A fine day for fans of Kingdom Hearts and Dark Cloud. It goes without saying: Musashi is a killer title.
User Rating: 9 | Musashi: Samurai Legend PS2
I have no idea what on Earth IGN was thinking. "We felt that this game was slow and we didn't like the camera, so we nerfed 48% of the score right off the bat." FIrst off, this game is not slow at all, nor is the camera that bad. The pace and camera are about the equivalents of hard-hitter Kingdom Hearts, so I don't see what's wrong. The framerate stays a smooth 60 fps the way through, though I wouldn't be suprised if greater techniques caused a slight drop no more than 15 frames. Maybe the reviewers just have a bad copy, an old or broken ps2, or both of the above. My ps2, which is secondhand and occasionally has lapses, ran this game in perfect form. On with the review! Gameplay: Ahhhh, sweet full-action RPG. Nothing like taking two huge swords and chopping away at enemies with glorious style on your left hand. The copy system is superb (though it's a bit difficult to get a hand on, no doubt), and the techniques are easy to use (do a 360 swing by spinning the left analog and hitting [ ]...so Tony Hawk-esque). The story is a pretty nice roll-along, and the characters are moderately developed. Graphics: The "manga-shading" used here was rather good. Many cel-shaders don't put too much hand-drawing into the hand-drawn characters. Even Dark Cloud 2 was done with more polygons than anything, regardless of how smooth it was in appearance. The shading is not far from Dreamcast's, but it is still excellent. Ability animations and particle effects were done well. Sound: A nice range of chirps and pops reminds the player that this game has some platform elements in it. Almost all character voicings are done right and sound funny when they should (especially the Chinese cat who speaks English as a second language), except for Musashi. Because of this factor, the game just can't expect a perfect score. Value: As any good RPG, this game will grab you and hold you until the end, which won't be quickly. Take the game and play it through; it deserves it.
