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An action-adventure recreation that includes Nobunaga Oda? Go on. And sword-fighting skeletons? Go on! And a workforce of kunoichi who draw energy by kissing one another? GO…kay.
Samurai Maiden has all that and a bit bit extra, and it’s higher than you assume it could be. Annoying in elements, however price a glance should you’re into motion/journey/platformers.
A few these annoying bits floor the second we meet Tsumugi, a high-school woman who’s instantly yanked from class and despatched again to Japan’s Sengoku interval. Narrative institution? No time! Character exposition? Ineffective! To the sport we go!
Really, it’s potential that any semblance of an introduction was dropped to make up for the time misplaced throughout dialog scenes. There’s a bizarre pause every time the “digicam” switches angles of the on-screen characters. It’s like we’re not watching a efficiency however a tech rehearsal, and the actresses are nonetheless studying their blocking.
As soon as we’re previous all of that, although, issues change into type of enjoyable. Tsumugi is dropped right into a burning constructing the place she meets each Nobunaga Oda and a horde of skeleton warriors.
There’s nothing for it however to battle, and, fortunately, Tsumugi is aware of her manner round a sword. She’s not dressed appropriately for the leaps and rolls required in swordplay, however are any of us, actually? After this coaching stage, she will get further assist from three slightly-more-appropriately-attired ninja maidens who’re a bit conversant in what’s happening round them. The gist is that demons are about to burst forth from the Honnō-ji underworld, and it’s as much as the women to forestall this whereas Nobunaga attends to different issues. It helps that Tsumugi is seemingly the prophesied Priestess of Concord; so…this was all purported to occur?
The one factor for it’s to press onward, in order that’s what Tsumugi and her buddies do. The sport introduces the fight mechanics and the particular talents of every character on a level-by-level tempo, permitting you to get conversant in everybody earlier than ramping up the problem. Tsumugi fights by way of combos and button mashing, with extra highly effective assaults changing into unlocked as you progress alongside. So, the additional alongside you get, the much less probably it’s you’ll be capable of simply mash your manner by means of ranges. The enemies don’t actually get smarter, they only develop in quantity and endurance. And since they and the surroundings by no means change a lot, fight fatigue can and can set in.
You may combine issues up by strategically swapping between the kunoichi for help, however they’re principally ineffective throughout normal battles. None of them do something till you particularly inform them to. And even then, they’re not excellent about it. One character has the power to plant bombs on the battlefield, for instance, but it surely takes her so lengthy to drop them off that the enemies have usually moved on earlier than she reaches the assigned drop-off level. As such, studying the timing of everybody’s talents turns into a requirement for fulfillment. The aspect characters are literally extra helpful between battles and within the Bubble Pockets when their particular talents are required to unravel platforming puzzles or attain bonus gadgets.
The Bubble Pockets are additionally used to develop the characters’ relationships with Tsumugi, all of which change into evenly romantic. There’s loads of flirting, principally utilizing the standard anime tropes. One woman could be very aggressive and suggestive, one is demure and probably really in love, one appears solely targeted on the mission, however…you get the concept. The additional the relationships get, the extra highly effective the mixed Devoted Coronary heart assault turns into when the women have interaction in some tame PDA on the battlefield.
It helps that the graphics in Samurai Maiden are fairly good. The characters and enemies look nice. The environments are bland and considerably muddy, however they serve the gameplay effectively, permitting you to focus on what must be seen.
Sadly, a few improvement points actually damage the proceedings. First, there’s normally fairly a leap between working by means of the linear ranges and successful the boss battles alongside the best way. The sport is both too simple or too exhausting, so that you’re both unchallenged or annoyed. Motion-combat professionals could have a better time till they unlock the more durable difficulties, however is that this recreation geared toward fight professionals?
And though the degrees do have checkpoints, you solely get one use. When you die a second time, it’s again to the start of the extent for extra of the identical. You do have the power to replay ranges to enhance your rewards, improve your ability and weapon ranges, unlock outfits, and entry the Bubble Pockets. However contemplating you’ll know the place the story is heading from the beginning (nothing right here will shock you), having to grind your manner in direction of it could change into a chore.
All of it boils all the way down to a hack-and-slash affair that’s higher than it’s possible you’ll anticipate at first look, albeit probably overpriced. I in contrast it earlier to Ninja Gaiden, and I truthfully like Samurai Maiden extra (on the Swap, particularly). Clearly, getting Tsumugi to the sexier cutscenes and battle sequences goes to be a significant draw, however D3 deserves some applause for making characters earn that degree of affection. And in addition for giving us loads of sword-wielding skeletons to battle alongside the best way.
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