Budokan: The Martial Spirit

Electronic Arts

Industry	Video game development and publishing
Founded	May 28, 1982 (1982-05-28)
Headquarters	Redwood City, California , United States
Products	Video games, including Budokan: The Martial Spirit

Budokan: The Martial Spirit is a fighting game launched by Electronic Arts in 1989, initially available on Amiga and MS-DOS platforms. The game is set during the Budokan competition held at Tokyo's Nippon Budokan, where players face off against martial artists employing a variety of fighting techniques. Subsequent ports appeared for the Sega Genesis in 1990, followed by releases on Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, and Amstrad CPC in 1991.

Gameplay

At the outset, players assume the role of trainees at the Tobiko-Ryu Dojo, practicing four martial arts disciplines through either Shadow Fighting (Jiyu-renshu) or sparring sessions (Kumite). The combat disciplines available include:

1. Bo: traditional Japanese long staff
2. Karate: unarmed combat originating from Okinawa
3. Kendo: Japanese swordsmanship using a wooden sword
4. Nunchaku: two sticks linked by a chain

Following training, participants may challenge either AI or human opponents or enter the Budokan tournament itself. Throughout the competition, players confront progressively tougher adversaries who utilize an array of weapons and fighting styles. Most opponents are male; however, one female competitor wields a naginata, and another masked fighter named Ayako, presumably female, practices ninjutsu.

Prior to each bout, an introduction provides background on the opponent. Players choose their weapon for the match, with each weapon restricted to four uses per tournament, demanding careful resource management. If a player loses three times to the same adversary, they must replay against the previous challenger. The game concludes if the player suffers three defeats against the initial opponent or exhausts all weapon uses.

Combat revolves around two primary stats: stamina and ki. Ki fuels offensive moves and diminishes when executing active maneuvers such as jumping or complex attacks but regenerates during defensive actions like blocking. As stamina decreases, the character’s mobility is impaired, reducing combat effectiveness. Victory is achieved by depleting the opponent’s stamina entirely.

Reception

Industry reviews presented varied opinions on the title. In 1990, Dragon magazine rated it 4 out of 5 stars, emphasizing its tactical gameplay elements. Console XS commended the atmosphere of the Sega Genesis edition but criticized it as a "shallow beat-‘em-up," citing limited move sets and a small roster of opponents. In contrast, MegaTech referred to Budokan as a "Thinking man’s beat-‘em-up," praising its visual and audio presentation. While recognized for its distinctive take on martial arts gaming, some critiques targeted its relatively shallow gameplay depth.

Legacy

In August 2006, Electronic Arts revealed plans to bring the Genesis iteration of Budokan to the PlayStation Portable via the EA Replay compilation.

External links

• Budokan at Spectrum Computing