Sentoki 2

Sentoki 2 (戦闘機; fighter) is a 3D fighting game developed and published by ACS. It is the sequel to Sentoki: The Strongest Warrior. Released in 2000 for Arcades (ACS NOVA System) and the PlayStation 2 as an exclusive title.

In 2015, a remastered version of Sentoki 2 with high-definition graphics and online capability, was released in time for the the game's 15th anniversary. Titled Sentoki 2 Online HD, it was released for PlayStation 4 and Xbox ONE as a digital download exclusive. A free download code for the game would later be included as a pre-order bonus for Sentoki 5.

Gameplay
Gameplay was improved from its predecessor, featuring a revamped fighting engine. Stages are now much wider than the first game's, allowing for better movement, and include certain obstacles such as breakable objects, destructible walls and pitfalls that can be used to reveal new areas within the stage. Some stages also include slants or uneven terrain. Because of these changes, winning by Out of Ring is also removed from the game.

Movement has also been significantly improved from the previous game, with characters now being able to maneuver around the arena in all eight directions via the new Free Movement system, whilst still retaining jumping and crouching. Free Movement can be initiated by double-tapping and then holding any direction (except forward, which performs a run instead) on the stick or d-pad, after which the player can then move their stick or d-pad toward any other direction to steer their movement.

New features in the game include the Parry, which allows players to repel an opponent's attack and leave them for retaliation by tapping the Guard button slightly before the opponent's attack hits, as well as the Wall Jump, a special maneuver performed by tapping up-back twice on the d-pad or joystick while their character is cornered, with each character being able to perform certain follow-up attacks afterwards. Players are also now allowed to escape from reversals, something that was impossible to do in the first game.

Each character in the game now has four outfits, with two available from the start, while the other two can be unlocked by finishing Arcade and Story mode with said character, respectively.

Story
After destroying the bioweapon known as Antares near the end of the first tournament, Shin Ikushima infiltrated the main building of Orion Corporation in an attempt to hunt down the company's CEO, Ranzou Kihara, in order to finish him off.

However, when he went to the chairman's office, there was no Ranzou, rather, there was only a young girl inside a cryogenic sleep chamber. Shin releases the girl from the chamber and runs off. Realizing that she lacks any memory of her past, Shin decided to adopt the girl, naming her Kei.

Ten years later, Kei, under guidance from Shin, grows up to become a beautiful young lady, and an accomplished black belt in Kyokushin karate. Kei still had no memory of her past prior to Shin saving her, but this did not bother her in the slightest.

Until one day, Kei encounters a mysterious woman named Eileen A., who claims to be a former employee of Orion. Eileen told Kei about the Orion Corporation and how Ranzou Kihara is the one holding the answers to her past, before eventually departing, leaving Kei with nothing but questions.

Several months after that fateful meeting, Orion announces the second Sentoki: Global Martial Arts tournament. Kei, along with her guardian and master Shin, decides to join the tournament to meet Ranzou Kihara and find more about her past.

Returning

 * Shin Ikushima

Birthplace: 🇯🇵 Japan

Fighting Style: Karate

Voice Actor: Tomokazu Seki


 * Ralph Rollins

Birthplace: 🇺🇸 USA

Fighting Style: Martial Arts

Voice Actor: Ryo Horikawa


 * Huang Long

Birthplace: 🇭🇰 Hong Kong

Fighting Style: Jeet Kune Do

Voice Actor: Nobutoshi Canna


 * Joanna Spencer

Birthplace: 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Wales

Fighting Style: Kuk Sool Won

Voice Actress: Rica Fukami


 * Bru Bronson

Birthplace: 🇬🇧 England

Fighting Style: Pro Wrestling

Voice Actor: Daisuke Gori


 * Kagero

Birthplace: 🇯🇵 Japan

Fighting Style: Ninjutsu

Voice Actor: Kaneto Shiozawa


 * Ruslanovich

Birthplace: 🇷🇺 Russia

Fighting Style: Command Sambo

Voice Actors: Fumihiko Tachiki


 * Sonchai Damrongsak

Birthplace: 🇹🇭 Thailand

Fighting Style: Muay Thai

Voice Actor: Mitsuaki Madono


 * Chen Su

Birthplace: 🇨🇳 China

Fighting Style: Drunken Fist

Voice Actor: Takeshi Aono

New

 * Kei Ikushima

Birthplace: 🇯🇵 Japan

Fighting Style: Karate

Voice Actress: Ryoka Yuzuki

Kei Ikushima is a young martial artist who currently resides in Okinawa, Japan. Kei was raised by her current guardian Shin Ikushima after he had released her from her cryosleep chamber years ago, and has since lived a peaceful life until now, when a mysterious woman told her about someone who had the answers to her missing past. Kei decided to enter the Sentoki tournament in order to meet the man that she was referring to up close.


 * Kwon Eun-Soo

Birthplace: 🇰🇷 South Korea

Fighting Style: Taekwondo

Voice Actor: Nozomu Sasaki

Kwon Eun-Soo is a taekwondo fighter from Seoul, South Korea. Kwon showed a lot of promise after being enrolled by his parents in taekwondo, but emotional turmoil with his father caused him to run away from his home and enter the dark world of underground street fighting, where he went undefeated for the longest time. Growing tired of the underground circuit, Kwon decides to enter the Sentoki tounament to face more unique opponents.


 * Shannon Meltzer

Birthplace: 🇨🇦 Canada

Fighting Style: Catch Wrestling

Voice Actress: Akiko Hiramatsu

Shannon Meltzer is a professional wrestler from Montreal, Quebec. Originally an amteur wrestler, Shannon went on to work for various wrestling promotions and has quickly become a fan favorite for her technical wrestling style, but she felt that her skills against other fighting styles are inadequate. Wanting to learn more about other fighting styles, Shannon enters the Sentoki tournament to hone her skills.


 * Douglas Freeman

Birthplace: 🇺🇸 USA

Fighting Style: Boxing

Voice Actor: Hisao Egawa

Douglas Freeman is a boxer hailing from Venice Beach, California. Douglas has a daughter, named Jenny, 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 to support Jenny's hospital bills.


 * Liang Meilin

Birthplace: 🇨🇳 China

Fighting Style: Baguazhang

Voice Actress: Motoko Kumai

Liang Meilin is the daughter of the martial artist Liang Meifen, from China. Meifen thought Meilin the art of tai chi in her reborn dojo up until one day, Meifen was attacked by Orion's personnel, which left her injured and unable to fight. Furious, Meilin decides to join the Sentoki tournament to seek revenge for her mom.


 * Regulus

Birthplace: Unknown

Fighting Style: Composite

Voice Actor: None

Regulus is the latest bio-weapon created by Orion. After Antares' defeat in the hands of Shin during the first tournament, Orion decided to use its remains, as well as some of their latest fight data, to create their newest bio-weapon. Regulus is set to be unveiled by Orion come the second Sentoki tournament.

Stages

 * Neo Colosseum
 * Karate Dojo
 * Rooftop
 * Sacred Temple
 * Backstreets
 * Rainforest
 * Ocean Aquarium
 * Shopping Mall
 * Hangar Base
 * Madokawa High
 * Train Station
 * Beachside
 * Chinatown
 * Video Arcade
 * Underground Lab

Game Modes

 * Arcade
 * Story
 * Versus
 * Team Versus
 * Tournament
 * Survival
 * Practice
 * Gallery
 * Options

Sequel
A sequel to the game, Sentoki 3, was released in 2003 for the Arcades (NOVA-II System) and PlayStation 2. It featured new characters as well as new gameplay mechanics and stages.

Trivia

 * Just like its predecessor, the North American PlayStation 2 releases of Sentoki 2 features English voices for Ralph, Joanna, Bru, Ruslanovich, Shannon and Douglas, provided by uncredited voice actors. The Japanese and European PlayStation 2 releases still retain all of the original Japanese voices.
 * Related to the above, both the Korean arcade and console versions of Sentoki 2 feature a special Korean voice for Kwon. This was done due to regulations regarding the use of Japanese language in products imported to South Korea at the time.
 * There were two versions of Sentoki 2 in arcades. Version 2.0. included several bugs, glitches and infinite combos, most of which were patched by the release of the later Version 2.1., which also added a secret cheat to play as Regulus, the final boss. The console versions were based on 2.1., but the cheat to play as Regulus has been removed in favor of making an unlockable.
 * Kagero's voice actor, Kaneto Shiozawa, passed away around the time of the game's production. Fortunately, he had finished re-recording his lines as Kagero prior and his voice remains in-game as a result.
 * This is the first game in the Sentoki series to feature Yuzo Koshiro as a composer, replacing Sawa Ogino, who had left the company in 1999. He would then go on to become the lead composer for the series.
 * Alongside Blazin' Wheels 2000, Sentoki 2 was the first game released for ACS’ NOVA System arcade board, which was based off of the hardware for the PlayStation 2.