Sentoki 4

Sentoki 4 (戦闘機; fighter) is a 3D fighting game developed and published by ACS. It is the sequel to Sentoki 3 and the fourth part of the Sentoki series. Released in 2009 for Arcades (ACS System 202: ENDYMION), PlayStation 3, and XBox 360.

The game later recieved an update in 2010 in the form of Sentoki 4: Unleashed, which added new characters and stages, as well as rebalanced some characters and gave them new unlockable outfits for customization. Released for Arcades (ACS System 202: ENDYMION), PlayStation 3, XBox 360 and the PlayStation Vita (under the name Sentoki 4: Unleashed V+).

A final update named Sentoki 4: Final Edition was released exclusively for Arcades (ACS System 202: ENDYMION) in 2012, which added a balanced version of final boss K², as well as including new customization items and the ability to select stages from vanilla Sentoki 4.

Gameplay
The game mostly plays the same as the previous game, though new gameplay mechanics have been added. The game introduces Fury mode, a comeback mechanic that is activated whenever the player has at least 20% health remaining. Upon activation, the outline around the player's life bar starts flashing red and the player is then granted a significant boost in their attack power.

Another new addition is the inclusion of a "Guard Limiter", where every defended attack would result in damage to the Guard Limiter, as shown by the color of the hitsparks when blocking: it starts off as blue, then yellow, then red. A red spark indicates that the Guard Limiter is in critical condition, after which the player must refrain from blocking, or else the next attack that is blocked would result in a "Guard Break" state, which leaves the player wide-open for attack for a few seconds.

To compliment the Guard Limiter system, the game also introduces "Guard Crushers", which are attacks that cause significant damage to the Guard Limiter when blocked, and can trigger Guard Break on an opponent with a critical Guard Limiter. To balance things out, Guard Crushers tend to be attacks which deal heavy damage, but possess a somewhat slow startup, and are easily distinguished through their unique spark effect and hit trails.

Sentoki 4 also boasts a massive expansion of its customization suite. Whereas customization in the previous game was limited to equipping accessories and recoloring default clothes, Sentoki 4 introduces the option to mix and match outfits that are unique to each character, with separate categories for the head, face, upper body, hands, lower body, feet and accessories, as well as the ability to color each part of the costume individually.

Ranks

 * ^ denotes new ranks


 * Novice
 * 10th kyu
 * 9th kyu
 * 8th kyu
 * 7th kyu
 * 6th kyu
 * 5th kyu
 * 4th kyu
 * 3rd kyu
 * 2nd kyu
 * 1st kyu
 * 1st dan
 * 2nd dan
 * 3rd dan
 * 4th dan
 * 5th dan
 * 6th dan
 * 7th dan
 * 8th dan
 * 9th dan
 * 10th dan
 * Fighter^
 * Contender
 * Hero
 * Ace^
 * Master
 * Champion
 * Icon^
 * Legend
 * Innovator^
 * Warrior
 * Dominator
 * Conquerer^
 * Ruler
 * Magistrate^
 * Sage
 * Deity^
 * Overlord
 * Lord of Fighting^
 * Lord of Sentoki
 * God of Fighting^
 * God of Sentoki^

Story
As Kei Ikushima reaches the finals of the Sentoki tournament, Ranzou Kihara, who was watching over the tournament, unveiled K-001, a clone created in Kei's image and infused with all of the fight data collected by Orion, upon her. Kei was able to defeat the clone and win the tournament, until Ranzou, not liking the results, decided to restart the match.

As the match got restarted, K-001 proceeded to attack the battered and exhausted Kei in cold blood, delivering vicious blows and strikes, which incapacitated her. She was about to be killed when Shin intervened and fought with the clone. He was eventually able to defeat K-001, but Kei barely survived after the injuries she suffered, and was sent to the hospital.

Meanwhile, outside the arena, a mysterious man who goes by the name of "Nixon" watches the entireity of the tournament through some of the TVs displayed on a surplus window. All alone on the streets, Nixon has no memory about his past, living his current life as a vagrant, walking the streets of Tokyo aimlessly and occasionally fighting in underground pit fighting tournaments as his only livelihood.

However, despite his amnesia, he seems to recognize the face of Ranzou Kihara. He dosen't understand it either. He just felt something... oddly familiar about him. It was as if Nixon's mind was automatically drawn to this man, for reasons that aren't clear to himself at all. An urge builds up within him. A strong desire to meet Ranzou Kihara himself in order to make sense of his amnesiac mind.

Almost a year after the last tournament, Orion would eventually announce the fourth Sentoki: Global Martial Arts tournament. Upon hearing news about it, Nixon decides to enter the tournament, thinking that Ranzou has all the answers to his past.

Returning

 * Shin Ikushima

Birthplace: 🇯🇵 Japan

Fighting Style: Karate

Voice Actors: Tomokazu Seki (JP), Matthew Mercer (EN)


 * Ralph Rollins

Birthplace: 🇺🇸 USA

Fighting Style: Street Fighting

Voice Actors: Ryo Horikawa (JP), Liam O'Brien (EN)


 * Huang Long

Birthplace: 🇭🇰 Hong Kong

Fighting Style: Jeet Kune Do

Voice Actors: Nobutoshi Canna (JP), Grant George (EN)


 * Joanna Spencer

Birthplace: 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Wales

Fighting Style: Kuk Sool Won

Voice Actresses: Atsuko Tanaka (JP), Tara Platt (EN)


 * Bru Bronson

Birthplace: 🇬🇧 England

Fighting Style: Pro Wrestling

Voice Actors: Daisuke Gori (JP; S4), Koji Ishii (JP; Unleashed), Jamieson Price (EN)


 * Kagero

Birthplace: 🇯🇵 Japan

Fighting Style: Ninjutsu

Voice Actors: Takumi Yamazaki (JP), Derek Stephen Prince (EN)


 * Ruslanovich

Birthplace: 🇷🇺 Russia

Fighting Style: Command Sambo

Voice Actors: Fumihiko Tachiki (JP), Dan Woren (EN)


 * Sonchai Damrongsak

Birthplace: 🇹🇭 Thailand

Fighting Style: Muay Thai

Voice Actors: Yuji Ueda (JP), Brian Beacock (EN)


 * Chen Zhixin

Birthplace: 🇨🇳 China

Fighting Style: Drunken Fist

Voice Actors: Takeshi Aono (JP), Kirk Thornton (EN)


 * Kei Ikushima

Birthplace: 🇯🇵 Japan

Fighting Style: Karate

Voice Actresses: Rica Fukami (JP), Erin Fitzgerald (EN)


 * Kwon Eun-Soo

Birthplace: 🇰🇷 South Korea

Fighting Style: Taekwondo

Voice Actors: Nozomu Sasaki (JP), Sam Riegel (EN)


 * Shannon Meltzer

Birthplace: 🇺🇸 USA

Fighting Style: Greco-Roman Wrestling

Voice Actresses: Akiko Hiramatsu (JP), Michelle Ruff (EN)


 * Douglas Freeman

Birthplace: 🇦🇺 Australia

Fighting Style: Boxing

Voice Actors: Hisao Egawa (JP), Patrick Seitz (EN)


 * Liang Meilin

Birthplace: 🇨🇳 China

Fighting Style: Tai Chi Quan

Voice Actresses: Motoko Kumai (JP), Kate Higgins (EN)


 * Brandon Donovan

Birthplace: 🇮🇪 Ireland

Fighting Style: Vale Tudo

Voice Actors: Kazuya Nakai (JP), Kaiji Tang (EN)


 * Ariana Melendez

Birthplace: 🇧🇷 Brazil

Fighting Style: Capoeira

Voice Actresses: Kotono Mitsuishi (JP), Lauren Landa (EN)


 * Lee Longwei

Birthplace: 🇨🇳 China

Fighting Style: Ba Ji Quan

Voice Actors: Koji Tsujitani (JP), David Vincet (EN)


 * Satomi Tachibana

Birthplace: 🇯🇵 Japan

Fighting Style: Aikido

Voice Actresses: Sumi Shimamoto (JP), Julie Ann Taylor (EN)


 * Akechi

Birthplace: 🇯🇵 Japan

Fighting Style: Sumo

Voice Actors: Ryuzaburo Otomo (JP), Paul St. Peter (EN)


 * Mira

Birthplace: Unknown

Fighting Style: Fujowpai

Voice Actresses: Satsuki Yukino (JP), Kari Wahlgren (EN)

New

 * Nixon

Birthplace:  Unknown

Fighting Style: Freestyle Karate

Voice Actors: Junichi Suwabe (JP), Keith Silverstein (EN)

Nixon is a mysterious man who comes from an unknown country. Nixon is an amnesiac and has no memory about his past, besides recognizing the face of Ranzou Kihara. As he caught wind of the Sentoki tournament, Nixon decides to enter the tournament in order to find out the truth about his past and discover who he really is.


 * Valérie Boudier

Birthplace: 🇫🇷 France

Fighting Style: Savate

Voice Actresses: Miyuki Sawashiro (JP), Karen Strassman (EN)

Valérie Boudier is a businesswoman and savateur who was born in Paris, France. Valérie serves as Ranzou Kihara's secretary as a favor by her father Pierre, who had served Ranzou for a long time up until his death years ago. Valérie was sent by Ranzou to the tournament to watch over Nixon and make sure that the Ikushimas would never go far in the tournament.


 * Shi Jian-Fang

Birthplace: 🇨🇳 China

Fighting Style: Hung Ga

Voice Actors: Hideo Ishikawa (JP), Derek Stephen Prince (EN)

Hong Tengfeai, better known by his monk name Shi Jian-Fang is a Shaolin monk from the mountains of China. Getting tired of the limits put in him, Jian-Fang's brother had betrayed the way of the Shaolin and set out on a quest for more power, and eventually sided with Orion. As soon as he heard about the Sentoki tournament, Jian-Fang enters the tournament to find his brother, thinking that he is the only one able to stop him.


 * Candace Ryan

Birthplace: 🇨🇦 Canada

Fighting Style: Tricking-based Street Fighting

Voice Actresses: Marina Inoue (JP), Laura Bailey (EN)

Candace Ryan is an aspiring young tricker from Toronto, Ontario. Candace is an expert in various acrobatic arts like parkour, freerunning and, of course, tricking, and loved to show off her skills to her peers, as well as use her tricking expertise in street fights. Candace then hears about the Sentoki tournament from a friend and decides to join just to show off and have some fun.


 * K2

Birthplace:  Unknown

Fighting Style: Combination of all fighter's styles

Voice Actresses: Rica Fukami (JP), Erin Fitzgerald (EN)

K2 is the second clone of Kei Ikushima created by Orion. After Shin took down K-001 in the last tournament, Orion decided to continue development on their second batch of Kei clones, and infuse her with all of the fight data that Orion has collected, in their efforts to make K2 stronger than the original. K2 is currently kept in a secret chamber in their labs and will be unveiled by Orion come the finals.

Unleashed Additions

 * Gensei Nagano

Birthplace: 🇯🇵 Japan

Fighting Style: Judo

Voice Actors: Tomomichi Nishimura (JP), Richard Epcar (EN)

Gensei Nagano is a semi-retired judo expert now residing in Kyoto, Japan. Gensei is a family friend of the Ikushimas, and, upon hearing the news of Kei's devastating defeat last tournamenet, decided to offer Shin and Kei a chance to help them. Thus, Gensei comes out from retirement one more time and enters the Sentoki tournament to avenge Kei's loss.


 * Liang Meifen

Birthplace: 🇨🇳 China

Fighting Style: Tai Chi Quan

Voice Actresses: Yuko Mizutani (JP), Michelle Ruff (EN)

After years of inactivity in the fighting scene, Liang Meifen makes her triumphant return in the fourth Sentoki tournament. Meifen spent years of inactivity to heal her injuries following her trifle with Orion's forces, while also vastly improving her fighting skills. Armed with her new, stabler form of tai chi, Meifen enters the Sentoki tournament to support Meilin in her new battles.

Stages

 * Kyoto Paradise


 * Streets of Shinjuku


 * Smash Mouth Park


 * Construction Site


 * Millionaire's Casino


 * Great Wall


 * Buddha's Rest


 * War Zone


 * Seoul Airport


 * Power Plant


 * Amazon Forest


 * Lucha Palace


 * Town Center


 * High Rise Office


 * Cathedral


 * Last Battle

Unleashed Additions

 * Burning Dojo


 * Oriental Seaside


 * Neo Colloseum

Game Modes

 * Arcade


 * Quick Match


 * Conquest


 * Versus


 * Survival


 * Time Attack


 * Tournament


 * Team Battle


 * Story


 * Practice


 * Gallery


 * Online


 * Options

Sequel
A sequel to the game, Sentoki 5, was released in 2016 for the Arcade (nex System), PlayStation 4, XBox ONE, Nintendo Switch and the Samsung Zeo. It featured new characters as well as new gameplay mechanics and stages.

Trivia

 * Sentoki 4 was the first game released for ACS’ System 202: ENDYMION arcade board, which is based on PC hardware, similar to its predecessor, the System 201. This also marks the first time that Senoki ran in an arcade board that wasn’t based on PlayStation hardware.


 * Due to the unfortunate circumstances of the death of Daisuke Gori, his role as Bru Bronson was recast to Koji Ishii in later updates. This cast change later carried over to Sentoki 5.


 * This game marks the first arcade release in the series to only be officially released in Asian arcades. This was due to the massive decline of arcades overseas.


 * Pre-order copies of Sentoki 4 came with exclusive costumes for Shin and Kei, as well as a specially-designed USB fight stick with artwork drawn by the game’s main artists.


 * The character of Shi Jian-Fang was originally slated to debut as far back as Sentoki 2, where he was seen in several unused character concept artworks.


 * The PlayStation Vita port of Sentoki 4: Unleashed, dubbed Sentoki 4: Unleashed V+, was one of the launch titles for the portable console.


 * Many fans have used Sentoki 4’s expansive customization tools to create characters from other series, using the in-game characters as their base.