Kabuki Warriors

"There is no honor."

In a time where swords clashed and honor was an integral part of every day life, Samurais were the epitome of such values. Kabuki Warriors tries to bring these deadly warriors into the forefront of gaming mainstream. Unfortunately for the developers, their plan didn't work out so well. Kabuki Warriors revolve around Samurais as it's quite obvious from the very beginning. The story for the most part felt incoherent. Although a good story isn't necessarily an important aspect for these types of games, it would still have been an added plus to such a poorly developed title.

Kabuki Warriors main problem is its control system. The button interface was poorly developed. Due to this, it makes the game's controls feel clunky and irresponsive. The next problematic issue with this game is its combat system. A strong combat system is essential. Kabuki Warriors' combat system technically revolves around smashing a single button. The combat system is broken and relies on mashing a button to create combos. This is neither fun nor is it strategic. To make matters worst, most of the game's available characters play similarly. So not only do they control horribly and have a combat system that is broken, most of the characters play the same with poorly implemented controls and broken fighting system.

Most of the game will take place in tour mode, which is a mode where players travel from city to city to earn money. The money you earn is key, because it pays for your traveling expense. One thing and perhaps the only thing that makes this game mildly interesting is when your audience throws money at you. This made it feel like some type of ancient ritual which added some value to the environment of the game. Aside from that, there were no other redeeming factors that could have saved this game.

For the most part, the game's in game visuals were poor. It looked like something you would expect from a previous generation title. There are noticeable jaggies and the character models lacked any artistic value. The music wasn't any better either. It felt anti-climatic and affected an already lackluster game.

Kabuki Warriors had a nice concept to try to simulate chivalry and honor for samurais. Unfortunately, the developers failed to do so. They failed miserably. Kabuki Warriors is a forgettable experience. Anybody in their right mind should try to avoid this title. Even at its low price, it isn't worth it. Playing it will only hurt your psyche. You have been warned…

Reviewer's Score: 2/10, Originally Posted: 05/30/07