Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Kenkaku Romantan Kansen (PSP)

While technically a full-blown sequel to Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Kenkaku Romantan Saisen, Kansen is basically the same game with an updated roster and a few minor tweaks under the hood. This means two things: first is that there is no longer any need to get Saisen if you don’t have it yet because there’s nothing in it that isn’t in Kansen and second, there’s no longer any need to go over the basics in this review. You can check out my old review of Saisen for the specifics on the game. This time we’re going to focus on the changes that Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Kenkaku Romantan Kansen brings to the table.

Graphics-wise, there’s nothing different. It’s still the same engine and you won’t notice anything different other than the new menu and characters. The same goes for the audio side of things (again, refer to the Saisen review for details).

Content-wise, there are tons of welcome changes. The roster was already decent for a fighting game in the previous game, but now they’ve added several more without removing any of the previous playable characters.

The new additions include some odd choices, like Okita Souji, who only appeared in the series during a flashback. There are also some characters added from the Reflection OVA, such as Kenshi’s estranged son Kenji and the teenaged version of Yahiko. As expected, you have to unlock most of the characters first. If you have a savefile from Saisen, you’ll automatically unlock some of the old hidden characters as well as get a certain amount for upgrading the weapons.