The Last Blade (1997)

The Last Blade, released in Japan as Bakumatsu Roman: Gekka no Kenshi (幕末浪漫 月華の剣士 Lit. Bakumatsu Romance: Moon Flower Swordsman), is a fighting game developed and released by SNK for the Neo Geo system in 1997. It was also ported to several home systems. A sequel, The Last Blade 2, was released in 1998. The game takes place during the Bakumatsu era in Japan, and incorporates various elements of Japanese mythology (with a heavy emphasis on the symbology of the Four Symbols). As such, the background music generally incorporates synthesized instruments simulating a sound appropriate to the 19th century setting, in a Western classical, pseudo-Romantic style (unusual for a fighting game).