Touken Ranbu Online is finally set to makes its debut in the West. Developed by Nitroplus and DMM, it was originally released in Japan in 2015 and was a big success, gaining more than a million players in its first year. The game has since spawned its own anime series and feature film.

Touken Ranbu Online is a sword-raising simulation game where you take the role of a Saniwa (‘sage‘) to summon and raise an army of Touken Danshi (‘Sword Men‘) – who are anthropomorphised anime versions of legendary Japanese Swords.

The Story

The story is set in 2205 where history revisionists are travelling to the past in an attempt to change Japan’s history. In order to combat this, an organisation known as the Chronos Ministry has sent people known as Saniwa to defend the past. The Saniwa are able to invoke an object’s spirit, bestowing it the power to fight using a tool known as the tsukumogami – who are materialised as the Touken Danshi, swords that have taken the form of strong warriors. You will have to train them, collect and manage resources and raise an army to fight back against the revisionists and maintain history.

Gameplay

The main focus of Touken Ranbu Online is the many different touken (swords) or retrospectively, the many handsome warriors that you can collect to join your army in the Citadel. You will train them through raising their skills, equipping them with items to boost their stats and having them do tasks within the Citadel. Send armies to the frontlines to You can also unlock conversations between the touken if you pair specific characters together.

You will start the game off with one Touken Danshi, who you can choose out of 5 available options and will act as the captain of your army.

Touken Ranbu Online ©2015 EXNOA LLC/Nitroplus

In order of appearance (left to right): Hachisuka Kotetsu, Kashu Kiyomitsu, Mikazuki Munechika, Yamabushi Kunihiro, Kasen Kanesada and Mitsunokami Yoshiyuki.

Pre-Registration Bonus Items

The english release will be brought to you by Johren, who are holding Pre-registration bonus items for those who pre-register on the website from the 26th January will recieve a set of in-game bonuses: