This was another major game released at the end of May 1999, alongside Hitman – Blood Money and Dragon Quest 5, and it was none other than ZAN – Cowboy Samurai. Compared to the other two titles, this release felt more experimental, more aggressive in tone, and far less safe. From the very beginning, ZAN stood out as the wild card in ZAGE's late-May lineup, aimed at players who wanted something louder, faster, and unapologetically stylish.
At its core, the game was an original concept born directly from Zaboru's ideas in this world. However, its roots could be traced back clearly to a PS1 title from his previous life: Rising Zan – The Samurai Gunman, a game that had been criminally underrated and largely forgotten despite its bold identity. Zaboru remembered that game well—not because it was perfect, but because it dared to be strange, mixing samurai aesthetics with guns and absurd bravado in a way few games attempted at the time.
Still, ZAN – Cowboy Samurai was not a simple remake or reinterpretation. In fact, it was fundamentally different from Rising Zan in both structure and ambition. Where Rising Zan leaned heavily into comedy and exaggerated satire, ZAN pushed further into style-driven action, darker themes, and a more serious sense of world-building. The spirit of the original was there, but it had been reshaped into something far more confident, refined, and suited for a new generation of players.
The game's story follows Zan Hayato, a master samurai and the wielder of the legendary sword style known as "Sarashi No Ken." This unique technique allows him to manipulate sand, wind, and even dirt itself, turning the battlefield into his weapon. His fighting style excels at overwhelming multiple enemies at once, controlling crowds with sweeping strikes and environmental manipulation that makes him feel less like a man and more like a natural disaster given human form.
At the beginning of the story of Cinematic Cutscene, Zan Hayato is locked in brutal conflict against a group of Onmyouji operating within Japan. Standing tall beneath his personal banner, Hayato cuts through his enemies without hesitation, displaying absolute mastery of Sarashi No Ken at its peak. By his side is his trusted katana, "Sabakken," a blade that has accompanied him since childhood. Sabakken is not merely a weapon—it is bound to Zan himself, responding to his will and spirit, as if the sword recognizes no other master.
As the battles escalate, the Evil Onmyouji realize that they cannot defeat Hayato through conventional means. Desperation drives them toward cruelty. They begin sacrificing innocent lives in forbidden rituals, twisting spiritual laws to create a final, ruthless countermeasure. In a last act of malice, they unleash a powerful technique that tears open space itself, forcibly casting Zan Hayato across the country and away from everything he knows. In an instant, the undefeated samurai is removed from the battlefield—not by strength, but by treachery.
And so Zan Hayato is transported to a land known as Dezpero, a harsh and lawless world that resembles the Wild West, yet twisted into something far more advanced and unforgiving. Here, steam-powered machines dominate the landscape, mechanical contraptions hiss and roar across dusty towns, and firearms are refined tools of survival rather than symbols of status. At the same time, magic and martial arts exist in forms completely unfamiliar to Hayato—strange disciplines born from Dezpero itself, shaped by its cruel environment and constant violence.
At first, Zan Hayato searches desperately for a way home. He travels from settlement to settlement, listens to rumors whispered in saloons, and investigates forbidden relics said to bend space or summon spirits. Years pass, marked by gunfire, blood, and loss. Each attempt ends in failure, each lead collapsing into nothing. Slowly, painfully, the truth settles in: returning home is not something he can force through will alone.
With time, Zan Hayato comes to accept his fate. The longing for his homeland never disappears, but it hardens into something quieter and heavier. Dezpero becomes his new battlefield, a place he neither loves nor fully rejects—a land he survives in, endures, and eventually understands.
Despite everything that had happened to him, Zan Hayato still carried the heart of a righteous samurai. His sense of justice never truly faded, but the world he lived in no longer allowed him to walk the path of a traditional warrior. In Dezpero, honor alone was not enough to survive. Duels were rare, ambushes were common, and mercy often led to death. Understanding this harsh reality, Zan abandoned the old ways—not out of weakness, but out of necessity.
To survive, he became a bounty hunter. Zan chose his targets carefully, hunting criminals, outlaws, and monsters that terrorized towns and caravans. Killing was no longer about honor; it was about balance, protection, and survival. Each bounty put food on the table and ammunition in his belt, allowing him to continue living in a land that constantly tried to swallow him whole. Over time, he learned to wield the tools of Dezpero, most notably the revolver—a weapon completely foreign to his old life. Though different from a katana, Zan mastered it with the same discipline and focus he once devoted to the blade.
As his reputation grew, so did his legends. People across Dezpero began calling him by many names: Sandstorm for the way he dominated battlefields, Desert Judgment for the fate he delivered to criminals, Grim Slasher for those who witnessed his blade firsthand. Yet Zan Hayato rejected all of them. He chose his own title as the simple "Cowboy Samurai."
Visually, he stood apart from everyone else in Dezpero. Zan wore cowboy-style attire suited for the desert and gunfights of the frontier, but he never abandoned his roots. His beloved katana, Sabakken, remained at his side, a symbol of his past and his identity. Instead of a leather cowboy hat, he wore a traditional straw hat unique to samurai, creating a striking silhouette unlike anyone else in that world. This fusion of cultures made Zan unforgettable, and players instantly fell in love with the design—a warrior caught between two worlds, embodying both without fully belonging to either.
This section serves as the prologue of the game. As the game begins, players are presented with a stage selection screen styled deliberately after classic Mega Man–like design. Six bounty targets are displayed prominently, each represented by their own portrait and theme icon. However, one of these slots remains completely blacked out, locked and unselectable, immediately drawing the player's curiosity. And the first bounty is "Lucci Leoparmax."
Lucci Leoparmax is introduced as a mad scientist who crossed the line of humanity long ago. Obsessed with grotesque biological experimentation, he conducted forbidden research on living subjects until his own body was transformed. As a result, he now possesses the mutated body of a leopard, blending human intellect with bestial ferocity. His speed, agility, and savage attack patterns make him a terrifying opponent, and his stage emphasizes relentless pressure and crowd-heavy encounters; he also has many subordinates of Animal Like beastmen or Mutant beast.
The second bounty is "Immanuel, the Cannibal." Known as the leader of a twisted cannibal cult, Immanuel is a massive figure blessed with terrifying physical strength. Rumors describe him as nearly unstoppable in close combat, capable of crushing enemies through sheer brute force alone. His followers worship him as a prophet chosen by dark faith, transforming his territory into a nightmarish ritual ground filled with fanatics, blood-soaked altars, and relentless melee combat. What makes Immanuel especially dangerous is his unnatural resilience—gunfire barely slows him down. To truly kill him, hunters must sever his head.
Next is "Snipero," a man utterly obsessed with sniper rifles and the art of long-distance killing. To him, nearby cities and remote villages are nothing more than oversized test ranges. He constantly experiments with new sniper weapon prototypes, pushing range, accuracy, and lethality beyond what most people believe possible.
Legends say that almost no one truly knows what Snipero looks like. He never engages up close, never leaves traces behind, and never allows himself to be seen. His kills arrive silently from impossibly far distances, often before his targets even realize they are being watched. As a result, his stage is built entirely around paranoia—open sightlines, sudden lethal shots, and the constant fear that danger is already aimed at the player long before it becomes visible.
The fourth available bounty is "Horsea," a master thief partnered with an impossibly fast and magically enhanced horse. This horse is capable of running at extreme speeds and even gliding through the air. Stranger still, Horsea and his mount possess the ability to swap positions instantly, or teleport directly to one another, making pursuit incredibly difficult.
The final selectable bounty is "Gomingo," known throughout Dezpero as the greatest gunman alive. Gomingo possesses six long arms emerging from behind his back, each capable of wielding a revolver with terrifying accuracy. This unnatural anatomy allows him to unleash overwhelming barrages of gunfire from multiple angles at once. Beyond his combat prowess, Gomingo also controls the largest drug manufacturing operation in the region, making him both a criminal kingpin and a deadly battlefield threat.
Each of these criminals is extremely dangerous, clearly showcasing that these bounties are not meant for amateurs. Every target is designed to be hunted only by someone as experienced and battle-hardened as ZAN, the Cowboy Samurai. The difficulty itself reinforces Zan Hayato's legend—this is not a journey of growth from weakness, but a test of survival against foes who are already monsters in their own right.
The gameplay is built as a fully 3D beat 'em up, often compared to Devil May Cry, but with a distinctly different rhythm and philosophy. Players control ZAN using the Sarashi no Tsurugi fighting style, and the combat system immediately makes it clear that this is not a button-masher. Inputs are deliberately complex and demand precision. For example, "Gale Slash" requires holding the Square button to charge, while "Gale Dash Slash" is executed by pressing forward, forward, then Square. "Back Gale" uses the opposite input—backward, backward, then Square—forcing players to stay spatially aware at all times.
Zan's moveset is split clearly between normal attacks and powerful techniques. Triangle triggers strong attacks, while Square handles standard strikes, allowing players to chain combos creatively depending on timing and positioning. Circle is dedicated to dodging, making evasive movement a core survival mechanic rather than an optional one, while X is used for jumping, opening up aerial attacks and repositioning options. As players progress, many additional techniques and combo extensions can be unlocked. These abilities are purchased using in-game currency earned from defeating enemies and bounty bosses, rewarding skillful play and mastery of the combat system rather than simple grinding.
The control scheme is designed to support both aggressive combat and careful, technical play. L1 is assigned to parry and guard, allowing skilled players to deflect incoming attacks with precise timing rather than simply blocking damage. L2 is used to aim and shoot secondary weapons, shifting the camera and combat flow into a more deliberate, ranged-focused mode. R2 controls sprinting, letting Zan quickly reposition across the battlefield, close gaps, or escape dangerous situations. R1 activates Sabakken Awakening, a powerful super mode tied directly to Zan's bonded sword. When activated, Sabakken Awakening significantly increases Zan's speed, sharpens his attack animations, and enhances his overall combat presence, making him feel almost unstoppable for a short time. Target lock-on is handled by R3, ensuring players can stay focused on priority enemies even during chaotic encounters.
Secondary weapons add another layer of depth to combat. At the start of the game, players only have access to the "ZAN Revolver." While reliable and reasonably powerful, it comes with a noticeable drawback—a long reload time that forces players to think carefully about when to fire. As the game progresses, the arsenal expands significantly. Defeating bounty bosses often rewards players with rare materials, which can be used to craft or unlock new secondary weapons. These weapons are not just stronger but often strange and visually memorable. For example, after defeating Lucci Leoparmax, players can obtain firearms shaped like stylized, almost cute leopards. Despite their appearance, these weapons fire devastating leopard-shaped energy beams, blending absurd design with lethal effectiveness in true ZAN fashion.
And then there are the boss stages and boss fights…
To be continue
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