Soul of the Samurai
Soul of the Samuraiby Konami
Platform: PlayStation
ESRB Rating: Mature
ASIN: B00001X50J
Check price @ amazon.com , amazon.ca , amazon.co.uk
Editorial Review: Faithfully designed to re-create the atmosphere of medieval Japan and the actual movements of ninja and samurai, Soul of the Samurai is graphically beautiful and lots of fun. By combining blocking moves with strikes and utilizing various special moves, your character is able to move through the 3-D environment with realistic speed and skill. Students of sword fighting will especially enjoy some of the moves.
At the start of the game you have the choice of playing either the male ronin (a samurai without a master) Kotaro or the female ninja Lin. Lin is very fast and does moderate damage, while Kotaro sometimes kills with one hit but is rather slow. The plot is enjoyable if predictable: your standard evil Japanese warlord raises an army of undead samurai to overthrow the shogun and bring himself wealth and power. The plot could use some work, and the strange combination of Evil Dead and Seven Samurai does not really work. Instead, the joy of the game is found in the amazing fight sequences and the ease with which one can master control of either character within these sequences.
As you advance though levels, you can save games by writing haiku poetry, and you can acquire healing herbs and better weapons. The coolest parts of this game are found in the details. --Allen Stewart
Pros:
Super-realistic character movements
Enemies don't just charge to their deaths: they respect your sword
Excellent backgrounds and atmosphere
Easy interface makes the game very playable
Cons:
Repetitive: every new area of the game has a fight sequence
Enemies don't stay dead
GameSpot Review: Expectations ran high for Konami's Soul of the Samurai after Activision's Tenchu: Stealth Assassins popularized the notion of playing as a ninja within a 3D game world. But those looking for a ninja game of Tenchu's caliber will unfortunately have to keep on looking.
In fact, Soul of the Samurai has much more in common with Capcom's Resident Evil series than anything else. The premise sets you as one of two warriors (the masterless samurai Kotaro and female ninja Lin) who set out to stop an evil warlord from turning the local townsfolk into zombies for the undead army he plans to march against the shogun. The environments are made of static 3D backgrounds viewed from a preset, three-quarter overhead perspective. And instead of filing police reports RE-style - on a typewriter -to save your game, your character compiles a haiku. Seriously. The parallels are there, albeit, oddly through the looking glass.
The main problem with SOTS is the same one that Tenchu had: The combat is difficult because of the camera. While Tenchu makes up for the flaw by rewarding you for not getting into fights, SOTS requires you to battle. In fact, it demands so much hacking and slashing that it starts to feel like a mindless arcade-style beat 'em up like Eidos' Fighting Force. The control commands include jump, slash, guard, draw/put away weapon, and you use items like throwing stars and bombs. Special moves can be pulled off by executing various combinations of slash and guard while maneuvering the directional pad, but mashing on the attack button appears to work best, and this actually lets you perform one of the specials on its own.
The guard command also works to lock in on an enemy as in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time's Z-targeting function, only not nearly as elegantly. One reason for the shortcoming is that the environments are small and don't allow much room to move about and dodge attacks, but mainly it's because the camera angles make it hard to see which enemy you're lined up against. This is compounded by the fact that multiple enemies will attack at once - instead of the less realistic but more playable "oh, my turn" approach found in many similar games. You might be battling two enemies on a narrow path, and while you're blocking a blow by one of them, the other will likely rain an attack on you from behind. The game starts off extremely easy, but sections like this soon make it needlessly difficult.
The positive side of SOTS is the story, which is told through the use of in-game engine sequences and subtitles. Instead of being broken up into different levels, the game is set in chapters. While the tale is fairly wooden and telegraphs its punches a mile away at times, the delivery is unique and often actually realizes the gaming cliché of "making you feel like part of the story." If there were less filler battles and a better camera set-up, SOTS would be much more fun to play. In the end, the game is more of a curiosity rental than a title you'd want to pick up for keeps. --Joe Fielder
From the Manufacturer: In a land where the suffering is great-and the corruption even greater-two warriors have come to solve a mystery and seek revenge. Now, Konami brings the world of the Tenmei era to life in the rousing action epic. Soul Of The Samurai. When a shipment of gold disappears, a spy is dispatched to recover it. But when he vanishes as well, a brave ronin and the spy's headstrong sister become embroiled in a conspiracy that may cost them something far more precious than gold to survive...Players choose from two distinct characters, male and female. Both in a unique twist, each scene is viewed from each character's perspective, so that both must be played through to solve the whole. Against an array of breathtaking pre-rendered graphics, players must seek out information and use multiple techniques and weapons to Slash Through Enemies and other creatures. Heavy action combines with puzzle-solving elements for a richly satisfying experience.
Customer Reviews:
THE ULTIMATE SAMURAI FIGHTING GAME !!, June 11, 2001
Reviewer: rich jankowski from ELMSFORD, NY United States
I RECENTLY GOT THIS GAME , AND IT RULES!! EITHER CHARACTER IS GOOD TO PLAY AS .. YOU GET TO HACK THRU TONS OF BAD GUYS , AS WELL AS SOME HARD BOSSES ! THE NEW MOVE FEATURE IS GREAT ! EVERY TIME YOU GO CRAZY KILLING - YOU LEARN A NEW MOVE. AND YOU CAN BRING UP HOW TO PERFORM IT , BY THE TOUCH OF A BUTTON .. PLUS YOU CAN REVISIT OTHER AREAS FOR TONS OF HEALTH PICKUPS.YOU GET TONS OF WEAPONS TO USE , MAKING KILLING ENEMIES ALL THE MORE FUN !! BUT SAVE THE GAME AFTER YOU BEAT IT , SO YOUR NEXT CHARACTER WILL HAVE A DIFFERENT ENDING. THE ONLY BAD THING IS HOW SHORT THE GAME IS. BUT WITH ALL THE FIGHTING IN IT , IT'S WELL WORTH IT !SO IF YOU WANT A GREAT SAMURAI GAME , THEN LOOK NO FURTHER..
walks wierd, May 9, 2001
Reviewer: A gamer from madagascar
The game starts out pretty fun and easy but then quikly get hard. The way he walks and runs is the funniest looking thing that I have ever seen. There are a lot of diffrent moves to keep you entertained. Each special move has a neat little video to go a long with it.
This samurai's soul is pretty empty, December 9, 2000
Reviewer: Julian Holm from Seattle, WA USA
There aren't many good ninja/samurai games out there and this certainly isn't one of them. The controls are unbelievably poor. You want your character to turn around and walk? Good luck. To turn your character a different direction than the one they're already facing, you have to stop, slowly rotate to the desired direction, and go. The action is basically chop-the-bad-guys with no room for skill or strategy. It also doesn't help that the controls are horribly unresponsive. While the gameplay is bad, the story is decent. You get two characters to control, but it's such a pain to play, you shouldn't even bother.
Very Entertaining!, March 30, 2000
Reviewer: A gamer from Seagraves, Texas
I have only recently purchased this game and already it has become one of my favorites! Blood, monsters, swordplay and ninjas;the ingredients to a really great game. The storyline has a little much to be desired, but it makes up for it in gameplay. The techniques portion was truly innovative and something that I really haven't seen before. This is truly a game that is not to be missed!
an excellent game, December 26, 1999
Reviewer: A gamer from USA
I just got this game, and I think it is very good. The gameplay is very realistic,except for the magic use, and the actual combat moves are true to actual kenjitsu or iaido techniques, at least in my opinion. The graphics are very good and the cut scenes are very sharp. I can't really say if the game's story is very good yet since I am only about 1/4 of the way through it.