Way of the Samurai

"Confucius say "Flies on a beast will cripple the larger of the two""

What do I mean by my synopsis? Well, Way of the Samurai is a great game, but there are enough noticible flaws that make the game enjoyable and engrossing at best, and laughable at worst.

You are KENJI (name changeable), a wandering samurai who comes upon the area called Rokkotsu Pass. There are several sections to this area, including a Foundry, two clan residences, a shrine, and a small village Station. These sections, while admittedly small, each have a depth to them that lends this game an almost book-like quality. For example, some of the things in Ipponmatsu, a plains-type area that has exits to the shrine, village, and a family of samurai, is the home of a blacksmith and is a frequent training ground of the Kurou samurai family.

Let's talk graphics, shall we? While this game looks very well done, it is by far NOT up to the PS2's typical forte of immense, encapsulating beauty that we've come to love from such games as Final Fantasy X. However, this game still boasts a magnificent horde of beautiful backgrounds, enticing foregrounds, and enough scenery to keep you looking around at it. A plus, since you'll be on the move about 99% of the time.

The game plays like a hybrid of Tenchu: Stealth Assassins and Kengo: Master of Bushido. You run around with your equipped weapon (you can carry three), encountering people in different circumstances. You are able to carry on some sort of a conversation with most of them, which may or may not lead to battle, or you can cut right to drawing your blade and smiting the wicked... or the not-so-wicked. It's your choice. However, you'll find that there are many places where you'd like to hack a certain person's head off, and you start slashing, only to discover that you cannot harm that person here. Rough, yes. Annoying, certainly. A detriment? Not really, but enough to make you wish you could slaughter an army.

And you can. Hidden in the game is a little battle called the ''100-man Battle''. If you succeed in defeating 100 grunts, you are rewarded with 10 yen and whatever else you pick up off the ground. Items ranging from offense and defense-enhancing sword items to one of several dozen weapons are dropped in this, as well as healing items and poisonous mushrooms. This is great for the on-the-move killer, as you can merely kick the item and consume it, then move along to slashing.

Oh, what fun the slashing is. You have several dozen weapons, several types of weapons, and several styles of fighting. Swords, Iron Balls, and Hammers are just a few of the types, and you can fight ranging from a Downward stance, to holding your weapon at your Side, to the ever-popular Ninja style! Each weapon has an array of attacks that you learn as you fight, yielding a grand total of over one hundred and fifty attacks.

That's not all. You could simply block that attack that Tokemada is throwing at you, but why not try to learn it and be prepared for it ever coming again? Yes, via Awase or ''Mikiri'', the right tap on the block button will totally negate the attack and leave the opponent open for attack. If you do manage to learn the attack, you can be in any position (even with your sword sheathed!) and you will avoid the attack with no damage taken.

The fight system is a gem. You have to be smart, or your sword will break on the blocking man's sword. You could push them back, but if they suspect it, they can go with your momentum and throw you off-balance. You can hit them with an array of linked moves, comboing them into the sweet sleep of death. Or you can run away.

The storyline is reminiscent of the ''Choose Your Own Adventure'' line of books years ago read as I was a kid. The things you say, the things you do, even the people you kill will all have an effect on the story. Will you join the Kurou family and be a noble follower? Or will you rebel against the established lords and follow the Akadama to victory? Or will you even care? You can leave the pass at almost any time, but if you do fight, and die, you lose all of your carried swords and must obtain them again.

Way of the Samurai caters to two kinds of players: those who like to beat a game, and those who like to know the whole game. With enough moves to learn and Mikiri to keep the latter interested, and enough fighting to keep the former happy, this game does lend itself a time-honored quality of placating your afternoon desire to beat all holy hell into the first fellow you see. With a VS mode to fight your friends, the action never stops.

The only flaw that I will give its own paragraph is the Save feature. Not really a feature (more like a Coming Attraction), the game only allows you to save in a few set places, and once you load the Saved game, it is erased. Sure, with two memory cards you could be careful, but still it does detract from the game. In any case, it is easily overlooked, as the game may only take you 30-45 minutes to complete for an ending... but it will take a longer time to master every weapon style, or every weapon...

All in all, Way of the Samurai ushers in a refreshing breeze of life to an otherwise crippled genre: the third-person action/RPG hybrid. If only the lack of voice acting and the odd textual errors weren't such large blips on the radar, this game would have made me happier. Rent if you must buy, buy if you love it, but never deny: the Way of the Samurai is a non-stop entertaining game that will keep you up for hours wondering if you are Grasshopper, or the Devil.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 07/04/02, Updated 07/04/02