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First Look at Samurai Champloo: Sidetracked

Back in September of 2005 the first inklings of a Samurai Champloo game for the PS2 popped up.
Now if you are a fan of the series then you are either hopping up and down in excitement, or pulling the crucifix from the desk drawer and waving it in front of the screen as if this review was about to spit green pea soup at you any second from now! Don’t worry… I didn’t eat any green pea soup so I won’t be spitting it at you anytime soon. But then again I can see the reluctance of some. When it comes to video games based on Animes it’s a hit or miss proposition whether it’ll be the next hot translation, or the next Digimon World 4. But, as I looked through the game’s review words, I began to feel that this might be embraced well and not another bad dismount into the bent backs of poor Anime fans.

In this first bit of news concerning the game, from September 15th 2005, the person reviewing the game said that “In terms of basics gameplay and looks, the early version of Samurai Champloo came off somewhat like Dynasty Warriors, only fought with a handful of dangerous enemies instead of a couple dozen punching bags.”.. so is that a good thing, or a bad thing? Considering the game just invoked the name of “Dynasty Warriors” you’d probably think you were in trouble here, and I don’t blame you if you feel that way.

Yeah, if you know the game you might not like the idea, but believe it or not this “clone” might be a good thing when it comes right down to it. First off, for those of you who may not know, Koei’s money maker Dynasty Warriors (1 to 5 for the PS2, and one apiece for the PSP, GBA and the upcoming Nintendo DS version) lives (and possibly dies) by the art of the beatdown (except the GBA version). And yet the game seems to have followers despite it’s formulaic beatdown formula, where you run out and hack and slash dozens upon dozens of enemies at a time in wholesale slaughterhouse fashion, because there are recently games that bank on the popularity of the Dynasty Warriors combat system with such clones as Devil Kings (home of the blonde female who has a bad case of the cuddles with some guy and moans inappropriately during said cuddles), and the disappointing first console game from the makers of the Total War series who decided to make their own Dynasty Warriors clone (Spartan : Total Warrior) over a true Total War adaptation for the consoles.

OK. Long story short (too late) Dynasty Warriors and it’s clones feature gamestyles that are repetitive, a down and dirty simple button masher, and overall not all that imaginative at all… and yet people like it.
So to hear that BANDAI has taken what was good about Dynasty Warriors but didn’t burden it with what was bad (by giving you what sounds like intelligent opponents over mindless cannon fodder)? That can only mean good news for this new Samurai Champloo game which seems to promise a taste of the different in my opinion. However don’t expect the cloning to end at the combat. It seems that Samurai Champloo also features the same gigantic landscape stages for you to roam in… and maybe even get lost in… which may or may not feature some environment elements like fog (there is a more recent update I’ll note later on so we’ll see if this is part of the game or not). Hopefully you don’t get lost looking for the battles… better update your Feudal Triple-A just in case. Still just as long as you don’t have to constantly hunt for battles throughout the giant roaming lands of each level then I’ll be happy… I remember having to do that when I tried to review Dynasty Warriors 5 once, which was a pain.

As for the animation? I’m betting that (when the final version hits this month) it should look good, and be a visual eye candy to behold. If these early images from the review I’m noting are any indication we have a good looking game possible here. Of course I haven’t seen any final versions of the images yet, but again from these first looks I take it that this could be a very good looking game. One thing noted is that the game has “Mugen’s breakdancing fighting style down cold”… and yes, if I actually reviewed Samurai Champloo and viewed it then I would know what that means. Ok, I have not seen nothing from Samurai Champloo prior to this review (you know I haven‘t), but I hope that (when I finally review the game) jumping into this game will be easy for newbies who never seen the show before… newbies like me, who needs to be walked through the story in great detail so I know what’s going on. That means, yes, I hope this game didn’t take a page from the Mobile Suit Gundam gaming playbook and made the story of the game… well… inaccessible to new players. That is something I hope BANDAI changes with future Gundam games, by the way, in that the story needs to be accessible to newbies to the franchise as well as old schoolers.

As for realism, and we’ve been talking about it a lot lately with games like Peter Jackson’s King Kong and so forth, one thing I heard that this game diverts from the realistic tone of the show. I guess that’s different since some games have been embracing the realistic road of late, and I’m sure the game has departed from the realism quota if this comment is to be believed about the game because, well, I’m sure Samurai Champloo fans don’t ever remember enemy characters exploding like piñatas, dispensing coins all over the place as they died… and if they did then why didn’t I watch this show sooner!! Gosh!! How weird!
Guess you can use coins to buy upgrades and stuff, otherwise I don’t see the point for having piñata enemies filled with non edible metallic coins…. Ooh, shiiiinnnnyyy metallic internal fillings in the shape of coins!!

Voice acting is going to be spot on, that shouldn’t be a problem. BANDAI has never had a problem with their voice acting side, always getting solid acting to do their games which is always a treat and a treasure for people who play BANDAI‘s games (this game being no different once again promising the vocal cast from the Anime series as they sign up for a tour of duty on the game version of the series). And if the promise of the voice actors wasn’t enough the game also holds the promise that the original translation team will be working the game as well (which I am sure has been done before with other games).
Anyway that’s never been a concern! BANDAI has never done any half effort voice acting, and I have never complained about it because it’s always been good from what I’ve seen myself! It’s always been solid! However it’s the gameplay at times that I’ve had issues with… and this time I have good things to say if it holds up, truth be told. An advanced Dynasty Warriors with intelligent enemies (and hopefully intelligent beatdown with a wide variety of moves to thrash out) promises solid gaming in my early opinion.

Now we come to something that will either make me a die hard believer, or a disappointed reviewer… the true measure of the combat that promises a taste of Dynasty Warriors stylings.
The combat is supposed to be, from what I read in this first taste of game talk, a “music-based battle system”… say what? Ok. Here’s what it says from the original reviewer. “The music-based battle system obviously showed promise, and in the demo, we saw lots of branches in the possible battle techniques through the in-game pop-up of beat paths.”
Now that means absolutely nothing to us way-folks who just showed up, and had no exposure to the original demo, but -- eh -- what does that mean? Will this be a button sensitive button mashing sequence ala God of War (where you input specific button taps to pull off moves)? A rhythm sequence of button pushes timed to music? Hold on, hold on, there’s more explanations about this so hold on, it‘s later in this look.

One thing is known right off the bat, word is that BANDAI’s producers (of this game) were experimenting with developing techniques that are different once the music tracks loop… eh… so there will be a new variety of methods to unleash depending on when you jump in… now if I only knew what I just said.
The music, as of the first review, was still in the temp stage so right now I can‘t say much about it, but again spin your eyes downwards and this gets a better explanation shortly.
As for the soundtrack I don’t know if the game features the same people who did the music from the Anime series, but it is going to be supporting “hip-hop” music… oh, joy, hip-hop… guess that’s what the fans want, right? Oh, the opening sequence featured the original “Battlecry” by Fat Jon… that’s good, right?

OK, let’s see if I can yet figure out the battle system with a second go at it.
One of the supposed “cool” things about the battle system is that it’s further “augmented” with extra features… which doesn’t mean much to me since I didn’t grasp the original features, so don’t hope I’ll find connection with the added features. Anyway added feature 1 is the “Tate” mode… the what mode? Basically the “Tate” meter is just a fancy word for a meter that fills up during battle, sorta like the adrenaline burning power meter that supercharged you when charged in The Warriors (by pressing the R3 and L3 button together when the meter hits full). Only this time, when triggered, the characters are bustin’ out into “singles stylishly set against painted backdrops (much like the show opening) for one-on-one fights”. Oh-kaaaayy… eh? This is where the whole button tapping to music thing comes in. These fights are rhythm based, where you time your tap tap tap to the sequence of buttons that flash before you. Basically if you remember doing this in way so many games you’ll know what to do here. But I do have more to say on this in abit, as well as what comes next.

Next is the “Trance” mode, which (despite it’s name) isn’t a mode that puts you to sleep or revives lost or altered memories (ala the Nintendo DS game of the same name). In the “Trance” mode you’ll have thousands of enemies thrown at you “with a new silhouette visual style in a sequence of button mashing fury to a different variant of the beat”… so it’s done true Dynasty Warriors style, only (mind you) I think they don’t mean thousands since even Spartan : Total Warrior can only support 150 characters on screen at one time… guess it’s still lots. After that we have a promise of minigames that will play out along the storymode of the game. According to the review “Fuu will be involved in a playable eating contest”.
And yes, I still have that clueless expression on my face. This is what I get for not watching this show despite the fact people‘s been talking it up recently, so it’s entirely my fault on that part (sorry).

(More from the previous reviewer) “Mugen and Jin have a particular affinity for their personal blades, but as we mentioned before, there will be weapons to get and fight with throughout the game. You will be able to pick up new swords as well as unique weapons found in the Hokkaido region from both ancient Eastern fighting traditions as well as many powerful and sometimes brutish Western weapon creations (such as heavy clubs.) All weapons have a durability scale (which probably helps to explain why these swordsmen will leave their swords behind from time to time), and there will be shops that you can repair weapons at as well as buy new ones. All told, there will be around 60 weapons and items to collect throughout the game.)”

Ok. Back to me now.
It’s been awhile since I’ve been hot and bothered about a BANDAI game, that game being the (dot)hack//Quadrilogy which I had nothing but praise for from beginning to end. It looks like now I’m about to have a new game to feel that way about, if the updates about the game continue to foster my feelings of potential greatness that lies hidden within the words announcing the coming of Samurai Champloo : Sidetracked. But the above was from September 15, 2005... Now flashforward nearly four months and let’s see what the good word is as of January 10th, 2006... As in will certain things I was abit uncertain about be explained in greater detail.

Four months later more details popped up about the game, and sure enough a few things I was unclear about was talked about in greater detail. First off the specifics of the story is spoken of for the first time in brief.
It seems that unlike (dot)hack Quadrilogy, which was an original story set years after the series end, Sidetracked is being touted as a “lost episode” of the Samurai Champloo series (though it might indeed take place years later as opposed to being set between two episodes of the series), as gamers take on the role of one of three characters from the series. The characters are…
Mugen : A samurai with a… with a break-dancing fighting style…? Really? A break-dancing samurai? Does that look cool?
Jin : Jin, the “Bushido-abiding” character… sorry, that’s all the reviewer said about Jin.
? - The third character, promises to be a brand new original character exclusive to the game.

The January update focused on two things. The Tate and Trance fighting systems.
Tate - It is now revealed that the tension gauge needed to enter the Tate mode can only be filled by completing a series of combo moves (each combo builds up the meter) until you can enter Tate mode.
Once in Tate mode you’ll face off against a single opponent in front of a vibrant “Japanese screen”.
Now this is where the game leaves Dynasty Warriors terrain and enters a different game’s territory.
You might have seen it. This game, where you can enter a feudal style of “bullet time” which is maintained as long as you maintain a sequence of pushes of the Square button (dismembering enemy after enemy until you miss a beat and fall out of mode). Basically this is the same thing, because here you have to maintain Tate mode by working a series of buttons in rhythm style until you complete Tate and enter Trance.
Trance - The “logical” conclusion to Tate. As you see above you need to complete a sequence of button pushes to maintain Tate until you complete the sequence and enter Trance mode. Once you enter Trance mode the background will shift into a number of silhouettes and you’ll be gangrushed by a large amount of enemies Dynasty Warriors style. You must kill them all until the onslaught ends, and if you can survive this (good luck) you’ll pick up a brand new weapon or item… and you know what? THAT SOUNDS COOL!!

Unfortunately despite the fact that Playstation’s official website touts a February 2006 release date you’ll have to work your Tate a little longer than that before you can enter what sounds like the bliss of an ultimate Trance mode of gameplay as this game is now scheduled for a March 2006 release date according to the latest word on the game. Well look, at least it’s still on track despite the one month pushback (it isn‘t still a mystery as to whether it‘ll release or not like Okami). But this is good news, even a short delay is withstandable since it still means the game is coming.
I have only seen abit about the game, but even with this small bit of info in my hands right now I can tell you that this game is beginning to sound better and better as I read about it, and if the game holds up solidly when it hits I am betting that both fans of the series and new fans (like me) will find nothing but button pushing joy once we get our hands on Samurai Champloo : Sidetracked. Stay tuned for more!

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