Hello guys hope all of you are doing good.
I finished this game just yesterday and let me tell you I enjoyed it more than I thought I would.
Let’s start with the story. The first cinematic scene of the game we see the Samurai, ready to defend the beach from the invasion. This was a real event that occurred in Japan, 1274.
Khotun Khan, the cousin of Qublai khan, was sharp, cunning and downright merciless leader. After the battle was won for him, he decided to use Shimura as a trading chip. I chose the Japanese original as the dialogue making the game super cool. The part of Jin being the sole hope for the island was fictional. Nonetheless, I enjoy the story making it a top tier game in my list.
The combat functions are a bit tough until you get used to it especially the duel. Here you have to time the counter right or you get a nasty cut in the back. The enemies more often than not give out fake attacks to confuse the player. If you get detached for too long good luck for the next few encounters. Another feature is the stance. 4 different stance for different enemy types. Each deadly when used against the right enemy. Upgrading the stance is a wise choice as it provides combo.
Simple attack, dodge and counter mechanism for controller overall. Great graphics work here which made it more badass. The range of weapons are not too unique as we have seen it in the past Assassin’s Creed games. The armours are a different thing. Each has it’s unique passive ability and colour. This would make anyone try all that there is.
For the characters, every single one was affected deeply by the invasion. The protagonist’s best friend betrays the Samurais and their people. Ryuzo was the leader of the straw hat ronin. His people’s dire situation may have had him convinced but he could have followed the protagonist and end the war on their people collectively. Lady Adachi was truly a war victim. Her husband and 2 sons were killed on the battle at the beach, her family was attacked days later and had her other family members killed. She finds out that her elder sister had betrayed her and hatched the plan with a few others and committed the atrocity. Yuna played a crucial part in the development of the MC, petty thief and caregiver went to great lengths for the cause before and after she had lost her brother to Khotun. Jin’s teacher, Ishikawa was a decorated coach. He also trained a “demon” and tried to make her his apprentice. Things went sideways and he wanted to take her out. People with different perspective have different side of the story in this matter. Then the two small characters, Kenji and Norio helped for the cause too in the final war at the docks.
The art of scenery was top notch. A true essence of perfection. Each view has it’s unique attraction and beauty. The cinematic checkpoint of the shrine was a gem for the game.
The iconic cherry blossom
The pine forest and the in game vast fields and mountain tops looked like a Bob Ross type of work. They also added a picture mode in the game to capture such beautiful sights.
Even though there are glitches many people did not get them. Sadly enough I was not one of them. I encountered it thrice and it pissed me off as I did not save it prior to it at each times and had to redo it.
There are some costumes that I liked but was not useful in the combat.
The best armour that I would prefer above all else.
The last part of the game. The skill earning missions. The guiding wind is a unique location tracker that I loved both because it was the first time I had to use something like that and it was beautiful. This added much value to the game. The bamboo strike missions were the bonuses you love to get. The hot spring bath was a self development thing for the character. Reflection on parts of our lives can make ourselves better for the future, same case here for the protagonist. The haiku writing was an outlook of the nature’s intensity, simplicity and insightful expression in which the Jin was. That helped him to clearly know what he was seeing and what he wanted to make off of it. Then comes the legend story teller. A few were tough as you had to find your own way through the area, going from one checkpoint to the next.
That is it, thanks for reading this far. Do join me in the upcoming series of another game!