Sentoki 4 (戦闘機; fighter) is a 3D fighting game developed by S•T•K Project and published by ACS. It is the sequel to Sentoki 3 and the fourth installment 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 included new customization items. 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's attack power is significantly increased, allowing them to deal more damage and perform more devastating combos.
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 would leave the player wide-open for counterattack 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, Most Guard Crusher moves tend to be attacks which deal heavy damage, but possess a rather 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 largely limited to equipping accessories and recoloring the default clothes, Sentoki 4 introduces the option to mix and match unique outfits together, with separate categories for the head, face, upper body, hands, lower body, feet and accessories, as well as the ability to change the color of each part of the costume.
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
- Emperor^
- 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, would unleash K-001, a clone created in Kei's image and infused with all of the fight data collected by Orion, upon her. After a grueling battle, Kei was able to defeat the clone and win the match, until Ranzou, not liking the results, decided to restart the match right there and then.
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 all of the injuries she suffered, and was sent to the hospital shortly afterwards.
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 fights 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 drawn to this man, for reasons that aren't clear to himself at all. A rising 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 the news, Nixon wasted no time and decided to enter the tournament, his mind dead set on meeting Ranzou, thinking he has all the answers to his past.
Characters[]
Returning[]
- Shin Ikushima
Birthplace: 
Japan
Fighting Style: Karate
Voice Actors: Tomokazu Seki (JP), Matthew Mercer (EN)
- Ralph Rollins
Birthplace: 
USA
Fighting Style: Martial Arts
Voice Actors: Ryo Horikawa (JP), Liam O'Brien (EN)
- Huang Long
Birthplace: 
Hong Kong
Fighting Style: Jeet Kune Do
Voice Actors: Nobutoshi Canna (JP), Kaiji Tang (EN)
- Joanna Spencer
Birthplace: 
Wales
Fighting Style: Kuk Sool Won
Voice Actresses: Rica Fukami (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), Patrick Seitz (EN)
- Sonchai Damrongsak
Birthplace: 
Thailand
Fighting Style: Muay Thai
Voice Actors: Mitsuaki Madono (JP), Brian Beacock (EN)
- Chen Su
Birthplace: 
China
Fighting Style: Drunken Fist
Voice Actors: Takeshi Aono (JP), Kirk Thornton (EN)
- Kei Ikushima
Birthplace: Japan
Fighting Style: Karate
Voice Actresses: Ryoka Yuzuki (JP), Michelle Ruff (EN)
- Kwon Eun-Soo
Birthplace: 
South Korea
Fighting Style: Taekwondo
Voice Actors: Nozomu Sasaki (JP), Grant George (EN)
- Shannon Meltzer
Birthplace: 
Canada
Fighting Style: Catch Wrestling
Voice Actresses: Akiko Hiramatsu (JP), Erin Fitzgerald (EN)
- Douglas Freeman
Birthplace: USA
Fighting Style: Boxing
Voice Actors: Hisao Egawa (JP), Keith Silverstein (EN)
- Liang Meilin
Birthplace: China
Fighting Style: Baguazhang
Voice Actresses: Motoko Kumai (JP), Laura Bailey (EN)
- Brandon Donovan
Birthplace: 
Ireland
Fighting Style: Vale Tudo
Voice Actors: Kazuya Nakai (JP), Tony Oliver (EN)
- Fiona Andrade
Birthplace: 
Brazil
Fighting Style: Capoeira
Voice Actresses: Kotono Mitsuishi (JP), Lauren Landa (EN)
- Yao Shuren
Birthplace: China
Fighting Style: Xingyiquan
Voice Actors: Hidekatsu Shibata (JP), Steve Kramer (EN)
- Inori Kinomiya
Birthplace: Japan
Fighting Style: Aikido
Voice Actresses: Miyu Matsuki (JP), Stephanie Sheh (EN)
- Akechi
Birthplace: Japan
Fighting Style: Sumo
Voice Actor: Ryuzaburo Otomo (JP), Paul St. Peter (EN)
- Mira
Birthplace: 
Unknown
Fighting Style: Kalaripayattu
Voice Actors: Satsuki Yukino (JP), Kari Wahlgren (EN)
New[]
- Nixon
Birthplace: Unknown
Fighting Style: Kenpo
Voice Actors: Yuki Ono (JP), David Vincent (EN)
Nixon is a mysterious man who comes from an unknown country. Nixon is an amnesiac drifter with no home, no family and no memory of his past, besides vaguely recognizing the face of Ranzou Kihara. As soon as he caught wind of the Sentoki tournament, Nixon decides to enter the tournament in order to meet Ranzou in order to confront him about his past and discover who he really is.
- Valérie Lafontaine
Birthplace: 
France
Fighting Style: Savate
Voice Actresses: Sayaka Ohara (JP), Karen Strassman (EN)
Valérie Lafontaine 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 Lafontaine, the lead scientist for Orion who had worked for Ranzou for a long time up until his death several years prior. Valérie was sent by Ranzou to the Sentoki tournament to watch over the newcomer Nixon, and to make sure that the Ikushimas would never go far in the tournament.
- Hong Tengfei
Birthplace: China
Fighting Style: Hung Ga
Voice Actors: Shinji Kawada (JP), Taliesin Jaffe (EN)
Hong Tengfei is a Shaolin monk residing in the mountains of China. One stormy night, a one-man attack from the assassin Yao Shuren took place in the Shaolin temple which led to many of his fellow monks being slain, as well as the secret Shaolin scrolls being stolen from the monastery. As soon as he heard about Shuren's participation in the Sentoki tournament, Tengfei enters the tournament to defeat him and retrieve the scrolls of the Shaolin.
- Candace Ryan
Birthplace: 
Australia
Fighting Style: Tricking
Voice Actresses: Marina Inoue (JP), Kate Higgins (EN)
Candace Ryan is a free runner from Sydney, Australia. A girl of adventure, Candace is an expert in various acrobatic arts, and loved to show off her skills to her peers by way of parkour and free running, 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 her self-made combat tricking style.
- K²
Birthplace: Unknown
Fighting Style: Composite
Voice Actresses: Ryoka Yuzuki (JP), Michelle Ruff (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. K² is currently kept in a secret chamber in their labs and will be unveiled by Orion come the finals.
Unleashed Additions[]
- Raul Mendoza
Birthplace: 
Mexico
Fighting Style: Judo
Voice Actors: Jurota Kosugi (JP), JB Blanc (EN)
Raul Mendoza is a former police officer from Tijuana, Mexico. After being framed up and sent to jail during a drug raid gone wrong, an incident which also cost him his right arm, Raul was visited in jail by an anonymous benefactor claiming to be from Orion, who supplied him with a prosthetic arm and an invitation. With nothing else left to lose, Raul accepts the invitation and enters the Sentoki tournament in order to make sense of everything.
- Liang Meifen
Birthplace: China
Fighting Style: Baguazhang
Voice Actresses: Michie Tomizawa (JP), Julie Ann Taylor (EN)
After years of inactivity in the ring, Liang Meifen finally makes her triumphant return. Meifen spent years of inactivity to heal her injuries following her trifle with Orion's forces, while also vastly improving her fighting skills, eventually perfecting it into its present form. Armed with her new and improved form of baguazhang, Meifen enters the Sentoki tournament to support Meilin in her battles.
Stages[]
- Kyoto Paradise
- Streets of Shinjuku
- Smash Mouth Park
- Millionaire's Casino
- Great Wall
- Buddha's Rest
- War-Torn Plaza
- Construction Site
- Seoul Airport
- Power Plant
- Amazonian Flora
- Lucha Palace
- Town Center
- High Rise Office
- Mountain Peak
- Last Battle
Unleashed Additions[]
- Prison Brawl
- Oriental Seaside
- Neo Colloseum
Game Modes[]
- Arcade
- Story
- Circuit
- Versus
- Team Versus
- Survival
- Practice
- Customize
- 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 was heavily based on PC hardware, similar to its predecessor, the System 201. This marks the first time that Sentoki ran in an arcade board that wasn’t based on PlayStation hardware.
- Originally slated for a May 2011 release, the console ports of Sentoki 4: Unleashed were pushed back to a September release due to the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, as well as the resulting Fukushima power plant nuclear disaster, which happened in March of that year.
- This game marks the first arcade release in the series to only be officially released in Asian arcades. This was presumably because of the massive decline of arcades overseas.
- The PlayStation Vita port of Sentoki 4: Unleashed, dubbed Sentoki 4: Unleashed V+, was one of the launch titles for the system.
- Due to the unfortunate circumstances of the death of Daisuke Gori in 2010, his role as Bru Bronson would be recast to Koji Ishii staring with the Unleashed update. This cast change would later carry over to the next game, Sentoki 5.