Think "Kill Bill" fused with "The Tale of Genji".
The game is way too short. Along with the feel of a movie, it has the length of one, too. The fact that you can beat the game withing less than 10 hours, while collecting every possible weapon, item, and other things; it begins to gets on your nerves.
Now as for the good, the game is only $10 at Best Buy, and the way I see it, this game is worth it just for the value. Yet, the game allows you to choose between the two main characters Yoshisune Minamoto and Benkei Musashibo) for certain missions and battles. For the first two hours of the game, you only have the ability to play as Yoshisune, until you get into a boss battle with Benkei, who mistakes Yoshisune for a bad guy.
The basic theme of Genji is feudal Japan, just like the ancient novel by nearly the same name. It begins with the Heishi Clan and the Genji Clan in a fierce battle. Just as victory was near for the Genji, Kagekiyo Taira shows up with a bunch of his Heishi minions who have the power of the Amahagane (mystical jewels with the power of Kamui; you'll see what I mean when and if you play the game). Then, just as in all those types of movies, they brutally whoop thew Genji Clan's ass.
Now, the son of the Genji leader from the Heishi Rebellion gets captured by a small and weak group of Heishi, but he kills the group and escapes. This is when you begin to play, and learn about what exactly is going on. I don't want to spoil anything, so I won't go any further with the plot. But I will say this: If you enjoy Japan's cultures at all, this would be a great game for you.
Although the game is short, it is very fun and addicting until you beat it. The gameplay is well-done, but not amazing. The button-mashing doesn't hurt the reactions at all, and there are times when you need to press the buttons exactly how the game wants you to when using the Kamui. This is well-done also, and the controls are better than most games of this genre, but not as great as it could've been.
The pixelization of the regular playing scenes is alright and brings you back to the days of Final Fantasy VIII. But the CG scenes are amazing, and this brings you all the way back to the days of feudal Japan. It total, the graphics are the greatest part of the game.
The sound effects and music are great, realistic, and appropriate for this game, but the Japanese dialogue with the English subtitles takes away almost everything good about the sound. Although the Japanese dialogue is also appropriate for the game, the subtitles brings your eyes to the black bottom of the television screen and away from the important graphics and scenes.
Overall, Genji is a great game for those fans of Japanese culture, and even if you don't like it, you won't be losing much money. If Dynasty Warriors is a good game in your opinion, this will keep you hooked. If that doesn't do it for you, the battle system and storyline will.