ACA NEOGEO THE LAST BLADE is a recreation of The Last Blade, a stand-alone fighting game title focused on samurai swordplay with a handful of innovative mechanics and a reasonably large cast.

Two Blades, Star-Crossed

The game offers two variations of each character, "Power" or "Speed", and each Power or Speed character shares many of the same traits and trends. Despite that, each member of the cast is subtly different. They all share the same "Hajiki" counter mechanic, but the results of a counter are different, and though they can also cancel between finishers, those individual finishers differ significantly, as well. Unfortunately, as with many other ACA NEOGEO titles, the game only offers local multiplayer, so it can be hard to take advantage of all these mechanics with friends and other players. Still, the game is worth playing with friends, given its intricacies and its looks.

A Finely Sharpened, Single Edged Sword

Overall, if you're looking for a fighting game with a lot of depth, and with more slashing and less punching and kicking, then The Last Blade probably fits the bill. It may not offer much multiplayer, and it might not look like much, but past all of that it is a well-made fighting game.