Battle Arena Toshinden, released in Japan as , is a fighting game series developed by Tamsoft and produced by Takara. Video games Developed by Tamsoft and produced by Takara, the Battle Arena Toshinden series is composed of four video games, though the first three numbered entries are often referred to as the Toshinden trilogy. A prequel game, Toshinden Next, was revealed in 1997 featuring concept art, but ultimately cancelled. + Release Title Platform Notes 1995 Battle Arena Toshinden•JP PlayStation, Sega Saturn, MS-DOS The DOS version, ported by Playmates Interactive Entertainment, added Earthworm Jim as a guest character.Re-released on the Sega Saturn as Battle Arena Toshinden Remix (Toshinden S in Japan), featuring a new character, Cupido. 1995 Battle Arena Toshinden 2•JP Arcade, PlayStation, Windows 95 An enhanced version, Battle Arena Toshinden 2 Plus, was released exclusively in Japan in 1996. 1996 Battle Arena Toshinden URA•JP Sega Saturn A modified version of Toshinden 2 with a new storyline. 1996 Battle Arena Toshinden 3•JP PlayStation 1999 Toshinden 4•JP PlayStation Was not released in North America. Retitled Toshinden 4 for its release in PAL regions.
Spinoff games While the main series used realistic proportions for the cast, the spin-off titles instead used a chibi artstyle. + Release Title Platform Genre Notes 1996 Battle Arena Toshinden•JP Game Boy Fighting Developed by Betop. Uranus, a character introduced in Battle Arena Toshinden 2, appears as an unlockable character. 1996 PlayStation Fighting Originally planned for release in North America as Toshinden Kids before the localization was cancelled. Featured four unique characters: Shu, Ryuji, Baifu, and guest character Rika. The game is a parody title, set within a high school. 1996 Battle Arena Toshinden R-Zone Fighting Developed by Tiger Electronics. 1997 PlayStation Tile-matching puzzle Japanese exclusive. Uses character designs from Battle Arena Toshinden 3. 1998 PlayStation Board game Japanese exclusive. Uses character designs from Battle Arena Toshinden 3. A new character, Selene, was created exclusively for the game.
Related + Release Title Platform Notes 1997 Sega Saturn A fighting game developed by Nextech and published by Takara. Toshinden series protagonist Eiji appears as a guest character within the title. 2009 Wii A fighting game full reboot of the series developed by DreamFactory and published by Takara Tomy. None of the characters from the original series appear in this title, nor does it reference the original Toshinden story. 2027 TBA A compilation of the first three Battle Arena Toshinden games, published by Edia.
Characters
When Tamsoft was initially developing the cast, director Shintarō Nakaoka started with a basic concept taking inspiration from the duality of Ryu and Ken Masters of Capcom's Street Fighter series. Working with character designer Miho Furukawa, he then followed with developing certain character archetypes to provide a variety of physiques to the game, such as the "big man", the "guru", and the "lolita". As development progressed others added their own elements, such as programmers adding unique animations to characters to give them more visible personality, while one core person was assigned to each character to assist with the planning stage.
The character designs were finalized and drawn by Tsukasa Kotobuki, who also provided input on the development process. The game's publisher Takara initially sought to have Masami Obari for this role, but he was unable to due to obligations on another project and suggested Kotobuki instead. According to Battle Arena Toshinden URA director Norihiro Hayasaka, with the original game there was a noticeable discrepancy between the artwork Kotobuki would do for the game's characters and select screen and the character models themselves, particularly in how Kotobuki drew the female characters as slender with large breasts. Hayasaka pushed for the models to be closer to Kotobuki's art in terms of silhouette as a result, but also keep sharp edges to retain a style unique for Toshinden.
Introduced in Battle Arena Toshinden NameDescriptionA young Japanese traveling swordsman/adventurer who seeks to find his long-lost older brother, Sho. Eiji progresses through the tournament and ultimately comes face-to-face with the tournament's sponsor, GaiaThough her nationality is Turkish, she is of Japanese descent, and was taken in by a traveling circus troupe as a young orphan. After she discovers the game's antagonist, Gaia, is her father upon his defeat, she feels indifferent and returns to the troupe. A year later, during the events of Battle Arena Toshinden 2, she learns he is being hunted by his former allies as a traitor. She enters the tournament to try and help him. In Battle Arena Toshinden 3, the game's new antagonists begin to operate near and target the circus, and Ellis decides to stop them.A character exclusive to the Sega Saturn version of the game and acting as its final boss, and Sho's wife. She wears black tights, high riding underwear over them, red bracers with a matching cape, and a red midriff shirt under the cape. Cupido has purple hair in a bobcut, fights using a rhomphaia, and is described as "a woman living as a man".
Kotobuki originally designed the character as a man, but the development team later changed Cupido to female, much to his surprise. Her design is meant to resemble a female version of Sho, with a crimson color theme, while she was given a short shaved haircut to create an androgynous look.An arrogant French knight who seeks to find and defeat Eiji to avenge a past loss to him.An elderly Chinese magician who is secretly a cold-hearted serial killer. Fo Fai enters the tournament to satisfy his bloodlust.The final boss of the game and sponsor of the tournament, as well as Ellis' father.A Scottish (later retconned as English) swordsman/bounty hunter, a friend and rival of Eiji. He seeks to avenge the death of his foster father, who was killed by the previous tournament's champion from last year.An emotionless Japanese ninja warrior who infiltrates the tournament under the orders from a rival group of the Secret Society.A strong yet kind-hearted American miner who seeks to rescue his wife Lila and his son Christopher from the Secret Society.The secret final boss. He is the winner of the previous tournament, and brother of Eiji.A whip-wielding blonde Russian woman who works as a private detective. She seeks to find and recover her long-lost memories.
Introduced in Battle Arena Toshinden 2 NameDescriptionAn extremely tall, bald Sri Lankan man. An executive of the Secret Society, he was rendered mute during the events of the tournament, confusing others in the group. After the fall of the organization, he becomes catatonic until he heard of the tournament during the events of Toshinden 3.
He wields a scythe and a shield, though was at one point considered to use large punch daggers instead, similar to those the character Ripper would use later. He wears a red and black outfit with emphasized thighs and shoulders, and a Muay Thai headband around his head. Kotobuki initially conceived him as a cynical character named "Kamao". Originally meant to have a nihilistic, serious, and dark personality, these traits were removed during the development process, and Chaos behaves in a significantly abnormal manner instead.Master is leader of the Gerrard Foundation and Secret Society. A sixteen year old boy with an androgynous appearance and green hair, he uses psychic powers to wield a massive sword. Originally praised on the public stage, he became isolated and as a result became cold to the idea of harming others.An aggressive police officer invited to the tournament. She is a tanned American woman with long blue hair, a green halter top and matching shorts and a large police badge on her chest. Armor plating covers her knee pads, shoulder pads, gloves, and boots. Tracy fights using tonfas as well as blades embedded in her boots. Kotobuki conceived Tracy as a tomboy to contrast against the feminine Ellis and Sofia. Meanwhile, her animations were designed with a more masculine character in mind.
Initially she was meant to be more muscular, with emphasized abdominals. These along with black tights between her shorts and knee pads were removed to illustrate her slender and revealing figure. Meanwhile, she wears a reverse ballcap to give her a more boyish and less cute appearance. Her attire was meant to have a camouflage pattern to illustrate her as combat-ready, but it was simplified to a solid green in the final. For Toshinden 3, much of the armor was removed, while her cap was replaced with a head wrap and biker goggle combination. Tights under her shorts were also re-integrated into the design.One of the executives of the Secret Society, she is a tall blonde woman resembling an angel clad in silver armor, wielding a bow. Though she serves Master, she enters the tournament with the intention of killing and usurping him. The wings on her back are left vague as to whether they are growing from her body or part of her armor. Her initial design featured golden armor with red highlights, while the collar obscured her face.A mysterious gunfighter wielding a shotgun and a revolver. Vermillion is a tall blonde man wearing a black tattered trenchcoat and glasses, and was designed to be both sharp looking and cool. His all-black outfit and perpetual smile were meant to convey a sense of madness, and he has two red streaks of paint across his face and in a V between his eyes. Vermillion's glasses are angled downward to imply they are just for show. In Toshinden 3, his outfit was changed to a tuxedo with red symbols covering it, and works with the game's villains to gather information for them.
Introduced in Battle Arena Toshinden URA NameDescriptionCreated by Ronron, it is a prototype android that was stolen and reprogrammed, acting as a recurring boss the player must defeat. The game's story revolves around the player trying to retrieve it. It uses the same attacks as Sho. In-game, its name is shorted to Repli.Ripper is a mysterious killer wielding two large punch daggers. He wears a sleeveless red jacket with a high collar, black pants, and a headwrap that covers most of his purple hair. He enters the tournament in search of someone.Ronron is a scientist who was working on the Replicant before it escaped. She now chases after it despite being ill-suited for fighting, and uses a stungun/hammer hybrid when fighting. Lonlon is a Chinese a woman with thick glasses and a ponytail lifted to the side. She wears a white shirt and matching stockings, a short red skirt, a yellow tie, and a backpack. Her appearance was based on Akira Toriyama's Arale-chan character, and was intended to portray a normal girl shoved into the tournament. Her attacks meanwhile were meant to be comedic but also sexy.The game's villain and final boss, Wolf is a large man dressed in a gi wielding a training sword. He can slam the sword into the ground to create a massive shockwave.
Introduced in Battle Arena Toshinden 3 Toshinden 3 not only featured characters returning from the previous games minus Fo Fai, but several new characters. Many of them however shared the same movesets of existing fighters, such as Zola being based on Sofia. NameDescriptionAbel is leader of the Organization, a group that seeks to remake the world in their image, having augmented his body and abilities to this end. Unlike other characters, he fights with his bare hands. He is a muscular man with a black bodysuit that exposes his chest and arms, red leggins, and orange hair peeking out of a black turban.