A game filled with samurai AND cowboys? How could it fail? Oh...that's how.
In “Samurai Western” gamers assume the role of Japanese samurai Gojiro Kiryu as he begins his expedition to locate and kill his long lost brother who defected into the American Wild West. While it may not be the most original story, it at least takes this clichéd formula and runs with it.
Speaking of clichés, every character that Gojiro encounters in this game is a cookie-cutter allusion to every character that has ever starred in a western movie. From the laughably “evil” bad guy all the way to the rough and ready cowboy partner that shoots first and never even thinks about asking questions, they’re all there.
One thing the game does have going for it is the intense combat. The main concept behind the combat is that samurai sword-wielding Gojiro is faster than any bullet. With a press of a button, Gojiro can dive, roll, weave, or side-step any bullets that may be fired in his general direction. This dodge ability can even be linked up with attack moves to create some seriously awesome looking fights.
And it’s a good thing that the combat looks and plays well, because the biggest downfall to “Samurai Western” is the repetition of everything. To start with, there are only about 16 missions in this game that range anywhere from 2 to 10 minutes, but the bad part is that a lot of the level designs are reused over and over with the only difference being a change in the handful of different type enemies.
That is just inexcusable laziness on the developers’ part.
Not only are levels reused throughout the game, but the gameplay is shallow and thinly spread throughout the game. A level in “Samurai Western” basically consists of the player running around a relatively small area slashing enemies. Once the right amount of enemies has been dispatched of, either a boss will emerge to fight or a cinematic will trigger to transition into the next mission. That’s it.
There are no side missions at all. No protecting of buildings, escorting of an important person, or even collecting of various objects to gain access into new areas. It’s simply gamers hacking-and-slashing their way into level after level or mind-numbing repetitiveness.
It’s not all negative though. A surprisingly neat aspect of the game is the RPG-esque feature it puts on leveling up Gojiro. As players complete levels, they’ll earn experience that can level up his life bar, special bar, defense, or damage. Not only that, but there are over 100+ items that can be earned and worn by our hero.
Items like cowboy hats, masks, a guitar, boots, or even an afro can all be placed and altered on Gojiro’s character model to a surprising degree of depth. This adds a great deal of originality to the game and actually makes the game a lot more bearable when it becomes weighed down with the burden of repetitive gameplay.
“Samurai Western” isn’t a bad game by a long shot. If anything it’s just underdeveloped in certain key areas, but flooded with originality in others. It is well worth a weekend rent, but if not found for cheap in a bargain bin somewhere it should be avoided.