D3 Publisher and developer Shade announced a December 8 release date for Samurai Maiden, the sword-fighting anime-styled action game coming to PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam. The game is set to release a week early in Japan, but only for consoles. There will also be a special physical release for the same region, while it will only be available digitally for the worldwide release. To celebrate the release date announcement, D3 Publisher launched a brand-new trailer, which you can check out below.
The trailer takes the form of an educational video/VTuber presentation from protagonist Tsumugi Tamaori, focusing on the Sengoku period and the popular entities in the era. In the game, Tsumugi is swept up into an alternate Sengoku period-Japan isekai-style, where she encounters historical figure Nobunaga Oda fighting against various demons in the underworld. The gameplay was also incorporated into the pseudo-educational presentation, going over many aspects of the period including the samurai, brutal warfare, and ninjas.
The trailer also brings up the Sengoku Warlords, key figures during the warring period that made their mark on the history of Japan. Takeda Shingen, who is known as one of Nobunaga Oda’s most fearsome rivals, is introduced in the story as a small anime girl (of course) while Kenshin Uesugi, another renowned leader and adversary, is played by a black-haired bishoujo. Finally, the trailer goes through a fictional retelling of the Honno-ji incident, where Nobunaga finally met his defeat at the hands of an adversary known as Akechi Mitsuhide. In the game, however, the Honno-ji incident sees Nobunaga going against a “Demon Lord,” setting off the events of Tsumugi’s story.
In Samurai Maiden, Tsumugi will be joined by three friendly ninjas called The Gokage, who will accompany her on her journey further to the underworld. They are Iyo, who fights with a variety of tools, Hagane, who has a mechanical body, and Komimi, a genius ninja with unique ninjutsu. With their help, Tsumugi can use the “Gokage System,” which allows for special moves that combine her swordsmanship with the ninjas’ different capabilities.
