Before working on Ico and Shadow of the Colossus as a producer at Sony, Kenji Kaido was a project leader and game designer at Taito, who worked on several 80s arcade beat ‘em ups and platformers. His latest title, SAKA-DOH: THE REVERSAL ARTS, seems to be a return to his roots, featuring classic 2D fighting with an upside-down twist.
Developed by Matrix Software, SAKA-DOH stars Masao Sakamaki, a master of the fictional martial art “Saka-jutsu,” as he travels the world in search of his missing love, Misora Isakami. Not content with doing things the old-fashioned way, Masao straps himself upside down to a moving helicopter, where he can freely fight other upturned combatants who are individually tied to helicopters. The story is nothing short of nonsensical, but it helps set the tone of the game and justifies its unique gameplay.
Thanks to the helicopter that Masao is strapped to, players only need to focus on swinging the protagonist and fighting enemies. These actions work hand-in-hand, as the sacred art of Saka-jutsu (known worldwide as “Saka-doh”) relies on using your momentum to unleash devastating punches and kicks. In addition to normal attacks, you can charge up a resource called Sen-Qi to unleash up to three levels of super moves.
SAKA-DOH’s enemies won’t play fair, however. Apart from overwhelming you with their numbers, they play dirty by using all manner of weapons (knives, throwing axes, and guns, to name a few), explosives (which are strapped to balloons), and employing devious bosses. Thankfully, you can receive help from your trusty friend, Kohgi Isakami, who fights alongside you. True to its 80s beat ‘em up roots, SAKA-DOH also includes item pickups, a high score system, and limited lives.
Aside from Kenji Kaido, who worked on similar titles like Sonic Blast Man and Warrior Blade and serves as a designer for the game, SAKA-DOH’s development team includes several veteran creators. Nakayama-Raiden, a former composer at Taito’s Zuntata sound team who worked on titles like Grid Seeker: Project Storm Hammer and Puzzle Bobble 2, is working on sound design. M-Kai, a Japanese dev who worked on arcade shooters like Judgement Silversword and Eschatos, serves as a programmer, while former Taito dev Kentaro Matsumura (Darius Gaiden, Puzzle Bobble 2) is providing the game’s pixel art. Lastly, Hiroshi Makabe (a programmer on Adventures of Mana and Secret of Mana) serves as creative supervisor.
Featuring a seasoned dev team and a premise that is as wild and unruly as the rope that Masao is tied to, SAKA-DOH aims to stand out from other beat ‘em up titles. On the flip side, it is worth pointing out that the game comes with an AI-generated content disclosure for some of its store assets on Steam.
SAKA-DOH: THE REVERSAL ARTS is set to release on February 6 on Windows (Steam).
