Claim your destiny as a proud warrior and honor your ancestors in Soul of the Samurai for Sony's PlayStation. It's the end of the Edo Period in Old Japan and forces are plotting against the Shogunate. The most powerful of the Shogun's lieutenant's, Kizumi Danmasa, has made a pact with a demon to destroy him and seize control. But the forces of light are already moving against Kizumi. On the side of good, but unknowing of his role, is the samurai, Kotaro Hiba, who has returned to the village of his youth to visit his parents' grave. Things have changed, people are wary of him and his parents' grave has been ransacked. All roads seem to lead to Kizumi's castle. The story really begins when you find a young woman being attacked by unruly guards and intervene on her behalf. Enter Lin of Sekirei, Bakafu spy. After a quick scuffle with the crazed town guards, you exchange remarks and head your separate ways. This will not be the final meeting between you two...
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There’s limited healing supplies, fixed cameras and a map to explore like in RE, but the inventory management and tank controls give way to a much more varied and in-depth combat system (you even have a fighting game-like meter that lets you pull off super moves), to the point that it ends up feeling more like a 3D beat ‘em up. The ronin, Kotaro Hiba, focuses on straight-up sword-fighting and has a pretty good selection of supers, while the ninja, Lin, wields a smaller sword but has also access to a great variety of throwable items. I don't mind Lin, but I do think Kotaro is a decent bit more fun. The game does still make good use of the exploration it allows, allowing you to find healing items and even secret weapons if you go out of your way to look around.
Overall, Soul of the Samurai is surprisingly fun, relatively simple but punchy and well-paced, and while the story isn’t really anything special, it’s still enjoyable and I like how you learn half of it in each playthrough, and then finally get the true ending once you’ve done both. I'm surprised at how this game that received an official translation and came from a pretty popular studio hasn't really seemed to gain any attention, not even as a "cult classic" of sorts. I think it's quite good.
My full playthrough of Soul of the Samurai up to the true ending took me 3.5/4 hours, and while there isn't much (or any) side content, I would definitely recommend checking it out.
Soul of the samurai é um survival horror que talvez mais me chamasse atenção pelo tema e pelo ano que foi lançado (1999, final da 5a geração, um limbo cheio de pérolas).
Mas, apesar de ter alguns poucos flashes de criatividade, eles foram engolidos pela monotonia. esse jogo me entediou, apesar de seu core loop agregar um Agon (conflito) que apesar de não ter gosto nenhum e muitas vezes irritar, me vi voltando para a segunda rota do jogo (são duas) por conta disso e, olha passou até rapido, sem eu sentir.
Não sei se isso é bom, porém.
Por sorte, por mais que tenha sentido o mais puro tédio, ainda é um sentimento, então já está na frente de alguns jogos de 2022 por exemplo.
Tá ai, vou jogar mais survival horror para ver se estou certo sobre meu gosto, mas por enquanto, não consegui gostar muito de nenhum