Way of the Samurai 3 Review: Not Just A Choose-Your-Own-Adventure

The summary description of the Way of the Samurai series goes like this: It’s like all those great Kurosawa samurai films you love had a baby with R.L. Stine’s Choose Your Own Adventure Goosebumps books. This is how fans of the series pitch it to their friends. But as in so many other situations, summarizing is a risky maneuver. While compressing your opinion of a series has benefits, you put yourself in danger of only seeing the summary. I know this because I was  guilty of this critical negligence myself. I’m happy to say that I’m rehabilitated, and that Way of the Samurai 3 was my personal panopticon.

If any comparison should be raised, it should be to Kurosawa’s samurai whodunnit Rashomon (and the tale it’s based on, Akutagawa’s In A Grove.) In this story, the audience is shown a crime from numerous perspectives. The fickle, self-interested, untrustworthy nature of witnesses meshes with the fact that observation is necessarily subjective, and we’re left scratching our chins and wondering if any of our narrators are anything but unreliable. You see, in Way of the Samurai 3 there are over twenty endings, and the average game lasts between one and four hours. Only through multiple playthroughs – making different choices each time – will you come to understand the region of Amana, where the game takes place, and its inhabitants. And it still isn’t that simple.

It is the Sengoku period of Japan. Nobunaga is marching across Japan in an attempt to unify it under one man. WotS3 begins just after a massive battle. Dozens of dead samurai litter a battlefield. Crows caw, and your hero stumbles forward in the pouring rain, wounded from the fighting that ended hours prior. Your choices begin immediately, as two peasants stop robbing from the dead and approach you. A simple dialog box appears when they ask if you’re okay, and you can rattle of one of three responses – all resulting in your passing out and later waking up in the farming village of Takatani. Or you can draw your sword and chase those no-honor scavengers away. In the process, you’ll stumble across another survivor of the recent upheaval, mourning the costs of war. And just like that, you’re on a new path, though not yet permanently cut off from the other one.

Amana is a region is dismay. The last lord of the province was overthrown by one of his vassals, replacing him as ruler among the many farmers, craftsmen, and merchants who live in the area. He is pushing them all to the brink of exhaustion, preparing for the inevitable battle with Nobunaga. The two other lead vassals of the now-disposed-and-dead Lord of Amana have their own perspective on the matter. One has turned his sword to a plowshare, retiring to be a farmer and acting as mayor to the most overworked peasants in the province – refusing even under the most dire circumstances to draw his blade again. The other has begun a new clan of samurai, dedicated to overthrowing the tyrant that has taken power… except that they do so by banditry and crime, hiding their dishonor behind idealism.

(And it’s worth noting that, while the game’s dialog will win no awards for being particularly snappy or well written, the characterization and plot work wonders. Previous WotS titles have utilized the time period they’re in to push a theme – Meiji Era as “tradition vs progress”, Edo Period as deconstruction of non-warring samurai caste – and it’s no different here. With the land in turmoil, the core reading of this game is the decision to be safe or to be free, and when we must choose to give up our own individual freedom to protect that of the masses. But let’s be clear, this game doesn’t take itself too seriously – if you bow to every cat in the game, you’ll unlock the ability to play as a catgirl.)

You explore the region through it’s eight separate-but-connected zones (Castles for both clans, a merchant town and a farming village, a road with a temple, a grimy posting station, and the gate to leave Amana.) At worst, the game looks like late gen PS2, and at best…it looks like late generation PS2 that runs smoothly. But that’s okay – it runs like a champ, and the details really count. The world is populated by other samurai, wanderers, monks, mothers, fishers, children, yojimbo for hire (yes, you can hire partners to help you out), and more. Each character is named, and each has unique dialog. There is a day-night cycle that occurs in real time (a first for the series,) and some events are keyed towards what time of the day it is. It’s no GTA4, but  this world is alive in its own, different way.

Your choices in conversation, and your decision to interrupt conversations by drawing your blade or dropping to a kneeling bow in apology, will likely lead you towards one of the main factions. In order to progress in these plots you must do two things.

First, take jobs with that faction to increase your rating with them. (There is no rating bar on the HUD or in the menus, instead a natural change occurs – people call you Lord Whoever, and children rally when you come near.)  Jobs range depending on faction and what rating tier you’re on with them. Sometimes you’ll be rushing to merchant town to prevent peasants from causing an uprising, stopping a skirmish from blowing up into a full blown war, or… finding an old woman’s panties for her and dodging crows on the way back.

Second, seek out spots on the world map called “inklings,” which indicate (to your apparently psychic warrior) where plot points happen upon your arrival. You’ll overhear midnight rendezvouses, encounter brother dueling brother, and generally find a lot of folks plotting for revenge or a power grab or world peace (yes.) Most of the time these inklings are just cutscenes (which you will interact with), but occasionally, these inklings will develop into the longer missions of the game, like ambushing a supply caravan or storming the enemy’s castle. For the most part you can avoid an inkling until you’re good and ready for it, but my play has shown that some opportunities vanish from play after a few days in Amana.

I know, we’re a thousand words in, and I haven’t told you what it’s like to kill fools with a katana yet. That’s appropriate, because it’s very possible to spend an hour or two of play without any major combat happening. When it does, it hovers somewhere between “sim”  games like the classic Bushido Blade, and high octane arcadey combat of the Dynasty Warriors variety. Bosses take dozens of hits, but henchmen drop in three or four – and can be one-hit-killed if you perfectly parry their on coming attacks.  One button hammers out a basic attack, and the other a heavy attack. Combined with pushing towards or away from the enemy, your character will unleash various other special slashes, spin attacks, and thrusts. Your moveset is determined by what sword you have equipped, and as you use any given blade you unlock more attacks for it. (Which comes in handy when you decide to build your own blade, combining parts you’ve found throughout the world and choosing from any of the attacks you’ve learned already to create a custom moveset.)

The combat is satisfying, but new players are going to have to cope with the idea that some fights are out of their league. Don’t draw your sword on the cold, calculating, revenge-driven swordswoman and expect to cut her down on your first playthrough. Each time you beat the game, you leave with a few more options unlocked (like new outfits and the ability to dual wield weapons) and carry over whatever weapons and items you had on your character or in your safe. Players are expected to spend at least a little time doing a thing like grinding, while still actually having complete play experiences. You might not get the ending you want, but you’ll get a complete story with samurai-fiction appropriate themes and character arcs.

At the core, this game is about these characters and this world, and who and how they are. In a way, it’s like Rashomon, and each playthrough is the story from the perspective of a different witness. But writers and fans who call this parallel up ought be quick to add “except that since it’s interactive the mystery isn’t about finding an objective answer.” It is Derridean deconstruction in action. Post-structuralist philosopher Derrida suggests that the best way to critique a thing is to enter it from one angle, then retreat and enter again from a new angle, and so on. You’ll never build a complete picture, Derrida claims, but the process of seeing multiple viewpoints will break down any false dichotomies that you would otherwise fall for.

That is what WotS3 does. What do you think about Samurai? Are they honorable warriors who protect the weak? Play through as one and see where it gets you. Then play through again and be concerned only with personal profit. And again as a survival of the fittest master of combat. How about a playthrough where you kill every character that looks at you, or one where you use the blunt end of your blade and take no lives, completely changing the outcome.

Not only will you be revealing new readings on what it means to be a member of the warrior caste, but you’ll also be getting new perspectives on each other character. How do they react when they know you’ve kept a secret to protect them? How do they act when you offer to sacrifice yourself for them, or insist on their own responsibility. Even if the execution is not perfect, and even though the game never forgets that it’s a game (during one ending you can send an ally to his death by choosing “Good luck Mister Samurai!” instead of a “I’ll lend you my blade” option. Seriously,) the method and mechanics of WotS3‘s storytelling is worth praise in and of itself. It does what other mediums can not. Kurosawa could only show you different opinions on how an event occurred. WotS3 lets you create another way of understanding through your own expectations, values, and operations – and that sort of interactivity is entirely what this medium is about.

Pluses
+ Multi-path storytelling creates tons of replayability and is a real boon to the medium’s way of telling stories.
+ Combat is fun, fast paced, and just arcadey enough to tap into the gamer’s obsession with getting good.
+ Japanese voice track is available, for those of us who don’t want to pretend that we’re playing a B movie
+ Passable graphics for a small studio release, compounded with a smooth as silk 60 FPS with no slowdown ever really helps make the experience shine.
+ Weapon building and sword collection will satisfy everyone who lives for loot collection
+ Short play sessions provide unity-of-effect. You get a complete play experience in under six hours.
+ A skip-cutscene button, something the series has needed for ages.

Minuses
- Many endings come from decisions in the last ten minutes of a play session, meaning that unlocking everything requires you to tread worn ground.
- When playing on an SDTV, the text is very hard to read. Expect to sit close.
- Some story paths and unlockables are hard to figure out on your own. Lots of trial and error or a trip to your favorite FAQ site should be anticipated.

Available now on Xbox 360 and PS3.
ESRB Rating: M (Mature)
Obtained over 10 endings through multiple playthroughs.
A promotional copy of the Xbox 360 version of the game was provided by UFO Interactive for review purposes.

Final Verdict: The combat is a blast, the world is a treat to be in, and the game takes itself just seriously enough. But the real prize is the way you build a character and explore Amana through your actions. The writing could be tighter, and the graphics aren’t top (or even middle) tier, but neither of those things keeps me from giving it my full recommendation here. Way of the Samurai 3 is, like its predecessors, likely to become one of those niche titles that your friends talk about and which you’ve never played. Don’t let that happen. WotS3 proves that small studios can do important things. Pick it up before it vanishes from store shelves.