G
enji: Days of the Blade (
G:DotB) and its infamous E3 2006 presentation have long since gone down into Internet meme territory, endlessly quoted, referenced and derided by forum posters and game developers alike. However, I won't be mentioning that during this review.
G
:DotB is the sequel to the PS2 game
Genji (
Genji: Dawn of the Samurai outside of Europe) and continues the story of the adventures of Minamoto Yoshitsune as he defends his clan, the Genji, from the unwanted attentions of their mortal enemies the Heishi. As in the first game, Yoshitsune will be accompanied on his adventures by the warrior monk Musashibo Benkei. In addition they will be joined by a warrior priestess called Shizuka and the mysterious Lord Buson.
The game, like its predecessor, is (loosely) based on the life and times of Minamoto no Yoshitsune, who actually existed and lived between 1159 and 1189. His brother, Minamoto no Yoritomo founded the Kamakura shogunate in 1185, effectively becoming the ruler of Japan and setting in place a style of military dictatorship that would control Japan until 1868. G:
DotB chronicles the events of the Battle of Ichinotani and the naval Battle of Dannoura which occurred in 1184 and 1185 respectively.
Days of the Blade takes the form of an action adventure game with a heavy emphasis on combat, think
God of War set in feudal Japan instead of ancient Greece. Each of the four characters has their own set of abilities and weapons, Yoshitsune is an agile all-rounder with two swords and a
Prince of Persia wall-running trick that can come in handy. Benkei is a huge tank of a man who wields a club-like weapon that was apparently made from a tree trunk. Shizuka is a quick yet weak fighter who makes use of a weapon known as a Fleck, a circular blade on a string affair. Finally, Buson wields a priceless double-bladed spear-like sword that he uses by twirling as well as stabbing, he can also project a shock wave from his weapon for a ranged attack.
As the game progresses each fighter will collect weapons and equipment to help the party on their way. Healing herbs and protective crests are single use items that are collected by smashing crates and jars and can be used at any time. Weapon-boosting Mashogane is collected by killing enemies who have used the crystalline fragments to raise their own fighting prowess and is spent on upgrading the damage inflicted by your weapons.
Each character is also able to use the magic-like Amahagane to unlock other-worldly fighting powers by way of their Kamui bar. When the bar is full they are able to teleport themselves and some of their enemies to another plane of existence. On this plane, our heroes are able to quickly dispatch a lot of bad guys with very little risk. This process takes the form of a "press the correct button" type of game, similar to the finishing moves in
God of War.
