Genji: Dawn of the Samurai - First Play (Heian Kyoto)

I was curious to pick up Genji: Dawn of the Samurai for a few reasons. The first being that this is the maiden effort from a new developer, Game Republic, whose founder was a former executive at Capcom. One long-standing Capcom samurai franchise is the Onimusha series, and anyone who has played the Onimusha games will feel instantly familiar with Genji. Since I generally find the Onimusha games to be fun samurai hack-and-slash games, that isn’t a bad thing for me, and I was curious how Genji would measure up. The second reason was that I was really curious to see how a classic Japanese narrative, the Tale of the Heike, would translate into a video game. Finally, I love a good samurai adventure game, and I’m always up for trying a new one.

Genji tells the story of young Minamoto Yoshitsune, who has inherited the legacy of his late father, a mystical jewel called an Amahagane. Amahaganes allow their bearers to use a power called Kamui (we’ll get to that in a bit), and they hold great power. Unfortunately for Heian-period Japan, the setting of Genji, a great number of the amahagane have fallen into the hands of a group of people who are using them for evil, known collectively as “the Heishi.” The intro sequence of the game explains the story of how the Heishi came to power by defeating the forces of our young hero’s father, and how the Genji (the “good guys” of the game) have been driven underground, trying to regroup their power and defeat the Heishi, who general behave like uncivilized louts and are ruining the lives of innocent townspeople. The story thusfar seems to be pretty thin (outnumbered good guys versus very, very bad guys), although there are a surprising number of cut scenes, but the moderately thin plot is pretty standard within the genre.

In keeping with long-standing video game tradition, Yoshitsune is a slightly girly, youthful, snappy dresser who also happens to be one hell of a swordsman. With his two kitanas, graceful footwork, and serious speed, this boy means business. After the de facto leader of the Genji explains the power of his amahagane, he’s even more of a force to be reckoned with. Part way through the first chapter, you are joined by Musashibo Benkei, a hulking 7 foot tall monk who weilds giant implements of destruction like huge clubs and fauchards. While he lacks the speed and agility of Yoshitsune, Benkei makes up for his deficiencies in his raw power and defense. Benkei, as it turns out, also possesses an amahagane, and joins Yoshitsune in a quest to save Kyoto and Japan from the evil plans of the Heishi.

The gameplay has proved to be a pretty satisfying experience. One nice feature is that after Benkei joins up with you, swapping between Yoshitsune and Benkei can be done pretty much at will. It does take some time to get used to the giant differences between the fighting styles of Yoshitsune and Benkei; I personally prefer the speed and agility of Yoshitsune, but it’s nice to pull out Benkei to smash some enemies with ease. Like a lot of hack and slashers, the control system is fairly simple - to launch a simple attack, you press square (these can be linked together to form combos), for a stronger, singular attack, you press triangle, and to launch your piece de resistance (called “kamui”), you press L1. Now, almost every samurai hack and slash I’ve ever played has had some sort of wanton destruction mode that allows you to unleash powerful attacks and wreak havoc on your enemies. Genji is no different in that regard, but the way the system is utilized does vary significantly. After pressing L1 when your kamui gauge is full, a bluish field will surround you and your enemies, and the movement of your enemies will slow dramatically. When your foes launch an attack, a little square button icon will appear below your character’s feet; by pressing this button at the right time, your fighter will block whatever move the enemy was about to make and counter with a devestating move. These moves will make a pretty big dent in the HP of most bosses, and almost always do away with lesser enemies. While it sounds simple enough, it can be very hard to time the press just right, especially with bosses. I actually like this slight step up in difficulty for “wanton destruction mode,” as compared to most games that allow you to unleash hell after filling up your guage without any skill involved. In Genji, getting hit by an enemy will cause kamui mode to go away, and randomly slashing at enemies without waiting for the right moment will, as well.

You initially start out with one bar for your amahagane. After defeating certain bosses, namely those attached to the Heishi, you will acquire more amahagane stones. The new amahagane are combined for you, creating a more powerful amahagane; this is indicated by extra bars in your kamui gauge. With more amahagane, your enemies’ movement slows even further while in kamui mode and it become easier, in theory at least, to use kamui effectively.

In addition to seriously laying the smack down on your enemies, utilizing kamui with bosses will often result in the acquisition of some new items. These items are useless until you take them to a blacksmith and have special weapons and armor made up that are much more powerful than the weapons that you can buy in game. This is made a little more difficult by the fact that multiple items require the same rare drop; the game does apparently have different modes after you finish on normal mode, so I doubt you can make all the special items in one play through the game. I have found some really neat and powerful items while wandering around the game world, so it behooves you to check in every nook and cranny. Because of the different strengths and weaknesses of Yoshitsune and Benkei, there are many areas that can only be accessed by one of the characters. Yoshitsune can jump to some very high places and stand on some more delicate items, while Benkei can use his brute strength to get to areas blocked by obstacles too sturdy for Yoshitsune to destroy. Exploring each game area with both characters will give you let you acquire a wide variety of items.

The most special item found in the game world are amahagane Essence stones. These stones, when used in groups of three, allow you to up your HP, attack, and defense stats through the item menu. While Genji possesses your average level system (kill people, get experience points, level up, rinse, repeat), these Essence stones allow you to boost your stats further. While on your travels, you will notice your amahagane stone glowing and your controller vibrating - this indicates that an Essence stone is near. The closer to the stone you are, the brighter your amahagane glows and the stronger the controller vibrates; by slashing around, you can usually “hit” the Essence stone and release it. Alternatively, you can press L1 and set off kamui; the Essence stone will glow brightly, letting you find it instantly. In areas where your swords are sheathed (like friendly towns and homes - it’s sort of nice NOT to be able to walk into someone house and smash it to bits), the stone will come to you automatically once you find it.

The visuals for this game are beautiful. While the cut scenes aren’t the most realistic CGs you’ve ever seen, they are more than adaquate and the nature of the game world more than makes up for them. The world of Heian Kyoto is lush and beautiful, with cherry trees blossoming in the towns, sparkling brooks, and forests stuffed with greenery. At night, the areas take on a beautiful blue cast, which almost makes it seem like you are running around in an old Japanese painting. The characters are attired in pretty magnificent style, and it’s obvious that great care was taken with the character design. A nice touch is that when you acquire new armor, it’s reflected in your character’s dress. The movement in battle flows very well; this is one of the more natural-looking hack and slash games I’ve played. Yoshitsune moves fluidly from enemy to enemy, and even executes graceful kicks and flips while in battle. The look of Yoshitsune’s swords arcing through the air is very cool, especially when you have special swords equipped. I was very sorry to give up my sword endowed with fire for a stronger weapon, because the look of the swordplay with fiery streaks attached was just too cool. I have noticed a few glitches: Benkei’s attacks seem very jerky in comparison to those of Yoshitsune, because when he hits a number of enemies in succession (which is a common occurrance, because Benkei’s weapons have a circular swing to them and a long reach), it pauses a bit, while Yoshitsune’s attacks are very, very smooth. Also, the resolution of some textures in some areas looks strange while you are moving across them. I do wish the world map was a little more elegant. The big dots and large cursor seem out of place in a game that really gives you a feel for the refinement and culture of Heian-period Japan, especially since the rest of the map resembles a Japanese screen. However, these are very minor problems in an otherwise beautiful setting. The music is also fabulous. It really fits with the setting of the game, using traditional Japanese music, and is often very subtle and understated. But while it may be subtle most of the time, it’s very, very well produced and just adds more ambiance to the game world. The sound effects are also very well done; the creators didn’t go overboard, but they obviously took their time with the sounds they did put in the game, and they are some very subtle sounds at that. Even the sound of footfalls on a ceramic-tiled roof are different for Yoshitsune and Benkei.

The game does have voice acting, but it’s all in Japanese. Personally, I like hearing the original voice acting, and I don’t mind reading subtitles. It really adds to the ambiance of the game, which is one of the strongest points in Genji’s favor. The whole world is just very immersive.

So far, I’ve found Genji: Dawn of the Samurai to be a fun, satisfying experience. The visuals and the sound are exquisitely executed, and the game play has been fun and (mostly) smooth. Genji seems like a promising offering from a new developer, and I’ll be curious to see how the game progresses.