Musashi: Samurai Legend review

It’s not very often in life that I’m faced with something that leaves me staring in confusion, with a look of ‘WTF?’ on my face. However, after watching the opening sequence to Musashi Samurai Legend, my face had that very expression. Admittedly, this is a Japanese RPG that we’re talking about here, but still.

First things first; this game won’t win any prizes for originality when it comes to the storyline. You’ll have seen and heard it all before, albeit with slight differences in names, locations and the various items and people that need finding/destroying/rescuing. You take on the role of Musashi, who’s summoned by a Princess from another world. An evil corporation (Gandrake Enterprises) has found a way of refining an ore called Nebulite, and doing all manner of things with it in an effort to take over the world. Not surprisingly, only Musashi can save the world and fulfil his destiny as a hero in the process. See what I mean?

Hack, slash, hack, slash.

The first hour or so of the game serves as a tutorial and introduction to the storyline and its characters. For anyone that’s played Dark Chronicle, the similarities between that and Musashi Samurai Legend are fairly obvious from the outset. In terms of visuals, Samurai Legend features cel-shaded characters, in a cartoon-like world. This look works well, especially with the animé feel of the game. Musashi’s crazy hairstyle, which defies all laws of physics, is a prime example of the unusual styling in the game, as well as the interesting appearance of some of the characters. Combat is all about hacking away at enemies with your katana, or using one of the various swords you acquire to unleash a more vicious attack.

Various spells can be used to increase the damage dealt as well. An interesting feature during combat is the ability to learn an opponent’s moves. This is done by locking onto said opponent and waiting until they attack you. Just before they make contact with you, hit square and you’ll then have to follow a couple of on-screen instructions before mastering the technique. It can take a couple of tries to time this right, so expect to lose health here and there trying to learn some moves. It’s a nice idea, but the majority of the moves you won’t end up using, and you also leave yourself open to attack from other enemies when trying to learn one enemy’s move, so often you just won’t bother.

Why can’t you walk, dammit?!

Combat is only half of what you’ll spend your time doing though, as rescuing people and bringing down Gandrake Enterprises is also part of Musashi’s mission statement. You travel around the world map on the back of a giant whale (yes, you read that correctly), which, bizarrely, is where Antheum is, the Princess’ city.

Although you can choose where to go on the map, you don’t have as much freedom at the destinations as you do in, say, a Final Fantasy game. It’s just a case of going there, doing the mission, and leaving. Speaking of missions, they’re annoyingly linear at the best of times, with set paths to follow, along with respawning enemies and a real feeling of déjà vu between them.

They usually involve rescuing a damsel in distress, who is unable to walk as a result of her harrowing experience, and so has to be carried back through the level. This wouldn’t be too bad, except it involves the cycle of having to stop every few seconds, put down the person you’re carrying, fight someone, pick the person up again, and then repeating it all over.

Not surprisingly, this gets frustrating quite quickly. The enemies are almost all robots of some form or other, and aren’t the brightest of things. You can often walk past a whole group of them without being noticed, and usually you’ll have to initiate the attack before they respond. Conversely, the bosses you encounter are huge, and come up fairly often, which is a welcome relief to the monotony of normal fights. They can be fairly tough, which adds a bit of a challenge to an otherwise not-too-challenging game.

What are the scores, George Doors?

In between missions, time is spent wandering around Antheum. As you rescue more and more people, you’ll see the city’s shops and stores open again. From these you can improve your weapons, buy items, and talk to characters. Most characters have full voice acting, but this isn’t always a good thing, as the voices don’t always suit the character, or just sound plain odd.

There are a few moments in Musashi Samurai Legend that’ll raise a smile or even make you laugh out aloud, and it’s generally a fun game to play. There are some annoyances, but they’re the type that you become used to and forget about, letting you get on with enjoying the game. It’s nothing new or especially great, but there are certainly worse out there.