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Lightweight
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Crave
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Fighting
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1-2
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11.21.01
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Kabuki Warriors
Ever play sword fighting in your backyard with your little brother or best
friend? Ever wish that you were a samurai and that your entire goal in life
was to strike down enemies who had trashed your honor with the cold, sharp
blade of a sword? Well, in Kabuki Warriors, you only find some of the old
nostalgia and possibly some of the more intricate fighting that you may have
seen in Bushido Blade and Kengo. The XBox, in all of its glory manages to
deliver a game that doesn't necessarily treat the gamer to a spectacle of
swords and blood, but more of an exercise in patience and timing!
The story line behind Kabuki Warriors is something that you really have to
take with a grain of salt in order to understand and work with correctly.
There isn't much of a prize at the end of your journey and you have to
really get into the mode of having to carefully choose and place your attacks
accordingly. Although you may think that the game is boring, Kabuki Warriors
is not a game that features excessive special attacks or fireballs, but more
of a technical way of sword fighting. You'll start in the Japanese
countryside and move forward into different towns, making money and claiming
fame before you get the main tournament in Kyoto, and attempt to win the
championship.
Graphics
Visually, Kabuki Warriors isn't all that spectacular and I'll admit to
you right now that the game looks more or less like the original Bushido Blade
for PlayStation. From time to time you may see that the animation is stiff
and forced with the special attacks being little more than twists and turns of
your character attacking in different ways. Ah, if you're looking for small
details in the characters, then don't bother because much like actual
Kabuki, all of the character faces are painted on and do not move! The
locations that you fight in are typically the same, so without really noticing
what the backgrounds have to offer in terms of scenery, you may find it to be
a little more repetitive than you are willing to stand.
Sound
Audio wise, you have little more than some sort of attempt to be
traditional with a lack of music and overall soundtrack to accompany the game.
Where you'll hear most of the music is with the different menu selections
and you really won't find too much to go along with your fights unless you
play a CD in the stereo. The sound effects also tend to drag on with the most
prominent of them all being the stomping of feet on a wooden floor and some
sort of scream being played every time you do something in either the game or
the menu. When you place these two things together, you'll find that there
really isn't much here to offer and there can be some serious muting going
on.
Gameplay
The game play is something that you really have to understand in order to
enjoy and the moment you pick this game up, you need to understand that this
game is not fast and furious, but more about timing and patience. Although the
game attempts to give you a very challenging time, the only challenge is to
work with the combat system and learn how to defend and attack accordingly.
Now, the offensive moves that you have in your battles are pretty basic, with
different skills coming through with the different teams that you decide to
work with. Almost like Kengo, you have a couple of different sets of
characters that allows you to fight in different styles. However, the lack of
moves in each group is nothing of the depth that Kengo offers, and you'll
have to learn to work with what you have.
The main mode of the game is the Tournament Mode in which you travel from
town to town in order to get through the game. Now, by performing in each of
these towns with the fighting, you can earn money in order to travel onto the
next town or further along the route to Kyoto. However, what you'll find is
that money isn't just earned by winning a match, but rather by impressing
the crowd with your skills and getting them to thrown coins at you for
successful demonstration. All in all, this little feature is something that
makes up for the lack of fighting, in which you have to use what you have
successfully in order to make your money instead of just pounding on your
opponent.
Control is a little strange in this game, simply because you have the four
buttons to work with and then the analog stick. Because the XBox controller
is heavy and large, you may have to work with the game a little bit in order
to get the desired effect that you're looking for. Attacks and otherwise are
simple to pull off with enough practice, and if you're a veteran of games
such as Bushido Blade and Kengo, then you shouldn't have a problem working
with this title. Something that does come up as a challenge though is getting
the defensive rolls and otherwise to work correctly, and you'll have to
practice your timing to get them down!
Bottom Line:
Kabuki Warriors is for the Samurai at heart that really don't need too
much to go along with the overall feel of the game. While there really isn't
much to offer you in terms of audio and visuals, there are some pretty cool
concepts here that have to be realized in order to enjoy the game. Even though
this isn't a fast paced game and you may find it to be a little more
dragging than your usual fighting game, the different objectives that you
complete in your fights are something that is fairly new and innovative. For
anyone else looking for a top notch fighting game, you best look elsewhere,
because this is for hardcore fans only!
-Drew Guirey
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