Trades the prequel's strong theming for mechanical adjustments. This isn't to say theming isn't present; the story and characters are way more prominent this time around. But it's clear Lightweight was interested in cleaning up the fighting game experience this go-around. Controls are simplified, weapon differences are more pronounced, and certain characters even have unique stances - for example, Gengoro trades the standard katana mid-stance with an iaidō moveset. Which admittedly seems redundant in a game where any strike is a killing blow, but heck if it ain't fun.

I would've thought for sure that POV Mode would've been removed in the sequel, but it's actually been expanded quite a bit. Most of the core modes have a version of it available, and wireframes have been added for the player character. It's kind of a strange effect, since it's not true first-person anymore, but it works once you get used to it. Actually, the player character's tendency to look at the opponent is useful for orienting yourself. The Story Mode bosses are especially obnoxious in POV Mode, though.

Oh, yeah, the story mode's final bosses. In an interesting move, each of the respective final bosses has a unique gimmick: characters of the Shainto school fight a final boss who teleports away from every strike, while the Narukagami students face off against an armored final boss. It's an interesting idea, where the former tests your ability to double-strike (since dude's vulnerable while recovering from his teleport) and the latter tests your ability to literally stab him in the back (as he isn't armored there). Though in practice, it feels like more of an annoying binary check than a proper test. Ah, well.

While I appreciate everything done to streamline this game's experience, I do kinda feel like the deliberate intentionality of the original's been lost. The Bushido Code only really exists from a narrative perspective, since it's not reinforced by the gameplay. There aren't any branching paths, save the Shainto students getting to renege on their whole revenge plot at the last second. Even the buttons have sort of lost their purpose, since you no longer have that cool rise/fall, advance/retreat effect from the first game; parry is done automatically, and the stance-shift button is now separate from the raise up/lower down buttons.

I still like this game, and I think that if you're strictly interested in multiplayer/fighting game shenanigans, this is the one to look to. But I probably prefer the tone of the original a bit more. Theoretically, you'd have a complete winner combining the two games' approaches, but as a little duology, it ain't bad, either.

A few things that made me go WTF - a lady in underwear gunning me down with an M-16, a funky black guy in an afro and shades inexplicably showing up in this bushido story, Black Lotus turning into the Phantom of the Opera and developing a pronounced Irish brogue, a very rude Kilroy showing up on one stage. Game's kinda weird.