I’m a big fan of combo based action adventure games. As in they are some of my favorite games to be playing, far exceeding RPG’s at this point. I had just finished playing Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition and I was out looking for another game in the same vein as that one. Someone had told me that Genji was very similar with the exception that you also had a bruiser character to choose from. So I picked it up, not expecting all that much. Well this was actually going to turn out to be a pleasant surprise. This is the first game in the Genji series and it opens with the Genji army being slaughtered by the Heishi clan. The Genji are taking such a whuppin because the Heishi generals possess magical items called Amahagane. These powerful artifacts allow the user to draw upon powerful magics that they can use to decimate their foes. This has made the Heishi army able to severely overpower the Genji, who have no access to these powerful magical items. The game opens with you controlling a swordsman named Yosh!tsune meditating at the shrine he has spent his life at. Some Heishi samurai attack him there, seeking him out for reasons unknown to our clueless hero. From this simple beginning, he will come to find out who he really is, as well as the fact that he too possesses one of the powerful Amahagane. You will also get another member to aide you in your one-man war against the Heishi, Benkei, a giant warrior monk. He too wields one of these Amahagane and the two of them must join forces to stop the Heishi clan and their reign of terror. Having two totally distinct main characters really helps this game in some ways and hurts it in others. It is nice to have Yosh!tsune the super quick and agile swordsman who wields two katana and flips all over to combo his enemies, and Benkei who will use brute force and huge clubs to take out his foes. This allows the developers to detail portions of the stages to allow specific characters to move through. Yosh!tsune has the ability to double jump off of surfaces, letting him get to higher places and explore areas such as rooftops and on top of pillars. Benkei can use his brute force to break obstructions in his path, shattering barriers and doorways to open pathways. This sounds great, and it is at times, but it can get very annoying at other times. Almost every level has several paths that you can take, but usually there is one path both guys can take and then one for **** and one for Benkei. While these alternate paths usually simply have weapons and items and are optional, it is kind of annoying to have to go through each level with both characters. There are even a few levels where if you don’t use the right character, you can never go back with the other to get the items that you needed the other character to get. This especially stinks when you end up depriving yourself of a good weapon because of this and you cant fix your mistake. This doesn’t entirely halt your character’s progression though. Even if you cant find any of the weapons, armors or weapons hidden around the stages, you can use money that you find during the levels and buy them at cities. You can even find special items by using Kamui mode on specific enemies, these items are used to craft special items from a very specific blacksmith. This gives you a nice amount of choices when it comes to what weapons and armors to equip. Graphically, Genji is actually something of a powerhouse for the PS2. It doesn’t exactly feature the greatest graphics of all time, but when you take into account the very well detailed backgrounds and the great character models for both the good and bad guys. Even when using Kamui mode, the graphical effects of this game are quite impressive. Watching your character run through these incredibly detailed environments and break stuff and enemies alike. It also bears noting that there is a fair amount of blood to be had. Were not talking Mortal Kombat or anything like that, but there are some nice sprays of blood to be had when you kill an enemy or slice them in half in Kamui mode. The audio for this game has a nice feel to it but an odd one to see stateside. As opposed to most other games, Genji remains spoken entirely in Japanese with English subtitles. Add to that, the wonderful music in this game and I think the audio for this game is fairly top notch. It does bear note that this approach may irk some people, having to read all of the subtitles and not listening to the audio. But I found it added a nice touch to the game, a unique one. Genji isn’t the greatest game out there, but it is a pretty good game nonetheless. It is fun to play and almost as much to look at and listen to. The major problems of this game are easier to stomach now that it has dropped greatly in price. Not only is this game short, being only about seven hours long, but it is also very easy. You’re lucky if the boss fights challenge you, but the basic enemies most certainly will not. Once you learn how to handle the enemies, this game is a breeze. But the game has some replay value to it, so for its bargain price it can keep you entertained for quite some time.
Pros: Two very interesting and diverse characters to choose from, fun combos to defeat enemies with, Kamui mode is fun to take out enemies with and the story is lots of fun.
Cons: Kamui mode is a bit annoying to use against bosses, this game is too short and far too easy and it’s annoying to have to go to specific places to switch between characters.
Score: 8
Recommendation: Considering how cheap the game is at this point, anyone who likes combo laden action games should buy this.
Other Helpful Reviews for Genji: Dawn of the Samurai
Graphics: The graphics in Genji are very good, the feudal japan its very well represented and the particle system its great. If you like Japan mythology, ninjas, samurais than you will feel you are at home when playin... Read Full Review
Genji is very detailed and fun to play. I like the good graphics in it and the action is very cool. It is a challenging game, because you have to fight strong bosses and plan how you want to spend you money, in health, l... Read Full Review
