Hack, Smash, Hack, Smash, Hack and Smash Some More

A week ago I was discussing consecutive boss battles in games and how they frustrate me, and I used Genji: Dawn of the Samurai as my primary example, since it was the game drawing my ire at the time. But I hadn't done an actual review yet, so I thought I owed it one.

The game revolves around a young man, Yoshitsune, wo is trying to stop an evil clan from conquering Japan. Yoshitsune's a skilled swordsman, and early in the game, he meets Benkei, a huge fellow who favors clubs or spears as his weapons. After that point, you can choose which one you wish to use from mission to mission, each one having their strengths. Benkei's attacks do more damage, he's more resistant to damage, and he's capable of smashing obstructions that would block Yoshitsune's progress. However, he's much slower, less agile, and a bigger target. Conversely, Yoshitsune is quicker and harder to hit, which offsets his lower amount of hit points, attack and defense values. He's also able to leap and reach platforms that Benkei couldn't. Which means that whichever character you choose for a particular mission, you'll end up coming across some item or path which requires the skills of the other character to access, so you end up needing to play most levels twice.

The game does provide you with save points along the way, which will also give you the option of retreating to your current stronghold if you wish. Once there, you could switch to the other character and make the trek back to the place you were at before. It's handy if you know there's a boss battle coming, and you're low on health recovery items, but the downside is that all the enemies will have respawned so you'll be fighting your way through them again. I prefer Yoshitsune myself, as I favor speed over power, but you can make it work with both.

The gameplay is fairly basic. You go to a level, start running through it, and enemies appear. You beat the enemies and proceed, until you face more enemies. You keep an eye out for health items, power-ups, money, new weapons, whatever. Eventually, you reach a boss. So not disimilar from Spider-Man: Friend or Foe.

One twist is the Amahagene, which is a group of magical jewels, of which Yoshitsune and Benkei each have one. As you battle bosses, you can colect their Amahagene, which can be fused with yours. This increases the size of a bar that sits just below your health on the screen. If you hit the button, you trigger a sort of bullet time, except it isn't as simple as you moving fast while everyone else moves slow. It's more like the button-pressing challenges in Resident Evil 4. When you use it, your enemies will attack, and a symbol will appear over your head. You hit the corresponding button, and you'll dodge and unleash your own attack. This will continue until either all enemies are destroyed, you miss a button (or are too slow, either way you get hit), or you run out of the energy. I'm terrible at it myself, especially against the bosses. I'm lucky if I can get the first button press right, let alone the subsequent ones. Fortunately, you don't have to use it to win, though I'm sure it makes it easier, and more stylish looking, to boot.

The story is basic enough. Yoshitsune is the last surviving member of a clan that was defeated by these evil Heishi, and he's looking to stop them from conquering everyone. Benkei was loyal to your clan (and was fighting the Heishi to avenge them), so he's game, and you meet a rival clan lord who is trying to hold out against the Heishi. The baddies have the requisite oddbal, yet dangerous inner circle, including the twisted reflection type evil guy, who ultimately betrays his boss. So there's nothing new about the story, and I didn't feel drawn into it in any particular way, didn't find myself concerned for the characters.

The graphics are nice enough, for when the game was made, and unlike Spider-Man: Friend or Foe, I didn't feel the camera was working against me, though you don't have any control over it. The music is fine, the controls respond well, it's a solid game. There's nothing remarkable or ground-breaking about it, but it reminds me a little of Beyond Good and Evil in that, when the fights are going well, it's a highly satisfying feeling, because it looks really smooth. It's not on par with Beyond Good and Evil in any other way, but that's what it reminds me the most of at those moments, rare that they are.