2-Jun-2004 Dress like a woman, fight like a man and die like a bitch, samurai-style
Life for a samurai is tough. You must wear floaty dressing gowns yet still appear hard as nails. You must be ruthless enough to slice people into tiny chunks, yet also be nice to little children and grannies.
No wonder so many samurai take time off for stress-related illness. The original Way Of The Samurai portrayed the samurai's eternal struggle, including the consequences of his actions. It found a cult audience, hence the sequel.
The game is set in the Edo period of Japanese history, which lasted from 1603 to 1868. You play a masterless, or 'ronin', samurai warrior who arrives on the fictional island of Amahara.
Right from the very first moment you're presented with a choice that determines how the rest of the game plays out. A girl offers you some food. Depending on how you answer her, you may trigger off a scene where she is intimidated by the local Yakuza Aota Gang, and you get the chance to help her, or she may just wander off.
From that point on it's all about choice. Do you align yourself with the townspeople, the Magistrates or the Aota thugs? Everything you do will have consequences, and there are several branching plotlines and endings. The question is, will you care enough to play the game more than once?
Ronin On Empty The story is set over ten days rather than the original's three, and there are more villagers to interact with. But the basic premise remains the same, and each of the ten days is still very short. No matter who you choose to work for, the missions are very simple, involving delivering parcels or meting out rough 'justice'.
The RPG elements are thin, mainly revolving around the type of sword that you equip. The swordfights do have a degree of depth to them; you can unlock different combos and pick up fresh weapons from corpses, for instance. But, if you're looking for anything more substantial in the overall gameplay, you'll wind up disappointed.
If wandering about talking to people gets a little boring by the second or third play, you could always develop your swordfighting skills. In fact, there are certain points in the game where you'll get slaughtered unless you've managed to master the complicated intricacies of thrusting, parrying and blocking. Playing with your weapon makes sense, and it feels good too.
The Spring Festival is a pivotal point in the game: you’ll face a long and bloody battle, either alone or with allies
The more inventively you slash away at your opponent, the more chance you have of unlocking special combos
Head for the Shikano-cho Dojo to learn technique from the masters. Watch your health though – practice is serious!
Muto will shred you to fleshy ribbons if you don’t practise your swordfighting skills and get good
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