Way of the Samurai

"To date, the only game where I can hit a girl with a barstool."

''Today, on 'Samurai Drama'....''

The drifter walks into Rokkotsu Pass. The age doesn’t want him any more: the Tokugawa shogunate has fallen in Japan, western foreigners are drastically changing the culture, and the new Meiji government cares not for wandering samurai like him. This is the only way of life these people have known, and so they cling to it, even though the day when they become obsolete in Japanese society is vividly imminent. In spite of this, Rokkotsu Pass is a town just as archaic as you; your way of life is identical to that of many of the denizens of the small area, though because of this you have a chance to impact this hotbed of activity through your actions and alliances—though they may seem inconsequential at first, they determine the fate of the pass and those who live in it.

No later than three seconds into the game, you notice a samurai from one of the local clans kidnapping a girl. Save her, and she’ll treat you to lunch, though it will soon be spoiled by the arrival of another member who will attempt to evict the helpless girl and her friend. Walk past the girl in the beginning and to the residence of this clan, the Kurou, and you’ll have the opportunity to evict poor little Suzu-chan right alongside the stone-faced Shiretoko. Even then, your actions determine how much Shiretoko will trust you, and the subtlest of choices tends to be more serious than would be expected. Draw your sword prematurely, and people will see you as a wild man; say something impertinent and Shiretoko will view you with disrespect. This is assuming that you don’t throw a chair at him when he comes to evict Suzu-Chan, in which case he and his goons will try to kill you.

This is all in the first morning alone; it’s not even a large slice of all the possible end results of what you could accomplish after only ten minutes of gameplay. The game is filled with choices such as this: do you uncover the love affair of Kurou’s wife, Madam Murasaki, and if you intervene, do you and Shiretoko punish her and her lover with death or let them off the hook in order to keep peace in the pass? Will you uncover the looming government conspiracy in time, and if you do, will you be able to stop them? Which clan will you side with? The Akadama, led by Kurou’s son, or will you side with the psychopathic Karibe when he forms a splinter faction of the Akadama clan? Every detail is immaculate: the gang members of the Akadama will be hostile if you split their once-happy clan in two.

Eventually, the game turns into one giant samurai soap opera. It’s not enough that certain characters have grudges or secret goings on with other characters, but the charm is that you alone can shift the balances of power and alliances and bring shady meetings to light. Though the events in Rokkotsu Pass take place in the span of about two days—roughly about an hour to an hour and 30 minutes in-game—there’s so many different ways to play through those two days that it will make your head spin.

The story is elaborately woven and can either be thought or stumbled through with equal enjoyment, which is why the gameplay is almost secondary to this experience. The combat system in WotS is a double-edged sword: though it can be learned and improved upon, it doesn’t ever feel like you’re in total control of the action. The basics are functional and decent at first, where you have a button for weak attacks, strong attacks, and a block button. Weak attacks chain together and can force an enemy off-balance when they block, opening the opponent up for a heavy slash.

Combat soon becomes repetitive due to the twofold problem of a limited amount of moves (which varies upon your sword) and the cyclical nature of the combat: weak slash x3, heavy slash. During the third hit of the weak slash, you have an option to push the opponent backwards and defeat his guard, but if you decide to push him, he has the opportunity to use your force against you and parry your offensive to the side. Basically, it becomes a guessing game with a 50/50 chance of turning out in your favor. Higher difficulty levels all but mandate that you’ve spent enough time into beefing up your sword of choice in order to survive several nigh-avoidable assaults, as it can unfairly become a war of attrition rather than a fair fight.

The fact that you can level up your weapons does a lot to take the edge off of this frustration: by spending your yen at the blacksmith, you can up the damage your sword causes and decrease the amount of damage you’ll incur when it is equipped. Different swords have different attack patterns, stances, and special techniques, so it becomes almost like a poor man’s Pokemon when you collect special swords in order to max them out and gain all of the techniques. Die, however, and you lose all of your hard work—one more reason to stick to easy mode until you have a real formidable weapon.

Repeat play yields some interesting extras, such as additional costumes and heads: one of my favorites is the cowboy outfit with a denim ninja mask. Beating the game in different ways will yield you some special-instance statuses, like ''Rich Samurai'' or ''Random Slasher,'' but it’s a relatively small deal. More character creation options would have added more to the replay, as would special side missions and additional bonuses.

The fact remains that in spite of all these flaws, the game is extremely solid once you have the hang of things well enough where swordfights don’t seem haphazard. The game is helped along by a superb audio score, with some moody and fitting Japanese themes to underscore both the tumultuousness and tranquility of the time period: it can easily accommodate either a raging battle or a stroll through a forest. The graphics are good as well, though admittedly more basic than most PS2 games. Though lacking somewhat in detail, they make up for it with raw style.

Way of the Samurai grows on you. The combat can be difficult to get into at first, but eventually reveals its idiosyncrasies (however slowly) to those willing to look for them. Outside of the game itself, there’s a killer story that never seems to unfold the same way twice, thanks in part to the versatility you’re given in making decisions. Before you know it, you’ll be collecting swords and honing your fighting styles, still exhausting every conversation choice and branching path that you can.

There are very few games where you feel that you’re in control of the story. In most games, one is dominated by an unchanging tale; the player is only given control of the action sequences. Way of the Samurai is not another one of these games: the story unfolds for you because you alone cause the events to change, and that breath of fresh air alone is worth braving even the most irritating of technical problems that will surface along the way.

7.5 / 10
So-so combat, brilliant story and atmosphere.

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*The government leader looks like John Cleese, I swear to god.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 10/23/02, Updated 10/23/02