Bakumatsu Rouman: The Last Blade: Naoe Shigen

Shigen is the big, bulky guy who oozes muscles and masculinity. ^_~ He's pretty amusing.. not my type of character, but he can be quite cool. He blocks with his bracelet, of all things. *grin* And one of his arms is grey, as though it is made of stone. (Some sort of afflicition? He thumps pretty good with it though.) He never actually talks, just waves his arms angrily and goes "grrrr" a lot at his opponent. His stage is also very cool..

Shigen doesn't need a weapon at all. Everything is in the arms, don'tcha know. ^_^ Basically he just thumps and thumps with his fists. He has an uppercut, several slashing moves, and an interesting move called Diamond Smasher where he thumps his opponent onto a large pile of very sharp crystals which appears randomly out of the ground. He's very tough, and damn does he hit hard, especially in power mode, but he's a little slow on his big feet, so he's not for beginner players or those of you who like lots of combos.

In the second game, Shigen is more powerful, and he can do a lot of followups to some of his normal moves, which means if you're not careful, you could be caught in a continual pummeling that drags your life bar down into dangerous levels very quickly. He's still not the easiest character to play, though; but if you can get used to him, you'll be lethal.

Last Blade 1 Story: Shigen is also one of the four guardians of the Gates of Hell. He represents Byakko, the White Tiger. He was once a gentle, peaceful man, however he has been sealed in stone for ten years by his best friend, and only now has he finally been able to break free. His hatred and agony have driven him over the edge, and all he can think of is revenge against the one who locked him away.

Last Blade 2 Story: After the defeat of Suzaku's guardian, Shigen regained control of his senses, and was reunited with his foster daughter, Kotetsu. Shamed by his ten years of absence, he took her into the mountains to spend time together. Kotetsu played while he trained; but things weren't meant to stay peaceful, it seems. Shigen sensed the evil in the not-yet closed Hell's Gate, and realised he must deal with it; he departed late at night, not noticing the shadow that crept along behind him.

Kotetsu: yes, that's her hanging from Shigen's huge arm in the picture above. She is selectable in Last Blade 2, but she seems to be added for amusement value more than anything. Try it at least once, you'll appreciate it. ^_^ With your cursor on Shigen in the character select screen, do the following within 4 seconds: push C five times, push B ten times, and push C two times. You'll hear Kotetsu's voice when you've done it correctly; then press A or D to play as her.

Useless but fun facts: Shigen's birthdate is October 5th, 1827, making him 36 years old at the time of the first game. The kanji for his name means something like formal guard (for Naoe) and displaying source (for Shigen).