Bakumatsu Roman Daini Maku - Gekka no Kenshi - Tsuki ni Saku Hana, Chiri Yuku Hana ~ The Last Blade 2 (Japan)
Neo Geo CD
🇬🇧🇪🇸🇯🇵🇵🇹
Reviewed in 1998
88
Ad
✪ Reviewed on April 29, 2026
82
Sequel even more beautiful and deeper than the original, with expanded roster and new styles. The system gains clarity without losing any subtlety. The peak of weapon based fighting on Neo Geo.
Your verdict
Category
Fighting2 players12+
Description
The war for control of the Gate of Hell intensifies with new warriors and a third EX fighting style. Published by SNK, released in Japan in November 1998. Enriched bladed weapon combat, additional EX style, new deflection and feint techniques, expanded roster. Japanese edition.
Bakumatsu Roman Daini Maku - Gekka no Kenshi - Tsuki ni Saku Hana, Chiri Yuku Hana ~ The Last Blade 2 review
MAX
Art direction
★★★★★
"Iconic"
MAX
Music
★★★★★
"Legendary"
2/5
Story
★★★★★
"Classic"
Blades drawn beneath the moon, backgrounds painted like woodblock prints and samurai animated with rare grace: everything evokes the twilight of an era. The ink and the autumnal hues feed a magnificent melancholy. This hand-drawn beauty remains a jewel of SNK's 2D fighting.
Extending the first part's grace, the sequel refines its twilight score with even more poignant and refined themes. Traditional instruments and delicate orchestrations weave a melancholy of rare beauty, magnified by the CD audio. This sonic elegance, a peak of the genre, stays dear to the heart of connoisseurs.
Gameplay
"Masterful"
Parrying within a hair's breadth to crack the enemy's guard sums up the finesse of this bladed versus: every exchange hinges on deflection timing and the choice between Speed and Power styles. The apparent slowness hides mechanics of rare depth. Lifted by sumptuous 2D, this drawn-sword duel remains a treat for anyone who loves measured fighting.
SNK Japanese November 1998 edition of the Neo Geo CD port of The Last Blade 2, the last major SNK fighter on the CD format before the transition to Neo Geo CDZ and the end of support. The release is actually a double CD with extended cinematics and a practice mode exclusive to the CD format. Its rarity rests on the very restricted Japanese distribution at the end of 1998 and on the absence of a Western AES run, which makes it the most contested version of the Last Blade CD diptych.
Better with friends
A refined sequel to the sword fighter, richer in styles and subtler in its deflect system, ideal for the duel. The competition blends positional finesse with daring counters, where a single opening can flip a whole round. Demanding yet magnetically beautiful, it sets a tense climate where every exchange counts, and the rematch is savored at length between well-matched foes.
A cult cover
True to its subtitle — flowers that bloom, flowers that fade — the image lets petals swirl around fighters bathed in moonlight. The theme of impermanence surfaces in every gradient, extending the first game's ukiyo-e vein with even deeper melancholy. A contemplative composition, of an almost funereal beauty.
Is Bakumatsu Roman Daini Maku - Gekka no Kenshi - Tsuki ni Saku Hana, Chiri Yuku Hana ~ The Last Blade 2 still worth playing in 2026?
The Last Blade 2 refines its predecessor's formula with SNK's craft at its peak. A reworked Speed and Power system, sharper deflections, a wider roster and an even more melancholic Bakumatsu close it out. The sprites sit among the most beautiful ever shipped on the machine, and the CD soundtrack pushes the atmosphere wider. Loading on Neo Geo CD remains the classic trade-off, but the feel of play more than justifies the patience. For lovers of authored 2D fighting and twilight storytelling, an undeniable genre peak today.
