Let's Play Way of the Samurai (s07: The 6 Bs 09/18)

Kaseius

Welcome to the Let's Play of Way of the Samurai!



OP by Darth_Mogs, since Kaseius is a lazy poop.

What is Way of the Samurai?: What is fun?

Fun is Way of the Samurai. In most cases, yes, that is the correct answer. However, if you're looking for something more in-depth, Wikipedia states Way of the Samurai is:

Set in 19th Century Japan, the player takes on the role of a ronin who wanders into a remote village and becomes involved in a conflict between rival clans. A notable feature of the game is the Choose Your Own Adventure style branching storyline, which allows minor decisions by the player to radically alter the course of the story.

Well, that's informative. It then goes on to say a bit more, regarding the story:

The story of Way of the Samurai takes place in 1878, after the fall of the Tokugawa Shogunate and the start of the Meiji Period, during the Satsuma Rebellion. A time when the Samurai, who were once at the top of Japanese society, are all but outlawed. The game begins with the player, taking the role of a wandering ronin by the name of Kenji, arriving in a fictional outpost called Rokkotsu Pass.

Rokkotsu Pass is a sparsely populated village, whose main attractions include a railway crossing, a small restaurant, and an iron foundry. Three separate factions are competing for control of the Pass, each with their own agenda. The first is the new centralized government, whose army has been sweeping through the country securing power from the local warlords. The government army is well funded and equipped with modern weaponry, including firearms and cannons, making them formidable opponents for the former samurai lords.

The second faction is the Kurou family, who previously held sway in Rokkotsu Pass and continue to exert their influence on the people through extortion and intimidation. Lead by Tesshin Kurou, the family is resisting the government's attempt to take control of the pass, however the samurai cannot compete with the modern army. In an attempt to secure funds, the Kurou intend to sell the iron foundry to the government.

This decision by the Kurou puts them in direct opposition to the Akadama clan, whose leader, Kitcho, is the illegitimate son of Tesshin Kurou. The Akadama wish to expel the government forces from the pass, and plan to sabotage the Kurou family's attempt to sell the foundry.

Caught in the middle of this power struggle are the village peasants, who are likely to be oppressed regardless of who is in control.

Uhh?: You're a Wandering Samurai. You get to this place, and stuff goes down, and you get to decide how to react to said stuff, which molds how that particular story plays out.

So what makes Way of the Samurai fun?: Well, it's quite simple. As mentioned, Way of the Samurai has a malleable plot that is decided by the choices the player made on that playthrough. From the very start to the very end of each playthrough, it's quite possible to have a completely unique experience from the one before it, or the one after. While there is some overlap eventually, it still manages to differentiate itself each time unless you make the same choices over and over again. Then, y'know, that's on you.

Aside from that, there's the obvious thing that you are a Samurai and a (usually) badass one at that. You get to cut dudes up, regardless of which group you decide to join. The characters themselves are quite varied, adding another level of depth to the stories, as you get to see different sides of them, depending on who you end up with.

So there's a lot of replayability?: Oh boy, is there. Aside from all the storylines possible, you get to collect weapons from your playthroughs! After each clear, it adds the weapons you gained to your collection for you to then choose from on your later plays. The weapons you gain all have different stats and offer different stances, allowing for an even deeper character customization. This is a double-edged sword (Ha!) however, as if you die, you lose the swords on your person. Decided to take that super-difficult-to-obtain sword into Hard Mode, and you got your face caved in? Oops. So be careful in your selections, as they might end up costing you more than you stood to gain.

How is this Let's Play going to unfold?: AWFUL. KASEIUS WILL DIE A LOT. I guess we'll pick what kind of a samurai we are or something.

Special Note!: This LP was made possible by a generous donation of a copy of Way of the Samurai by B:L. Remember to thank him for being awesome and letting us experience a good game for once. Also, y'know, Mogs made the OP and he's awesome too.

---

s01: The End.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdIwpoaEhy8

s02: Everybody sounds like Kaseius!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZgx_I6CodA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrg0d7bLk3E
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PP2GbfB1RJ8

s03: CTS is weak.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIAUZMNn5LU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2eu4feYerk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaozOE4NLpE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yq1c2Fg88_s

s04: All according to keikaku?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKE77sJogp8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQ2JPWFDV80
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-k3euWJKGE

s05: Bad End.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5

set05.2 (off-set 1)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m70aY-Awm0U
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ubg9DQmI64
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYvwI2QCGOU

s06: Hammertime?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuutA_TrLto
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5V4gVV7k0g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEicd07hpCM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GByihy_vFLU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hn0hdrmLEZA

s07: The 6 Bs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzrCMYRvYPU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0yeSLg-Pdg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qE_rDj4SJhM

EspantaPajaro

Sounds cool , I remember hearing about this game way back when but never actually saw it in stores.

Kaseius

Set02 might still be cooking, but I really didn't want to wait to post it.

So, hah.

Zombiemambo

I bought this for like $6 earlier this year. It's pretty fun, and the idea is cool (playing the game many times over to discover the whole narrative), but I didn't really dig the story too much. Combat is also fucking hard as shit

Chance

I approve of Way of the Samurai, so I approve of this.

Also - WotS 3's localization is this October. Buy it! Buy it so we get more!

EspantaPajaro

What an open ended game . I like how you play too you're the exact opposite of me , you managed to piss everyone you met off.

Dragkonias

Zombiemambo wrote: »

I bought this for like $6 earlier this year. It's pretty fun, and the idea is cool (playing the game many times over to discover the whole narrative), but I didn't really dig the story too much. Combat is also fucking hard as shit

Combat is a lot better once you get some of the stronger swords. Be careful though, since you can lose them if you die while they're equipped.

Alternately, you can just use the cheat code to spawn them.

Malechai

Love this game so much. Just remember to upgrade the durability of ninja blades if you ever get them. They break way too easy with the charge attack.

Edit: After watching your second set of video's I think you should know that you can only carry 3 swords at a time.

Vegan

Man, Japanese people are obsessed with afros. Correct me if I'm wrong, but that's about as historically accurate as a giant enemy crab.

miscellaneousinsanity

Ooh! I still need to finish watching the Jaws LP, but when I'm done I am definitely checking this out.

Zombiemambo

Vegan wrote: »

Man, Japanese people are obsessed with afros. Correct me if I'm wrong, but that's about as historically accurate as a giant enemy crab.

I think it's a reference to Enter The Dragon.

manwiththemachinegun

Ah, excellent! You found a copy of the game!

Do you plan on messing around with hard mode at any point? There are some truly insane swords you can collect in that mode. We're talking hacksaw samurai swords, spiked fist balls, ultimate ninja swords and grim reaper scythes.

Watching it now, but which ending do you plan on going for?

Edit: Ah, it seems this is your first time with the game. Excellent, that'll make it fun.

General tips:

Try not to piss off people if you can avoid it, making nice with factions has advantages. Some endings require you to treat everyone well.

If you get down to around 1/3 health, you should start looking for health pickups. In this game they are turnips, mushrooms and bottles of sake. Be careful with mushrooms though! Some are poisonous. The reason health is so important in this game is that once you get down to around 20% your character will start to collapse to his knees at which point you are TOTALLY vulnerable to attack and cannot run away until you recover. Unless you can't retreat, you REALLY don't want to push it once you get down to around 1/3 health if you want to live.

The basic blocking and fighting mechanics is this: attack an enemy after defending or after evading a combo. Learning the "off balance" technique is the single most important thing in this game. You will get your ass kicked over and over and over until you figure out what's actually going on. It's like rock paper scissors.

If you block and the enemy pushes = you get pushed off balance
If you push and the enemy blocks = they get pushed off balance
If you push and the enemy PULLS away from you = you go flying forward off balance
If you pull and the enemy pushes you = they go flying forward and off balance
If you just attack with NO pushing OR pulling, and the enemy PULLS, then THEY will be vulnerable
If the enemy attacks with NO pushing OR pulling and you PULL then YOU will be vulnerable

Whatever happens is some combination of those six outcomes. Every enemy has recovery animations so you can see what they're doing. Some enemies push very aggressively, others fight passively and pull a lot.

SOME attacks are unblockable, they're the ones with blue auras around them typically. Others are 'throws' with a big windup time but they are also unblockable. Examples include Shiretoko's karate chop-gut stab and Dojima's big haymaker. Stay FAR away from them when they do that.

Learning new moves for a sword is easy. The more you use a sword, the more moves you get in general. However, there is a trick to this. You have to 'max out' your combos.

For example, let's say you want to get the basic double stab move on most swords. Just hit forward + triangle until you learn the new combo. But that's not your only moves. Try holding backwards + and triangle, try launching an enemy in the air with a heavy attack and then hitting them with a square square square combo. Try holding triangle instead of tapping it. Some moves you learn automatically if you're at low health, or if you get knocked down and crawl backwards for 10 seconds without getting hit.

Main characters tend to have the best swords, but elite enemies have swords that are comparable, and on hard mode they're actually better than most main character swords. This game goes from VERY hard to much more manageable once you collect a few good swords. If you're worried about losing good swords to a hard fight, (since there is NO chance to save-reload in this game), you can either mail your sword at the blacksmith, or leave the pass with the swords you've collected. You leave the pass at the north eastern section of the map with the railroad tracks. You'll get a prompt saying, "do you want to leave the pass with your swords?"

Hopefully that helps, this game is crazy if you don't have an instruction manual, but I look forward to seeing your LP and your commentary. Have at it!

GalagaGalaxian

Man, I remember this game, it was awesome. The branching storyline was great.

I felt like such a terrible failure when

The little girl I was protecting was killed during the festival fight. That ending was awesome in a bittersweet way.

Or was that the second game? [edit] yeah, that was probably the second game...

cooljammer00

Malechai wrote: »

Love this game so much. Just remember to upgrade the durability of ninja blades if you ever get them. They break way too easy with the charge attack.

Oddly enough, one of the comments on Youtube for the first video lauded that you could play the whole game without ever even taking out your sword.

Lord Yod

Shit yes, this game is awesome.

randombattle

GalagaGalaxian wrote: »

Man, I remember this game, it was awesome. The branching storyline was great.

I felt like such a terrible failure when

The little girl I was protecting was killed during the festival fight. That ending was awesome in a bittersweet way.

Or was that the second game? [edit] yeah, that was probably the second game...

That was the second game. Which wasn't bad but didn't have nearly as good story and gameplay as the first.

Malechai

randombattle wrote: »

GalagaGalaxian wrote: »

Man, I remember this game, it was awesome. The branching storyline was great.

I felt like such a terrible failure when

The little girl I was protecting was killed during the festival fight. That ending was awesome in a bittersweet way.

Or was that the second game? [edit] yeah, that was probably the second game...

That was the second game. Which wasn't bad but didn't have nearly as good story and gameplay as the first.

I didn't play much of the second one myself the way the map in that game worked just broke the immersion that the first had going for it. Also it didn't seem to be as free form as the orriginal either.

Fatal3RR0R

I remember reading about this magazine and thinking that it seemed pretty cool.

I'm really looking forward to watching this.

cooljammer00

Okay, I giggled too hard at Kenjius tripping over a barrel, and then Formal Man tripping.

randombattle

Malechai wrote: »

randombattle wrote: »

GalagaGalaxian wrote: »

Man, I remember this game, it was awesome. The branching storyline was great.

I felt like such a terrible failure when

The little girl I was protecting was killed during the festival fight. That ending was awesome in a bittersweet way.

Or was that the second game? [edit] yeah, that was probably the second game...

That was the second game. Which wasn't bad but didn't have nearly as good story and gameplay as the first.

I didn't play much of the second one myself the way the map in that game worked just broke the immersion that the first had going for it. Also it didn't seem to be as free form as the orriginal either.

Yeah you were limited to basically 3 paths with no variation really until the last part. It had more swords and styles of combat which is cool and a million more parts to make your character out of but it just didn't have the soul of the first game.

I mean in the first game you can go through the whole thing with out saying anything to anyone and the story changes to reflect that. That's just too cool, but the second? eh... not as much.

Fatal3RR0R

Man you have a knack for making people hate you.

of course the same thing probably would have happened to me. >.>

Darth_Mogs

Kase, those videos left me giggling. You made so many people mad at you.

I'll type up some tips and observations here, in a spoiler though, in case you want to figure them out for yourself, since you're not, y'know, obligated to open a spoiler. Although I noticed manwiththemachinegun already posted some.

-Learn Kick. Use Kick. Outside of battle, it can help you pick up things with the sheer power of badass.
-You can only carry three swords at a time. Hence the not being able to pick up red guy's sword. You can drop swords.
-Yes, if you join the blue guys (the guys you joined this time) random red guys are enemies. Conversely, if you join the red guys (the guys who let you get hit by a train), the random blue guys are enemies.
-Dojima is a fucking tank. You realized, but he is supposed to be as such in case you're a cheapo.
-Running away to find health restores is possible. Oftentimes it's, y'know, a good idea as well.
-The reason you kept dropping to a knee is because you had such little health left.
-The bar that kept getting red is your swords durability. If it completely fills up red, it breaks off a block. Lose all the blocks and the sword is destroyed. I don't think your default sword can be completely destroyed though, but it might be; the game doesn't like holding your hand, as you've seen.

Here's a couple things that I'm pretty positive on, but am not completely sure on:
-If you block somebody's sword and then move the stick to the side(I'm pretty sure this is the way to do it, at least), you redirect them; make them stumble. Really effective battle tactic.
-Using Dojima's "Delivery" service is a way to save a sword in case you think you might die, or just want to make sure you keep one. Get a rare sword? Send it off, to make sure you can use it.

Also, History Time! :rotate: (I'll spoiler it for those of you/all of you who don't care)

The Sword Restriction Act, or whatever the "Officer" brought up, as well as the 'sad time for the Samurai' that Dona Dona spoke of began around the middle or so of the Sengoku Jidai, or Warring States, period of Japan, by Toyotomi Hideyoshi (I believe that was his most widely known name, as he had several) who was the successor of Oda Nobunaga; the man who almost unified Japan.

In 1588, Hideyoshi, a man who had himself been a peasant to rise up through the ranks under Nobunaga's banner, decided to enforce a strict class structure, in which 'peasants' were no longer allowed to carry weapons and recognized samurai had to remain in their clans, as some had taken up peasant work due to the uncertainty of the future or the land. Basically, workers work, and warriors fight. (Or, y'know, don't, if they don't have to. Just stay out of the goddamn fields.) It was part of his attempt to set up his own legacy, hoping his name and his family would continue on to rule even after his passing. And also so that nobody else could rise up through the ranks as he did.

Of course, it didn't, as even though he unified the land finally, mostly thanks to everything Nobunaga had done before him, his only son died and he had to name his nephew as his heir, and after Hideyoshi's death, his heir was unable to hold the same power that Hideyoshi had. After the land was divided again between the Tokugawa clan and his supporters and the Hideyoshi loyalists and what was left of the clan, they battled, eventually doing the last major battle of the war at Sekigahara where Tokugawa won, leaving his clan to eventually become the Shogunate; something Hideyoshi himself would have never been able to accomplish.

So, basically, Hideyoshi ruined it for everyone. And that's pretty much why there are a lot of the sort of Wandering Samurai stories. Everybody likes a good nameless renegade.

Sir Carcass

I'm a big fan of Kengo, so I was excited when this came out and wasn't disappointed. Never played the second one, though. I didn't know a third was coming out for the 360. I'll definitely keep an eye out for it.

Xtarath

Woo! Kaseius gets to play a game that he doesn't dread having to start up!

Keep it up. I'm looking forward to future sets!

YamiNoSenshi

At least it's not Jaws.

Fiaryn

Man I still own this game. It's awesome as hell. My sword of choice was always the Side Stance one that purple kimono clad wanderer had. I ganked him for his weapon early on and that made my life muuuch easier. Can't remember how to spell the swords name though.

MundaneSoul

I love this game. I got it a couple months ago and every once in a while I throw it in to see what kind of ending I'll get. Still haven't seen the same one twice.

Gar king

according to wikipedia in wots3 you can have a magical cat-girl goon. That game is so bought

Kaseius

So, because this game is actually fun, I find it much easier to squeeze it into my schedule for recording. How should the next recording attempt to go? Should I side with any of the people? See if I can hang with Don or marry the chick? So many options, so little time!

manwiththemachinegun

Side with the Akadama (red guys). They have cool people you can ally with, and their story path isn't overly difficult except for one part (which thankfully you can't die at).

Plus if any of them *happen* to die... you get their swords... which makes future play throughs easier. Or you can betray them, up to you.

The civilians are honestly a bunch of sissies, screw em. You can just totally ignore Suzie getting kidnapped...

Which is actually...

A requirement to getting the best ending since you have to work with both Samraui factions and not piss them off to get the best ending.

Olivaw

I played the shit out of this game

It is so awesome

It's basically Yojimbo: The Game

cooljammer00

Xtarath wrote: »

Woo! Kaseius gets to play a game that he doesn't dread having to start up!

Keep it up. I'm looking forward to future sets!

To be fair, I think Kaseius thought "Oh man, it's Jaws! This will be hilarious!" and it was for a while. In theory, it's a great LP.

In theory.

edit: I also like how his thought process was "Man, I stabbed gramps. She'll be pissed" when he was indestructible and she didn't care anyway. She was more upset about you betraying her family and attempting to rape her.

What happens when he accidentally gets another sort of "train" ending? Restart from the last save? Branching paths!

B:L

cooljammer00 wrote: »

What happens when he accidentally gets another sort of "train" ending? Restart from the last save? Branching paths!

Restart from the beginning each time he dies.

An eternal groundhog day, until he reaches an ending.


It'll be like Ephemeral Fantasia.

Kaseius

cooljammer00 wrote: »

Xtarath wrote: »

Woo! Kaseius gets to play a game that he doesn't dread having to start up!

Keep it up. I'm looking forward to future sets!

To be fair, I think Kaseius thought "Oh man, it's Jaws! This will be hilarious!" and it was for a while. In theory, it's a great LP.

In theory.

edit: I also like how his thought process was "Man, I stabbed gramps. She'll be pissed" when he was indestructible and she didn't care anyway. She was more upset about you betraying her family and attempting to rape her.

What happens when he accidentally gets another sort of "train" ending? Restart from the last save? Branching paths!

My thought process was more "I need to start a new LP and can't pick anything. Whatever, Jaws it is." ..I think.

And I kinda like how dying makes you start over; it sorta reminds me of a roguelike in that sense for this game, but.. it might make it a bit harder to LP. Starting over a bunch..

DarkWarrior

Way of the Samurai is amazing and Dead Rising is probably closest in concept but its still miles away from its brilliant execution. Love it, loved 1 more tahn 2 but am looking forward to 3. Keep it up.

manwiththemachinegun

Thankfully, it only takes 1:30 or less to get any of the games endings.

Really, this game is like groundhog day. In order to start getting better endings, you have to pay attention to information you get from the factions, and successfully complete some of the game's more difficult events. You accomplish that though, by failing a bunch but slowly getting better swords with more powerful bonuses (to health, damage etc). You also have to figure out who to ignore. A lot of people need your help in this game, and you can't make everyone happy. You have to pick the 'best' people to save at the right time to get the most impact.

It's a game that really makes you want to do well, because if you screw up and people (or yourself) die, you can go, "Hmm, okay, next time I should use..." etc.

cooljammer00

Be a super badass, killing everyone who looks at you funny.

Seriously, he almost beat the hammersmith!

Fatal3RR0R

cooljammer00 wrote: »

Be a super badass, killing everyone who looks at you funny.

Seriously, he almost beat the hammersmith!

I second this proposition.

cooljammer00

Because if he murders both clans, there should be a super badass ending. I doubt it though.

manwiththemachinegun

cooljammer00 wrote: »

Malechai wrote: »

Love this game so much. Just remember to upgrade the durability of ninja blades if you ever get them. They break way too easy with the charge attack.

Oddly enough, one of the comments on Youtube for the first video lauded that you could play the whole game without ever even taking out your sword.

Technically that's true, but you're going to see a lot of failure events and aren't going to be able to get specific endings. However, you don't have to kill anyone in Rokkotsu pass if you go for the,

best ending. You just have to unite the clans against the government and then kill their smarmy asses.

Big Classy

I tried getting into this but had no idea what I was doing. It took me a while to work it out and then I just thought screw it, and fixed my 360. Though now that there's an LP, I feel the need to stay true to my LP oath; if there's an LP on here for a game I own I must play along. I've done most others (I hate you helloween ) so this is a given. Good show, old pip!