If you are a fan of the Onimusha games or think you'd be interested in a samurai fantasy game, you need to get this!
GAMEPLAY - Certainly one of the most, if not THE most important attribute when playing as a samurai is the gameplay. Overall I enjoyed the control of my characters, and while it did not have the depth of Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams it was still a fun time. One of the features of this game is that in addition to the basic attack/block combat, your character has the ability to use the "Amahagane" stones which basically causes the "bullet-time" effect seen in some other games. When this occurs you simply stand back and wait for the square button to flash and if you hit it quickly enough you will unleash a devastating attack that will wipe out a room of lesser enemies or do a considerable amount of damage on the larger enemies. It can be a satisfying effect, though I prefer the combo attacks from the Onimusha games. You will have the ability to use two different characters, a small, fast one or a large, slow one. Most will prefer the small/fast character, which just seems more exciting in combat. There will be different areas where you will need to switch characters in order to obtain a special item. The game also has some depth in that your characters gain experience and there are many different weapons, armor and items to be found.
GRAPHICS - Definitely better than average, and I would say it is comparable to Onimusha: DOD. Very bright and colorful, with detailed characters and backgrounds as well as beautiful cut scenes.
SOUND - Genji uses the original Japanese voices and provides English subtitles, which is always my preference as I feel it adds considerably to giving it an authentic feel. It also sticks with traditional ancient Japanese music, which again I prefer because this also adds to the authenticity. The background effects were done well, though for the most part it was simply weapons clashing.
VALUE - Now on to the big sticking point. Honestly, I did not feel it was as bad as many people make out. The game took me approximately ten hours, which I agree is short compared to some other games such as the latest Onimusha or Metal Gear Solid 3, each of which took close to thirty hours to complete. However, I've also played many games that took considerably less time, such as the first two Onimusha games. I agree that the game should have been longer if it wanted to be compared to today's top action games, but since the game can now be obtained brand new for $20 I don't feel it is that bad. The game actually could have taken me longer as I know there were areas that went unexplored. Upon completion there are higher difficulties available as well as the ability to replay the game with the experience and powerful weapons that you acquired in the first play through. It also gives you the ability to sit back and listen to all of the different songs and watch all of the cut scenes, which I thought was a nice touch and I wished that more games would give you this option.
SUMMARY - Throughout this review I made many comparisons to Onimusha, which was inevitable since there are many similarities and I feel that it was the Onimusha games that was the inspiration for Genji. Basically it comes down to the fact that Genji does not have the length or depth of the latest Onimusha, both in terms of gameplay and story. However, it was still an enjoyable game and perhaps even a good game for those who have never played this style to try out and see if they like it before tackling the more difficult Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams. At any rate I definitely recommend it to not only samurai fans but any fans of action/fighting games as well.