Reviewed by: Drumbaby
Developer: SCEI
Publisher: SCEI

This is the first 'exotic' import (Japanese language) that I've completed, having aborted the Jpn version of Monster Hunter due to the language barrier making the complex menu system unworkable. With the help of the downloadable game manual from Sony of America's Genji site and the enclosed English translation supplement included in the game's packaging, playing this game presented little to no problem, with the occasional 'missing the trick' type event happening occasionally, which barely impacted the gameplay. For example, the game includes blacksmiths who can augment your weapons for money...but the bit I missed is that they can use special items that you've found and create something a little more specialised. Ah well. Apart from that it would seem that Games Republic, the new studio created by ex-Onimusha bod' Yoshiki Okamoto knows its market, as this type of game appeals to the importer extremely well, and, bar what would be a superfluous English subtitle option for the Japanese/ Asian market, SCEA and SCEI have gone out of their way to make this game accessible to all. Kudos!

So, what kind of game featuring the word 'Samurai' in its title, and men with swords fighting demons, does a co-creator of Onimusha forge? Well, a game very much like Onimusha, actually! But a game that takes elements of the 'Musha legacy and polishes them to an exquisite sheen. Genji is a lovely little jewel of a game, down to its golden packaging on the box, to the intricate golden printing on the game disc, to the dignified and delicately decorated menus, to the gorgeously rich colour palate of its in-game visuals and quaint richness of its Dolby Pro Logic 2 Japanese themed soundtrack. It takes the grounded swordplay of Onimusha, including the blocks and parries, multiple upgradeable weapons with secondary elemental attacks, and fuses it to more acrobatic games' combat with the aerial attacks of games like Devil May Cry and Bujingai. Characters can level up, both via combat, and by purchasing and finding secret items. It's all very familiar ground to anyone who's played a respectable (excessive) amount of genre pieces like I have.

With my paraphrasing powers and the help of my PDF manual I'll now try and enlighten you as to Genji's core themes....It centres on the two playable characters, Yoshitsune Minamoto and Benkei Musashibo, two wards of the Minamoto clan, who are trying their level best to help defeat the power hungry Heishi clan, led by Kiyomori Taira. The Heishi clan has defeated the army of Minamoto Yoritomo ending their Rebellion. Their chief warrior Kagekiyo Taira has been aided in attaining the crushing Heishi victory by Amahagane, a crystallised essence that gives the bearer of an Amahagane orb great power in battle, granting them the power of 'Kamui'.

The story is straight forward, and if I was to level a complaint at Genji it would be that it's a little 'good vs evil by numbers'. Even without the manual, you pretty much get the idea (from the cut scenes) that big grumpy looking head honcho asks tall haughty looking baddy chief warrior (plus assorted evil looking demon side kicks) to help steal more shiny crystals from nice looking powerful magic lady. The cut scenes end with a 'poignant' look on the grumpy overlord's face, where perhaps a Doctor Evil 'pinky in the corner of the mouth' look to camera wouldn't seem amiss. When playing as Yoshy or Benki (small spritely sword master and huge hulking club wielding monk, respectively) you run up against these evil lieutenants, obtain an Amahagane orb on victory, and then cue the next cut scene featuring grumpy boss man talking Japanese in his impossibly deep gravelly voice while looking grumpy.

If my appraisal of the story sounds overly scathing it's because a British bloke like me shouldn't be able to work out the flow of a plot so well just by looking at a few cut scenes. For example, had I played Onimusha 3 in Japanese, I'd have been buggered. Not only does it have alot of story, but the story is made up of character development, and poignant little asides that add both plot and emotional depth to proceedings...and I get the feeling that Genji lacks emotional depth of any kind, even if you can speak El Lingo, cobber. The precis given in the manual is almost exactly how the game plays out in the cut scenes. For that I'm both grateful (as a unilingual ignoramus) and a little underwhelmed.

Story aside, Genji does have many redeeming features. These come both from superficial things, that as an uber hip Deadalf I'm not supposed to comment on (sterling graphics and sound...some of the best in the genre on PS2 btw) but also from the meat of the game's agenda. The all important real time combat. Kamui is the one element of Genji that differentiates its combat from pretty much everything else out there. I'd initially got the impression that Kamui was just another excuse to shoe horn the tired and hackneyed 'bullet time' contrivance into what is always just a gimmick away from being a tired and hackneyed genre. But it turns out that I was (thankfully) as wrong as you like.

Kamui is the ability to control the entire battle field. Which is why Kagekiyo Taira, a master of the art, can decimate whole armies and at an astonishing rate. It allows the bearer of Amahagane to stop the flow of action, rather than time, cancelling most enemy attacks in the process. All assailants are returned to a place on the battle field in a defensive formation, where they will then start their attack anew. But this time you have an ability called 'Mind's Eye' where you are able to see where their weakness lies, and if timed properly (by following fleeting visual cues) you can delivering the death blow with one hit...More if fighting a boss or demi-boss, naturally.

Now, core combat, sans Kamui, is entertaining enough, and when you first start playing Genji you may find yourself shying away from Kamui's useage because, if mis-timed, it leaves you open to receiving huge amounts of damage...instead opting to use the game's extremely fluid and responsive combat engine to block, slash, stab, parry, dodge and dash around the screen wreaking stylish havoc. Then you suddenly become at one with Kamui, and combat becomes a many layered unbridled joy to participate in. You end up using non-Kamui combat to charge up your Kamui gauge, in the same way you'd use basic moves to build up any 'special' attack mode in a game of this type. In the end Yoshy's sword play seems a tad effete without Kamui, as the enemies become bigger and more numerous. Even the goliath Benki's incredibly bombastic club wielding bully boy tactics seem frustratingly underpowered, and you soon come to love the precison based devastation that Kamui allows.

The pursuit of perfect timing soon becomes a very seductive part of the gameplay, with the many enemy variants, all with slightly different characteristics to their attack, providing an addictive ebb and flow of 'rhythm' to the combat. For example, you can be confronted by swordsman, who's attacks at close quarters are sudden and swift, meaning you'd best be watching the onscreen prompt like a hawk. From further away the start of his attack is better telegraphed, giving you more time from when the prompt appears to hit the 'square button'. A spear carrier up close has a languid style, with a deceptive movement that masks the sudden delivery. Act too quickly (panic), when it only seems that he's going to attack, and you're wide open to receiving full damage. Get it right, and if you've enough in your Kamui gauge, you not only get to kill him outright, but maybe an approaching swordsman who's just started an attack bringing up a 2nd on screen prompt.

Attacks can come from above, where assailants leave the screen with an almighty jump, only to come crashing down on you in an effort to pulverise you. These were my favourite to time, as their descent is oh-so-sudden, but the ensuing Kamui attack if you hit square just before they hit the ground is....beautiful. Often you'll be surrounded at close quarters, and a single Kamui strike will reach out to every enemy, rewarding the player with a sensorary barrage of on screen martial awards and battle points that is as gorgeous as it is pyrotechnic. Then your placement becomes as important as your timing. Genji played straight is a traditional visual feast. Played skillfully with Kamui it is total sensorary overload, and has as empowering a combat style as any that I've encountered. Luckily the later enemies demand the use of Kamui, so if you decide to pick this game up, you'll be 'forced' to feel the love. :)

The game isn't the most challenging game in the world, and even with the later bosses mere mortal levels of patience and perserverance will allow you to win through. DMC 3 or Ninja Gaiden this is not. It is also not the longest game ever created. Even with the handicap of playing it in Japanese (add maybe 2 hours to the total play, from me bumbling around ineptly with my Samurai phrase book) I'd finished it in 9 hours. I suspect that the UK version would take around 7. But as I said before, the game is a gem of a title. Quite a little gem, but a jewel nontheless. If you've not yet dipped your toe in the genre I'd reccommend it as possibly the best introduction to the world of eastern themed 3rd person console hack 'n' slash you can get...because it distills all the Onimushas etc into one incredibly polished package, with a 3rd person camera that's as refined as can be, and is a game that is never unreasonably difficult. Veterans of the genre may come away a little underwhelmed by its lack of genuine challenge, and perhaps by the facile story, but the Kamui element to the combat is an extremely well realised and fun system, and the feudal Japanese atmosphere of Genji often beats Onimusha at its own game.

A solid addition to the genre, and a promising start for Games Republic. With slightly more guile to the story, and a steeper challenge, this game would be a classic. I await the already announced PS3 sequel with baited breath. :)

Presentation	9
It's just so pretty. And shiny. And golden...Absolutely pristeen backgrounds with slightly low polygon but incredibly well animated characters. Dolby Pro 2 sound which sears the ears.
Gameplay	7
As a combat engine this game is up there with the best. Minimal puzzles and exploration mean that it's a little narrow in scope, but mastering Kamui will keep you genuinely absorbed the entire length of the game,
Value	7
Small, but perfectly formed. I'd tell you more about its replay value, but I can't read the Japanese text that tells me what it is I've unlocked!
Benchmark	7
Benching it against the PS2's many other offerings, it's much better than DMC 2. Better than Bujingai. A touch better than the ageing Onimusha 1. Not as good as Onimushas 2 and 3, God of War or Devil May Cry 1 and 3. It's got rather a lot to live up to on PS2, I'm afraid!
Score	7
Solid, immaculately presented, carving itself a quiet little niche in a very crowded PS2 genre. 3rd person hack 'n' slash rookies will love it. Aficionados will enjoy it for the sweet little snack that it is.