Samurai Games

[NeoZeedeater]

Like ninjas, I have always found samurai characters in video games to have a certain coolness factor lacking in the stereotype square-head American action hero. Samurai have a long history in video games and this thread will give an overview of the samurai theme in gaming.

Now, I'm no expert on Japanese culture so I don't always know what exactly defines a samurai. There are instances where I'm not sure if a character is a samurai, a ninja or something else. For example, the character in Ninja Spirit looks like a samurai to me but the name of the game seems to suggest otherwise. Therefore, I have left out any game with the word ninja in the title. Feel free to correct me on any games that should or should not be included.

Samurai video games date back as far as 1980. Sega released an arcade action game called Samurai. The object was to simply to eliminate all opponents on the screen. In Japan this was re-released as a cell phone game.
http://images.webmagic.com/klov.com/screens/S/vSamurai.png

In 1984, Taito released an arcade game called Samurai Nippon Ichi, which looks to be an early beat 'em up.
http://images.webmagic.com/klov.com/screens/S/wSamurai_Nipponichi.png

In 1986, there was Namco's arcade game Genpei Toumaden.
http://images.webmagic.com/klov.com/screens/G/wGenpei_ToumaDen.png

This dark platformer had a demon/ghost samurai as a main character. Namco released a Famicom game under the same name but it was an Action/RPG. The arcade game had a sequel which came out domestically on the TurboGrafx as Samurai Ghost.

Also from 1986 was Nintendo's Nazo no Murasame-jou for the Famicom Disk System. As one would expect from Nintendo it's light-hearted and addictive. Koji Kondo's musical talent shines here too. This game was recently re-released on GBA in Japan. The disk is also an item in Pikmin 2.
http://donut.parodius.com/translations/fds/images/mura-02b.png

Musashi no ken: Tadaima Shugyou Chuu was an anime-based Famicom platform game from Taito.

Around the same time, Virgin Games/Mastertronic released Shogun for home computers. Shogun was a hybrid of action and adventure elements and was based on the novel by James Clavell.
http://www.c64gg.com/Images/S/Shogun_V_ingame.gif

More closely based on this novel was Infocom's 1989 release James Clavell's Shogun, which is considered an excellent text adventure. I couldn't get it to work on my computer but I will try again some time.
http://www.grenier-du-mac.net/copiecran/s_z/shogun1.png

In 1987, Konami released a neat platform/RPG for the Famicom called Getsufuu Maden. The samurai character from this game also made an appearance in Konami's Famicom game Wai Wai World.
http://dorando.emuverse.com/images/getsufuu-maden_02.png

Capcom released Samurai Sword for the Famicom, a dark graphic adventure game. I played the translated rom and it's pretty cool.
http://donut.parodius.com/?func=trans&platform=fds&gamekey=543
http://donut.parodius.com/translations/fds/images/ss2b.png

There were several samurai-themed games in 1988. Beam Software's Usagi Yojimbo/Samurai Warrior for various 8-bit computers continued the tradition of action/adventure games like Fist II. Usagi was later remade for VGA PC.
http://www.cpcgamereviews.com/u/usagi_yojimbo.png

Then there's Jaleco's arcade game Samurai Fighter Shingen. I haven't played this one.

Sega's Master System game Kenseiden is still my favorite samurai game after all these years. This somewhat Castlevania-ish action/adventure game is unique because of its non-linear design. I love how you can explore different areas and learn new moves.
http://www.inverteddungeon.com/angry-robot/reviews/kense_01.gif

1989 saw a very unique game on the PC Engine by Big Club/Wolf Team called Jimmu Densho Yaksa. Picture a game like Space Harrier except with a samurai character on the ground. Review scores are usually pretty low for this game but I like it. It's not the same game as Wolf Team's MSX2 Yaksa.

http://www.vgmuseum.com/images/04/jimmu.html

MicroProse's Sword of the Samurai is about a samurai's quest to rise the feudal ladder and become a shogun. This game is a mix of strategy, adventure and fighting elements.
http://24hour.system.to/jitb/mh/sots7.gif

Sigma's 1990 Famicom RPG Musashi no Bouken
http://donut.parodius.com/translations/nes/images/mush-04b.gif

Heading into the '90s we have Vivid Image's First Samurai for various 8-bit and 16-bit computers and consoles.
http://emuarcade.espaciolatino.com/fsamurai.gif

A sequel called Second Samurai came out a few years later for the Amiga and European Mega Drive.

Technos followed up River City Ransom with a medieval Japan themed Famicom game called Downtown Special: Kunio-kun no Jidaigeki dayo Zenin Shuugou. The translated rom is called Technos Samurai.
http://donut.parodius.com/?func=trans&platform=nes&gamekey=200
http://www.classicgaming.com/doubledragon/charothjidai2.gif

Tecmo released Kyatto Ninden Teyande(AKA Samurai Pizza Cats) for the Famicom in 1991. It was a decent platformer.

In 1992, Seta's Musya came out for the SNES. I don't remember much about this platformer except that it had nice graphics and mediocre gameplay.
http://www.consoleclassix.com/info_img/Musya_SNES_ScreenShot2.jpg

1992 also saw the release of Impressions' Strategy/War PC game Samurai: Way of the Warrior(AKA Conquest of Japan). I almost never play these kinds of games so I can't comment on it. There are probably earlier samurai war games(from Koei?) but I lack knowledge of this genre. A more recent game of this type is the PC RTS game Shogun: Total War.

With Street Fighter 2's immense popularity came a flood of competing fighting games. After Fatal Fury, SNK made Samurai Shodown. Samurai characters have appeared in fighting games ever since and Samurai Shodown saw several ports and sequels(and even an RPG). I can't keep track of every fighting game that has samurai in it but there are several games, such as Lightweight/Square's Bushido Blade series on Playstation.

Square released their ARPG Brave Fencer Musashi for the PS1 in 1998.
http://www.gamerankings.com/screens3/457/1.jpg

It's too bad the recent PS2 sequel doesn't seem to live up to it. The demo turned me off as the action was just dull.

The 32-bit era saw the rise of PC-style action/adventure games on console thanks to Capcom's Resident Evil. Konami made an attempt at the action/adventure genre with their Playstation game Soul of the Samurai. I only played the demo but this game was incredibly disappointing by Konami standards. Capcom's similar games are much better.

Capcom's Onimusha was originally under development for the PS1 but ultimately came out as a PS2 game in 2001. The gameplay was like a more action oriented Resident Evil. I really enjoyed it but I found the second game too much of a rehash. Number 3 was cool because of the time travelling between medieval Japan and modern day France.

Onimusha 3(2004)
http://www.take2.co.za/covers/ss/big/ps2-onimusha-3_4.jpg

While Tenchu developer Acquire handed that franchise over to K-2, they made an excellent new action/adventure game for PS2 called Way of the Samurai in 2002. Like Tenchu, the atmosphere was top notch. What impressed me was the open-ended design where your choices affected the story and events.
http://www.armchairempire.com/images/previews/ps2/way-of-the-samurai/way-of-the-samurai-1.jpg

I'm afraid to try the sequel as I hear it's not as good but given how much I liked the first game I will buy it eventually.

Dimps/Sammy's Seven Samurai 20XX for PS2 was an action game (very loosely) based on the classic Kurosawa film.
http://www.dailygame.net/Articles/media/screens/sevensamurai/sevensamurai7.jpg

Omega Force/Koei's Samurai Warriors came out for PS2 and Xbox in 2004. Like the Dynasty Warriors games before it, it was a large scale beat 'em up except this time in Japan instead of China.
http://www.3kropki.pl/img_pg/8/_sm_auto_965.jpg

Sega acquired the rights to Tezuka's properties and one of the games they released last year for PS2 was Blood Will Tell. It was a beat 'em up/adventure game. It was worth a rental for me but not much more. I liked the style though.
http://ps2media.gamespy.com/ps2/image/article/538/538593/blood-will-tell-20040813105500109.jpg

Sega also published Samurai Jack for PS2, a game based on the cartoon. I haven't played it but given that it was developed by Adrenium, the makers of Azurik I expect it to suck. There was also a Samurai Jack game for GBA developed by Virtucraft.
http://gameboy.ign.com/objects/482/482126.html

I want to check out Konami's Shaman King series on GBA as it appears to use Castlevania's engine. I haven't played the PS2 or GC games either.
http://www.vgcity.com/~media/shkinggba/shkinggba4.jpg

I'm sure I missed a bunch so add away. What samurai games do you like best?

[Ed Oscuro]

Yeah, I've fooled around with Sega's SG-1000-esque Samurai. Not really that bad given the age. There's also SNK's early Sasuke vs. Commander, though I think that's from '83.

In terms of actual samurai, well, you have the Sengoku Ace/Samurai Ace games (?), nifty shooters. The line between ninjas and samurai seems distinct, but it's not...take Tenchu, where Rikimaru is essentially a sneaky guy that does lots of sword attacks, which you associate with samurai.

[NeoZeedeater]

Sasuke vs Commander is from 1980 so it could be older than Sega's Samurai but the character seemed more ninja like(throwing objects) so I left it out.

[Richter]

Samurai Shodown/Samurai Spirits!

[RetroYoungen]

Samurai Shodown/Samurai Spirits!

That was the first to come into my head too. I so completely love those games...

[digitalpress]

Another brilliant post! Thanks for compiling this, very interesting.

+200 meseta for you.

[Damaramu]

Don't forget the Last Blade/Gekka No Kenshi series.....

[Trevor Belmont]

I can't think of any other games to add to this list; I just wanted to say: great post! Samurais have always fascinated me too. I had no idea there were so many games out there based on them ... Musya looks very interesting, I hadn't heard of it before. Thanks for the info!

[Retsudo]

"What is a true Samurai? The way of the true Samurai is the ability to live through death."- Ogami Ito, The Shogun Assassin.

Samurai were the military class in Japanese societies up until the end of the Edo period-1868

[Cthulhu]

I majored in Asian Studies with a minor in history, so I've studied Samurai a lot. Here's a quick (or maybe not so quick ^^;) overview of what a "samurai" actually is...

In 1192 Minamoto no Yoritomo established what is now known as the first Shogunate. In doing so, he instituted what is known as "warrior rule" in Japan. Prior to the Shogunate, Japan was ruled by the Emperor and the noble court, but now the actual authority was vested in the military classes, not the old nobility (although lots of the old nobility did fit into this category as well).

In order to rule the country, Yoritomo (now the first Shogun) doled out authority and tracts of land to loyal subjects, court officials, and the like. These people were in charge of the land and had permission (responsibility, really) to raise an army and train in military fighting and tactics. These local feudal lords came to be called "Daimyo" (although some had other titles, this is the generic term for this sort of lord). Each daimyo had local warrior families under his command, and it is those people who eventually evolved into the "samurai."

It is in the Edo period (roughly beginning in the year 1600) that the samurai we know came into being. The vassals of the daimyo had, over time, developed into a sort of "local nobility;" they were warriors tasked with enforcing the rule of the daimyo and upholding his honor. They were established families who were samurai by right of birth or title, not by whether they could use a sword or not. (Common people were not allowed to own or learn how to use weapons unless they were in the army, and there were actually lots of samurai who had no clue how to use a sword.)

Samurai all have a specific lord they serve, and if they lose this lord, they in turn are no longer samurai - they are "ronin," masterless samurai. Ronin had few choices - they could find a new lord, take vengance for their fallen lord (see the movie Chushingura for a famous tale about samurai vengance) or they could voluntarily drop their rank.

Ninja, on the other hand, are farming clans that practiced stealth and combat with weapons commoners could make or get their hands on more easily. Technically, they were violating the law of commoners not being allowed to own or practice the marial arts, but some ninja clans did have lords that kindly overlooked that so long as the clan served them. Others remained independent and hired out their skills to whomever would pay them.


In short, samurai are warrior nobility that have a master they serve. Ronin are samurai without a master. Ninjas are commoners who practiced stealth tactics.

Hope this... um, was informative. Phew, that was longer than I expected. ^^; Great article! Well written and lots of good pics. Samurai games are excellent... almost as good as ninja games! LOL

[kainemaxwell]

Another great article!!

[CasualCoreGamer]

I've been struggling through translations for Samurai Spirits RPG (Saturn) and the struggle is worth it. I'm surprised Soul of the Samurai(PSX) wasn't mentioned and maybe not so surprised about Rising Zan: Samurai Gunman (PSX). I haven't tried any of the Onimushas yet, but eventually will.

[Crush Crawfish]

Awesome article, man! Keep up the great work! :D


Musya looks very interesting, I hadn't heard of it before.

Do yourself a favor and stay away. It looks great, but controls like crap. If only they'd worked as hard on the control as they did the graphics...

Oh, and don't forget the upcoming Samurai Western game. It looks pretty cool, sort of like a spiritual sequel to Rising Zan.

[Daria]

There were several samurai-themed games in 1988. Beam Software's Usagi Yojimbo/Samurai Warrior for various 8-bit computers continued the tradition of action/adventure games like Fist II. Usagi was later remade for VGA PC.
http://www.cpcgamereviews.com/u/usagi_yojimbo.png


Hey... I recognize that rabbit. He's a comic book charcter isn't he? I remember the ads for it from when I was a kid and used to read Albedo (furre sci-fi, although at the time I had no clue what furres were. :P)

[buttasuperb]

Another brilliant post! Thanks for compiling this, very interesting.

+200 meseta for you.

Yea definately good info in this post.

[junglehunter]

Wow. Nice article. I remember playing First Samurai/Second Samurai. I believe it was on a Shareware disc for the PC. 8-)

[boatofcar]

There were several samurai-themed games in 1988. Beam Software's Usagi Yojimbo/Samurai Warrior for various 8-bit computers continued the tradition of action/adventure games like Fist II. Usagi was later remade for VGA PC.
http://www.cpcgamereviews.com/u/usagi_yojimbo.png


Hey... I recognize that rabbit. He's a comic book charcter isn't he? I remember the ads for it from when I was a kid and used to read Albedo (furre sci-fi, although at the time I had no clue what furres were. :P)

Usagi Yojimbo.

http://www.darkhorse.com/zones/usagi/index.php

He also made a cameo in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon, which is where I remembered him from.

[-hellvin-]

Don't forget Sengoku Blade.

Many samurai's attempt to take you out but die horribly.

[NeoZeedeater]

Thank you for the additions, history lessons, meseta and compliments everyone. :)


I've been struggling through translations for Samurai Spirits RPG (Saturn) and the struggle is worth it. I'm surprised Soul of the Samurai(PSX) wasn't mentioned and maybe not so surprised about Rising Zan: Samurai Gunman (PSX). I haven't tried any of the Onimushas yet, but eventually will.

I hope the Samurai Spirits RPG gets a full transhacked version some day. In my omitting of most fighting games that related game slipped my mind. I did mention Soul of the Samurai though; I just couldn't find a decent picture for it. Rising Zan has always intrigued me although opinions on the gameplay are really mixed. It seems to be mostly praised on theme.

[CasualCoreGamer]

Sorry, overlooked Soul of the Samurai :embarrassed: . A transhacked version of SS RPG would save me a lot in the paper dept, but till then, a printing I will go...

[Immutable]

Mercenary Force was a nice Samurai/Ninja title for the gameboy.