Sentoki: The Strongest Warrior

戦闘機 Sentoki: The Strongest Warrior (戦闘機 sentoki; fighter), known in Japan as 戦闘機 Sentoki ~Global Martial Arts~ is a 3D fighting game developed by Orange Soft and published by ACS Softworks. Released in 1997 for Arcades (ACS Dragon System) and the PlayStation as an exclusive title. It is ACS' second 3D fighting game and their third 3D game overall following Star Command 3D (1995) and Legendary Blades (1996)

In 2013, the game was re-released for the Samsung Zeo as a downloadable title for its LIVEPLAY Store.

Gameplay
The game uses a clear-cut 4-button system, with each button corresponding to Punch, Kick, Guard and Catch, respectively. Punch, Kick and Guard, as their names indicate, allow the player to perform punches, kicks and block the opponent's attacks, respectively. Meanwhile, the Catch button acts as both a reversal button and, when a direction is pressed, also allows the player to perform basic throws. The game allows free movement in the third axis, such as sidestepping.

When the player gets their health meter depleted to 25% and below, the outline on the player's life bar starts flashing red and the player enters Fury mode, which grants the player increased attack power and speed, and also allows them to unleash an Ultimate attack, a powerful move that deals a significant amount of damage to the opponent. However, using an Ultimate attack will automatically disable Fury mode for the rest of the match. To initiate the Ultimate attack, one must press all four buttons at the same time.

By tapping the Catch button slightly before the opponent's attack hits, the player can reverse the opponent's attack, causing damage to the opponent. Doing the same with the block button would allow the player to perform a parry, which doesn't deal damage, but instead repels the attack and leaves the opponent open for relatiation. Parrying and catching attacks are essential defensive techniques in the game, but some attacks cannot be catched or parried.

The game also includes certain elements from other fighting games such as launch combos, or "juggles", attacking a downed opponent with "prone strikes" like stomps and ground punches, and chain-grabs, throws that connect with each other (hence "chain-grabs") but require a long string of button combinations to execute successfully.

Each stage is surrounded with walls that can be broken after hitting the opponent to the wall numerous times to reveal the edges of the ring, which allows for an Out of Ring victory if the opponent is pushed off the ring's edges.

Each character has three outfits, with two available from the start, while the third one can be unlocked by finishing Arcade mode with said character.

Story
For years, the worldwide conglomerate Orion Corporation has conducted experiments regarding "fight data" and has collected data from fighters all around the world for use in their bio-weapons, leaving them for dead once they are finished with them.

At the center of the story is Shin Ikushima, son of the renowned martial artist Shiho Ikushima. He grew up under the guidance of his mother Shiho, with his father having left Shiho right before he was born. Realizing his potential, Shiho decided to teach Shin the art of Shotokan karate.

Shin used to live a peaceful life with his mother until one day, a group of Orion soldiers barged in their house and tried to abduct Shiho. However, Shiho fought the soldiers until she was taken down, and ultimately killed, by a shot to the head fired by one of the soldiers. He has since despised Orion and began to train himself in order to exact his revenge.

Years later, Orion announced the first Sentoki Global Martial Arts tournament, where various martial artists gather around to prove who is the strongest of them all. Shin decides to join the tournament in order to destroy Orion.

However, what Shin did not realize is that it was was actually a ruse for Orion to collect more fight data in order to unleash their ultimate weapon: Antares.

Characters

 * Shin Ikushima

Birthplace: 🇯🇵 Japan

Fighting Style: Karate

Voice Actor: Tomokazu Seki

Shin Ikushima is a martial artist hailing from Saitama, Japan. One day, he witnessed the death of his mother Shiho in the hands of Orion's soldiers, and has since swore to avenge her death. Upon finding out about the Sentoki tournament, Shin decides to enter it in order to exact his revenge and destroy Orion.


 * Ralph Rollins

Birthplace: 🇺🇸 USA

Fighting Style: Street Fighting

Voice Actor: Keiji Fujiwara

Ralph Rollins is a street fighter who comes from the Bronx, in New York. A notorious face in the underground circuit, Ralph went undefeated in every match he fought in up until his encounter with Shin, where he lost for the first time. After finding out that Shin was entering the Sentoki tournament, Ralph decides to enter as well in order to settle the score with him.


 * Huang Long

Birthplace: 🇭🇰 Hong Kong

Fighting Style: Jeet Kune Do

Voice Actor: Nobutoshi Hayashi

Huang Long is an martial artist and action star hailing from Hong Kong. Huang was a descendant of the late kung fu legend Huang Jin, and vows to follow in his footsteps. As he caught wind of the Sentoki tournament, Huang Long decides to enter the tournament in order to prove that he is worthy of being Huang Jin's descendant.


 * Joanna Spencer

Birthplace: 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Wales

Voice Actress: Yuko Mizutani

Fighting Style: Assassination arts based on Koppo-justu and Wing Chun

Joanna Spencer is an assassin who was born in Cardiff, Wales. One of the best in the profession, Joanna is part of a freelance organization which only conducts assassination upon payment of a large sum of money. After being paid by a business rival, Joanna enters the Sentoki tournament in order to assassinate the CEO of Orion Corporation.


 * Bru Bronson

Birthplace: 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England

Fighting Style: Pro Wrestling

Voice Actor: Tetsu Inada

Brutus "Bru" Bronson is a pro wrestler billed from London, England. Also known amongst his fans as "Big Bru", Bru dedicated his life to wrestling, winning championships and entertaining his fans, especially kids, who see him as their hero. With the support of his many fans worldwide, Bru decides to join the Sentoki tournament for the pride of England.


 * Liang Meifen

Birthplace: 🇨🇳 China

Fighting Style: Baguazhang

Voice Actress: Michie Tomizawa

Liang Meifen is a martial artist from China. A master of Wudang martial arts, Meifen and her father used to run a dojo up until her father was diagnosed with bronchitis, which eventually took his life. Wanting to fulfill her father's dying wish, Meifen decides to enter the Sentoki tournament in order to restore her family dojo.


 * Akechi

Birthplace: 🇯🇵 Japan

Fighting Style: Sumo

Voice Actor: Ryuzaburo Otomo

Tohru Togashi, better known by his shikona (sumo name) Akechi, is a sumo wrestler from Chiba, Japan. Akechi was once involved in a rigging controversy, which caused his career and repuation to crash and burn until the CEO of Orion Corporation hired him as his henchman. As the CEO's henchman, Akechi joins the Sentoki tournament to make sure that no one will win the tournament but him.


 * Douglas Freeman

Birthplace: 🇺🇸 USA

Fighting Style: Boxing

Voice Actor: Hisao Egawa

Douglas Freeman is a boxer hailing from Miami, Florida. Douglas had a daughter, named Jenna, who was rendered comatose after a car accident which also claimed his wife's life. Seeking the prize money to pay for his daughter's hospital bills, Douglas enters the Sentoki tournament in dedication to his wife and Jenna.

Birthplace: 🇹🇭 Thailand
 * Sonchai Khun

Fighting Style: Muay Thai

Voice Actor: Kosuke Toriumi

Sonchai Khun is a muay thai fighter from Thailand. While training in a forest one day, Sonchai came across a young elephant who was injured by hunters and decided to take care of it, naming it Kam, and visiting it everyday during his training, until one day, he entered the forest only to realize that Kam was missing. Upon finding out that Kam was smuggled to Japan by Orion for experimentation, Sonchai enters the Sentoki tournament in order to rescue Kam.


 * Punchy

Birthplace: 🇦🇺 Austraila

Fighting Style: "Animal Boxing"

Voice Actor: None (Kangaroo noises)

Punchy is a genetically-enhanced kangaroo created by Orion. Punchy was smuggled from an Australian reserve and was sent to Japan by Orion to test the effects of fight data on animals. Punchy was sent to the Sentoki tournament by Orion to test its skills.


 * Chen Zhixin

Birthplace: 🇨🇳 China

Fighting Style: Drunken Fist

Voice Actor: Takeshi Aono

Chen Zhixin is a chef and kung-fu master from China. After his dojo closed down, Chen decided to start a noodle shop business, but things aren't going well for him as he had failed to pay rent for the place after a period of losing customers. Chen decides to enter the tournament in order to pay the rent for his noodle shop.


 * M.A.C.

Birthplace: 🇯🇵 Japan

Voice Actor: None

Fighting Style: Mimicry (switches through other characters' styles per round)

M.A.C., an acronym for "Mechanical All-Purpose Companion", is a humanoid robot created by Orion. Touted as the "all-around robot", M.A.C. was capable of many jobs, from household chores to military duty. Nearing its final phases in development, M.A.C. was sent to the Sentoki tournament by Orion for quality testing and to witness its fighting capabilty.


 * Antares

Birthplace:  Unknown

Fighting Style: Combination of all fighter's styles

Voice Actor: Fumihiko Tachiki

Antares is a bio-weapon created by Orion. Antares was once a geneticist working for Orion who grew horrified by the company's activities and attempted to escape, but was then captured and turned into a test subject for their fight data experiments. With all of Orion's fight data implanted within its mind, Antares was set to be unveiled to the world come the finals of the Sentoki tournament.

Stages

 * Sunrise Plains


 * Underground Arena


 * Buddhist Temple


 * Building Rooftop


 * Steel Cage Arena


 * Chinatown


 * Gymnasium


 * Moving Truck


 * Island


 * Habitat Reserve


 * River Raft


 * Testing Field


 * Unknown

Game Modes

 * Arcade


 * Versus


 * Time Attack


 * Survival


 * Tournament


 * Practice


 * Online


 * Options

Sequel
A sequel to the game, Sentoki 2, was released in 2000 for the PlayStation 2. It featured new characters as well as new gameplay mechanics and stages.