Legend of the 9 proves that within 9 minutes or less you'll be sick of this game.
GAMEPLAY
At the start screen you are welcomed by tons of modes such as story, battle, even online action right out the box. Sadly, you quickly realize there is hardly even meat on this wee-little bone to pretend a full offereing. With the story mode, you have a few characters to start off with and unlock others as you progress. The part that really sucks is none of the stories vary besides simple character background info that is easily over looked. When each character goes thru the standard five levels and meets the final boss which is the same for everyone, you may begin to tire. Never fear, theres horrid controls to enjoy. You do have minimal control over how you customize moves and attacks, but nothing special beyond 2,4,6 hit combos. After treading thru the poor story, you can tackle others online but don't expect heated conversation because the computer controls the battle for both players. Past this crippling blow you are left with the start screen wondering why you even put this game in.
VISUALS
In all honesty the game does have a decent level of detail. Character models and facial expressions are good at conveying anger, which is the basic face for just about every ingame character. Female fighters have some nice clothes that sport the traditional look without sneaking in some sleazy garbage yet the issues that bothered me most were more in graphics. Everything looks good when its still, but clothes don't bend or fold, objects poke thru the oddest places, environments offer little exploration and level design is pretty lack-luster. The only real saving grace is maybe the neat finishing moves that basically kill an opponent with one move. Just be careful, becasue they can get you the same way which can be puzzling and down right frusterating.
AUDIO
Anyone fluent in Japanese? How about reading it? No, well prepare to get more culture tossed at you than usual. For a game that stinks of western laziness you get a fair share of everything that reminds me of the old kung-fu flicks and samurai slashers of yesteryear. Slash a guy in the back and you get a wonderful blood curdling cry. Besides hearing the same audio expressions from every baddie you mow thru, there is the occasional music track that actually feels approriate within menus and ingame. Other than being a cornball for old school antics, most would become very irritated with most sounds within the game so make sure to have some decent music to jam out to on yer HD.
EXTRAS
To highlight the story mode once again, a majority of the achievements can be gained thru completing every characters story quest. Other things such as unlocking certain moves that can be applied to your customized characters is cool, but that mostly depends on how profiecent you are while dispatching enemies. At the start screen you'll notice a few modes that resemble gauntlet type gameplay which is seriously weakened by not allowing you to control the combat. You simply choose a customized character from story mode and set them loose on their fellow Ai friends. One mode worth praise is the battle mode. Here you get a list of missions that range from bits within the story to simple time trials. Complete these for extra cred, but don't expect them to be a walk thru the park during a sunny day.
OVERALL
Games that have wonderful subject matter seem like a no brainer when thinking of how great they can be. But in all respects, execution remains the achilles heal when putting together a decent game. Kengo had all the pieces to make something worth while and with not many other companies tackling the feudal Japan time frame, you see them clearly brick hard. The game has very little replay value and the main modes that should be its main selling points go stagnant after realizing its all recycled garbage. You could rent this for a good chuckle, but its hardly even worth the time or money.