*SPOILER WARNING* The contents of this review spoil some key plot points in Afro Samurai, the anime and video game. Please read with disgression
When you generally think of the samurai, you probably think about lots of japanese men, in kimonos, with very sharp swords, killing each other. One thing you probably would never associate with the idea of a samurai is hip hop, afros, and teddy bears. Well, Gonzo has been thinking that for a few years now with their popular anime/manga called "Afro Samurai". Like a lot of anime out their today, Afro Samurai is finally getting it's own video game. Is Afro Samurai for the playstation 3 really worthy of the number one headband?
No, not really...
"Oh Yeah, this is gonna be one wild ride"
For the uninitiated, Afro Samurai started out as a manga by Takashi Okazaki in 1999. In 2007, japanese animation studio, Gonzo, picked up the rights to the manga and created a 5 episode series based on the manga. The series was originally shown on the internet, atleast the first episode was on January 1st, 2007. Then, Spike picked up the show for their television station and showed the complete first season of the show at the beginning of 2007.
Afro Samurai was praised by fans as an innovative take on the idea of the samurai. The series had an incredible art style with TONS of blood and gore. The anime was set in a post apocalpytic world that was a combination of feudal japan, hip hop, etc. It's a weird mix that has to be seen to be believed, but it's safe to say that you'll never take your eyes off the screen when you see Afro fighting a samurai (Kuma/Geno) with a Teddy Bear for a head.
Not only that, but none other than Samuel L. Jackson, whose involvment in the Afro Samurai anime is greater than you think, was cast to voice the main character and his companion. Jackson isn't the only famous voice in Afro Samurai either as Ron Perlman and Kelly Hu also play characters in the series.
The story of Afro Samurai went something like this. The greatest warrior in the world is challenged by a demon like Man named Justice for the number one headband, which would allow it's holder to rule the world with godlike powers. Justice kills the warrior and leaves his son, Afro, for dead. Afro vows to avenge his father's death by aquiring the number two headband, so he can challenge Justice, to kill him and let his father's soul rest in peace.
Afro Samurai, the video game, follows the same story as the anime/manga. Afro's father is killed by Justice and Afro is left for dead. The young boy decides to avenge his fathers death so his soul can be at peace from all the killing. The game follows Afro from his earlier years as a teenager to the point where he is full grown and is able to challenge Justice. Along the way, Afro is followed by his side kick, Ninja Ninja, who kind of acts as Afro's other half.
Afro Samurai's story was always great and it still is, even in video game form. All the characters are here in the video game with their respective voice actors at the helm of their voices. Samuel L. Jackson reprises his role as both Afro and Ninja Ninja. Ron Perlman is back to voice the villain of the game, Justice. Kelly Hu is also present to voice Akiku, the mysterious woman (who is actually the younger girl who was with Afro and Geno when they were younger) who rescues Afro after he takes a beating at the hands of a robot version of himself.
"Afro Samurai puts a truely unique spin on a classic story cliche, making it a treat to behold"
Let's talk about the voice acting for a minute. Even though the actors are back to reprise their roles, the voice acting isn't too great. Samuel L. Jackson is great as Afro and Ninja Ninja, but the rest of the voices could have been so much better. The writing is pretty good, but the voice actors don't put enough into their roles like they did in the anime, which is a real shame.
Like the voice acting, the sound effects are kinda bland. In an high calibur action game like Afro Samurai, you'd expect things to sound great as you are hacking and slashing people into little bits. It's not the sound effects themselves, but it's the lack of them. There are just way too many awkward moments where there should have been a sound effect and there wasn't. Thankfully, the music is the complete opposite of the voice acting and sound design in that it's incredible. Like with the anime, Afro Samurai's music is done by The RZA. All the music is rap/hip hop and really adds to the overall style of the game. I'm not really a fan of rap or hip hop but I can safely say that I loved the soundtrack to Afro Samurai.
Presentation wise, Afro Samurai looks like the anime, which is a good thing. The cell shading graphics really make you feel like you are playing an anime with lots of bright, vivid colors and dark, thick lines. The graphics are very nice, but everything else suffers from some pretty bad problems. First off, the game's camera is awful. I wouldn't say it is as bad as a game like Ninja Gaiden II, but it can be pretty disgusting at times. Secondly, the game likes to use manga panels during combat to alert the player of something happening nearby kind of like what XIII and Ultimate Spiderman have done. The problem with this in Afro Samurai is that the panels obscure your view of everything. There are moments, during combat, where the screen will be completely dominated by manga panels that completely obscure your view, making it impossible to avoid getting your ass kicked by enemies you couldn't see. Lastly, the game doesn't have anything in the way of story transition, which almost ruins the pacing of the game's story.
"Afro Samurai looks awesome, but suffers from some very poor design choices"
Afro Samurai is a hack and slash game at heart and for the most part, it delivers on a very satisfying gaming experience.
The game plays like you'd expect it to. Players have to get Afro from point A to point B while they kill everything in his path. The combat system is a treat to use, allowing players to string together attacks and combos with very satisfying results. Afro swings his sword with deadly accuracy as he slices and dices his foes with incredibly gory results. Afro also has a special attack mode called Focus where he can perform some devistating slashes that can tear apart multiple enemies with one slice. Also, he can use the focus mode to go berserk and kill everything with lightning fast attacks.
Fighting can be generally fun often in Afro Samurai, which is good because there are a lot of problems that need mentioning.
Unfortunately for the player, the hit detection can be off by a lot when it comes to attacking enemies. You find yourself swinging at an enemy and only hitting air plenty of times through out the game.
Through out the game, players will be killing dozens and dozens of the same enemy over and over again. To break up these moments, the developers thought it would be a good idea to have the play do some exploring. The environments are completely linear, but players will still have to do clumsy platforming and will need to hit the occasional switch (seriously, its generally only ever one switch that needs hitting).
Boss battles in hack and slash games are generally difficult bouts that test the player's skills with lots of patterns to learn, difficult attacks to avoid, etc. Well, Afro Samurai's boss batles are the opposite of this idea because they are incredibly boring, lack challenge, and can be downright cheap. Players have to fight each boss 3 times in a row. Each time you fight them, they use a different attack over and over again. The final round of these fights has the bosses combining all of their attacks into one big onslaught. This can prove to be either really easy or really cheap, depending on the player that is.
The biggest fault with Afro Samurai is that the pacing is awful. Seeing how there is almost no story transition, the game's pacing is broken up into lots of killing and weird moments that have players jumping platforms. Also, there are objectives that need completing in the levels like collecting a certain number of objects to progress. It's very easy to forget about the objectives when you are trying to kill enemies. If you do forget the objectives, you'll end up doing more fighting than you are supposed to be, which can make the game repetative. Usually, hack and slash games can get repetative when they have the player doing the same thing over and over. Afro Samurai takes this idea to a whole new level with extremelly repetative moments that can try even the most patient gamer's patience.
"Oh shit! Did I mention that Afro Samurai is uber violent?"
Bottom Line: Afro Samurai should have been a great game, it just should have been. The source material is awesome, the characters are great, the story is interesting, the music is incredible, the graphics look very nice, and the combat has it's moments of pure fun. This game is one of those cases where it's faults really ruin the overall experience. The pacing is awful, the camera is disgusting, and the boss battles are pitiful. The game only clocks in at about 6 hours and there isn't much incentive to return for another go around, but there are still moments in the game where you will be on the edge of your seat actually enjoying the game and having fun, which really warrents atleast one playthrough.
Verdict: Fans of Afro Samurai need to play this game. Everyone else should atleast give it a rent. It's not a bad game, it's just not what it should have been.
"Afro Samurai is a great anime, but the game doesn't reflect that greatness"
When you generally think of the samurai, you probably think about lots of japanese men, in kimonos, with very sharp swords, killing each other. One thing you probably would never associate with the idea of a samurai is hip hop, afros, and teddy bears. Well, Gonzo has been thinking that for a few years now with their popular anime/manga called "Afro Samurai". Like a lot of anime out their today, Afro Samurai is finally getting it's own video game. Is Afro Samurai for the playstation 3 really worthy of the number one headband?
No, not really...
"Oh Yeah, this is gonna be one wild ride"
For the uninitiated, Afro Samurai started out as a manga by Takashi Okazaki in 1999. In 2007, japanese animation studio, Gonzo, picked up the rights to the manga and created a 5 episode series based on the manga. The series was originally shown on the internet, atleast the first episode was on January 1st, 2007. Then, Spike picked up the show for their television station and showed the complete first season of the show at the beginning of 2007.
Afro Samurai was praised by fans as an innovative take on the idea of the samurai. The series had an incredible art style with TONS of blood and gore. The anime was set in a post apocalpytic world that was a combination of feudal japan, hip hop, etc. It's a weird mix that has to be seen to be believed, but it's safe to say that you'll never take your eyes off the screen when you see Afro fighting a samurai (Kuma/Geno) with a Teddy Bear for a head.
Not only that, but none other than Samuel L. Jackson, whose involvment in the Afro Samurai anime is greater than you think, was cast to voice the main character and his companion. Jackson isn't the only famous voice in Afro Samurai either as Ron Perlman and Kelly Hu also play characters in the series.
The story of Afro Samurai went something like this. The greatest warrior in the world is challenged by a demon like Man named Justice for the number one headband, which would allow it's holder to rule the world with godlike powers. Justice kills the warrior and leaves his son, Afro, for dead. Afro vows to avenge his father's death by aquiring the number two headband, so he can challenge Justice, to kill him and let his father's soul rest in peace.
Afro Samurai, the video game, follows the same story as the anime/manga. Afro's father is killed by Justice and Afro is left for dead. The young boy decides to avenge his fathers death so his soul can be at peace from all the killing. The game follows Afro from his earlier years as a teenager to the point where he is full grown and is able to challenge Justice. Along the way, Afro is followed by his side kick, Ninja Ninja, who kind of acts as Afro's other half.
Afro Samurai's story was always great and it still is, even in video game form. All the characters are here in the video game with their respective voice actors at the helm of their voices. Samuel L. Jackson reprises his role as both Afro and Ninja Ninja. Ron Perlman is back to voice the villain of the game, Justice. Kelly Hu is also present to voice Akiku, the mysterious woman (who is actually the younger girl who was with Afro and Geno when they were younger) who rescues Afro after he takes a beating at the hands of a robot version of himself.
"Afro Samurai puts a truely unique spin on a classic story cliche, making it a treat to behold"
Let's talk about the voice acting for a minute. Even though the actors are back to reprise their roles, the voice acting isn't too great. Samuel L. Jackson is great as Afro and Ninja Ninja, but the rest of the voices could have been so much better. The writing is pretty good, but the voice actors don't put enough into their roles like they did in the anime, which is a real shame.
Like the voice acting, the sound effects are kinda bland. In an high calibur action game like Afro Samurai, you'd expect things to sound great as you are hacking and slashing people into little bits. It's not the sound effects themselves, but it's the lack of them. There are just way too many awkward moments where there should have been a sound effect and there wasn't. Thankfully, the music is the complete opposite of the voice acting and sound design in that it's incredible. Like with the anime, Afro Samurai's music is done by The RZA. All the music is rap/hip hop and really adds to the overall style of the game. I'm not really a fan of rap or hip hop but I can safely say that I loved the soundtrack to Afro Samurai.
Presentation wise, Afro Samurai looks like the anime, which is a good thing. The cell shading graphics really make you feel like you are playing an anime with lots of bright, vivid colors and dark, thick lines. The graphics are very nice, but everything else suffers from some pretty bad problems. First off, the game's camera is awful. I wouldn't say it is as bad as a game like Ninja Gaiden II, but it can be pretty disgusting at times. Secondly, the game likes to use manga panels during combat to alert the player of something happening nearby kind of like what XIII and Ultimate Spiderman have done. The problem with this in Afro Samurai is that the panels obscure your view of everything. There are moments, during combat, where the screen will be completely dominated by manga panels that completely obscure your view, making it impossible to avoid getting your ass kicked by enemies you couldn't see. Lastly, the game doesn't have anything in the way of story transition, which almost ruins the pacing of the game's story.
"Afro Samurai looks awesome, but suffers from some very poor design choices"
Afro Samurai is a hack and slash game at heart and for the most part, it delivers on a very satisfying gaming experience.
The game plays like you'd expect it to. Players have to get Afro from point A to point B while they kill everything in his path. The combat system is a treat to use, allowing players to string together attacks and combos with very satisfying results. Afro swings his sword with deadly accuracy as he slices and dices his foes with incredibly gory results. Afro also has a special attack mode called Focus where he can perform some devistating slashes that can tear apart multiple enemies with one slice. Also, he can use the focus mode to go berserk and kill everything with lightning fast attacks.
Fighting can be generally fun often in Afro Samurai, which is good because there are a lot of problems that need mentioning.
Unfortunately for the player, the hit detection can be off by a lot when it comes to attacking enemies. You find yourself swinging at an enemy and only hitting air plenty of times through out the game.
Through out the game, players will be killing dozens and dozens of the same enemy over and over again. To break up these moments, the developers thought it would be a good idea to have the play do some exploring. The environments are completely linear, but players will still have to do clumsy platforming and will need to hit the occasional switch (seriously, its generally only ever one switch that needs hitting).
Boss battles in hack and slash games are generally difficult bouts that test the player's skills with lots of patterns to learn, difficult attacks to avoid, etc. Well, Afro Samurai's boss batles are the opposite of this idea because they are incredibly boring, lack challenge, and can be downright cheap. Players have to fight each boss 3 times in a row. Each time you fight them, they use a different attack over and over again. The final round of these fights has the bosses combining all of their attacks into one big onslaught. This can prove to be either really easy or really cheap, depending on the player that is.
The biggest fault with Afro Samurai is that the pacing is awful. Seeing how there is almost no story transition, the game's pacing is broken up into lots of killing and weird moments that have players jumping platforms. Also, there are objectives that need completing in the levels like collecting a certain number of objects to progress. It's very easy to forget about the objectives when you are trying to kill enemies. If you do forget the objectives, you'll end up doing more fighting than you are supposed to be, which can make the game repetative. Usually, hack and slash games can get repetative when they have the player doing the same thing over and over. Afro Samurai takes this idea to a whole new level with extremelly repetative moments that can try even the most patient gamer's patience.
"Oh shit! Did I mention that Afro Samurai is uber violent?"
Bottom Line: Afro Samurai should have been a great game, it just should have been. The source material is awesome, the characters are great, the story is interesting, the music is incredible, the graphics look very nice, and the combat has it's moments of pure fun. This game is one of those cases where it's faults really ruin the overall experience. The pacing is awful, the camera is disgusting, and the boss battles are pitiful. The game only clocks in at about 6 hours and there isn't much incentive to return for another go around, but there are still moments in the game where you will be on the edge of your seat actually enjoying the game and having fun, which really warrents atleast one playthrough.
Verdict: Fans of Afro Samurai need to play this game. Everyone else should atleast give it a rent. It's not a bad game, it's just not what it should have been.
"Afro Samurai is a great anime, but the game doesn't reflect that greatness"
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