{"id":56394,"date":"2026-02-03T22:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-03T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=56394"},"modified":"2026-02-03T17:39:33","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T08:39:33","slug":"shadow-of-the-colossus-producer-kenji-kaidos-new-game-is-about-upside-down-helicopter-martial-arts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/shadow-of-the-colossus-producer-kenji-kaidos-new-game-is-about-upside-down-helicopter-martial-arts\/","title":{"rendered":"Shadow of the Colossus producer Kenji Kaido&#8217;s new game\u00a0is\u00a0about upside-down\u00a0helicopter\u00a0martial arts\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Before\u00a0working on\u00a0Ico\u00a0and Shadow of the Colossus\u00a0as a producer at Sony, Kenji Kaido was a project leader and game designer at Taito,\u00a0who worked on several\u00a080s\u00a0arcade beat \u2018em\u00a0ups and platformers. His latest title,\u00a0<strong>SAKA-DOH:\u00a0THE REVERSAL ARTS<\/strong>, seems to be a\u00a0return to his roots, featuring classic 2D fighting with an upside-down twist.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"\u3010\u9006\u9053 - SAKA-DOH:THE REVERSAL ARTS\u3011\u516c\u5f0fPV \u7b2c\uff12\u5f3e\uff08TGS\u4e0a\u6620\u7248\uff09  | Official TGS Teaser Trailer #2\" width=\"1160\" height=\"653\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/3cWVTQ9x16s?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Developed by Matrix Software,\u00a0SAKA-DOH\u00a0stars\u00a0Masao\u00a0Sakamaki, a master of the fictional martial art\u00a0\u201cSaka-jutsu,\u201d\u00a0as he travels the world in search of his missing love,\u00a0Misora\u00a0Isakami. 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\u00a0individually tied to helicopters.\u00a0The story is nothing short of nonsensical, but it helps set the tone of the game and justifies its unique gameplay.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1270\" height=\"947\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1270px) 100vw, 1270px\" src=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260203-56394-001.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-56399\" srcset=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260203-56394-001.jpg 1270w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260203-56394-001-380x283.jpg 380w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260203-56394-001-768x573.jpg 768w\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Thanks to the helicopter that Masao is strapped to, players only need to focus on swinging the protagonist and fighting enemies. These actions work&nbsp;hand-in-hand, as the sacred art of Saka-jutsu&nbsp;(known worldwide as \u201cSaka-doh\u201d) relies on using your momentum to unleash devastating punches and kicks.&nbsp;In addition to normal attacks, you can charge up a resource called Sen-Qi to unleash up to three levels of super moves.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>SAKA-DOH\u2019s enemies&nbsp;won\u2019t&nbsp;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&nbsp;can&nbsp;receive help&nbsp;from&nbsp;your trusty friend,&nbsp;Kohgi&nbsp;Isakami, who fights alongside you.&nbsp;True to its 80s beat \u2018em&nbsp;up roots, SAKA-DOH&nbsp;also&nbsp;includes item pickups, a high score system, and limited lives.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1262\" height=\"944\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1262px) 100vw, 1262px\" src=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260203-56394-002.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-56400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260203-56394-002.jpg 1262w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260203-56394-002-380x284.jpg 380w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260203-56394-002-768x574.jpg 768w\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Aside from Kenji Kaido, who worked on similar titles like&nbsp;Sonic Blast Man and Warrior Blade&nbsp;and serves as a designer for the game,&nbsp;SAKA-DOH\u2019s&nbsp;development team includes several veteran&nbsp;creators. Nakayama-Raiden, a former composer at Taito\u2019s&nbsp;Zuntata&nbsp;sound team&nbsp;who worked on titles like&nbsp;Grid Seeker: Project Storm Hammer&nbsp;and Puzzle Bobble 2,&nbsp;is working on sound design.&nbsp;M-Kai, a Japanese dev&nbsp;who worked on&nbsp;arcade shooters like&nbsp;Judgement&nbsp;Silversword&nbsp;and&nbsp;Eschatos, serves as a programmer,&nbsp;while former Taito dev&nbsp;Kentaro Matsumura&nbsp;(Darius Gaiden, Puzzle Bobble 2)&nbsp;is providing the game\u2019s pixel art.&nbsp;Lastly,&nbsp;Hiroshi&nbsp;Makabe&nbsp;(a programmer on&nbsp;Adventures of Mana&nbsp;and&nbsp;Secret of Mana)&nbsp;serves as creative supervisor.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>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 \u2018em\u00a0up titles.\u00a0On the\u00a0flip side, it is worth pointing out that the game comes with an AI-generated content disclosure for some of its store assets on Steam.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>SAKA-DOH: THE REVERSAL ARTS&nbsp;is set to release on February 6 on Windows (<a href=\"https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/app\/3991290\/_SAKADOHTHE_REVERSAL_ARTS\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Steam<\/a>).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Related:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/from-giant-maids-wrecking-cities-to-magical-dungeon-demolition-5-japanese-indie-games-where-you-destroy-things\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">From giant maids wrecking cities to magical dungeon demolition: 5 Japanese indie games where you destroy things<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Former Sony developer and Shadow of the Colossus producer Kenji Kaido is working on a 2D beat &#8217;em up reminiscent of 80s arcade games.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67,"featured_media":56397,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[17],"class_list":["post-56394","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-japan-related-news"],"blocksy_meta":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - 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