Genji: Days of The Blade

Other products by Sony

Product Features

• Twice as many missions as the original - Twice the amount of gameplay (over 15 hours total)
• Rich storyline influenced on historical Japanese events - 3 years after Genji - Dawn of the Samurai
• 4 playable characters interchangeable at any time, producing devastating team-based fighting combos
• Over hundreds of on-screen enemies and incredible fighting sequences on horseback

Product Details

• Our recommended age: 17 - 20 years
• Manufacturer recommended age: 0 months and up
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B000JLIXI6
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches ; 4.5 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: November 14, 2006
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,833 in Video Games (See Bestsellers in Video Games)

Product Description

Amazon.com

Set three years after the last chapter of Genkuro Yoshitsune's life, Genji: Days of the Blade, continues to expand on the historical accounts of feudal Japan. Days of the Blade unveils beautiful next generation visuals and sword slashing gameplay as an exclusively developed title for the Playstation 3.

Stunning visuals that take advantage of the PlayStation 3's next generation power. View larger.

Pulse-pounding sword fighting. View larger.

Can you handle all these enemies? View larger.

Swap characters and weapons during gameplay to conquer your enemies. View larger.

Deliver devastating attacks. View larger.

Game Storyline
Three years have passed since the young swordsman, Yoshitsune Minamoto, and his warrior-monk companion, Benkei Musashibo, defeated the Heishi Clan and their leader in a brutal battle over the possession of "Hinaishi"-- divine jewels that bring their owners godlike powers. With that success, it had finally seemed that peace, however temporary, had arrived.

During this time, Yoritomo Minamoto, Yoshitsune's older brother and leader of the Genji clan, tracked the remnants of the Heishi to the South of Japan where he and his army were preparing to eliminate their weakened numbers.

However, rumors begun to spread of new, ungodly creatures appearing within the Heishi ranks and their evil force re-strengthening, even without the use of the Hinaishi.

Now, with the aid of his closest friends and some unlikely allies, Yoshitsune must once again wield his fierce blades and summon the powers of the Hinaishi in and epic battle to save all of Japan.

Gameplay
Prepare for a next generation action/adventure that combines dramatic and fluid martial arts combat with an ancient historical tale of feudal Japan.

Execute gracefully articulated swordplay while pulling off lightning quick lunges, multi-strike combos, and spectacular special moves that differ depending on the characters you are playing and the weapons the wield.

Instantly swap between the four playable characters; young samurai Yoshitsune Minamoto, mighty warrior-monk Benkei Musashibo, Tamayori priestess lady Shizuka, and Lord Buson, the God of War who has taken up the earthly form of Kagekiyo Taira, the antagonist from the original Genji game, Dawn of the Samurai. Take advantage of each of their unique fighting styles and weapons, or pull off devastating team-based combos by interchanging characters between attacks.

Partake in massive battles against hundreds of enemies simultaneously with no loss of frame rate or detail. Melee your way through entire armies on the battlefield while an epic war rages on around you.

Equip and instantly switch between to different weapons at any time. Begin a move with one weapon, and finish off with another for devastating combination attacks. Each character has their own signature-specific weapons to choose from, of which you're certain to develop favorites.

Collect Amahagane and Mashogane crystals, and then use them to strengthen your characters and weapons. You choose which warriors and weapons to upgrade, making each and every game experience unique.

Product Description
Genji: Days of the Blade unveils beautiful next generation graphics and vastly improved gameplay on your PlayStation 3. Step away from the traditional gaming experience as you discover a new level of action and adventure for the PS3.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Graphics, Great Gameplay, Giant Enemy Crabs, November 18, 2006

By	Lisa Shea "LisaShea.com" - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)

Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

Genji Days of the Blade is probably most notorious for its silly E3 demonstration. The speaker talked about how it portrayed authentic feudal Japanese battles - involving Giant Enemy Crabs :) He also talked about novel concepts such as "attacking its weak point for maximum damage" and how you could do (gasp) REAL TIME weapons change in the game. This last item actually looks very silly - you could be swinging one sword, hit a button and MID SWING the sword changes into a new weapon.

In general, this is a fighting game set in PRE feudal Japan, i.e. 1187. I ran a Feudal Japan newsletter for many years, and feudal Japan was the 1500s, the days of Oda Nobunaga and the wars then. Back in 1187, there was a quite different government setup. If you're curious about this time period, read The Tale of Genji sometime by Lady Murasaki - this is acclaimed by many as the first novel ever written. It was written back in the 11th century! It's a great read even today, which is quite an achievement.

So back to the gameplay. You play a young two-sword warrior and have as your pals an older warrior, a female warrior and a war-god turned spellcasting warrior :) You fight through various Japanese landscapes and settings, taking on the Bad Guys. You have your combat techniques and magical powers to help you triumph.

The graphics are very impressive. In the cut scenes, you can see the fabric weaves on the layers of kimono, the metallic sparkle in the lacquerware, the rippling heat waves by the fire. During gameplay the character movements were fluid and natural. Fabric pieces would sway and tiny, glistening sparks would float on the air. Some scenes were really quite lovely in a painting sort of way.

Gameplay itself involves slicing with swords, chaining up attacks and blocking. There are, a la the Giant Enemy Crab, situations where you have to Attack the Weak Point for Maximum Damage. I didn't like the HUD of the map in the top left - it took up too much space and looked "silly" in almost a PacMan kind of way. The top left HUD of characters and health was much better done, less intrusive.

For sound, I love Japanese culture and really enjoyed the traditional music that played in the background in many scenes. For me it really helped immerse the game in an authentic setting. Many of the characters speaking are obviously Japanese and hearing that accent and proper pronunciation of historic names was great. Some have British accents ... odd.

There were a lot of little details that I really enjoyed. Obviously these guys had done their research. The little click as a sword was reset into its scabbard, the traditional sword holders on the ground, the way the swordsmen would set up a stance and move, it was all really enjoyable to watch. In many ways it was like being in a well done movie. That all being said, they took a few liberties about what the buildings looked like, and the characters dressed like, back in 1187. It was more like a time traveller from the feudal Japan period (i.e. the 1500s) went back to 1187 in some cases :) But that's sort of like the movie Excalibur, where King Arthur and his knights were wearing armor from the 1600s England. Historic King Arthur certainly wasn't alive in the 1600s :) But we accept that anachronism as part of the myth. It's not like the Japanese soldiers in 1187 had magic powers, either.

In general I really love this game. If I'm going to pick out a particular flaw, it's the camera. You can't control the camera at all, and there are situations where it becomes incredibly annoying. Still, that's something you can just resign yourself to while you enjoy the game!

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars defective beauty, November 26, 2006

By	Kora - See all my reviews

Fun:2.0 out of 5 stars 

Genji is set in ancient Japan that is supposed to be actually historical, However when you run into giant crabs and Ladies floating around with butterfly wings, you start to question that concept.
The graphics are awesome, obviously next generation quality and great sound to make you feel like you're in mythical Japan.
The problems with the game are obvious. You'll start playing the game and then when a battle is over, you'll have no idea where to go or what to do so you'll start wondering all over the map until a cut scene starts.
The camera doesn't help either. All too often your character will be fighting something off-screen or your character will disappear through a wall and you'll have no idea what or if you're hitting anything and you'll get frustrated when you die because you couldn't see what was happening.
The game play is hack and slash. All that happens is "kill this giant crab, wonder around, go through the door, activate cut scene, repeat." There's no variety in the game play that keeps the player interested.
If the game had fixed the weak points (which could have been very easy for some such as the camera) this could have been at least an average game. But these flaws are not acceptable for games anymore (if they ever were) and more should be expected for a next generation game.

PROS
Great graphics
Set in mythical ancient Japan
CONS
No idea where to go
Repetetive and straight forward gameplay
"Where am I?" camera

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars suprised! in a good way., July 20, 2008

By	Scotty boy blue "gamer" - See all my reviews

Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

having heard the negative feedback from it's show at e3 (large crab) I was very cautious to try this game, but I am glad I did. I would say this game is a mix of ninja gaiden and a simple action rpg, but it makes for some very fun gameplay. It was pure enjoyment for me the whole way through. Though The game seems rather easy at times, it can be pretty challenging at others. If I knew I would like this game so much I would have bought it sooner. Mostly, I was very suprised at how good this game was.