Genji: Dawn of the Samurai

"Beautiful and Deadly."

When I first heard of Genji, I figured it would just be another cheap samurai game in feudal Japan. But once you actually play the game, you'll notice that it is a different game, with a style of its own. But it's not drenched in awesomeness.

Story.
This is what I meant by lack of awesomeness. The story in this game holds everything together, but it isn't anything special, nor is it very good. For the first third of the game, the story can be a bit boring. You are Yoshitsune (or Benkei), a Samurai (or a warrior-monk) who wants revenge on the Heishi clan; to defeat them he has the help of special power jewels called Amahagane. There are CG cut-scenes to push the story forward, but most of them don't really make you feel anything towards the story.

Graphics.
This is where it's beautiful. For some reason I was expectation the game's looks to be around the level of the last Onimusha game. I was pleasantly surprised. This game has its own style. The characters look great, the water effects look great, and above all the lighting effects are awesome. One thing you will come to admire about this game is its colors. Many of the environments are filled with bright and luscious colors. Another thing that shows the colors are the foliage, the bright colors of tree leaves rustling in the air is a wonder to look at. This looks like something that could've been from and old piece of Japanese art.

Gameplay.
The fighting style in this game is truly unique. The basis is hack ‘n slash. Mash the square button till your hearts content. But that's not all; this is what separates it from the other hack ‘n slash games. Remember those Amahagane jewels; well this is what they're used for. They are used for Kamui, which is like bullet time with swords, but with an extra twist. Once your Kamui meter(s) fill up, Kamui can be performed. This slows down time, and it can be used to just violently continue mashing the controller, but the real point is the timed attacks. When in Kamui mode, right before an enemy hits you, a signal will appear under your character. This signifies when to press the square button to do a devastating attack. With more than one enemy (or a stronger enemy), the attacks can be linked. This is pretty easy for normal enemies, but for bosses, it can get harder because the amount of time you get to press the button for the devastating attack is much smaller. Also, considering that there are two playable characters, the diversity is great. Both characters are very different, and have their own limitations, strengths, and fighting style. Characters are upgradeable too, from weapons to accessories.

Sound.
Good sound also accompanies this game. It keeps an authentic Japanese feel by keeping the Japanese voice-overs. That's right there is no English in this game, only subtitles. And, though I don't know Japanese, the voice-overs are good. The music gives a good feel, and they did a good job of matching situation (especially for battles) with the appropriate music.

Replay Value.
This is one of the games let downs. Though the game is fun to play, it is very short (around 6 hours), and very easy. The thing that might have saved this category is the continue mode, and the fair amount of unlockables. With continue mode you can start a new game with the stats and all that good stuff from your previous play through, there is also a harder difficulty level.

This game turned out to be somewhat of a surprise. The game has beautiful graphics, and unique gameplay. But, the story isn't that great, the game is way too short, and very easy. Thankfully there is a continue mode and harder difficulty. The game is good, but some might not want to pay full price if they only plan to play through the game once.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 10/17/05