Video Game Vintage Title: Way Of The Samurai 3

Way Of The Samurai 3

Way of the Samurai 3 is a video game made by Acquire, released by Spike on November 13, 2008 in Japan for the PlayStation 3, and later ported to the Xbox 360. It is the sequel of the PlayStation 2 games Way of the Samurai and Way of the Samurai 2.

The English version of the game was released in North America by publishers UFO Interactive and Agetec on October 13, 2009.

Way Of The Samurai 3 Plot

The time is the Sengoku period. The story takes place in Amana, a fictional land ruled by a rising feudal lord, Fujimori Shuzen, who had overthown his former superior, Lord Sakurai, and became the new ruler. The Fujimori clan is an emerging force in Amana and has many enemies within its territory. In order to protect their domain, they force farmers and villagers to overwork and impose heavy taxes on them to strengthen their armed force. Because of this, people in Amana are beginning to feel discontent toward the Fujimori clan.

There are three main factions in Amana: Fujimori clan, Ouka clan, and Takatane villagers. The Ouka clan consists of vassals of the Sakurai clan and outcasts who desire power. They want to overthrow the Fujimori clan. The Takatane villagers are harmonious people only wishing for peace.

Way Of The Samurai 3 Gameplay

Players have direct involvement in the plot by choosing dialogues and actions in the game. A new feature in the game is that players can draw their weapon any time during cutscenes.

There are 22 endings. After completing the game, players will retain the weapons, items, parts they obtained, money, as well as physical stats, learned skills and techniques for future replays.

Based on what they did in the game, players will receive an end-game title and Samurai Points. There are 50 different titles, ranging from "Nobody" to "Samurai 4EvR!". The total Samurai Points are used to unlock secrets, heads, clothes, and abilities.

The game encourages players to be honourable, because they will lose their total Samurai Points for doing villainous acts, and will not be able to unlock secrets.

Reception
Famitsū gave this game a 31/40 (8-7-8-8) score. It sold 80,000 copies in the first three days in Japan.

Gamesradar gave "7 reasons you should care about Way of the Samurai 3". Chris Roper from IGN wrote a review, giving it a 6.5 overall for having "PS2 games" graphics, "meh" combat, and "not enough of a sandbox to really build a castle". On November 30, 2009, Gamespot posted a review for this game, with a 5.5/10 score.