Reviewed: October 7, 2005
Reviewed by: Mark Smith

Publisher
Sony Computer Entertainment

Developer
Game Republic

Released: September 20, 2005
Genre: Action
Players: 1
ESRB: Mature

7
9
9
6
8.1

Supported Features:

Genji features an eclectic cast of excellent characters starting with our hero, Yoshitsune and his companion, Benkei, a seven-foot monk whose formidable appearance would send most enemies fleeing in terror. Together, you must save Japan from an evil warlord who plans to acquire and use Amahagane, mystical stones of great power, to rule the land.

Fortunately, Yoshitsune is also able to wield the power of the Amahagane and by using their essence you and Benkei are able to upgrade your powers and abilities as you progress through this challenging, and entirely too short adventure.

The game is structured around several chapters, each of various lengths that take you across a nice world map whose size is limited only by the scope of the story. You can navigate the map and explore lush 3D levels engaging in fast and furious combat, watch a brilliant cinematic, then move on to the next level and repeat.

Throughout much of the game you are allowed to pick either Yoshitsune or Benkei, which certainly does give you some freedom of gameplay style and adds to the replayability even though the story and the end results always play out the same. Only a few levels require one character or the other for obvious reasons.

Despite the obvious power of the hulking Benkei, it’s easy to see that the game and the controls where designed for the fluid and much faster swordplay of Yoshitsune. You’ll wander the levels and engage in short spurts of combat, which admittedly gets a bit repetitive about halfway through the game. You can even lull yourself into a pattern and quite easily complete entire levels without taking any damage.

There are some interesting time manipulation tricks in place that allow you to use Kamui to slow down time and execute a critical strike with a single button press. It gets pretty predictable, no thanks in part to the thuggish AI and straightforward attack patterns. The only saving grace for combat is the well-executed boss battles that feature some of the more interesting boss creations of recent memory.

But once the gameplay actually does kick in there is a noticeable change in overall quality. Don’t get me wrong – the game is still gorgeous but just not as gorgeous as the cutscenes that are interspersed throughout the adventure.

Character design is outstanding and the motion and combat animation is so fluid it’s like poetry in motion. A lot of detail has gone into all the characters with some extra-special attention going into Yoshitsune. It’s a much more graceful rendition of Devil May Cry action.

The levels are breathtaking with both indoor and outdoor environments that are lush and alive with foliage, water, falling leaves, snow, and an interesting artistic treatment to the other-dimensional realms.

The camera works for the most part, both while exploring and in combat. There are some nice effects when you use the Kamui power, but these quickly get repetitive, and it would have been nice to have some more effects to keep us guessing.

Sound effects range from the repetitive sounds of combat to the naturalistic sounds of the environments that bring these virtual worlds to life with stunning detail. The Dolby Pro Logic II surround mix creates a rich aural world to immerse yourself in.

Kudos to the designers for not caving in and dubbing the dialogue in English. All too often these Asian import titles lose all their flavor due to a poor dub and as much as I hate subtitles in my movies, I hate bad voice acting even more. I might not understand the language, but it still makes the game exponentially more believable.

And while you could go back and replay the game focusing on whichever character you didn’t play the previous time, other than some slight changes in tactics, there is no substantial reason for doing so. The game, story, and conclusions are all the same.

There is no multiplayer but I’m not sure how they could have worked that in anyway, so regrettably, until this title falls into the $20 budget realm I’d have to recommend a rental rather than a purchase unless you have some spare cash and are looking to amass a large library of games.

And even though the gameplay gets repetitive and even predictable, the authentic Asian presentation of gorgeous graphics, epic music, and fantastic sound combine to make a game that is definitely worthy of a visit.