rain destruction on the entire world.
• Tanuki: A male one poses as an alternate version of Akari to carry out a parade of mischief to the real Akari's frustration.
• You Killed My Father: Kaede assumes Moriya was who murdered his adoptive father. It was really the work of Kagami who had been the true murderer.

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