Shinobi no Michi II

Story
Last year Toku Japan Officer and Akiyama Shinobi Miyako Akiyama went on a miniature odyssey to find her partner, Shizuka Mochizuki. In the process of her adventure, Miyako made new friends and rivals and defeated the remnants of the high-tech terrorist organization, Humanity’s Upward March.

Now, Miyako finds herself engrossed in another journey one year later. Shortly after New Year’s Eve 2016 her family restaurant, Kurama, mysteriously caught fire. Though the family was able to save most of the restaurant, it left Miyako burning for answers. While her family worked on the restoration of Kurama, Miyako used her Shinobi skills and Toku Sentai connections to gather information about who or what started the fire. It’s been three months since but she’s finally gotten a lead. However, it will take her to The Tournament of Intrigue (name subject to change. I'm open to suggestions), a new fighting tournament taking place in Intriguer City.

Just what will Miyako find at this Tournament of Intrigue?

Gameplay
Shinobi no Michi II will have 3D graphics but retain it’s 2.5D gameplay engine unlike its sister series Hyaku Seiken II. However, its goal is the same as all fighters: emerging victorious from best-of-three battles.

Mechanics
To attack there are five buttons: Strike (Punch/Slash), Kick (Kick), Guard (Guard), Hissatsu (Supers) and Spirit (Spirit Summon).

Attacking with normals and Special Arts (Specials) are used via the Strike and Kick Buttons. What kind of normal or Special Arts Strike and Kick produce depends on the character. For instance, protagonist Miyako uses primarily a weapon-based style while her friend Arshad uses a traditional hand-to-hand style. Special Arts come in normal and EX Arts, which are performed depending on the character and cost 10% of the Spirit Gauge at the bottom right corner. Of course, normal attacks and Special Arts can be comboed together and there will be Combo Breaker-type actions called Rave Breakers.

Defense is handled via the third button, Guard, like Dead or Alive and Soul Calibur. In addition to Neutral Guard, there will be Crouching Guard (Down + Guard), which defends against low attacks, and Air Guard (Up + Guard), which defends against air attacks. Returning from the first Shinobi no Michi is Repel (Forward + Guard timed with the opponent’s attack). Repel works like Soul Calibur’s Guard Impact in that you can deflect an attack and it leaves your opponent open. Beware, however! Like in real life, the window to counterattack is small and your opponent can easily return your Repel. Another returning mechanic from Shinobi no Michi the first is the Kiryoku (Back + Guard). Kiryoku covers you in a Ki force field when activated and works like Guilty Gear’s Faultless Defense in that it is used to negate guard damage. However, like Guilty Gear, Kiryoku is not free. Using it drains the Spirit Meter the longer you use it. There will be a Guard Gauge underneath the lifebar which will deplete the more you guard, making Repel and Kiryoku essential to avoid the dreaded Guard Break.

The fourth Button is Hissatsu, used for Hissatsu Waza (Super Moves). If you’re familiar with Japanese pop culture you know that when you hear a character shout “Hissatsu!” it’s basically their finishing move. Like Hyaku Seiken a short animation will follow the activation of a Hissatsu Waza. The Super Button controls two to four Hissatsu Wazas. Strike, Kick, Guard, and Super can be comboed together, of course, as can Special Arts be comboed into Hissatsu Wazas. The Spirit Gauge alluded to earlier is used for Hissatsu Wazas.

The fifth Button, Spirit, is another returning mechanic from the first Shinobi no Michi. It is used for Spirit Arts. If you’ve played Arcana Heart or Persona 4: Arena Spirit Drive will be second nature to you. When you press S, it summons your character’s Spirit Guide to attack for a brief period of time. Spirit Drive are free and can be comboed with Strike, Kick, and Super. While Spirit Arts will not have EX properties, they will have at least one Hissatsu Waza.

Throws are performed by pressing A and B together.

To get around you can Walk (Forward or Back) Dash (Double-tap Forward), Back Dash (double tap Back), Jump (Up), and Air Dash (Double-tap Forward in air).

A new mechanic to Shinobi no Michi II is the Dual Attack. It is performed by pressing all four attack buttons. After pressing the buttons, the character’s Spirit Partner will appear beside them and mimic their every move. This mechanic works like Street Fighter Alpha 3’s X-ism Gauge and, like the X-ism Gauge, depletes as it’s used.

Characters
There will be twelve default fighters and two unlockable Bosses, one default, one secret. There will also be one DLC guest. Characters are listed by their fighting styles and Spirits.

Returning
Seven veterans of the original SnM return. As I mentioned before, Miyako, Arshad, and Kurojishi, the three Ninja-types from the first, return. Teresa now fights under her Luchador name, La Nagual, and sports a mask so she could indeed qualify as a Ninja-type. It helps that Lucha Libre is acrobatic. The final three veterans, however, are non-Ninjas. All except Yolanda will have new/updated designs.

I'm thinking of doing a Season 2 DLC so if there is anybody from the first Shinobi no Michi or a guest from Hyaku Seiken that you would like to see as DLC let me know in the comments.
 * Miyako Akiyama (Akiyama-Ryu Ninjutsu/Kyuki)-Main Protagonist and a strangely laid-back and friendly Kunoichi in employ of Toku Japan. She enters the Tournament to get to the bottom of the fire at her family’s restaurant and also to test out her new armor, Shiden (violet), that she earned meeting and training with Takamaru after Hyaku Seiken II.
 * Arshad (Hashashin Combat/Karkadann)-A pensive elderly Persian who once worked for the CIA and traces his lineage back to the Hashashin. Enters the Tournament to keep himself active in his old age and reconnect with his Hashashin roots.
 * Kurojishi (Miyoshi-Ryu Ninjutsu/Nyeusi Simba)-A Kenyan practitioner of Miyoshi-Ryu Ninjutsu and Miyako’s rival. Enters the tournament to fight his rival and meet other warriors.
 * La Nagual (Lucha Libre/Tezcatlipoca)-A.k.a. Teresa Diaz, a tough Mexican Luchadora who fought on the show Lucha Underground for a time. Training with Hyaku Seiken’s Clayton Siler rekindled her love of Lucha Libre, inspiring her to readopt her old Lucha Libre outfit and enter the Tournament as La Nagual, her old Lucha Underground persona.
 * Yolanda Lewis (Spell Seal Blade/Cat Sidhe)-A sprightly fireball of an African-American Wiccan who once looked to avenge her club, Witch’s Coven, that was attacked by H.U.M. Now she enters the Tournament at the behest of Elizabeth Hayden, leader of what remains of the Witch’s Coven, to investigate mystical occurrences in Intriguer City.
 * Noelle Descartes (Fencing/Vercengetorix)-The kindly and beautiful older sister of Seraphina Descartes and owner of Pluie Delicat, a successful French Restaurant in nearby West Burlington. She enters the Tournament to drum up more business for her restaurant.
 * Jushiro Kusanagi (Kusanagi-Ryu/Susano’o)-Father of Hyaku Seiken’s Mizuki and Moriya, uncle of Miyako and Mayor of Intriguer City. Last year he donned the Arashi no Yoroi to keep it out of H.U.M.’s hands. This year he participates in the Tournament to rekindle his youth and raise city morale—or so he says…

New
New to SnMII are a host of new Ninja-esque characters. In fact, all except Shizuka have a ninja basis. One thing all the newbies have in common, however, is their Spirits. All of them are humanoid to differentiate Shinobi no Michi II from Dragon Kid's Beast Knights: The Feudal Tamers (no disrespect, though, Saul. This is just so people won't think I'm copying you)
 * Abraham Sayegh (Krav Maga/Joshua)-Practicing Sephardic Jew and member of Shayatet 13, the SEAL Team Six of the Israeli Special Forces. He’s descended from the Sicarii, the first Ninja-like warriors in history dating back to Ancient Rome. He enters the Tournament on behalf of the Israeli Government to investigate strange occurrences in Intriguer City. Fights with a mix of Krav Maga and bone blades hidden in his wrists via a genetic condition that weaponizes his bones similar to Kimimaro from Naruto. His Spirit is Joshua, the revered legendary Jewish warrior.
 * Hans Froehlich (German Ninjutsu/Wilhelm I)-Toku Europe Cyber Security Officer and self-proclaimed Ninja who fights using “German Ninjutsu”. He’s fighting in the Tournament to show the world “the Power of German Ninjutsu”. He’s partly based on Rudol von Stroheim from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure (if that wasn’t obvious) and Dan Hibiki of Street Fighter in that he is a parody character. In Hans’ case, he’s a parody of the Ninja trope with WWII references mixed in. He’s the first cousin of Marie Froehlich from the first Hyaku Seiken. His Spirit is Wilhelm I, First Emperor of Germany and the youngest Spirit Partner in the roster.
 * Asli Erdogan (Own Style/Mehmed the Conqueror)-Toku Asia Officer from Turkey who moonlights as a Belly Dancer. She fights in the Tournament to increase her skill after losing to Jamal Al-Rashid in the 2nd Toku Sentai Budokai, whom she has an odd fixation on. Unique in that she fights using Belly Dancing in the vein of Shantae: Half-Genie Hero. Her Spirit is Mehmed the Conqueror, famous ruler of the Ottoman Empire and hero in the Islamic World.
 * Zhang Ruohan (Snake Kung Fu/Nuwa)-A Manhua (Chinese Manga) author from Shanghai who writes action and martial arts-based comics. He enters the Tournament not only to stretch his muscles but to gain inspiration for his new light novel. He fights using Snake Kung Fu and has a fixation with the reptiles, owning a female snake named Lilan (a shoutout to ComicReadingGamer's badass Chinese fighter from Mystic Wars). He is based off and named after Rohan Kishibe from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure and Lin from King of Fighters. His Spirit is Nuwa, a creator deity from Chinese lore, often depicted with the lower half of a snake. (Credit to Dhilah-Dayat for suggesting the Light Novel Author character that became Ruohan)
 * Shizuka Mochizuki (Mochizuki-Ryu Kenjutsu/Himiko)-A former Tokusatsu actress and current Officer of Toku Japan where she’s partnered with Miyako. She enters the Tournament on behalf of Toku Sentai’s new orders to investigate strange occurrences in Intriguer City. Fights with her Katana, the Yukitou, and has the ability to assume a secondary Yuki-Onna Mode. She has closer ties to Miyako than she realizes. Her Spirit is Himiko, famous queen of the Yamatai Kingdom in Ancient Japan.

Bosses
There are two bosses, a Final Boss and a Secret Boss. Both are unlockable.

Final Boss

 * Victoria Roberts (Tiger Fang/Byakko)-South African rival of Hyaku Seiken’s protagonist, Antonio Holman, and older sister of Steven Roberts from the first Shinobi no Michi. She is the financier of the Tournament of Intrigue but her reasons for starting the tournament in the first place (and skipping the 2nd Annual Toku Sentai Budokai) are a mystery. In Shinobi no Michi, Victoria comes with a new design and now fights with a sword, the Tiger Fang, while retaining her connection to Byakko, White Tiger of the West.

Secret Boss

 * Makari Nanjiani (Aara)-Leader of Kali Yuga and herald of Kali, Hindu Goddess of Destruction and Death. Fights with an Aara Whip.

Quest DLC

 * Yumi (Own Style based on Kabuki/White Widow)-From the Senran Kagura: Versus series comes the main protagonist and highly popular Kunoichi, Yumi. She was formally invited to the Tournament of Intrigue and fights to show the world her “justice”. She fights with a unique style combining Kabuki-like movements with Cryokinesis. Her Guardian, the spider known as White Widow, will be her Spirit.

Stages
Like before, the story of Shinobi no Michi takes place in the fictional Intriguer City but based off real-life locations in the Greater Piedmont-Triad.
 * 1) Restored Kurama Dining Area-Miyako
 * 2) Shipping Yard-Arshad
 * 3) City Park-Kurojishi
 * 4) Intriguer City Gym-La Nagual
 * 5) Spring Carnival-Yolanda
 * 6) Le Bleu Social Club-Noelle
 * 7) Budokan Dojo-Jushiro
 * 8) Downtown-Abraham
 * 9) Trainyard-Hans
 * 10) Jasmine Night Club-Asli
 * 11) Chinatown-Ruohan
 * 12) Roberts Manor-Victoria
 * 13) Japanese Tea Garden-Yumi
 * 14) Intriguer City Amphitheater-Default Final Stage in Arcade Mode (also useable in Versus Mode)

Game Modes

 * Arcade Mode-This mode tells the story of the game through your chosen character’s eyes in an Arcade Mode-style layout with Victoria as the Final Boss. However, while Miyako is still the main character everyone will have their own individual ending unlike the first Shinobi no Michi.
 * Versus Mode-Self-explanatory. You can play against CPU or Human here and Winquotes will be the same as Arcade Mode plus Mirror Match Winquotes for those who happen to like the same character.
 * Time Attack-Try to climb the ladder with the fastest time following a randomly generated ladder ending at the Sub Boss. Special conditions must be met for the Final Boss.
 * Survival-Try to survive an endless gauntlet of opponents for the highest score. Unlike Story and Time Attack there will be no set formula, you fight everybody all the time until you die. It will follow the Garou: MOTW survival where there will be health and time items. Like old-school survival, there is one difficulty that starts off easy and gets more complicated as you go.
 * Training-Where you select your fighter and hone your skills against your selected opponent in whatever stage you like. Training will be as detailed as most modern Training Modes.
 * Tutorial-A special tutorial set Miyako’s makeshift training camp out into the woods that you can play and review as many times as you like. Once the basic movements are learned the remainder of the tutorial (Spirits, Specials so on) turns into a flashback to Miyako’s days of training with her uncle, Takamaru, who makes a cameo in this mode.
 * Trails-These are character-specific trails concerning Specials, Spirit Drives, combos, and cancels.
 * Gallery-View character profiles, listen to music, and view Story Mode cutscenes.
 * Online-As I said before, I’m a Story/Casual Warrior but I know a LOT of people love Online so here it is. You find a match, join a lobby, or enter a tournament. Cross-play between all systems will be added. Broadband is required. Rage-Quitters will be served with an automatic loss, no exceptions. If your internet is bad you might be best not playing fighting games with it.
 * Options-Adjust settings like sound options, game options, and controls.