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Great Graphics, Great Gameplay, Giant Enemy Crabs

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 26 / 32
Date: November 18, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Genji Days of the Blade is probably most notorious for its silly E3 demonstration. The speaker talked about how it portrayed authentic feudal Japanese battles - involving Giant Enemy Crabs :) He also talked about novel concepts such as "attacking its weak point for maximum damage" and how you could do (gasp) REAL TIME weapons change in the game. This last item actually looks very silly - you could be swinging one sword, hit a button and MID SWING the sword changes into a new weapon.

In general, this is a fighting game set in PRE feudal Japan, i.e. 1187. I ran a Feudal Japan newsletter for many years, and feudal Japan was the 1500s, the days of Oda Nobunaga and the wars then. Back in 1187, there was a quite different government setup. If you're curious about this time period, read The Tale of Genji sometime by Lady Murasaki - this is acclaimed by many as the first novel ever written. It was written back in the 11th century! It's a great read even today, which is quite an achievement.

So back to the gameplay. You play a young two-sword warrior and have as your pals an older warrior, a female warrior and a war-god turned spellcasting warrior :) You fight through various Japanese landscapes and settings, taking on the Bad Guys. You have your combat techniques and magical powers to help you triumph.

The graphics are very impressive. In the cut scenes, you can see the fabric weaves on the layers of kimono, the metallic sparkle in the lacquerware, the rippling heat waves by the fire. During gameplay the character movements were fluid and natural. Fabric pieces would sway and tiny, glistening sparks would float on the air. Some scenes were really quite lovely in a painting sort of way.

Gameplay itself involves slicing with swords, chaining up attacks and blocking. There are, a la the Giant Enemy Crab, situations where you have to Attack the Weak Point for Maximum Damage. I didn't like the HUD of the map in the top left - it took up too much space and looked "silly" in almost a PacMan kind of way. The top left HUD of characters and health was much better done, less intrusive.

For sound, I love Japanese culture and really enjoyed the traditional music that played in the background in many scenes. For me it really helped immerse the game in an authentic setting. Many of the characters speaking are obviously Japanese and hearing that accent and proper pronunciation of historic names was great. Some have British accents ... odd.

There were a lot of little details that I really enjoyed. Obviously these guys had done their research. The little click as a sword was reset into its scabbard, the traditional sword holders on the ground, the way the swordsmen would set up a stance and move, it was all really enjoyable to watch. In many ways it was like being in a well done movie. That all being said, they took a few liberties about what the buildings looked like, and the characters dressed like, back in 1187. It was more like a time traveller from the feudal Japan period (i.e. the 1500s) went back to 1187 in some cases :) But that's sort of like the movie Excalibur, where King Arthur and his knights were wearing armor from the 1600s England. Historic King Arthur certainly wasn't alive in the 1600s :) But we accept that anachronism as part of the myth. It's not like the Japanese soldiers in 1187 had magic powers, either.

In general I really love this game. If I'm going to pick out a particular flaw, it's the camera. You can't control the camera at all, and there are situations where it becomes incredibly annoying. Still, that's something you can just resign yourself to while you enjoy the game!

defective beauty

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 7 / 9
Date: November 27, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Genji is set in ancient Japan that is supposed to be actually historical, However when you run into giant crabs and Ladies floating around with butterfly wings, you start to question that concept.
The graphics are awesome, obviously next generation quality and great sound to make you feel like you're in mythical Japan.
The problems with the game are obvious. You'll start playing the game and then when a battle is over, you'll have no idea where to go or what to do so you'll start wondering all over the map until a cut scene starts.
The camera doesn't help either. All too often your character will be fighting something off-screen or your character will disappear through a wall and you'll have no idea what or if you're hitting anything and you'll get frustrated when you die because you couldn't see what was happening.
The game play is hack and slash. All that happens is "kill this giant crab, wonder around, go through the door, activate cut scene, repeat." There's no variety in the game play that keeps the player interested.
If the game had fixed the weak points (which could have been very easy for some such as the camera) this could have been at least an average game. But these flaws are not acceptable for games anymore (if they ever were) and more should be expected for a next generation game.

PROS
Great graphics
Set in mythical ancient Japan
CONS
No idea where to go
Repetetive and straight forward gameplay
"Where am I?" camera

Potential for greatness, but...

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 7 / 10
Date: December 03, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I have been playing this game for a while. And although this game has (or had as it is already released) the potential to become a great game, the developers blew it big time by some unnecessary intrusions a regular gamer will feel at unease with.
First off, the graphics are very well developed (mind you, im playing on a standard TV, so im one of those who should really feel at agony here). Crisp and clean is the way i could describe them. Gameplay is awesome; the protagonists' moves are brilliant, with sweet combos. The storyline itself makes sense to give the player the feel of the story's purpose, and the reason behind investing hours of playing this game. The option to play with 4 different players (with diff. strengths etc.) is also a nice addition.
So far, so good. No, not quite. And that is what makes me disappointed. First off, the camera view is terrible. So close and low (the player is big enough to fill half the screen) making it impossible to see everything around you, or where you're going (whether there's an enemy right there, etc.) You sort of have to go somewhere to see that place's contents (if any). For those who played God of War, the camera view is the exact opposite, so to speak. Secondly, like another reviewer said, the minimap on the top right of the screen is very intrusive. At some times, you will not pay attention to it, as you are focused in the game. But at others, you will notice it, and you will hate its existence. Thirdly, there is no blood gushing out of you/or the enemies at all. Some realism in that respect was definitely needed. Finally, the cut scenes are unusually excessive, which really gets annoying after a while. Are these idiosyncracies enough to turn off someone from this game? It really depends on the gamer him/herself. I for one will continue playing it, but can't see myself returning to it once (1)I finished it, and (2) when the real PS3 games starting hitting the shelves, which should be soon enough.
Overall, a big disappointment mainly because this game was so close to becoming an instant PS3 classic.

Fight till you drop

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: March 09, 2007
Author: Amazon User

If you like fighting games like Onimushu, God of War, this game is for you. After finishing the game, you can do it again with new costumes and more difficulty. This game will keep you busy for days.

Wanna show off your PS3? get this game!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: January 31, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I have played this game for a week now, on a hdtv+hdmi connection and so far i have enjoyed it really much...yes the camera angles sucks and the recover time after being hit is way too long but c'mon its just the first wave of games! this will get better and better

In fact i have enjoyed it more than resistance! wich story line leaves many loose knots eventough graphics are great.

Genji provides a a great visual display on colors, textures, facial expresions, details on enviroment and inmersive soundtrack... if you liked onimusha, final fantasy series....you should go ahead and try ...

Great graphics and incredible story, not for beginners!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: January 31, 2007
Author: Amazon User

The graphics are awesome and the intricate story are great, but this isn't a game for "lazy" gamers who enjoy just easy button mashing sessions, as the controls will make you actually read the manual for instructions! However, once you get used to the controls, you will really enjoy this game's in depth gameplay, even if the amount of enemies overwhelm you sometimes!

Genji Rocks

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: July 06, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Great game; awesome graphics.

If you are having trouble with bad guys sneaking up behind you, try holding down 'focus' [R2] which automatically faces you to the nearest enemy, or better still block&focus [R1]&[R2] which will face you towards the nearest enemy and take a defensive stance until you choose to attack.
Of course, there is also the map in the top right of the screen showing all the enemies around you so you can strategically isolate and defeat large numbers of enemies without them getting you from behind.

As far as the big crabs go, try powering up Benkei's strong attack (triangle) using Benkei's club (his default weapon); you will spin numerous times and can do serious damage to the giant crabs and just about anything else with 'strong defenses' (read, big armored guys). Even better, use your Kamui, which is great against any 'boss' including giant crabs. (For larger crowds and 90% of gameplay you probably want Yusitsune with his default swords as he is the fastest and most agile against numerous enemies.)

Good luck to those who choose to play the game past the hard parts and learn to use the power ups, they are pivotal to making it to the end. I found the game to be a blast. Two people in my household have independently played the entire game from beginning to end so I can honesly say I am not the only one who thinks Genji in high def is quite cool.

Nuthin But Graphics

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: August 09, 2007
Author: Amazon User

When I saw this game I thought it was going to be good, but I was wrong. There are so many things arong with this game ist not even funny. For everything it does right, it doubles what it does wrong. When I bought my PS3 this game came with it so it couldn't be helped.

PROS.
-The graphics this game shows the power of the playstation 3, the graphics are amazing from the lushes grass outdoors, from the sprinkaly sparkaly waters, to the detailed buildings.
-Loading for the games isn't bad
-Satisfying combo's and playing with 4 different characters.

CONS.
-The story makes almost no sense, I actually wished sometimes I could have skipped the cutscenes.
-The acents these characters have are horrible, they speak to damn fast just to sound authentic to the original japanese, they just try to keep up with the characters mouth.
-Controls aren't that bad but the fact that there is no way to control the camera it frustrates the hell out of you when you have to attack enemies you can't even see. ITS HORRIBLE especially against bosses
-Repetativeness should be the name if this game, this is a HACK-N-SLACH like dynasty warriors, with occasional easy simple puzzles whcih makes 'God of Wars Puzzles seem like a masterpeice, The levels may change but it barely matters especially when all you do is slash enemies, jump around sometimes, run and run on walls. Its trying to be like Shinobi but fails horribly.
-Plus right after you beat the game, there is no reason to play through it again cuz theres nothing after that, no new weapons, no new costumes, no alternate endings, nothing to unlock or do, its the same game no matter how you play it.

How could they have gone so wrong

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 2 / 4
Date: November 27, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Well the fact is this is a game you shouldn't buy... unless you see it in a $5 bargain Bin, and only if your curious, but I'm tellin ya it's a waste of time. It looks good. Actually it looks great. I just can't for the life of me figure out how they could have screwed the camera up so bad. The fact is you have no control of the camera it zooms in and out on it's own, and moves to akward angles. This can be really frustrating ecpesially when your getting shot at by archers and the camera zooms in so you can't dodge. I got to the second level and never touched the game again. In fact I traded it for Resistance. It could easly have been a good launch title if they didn't ignore years of what other 3d action games could have taught them.

Japanese Gamer

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: January 28, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Its a really nice battle layout and system. Although fairly easy, it can get just a little challenging but not much. A very good first time game for a beginner to the PS3.

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