Way of the Samurai 3 (PC) Review

When playing a PC port of a title that isn't a fighter, but requires plugging a controller to make it manageable, it's certainly not a good thing! There! It's one thing if the camera is being a pain, and that's not a surprise since console games are designed with two sticks in mind, yet Way of the Samurai 3 seems to miss this concept, and can get very annoying to control without plugging in a gamepad.

With that out of the way, this is actually half-way decent, at least when it hasn't decided to be annoying. Playing as a samurai whom has stumbled into one of the various battlefields, with three sides vying for control (or to be left alone), the player must do as all samurai do… and kill things - a lot. And help the poor - a lot. And commit suicide when the camera decides that it's time to be fussy and get stuck on an object, and repeat the same tasks for far too many times.

Right there is the primary problem with Way of the Samurai 3. It's great to be able to talk about how doing simple things, such as bowing to honour fallen soldiers, amongst others, can have consequences down the road. Unfortunately, with each great thing comes an annoying one. The combat, for example, depends on mixing up fast and powerful attacks, as well as a "push and pull" system to keep foes off-balance, but gets bogged down by the ability of some foes to be stupidly strong.

Being able to upgrade weapons and have a level-up system is rendered moot by said system being little more than tacking on stats, with no real meaning or synergy beyond the most basic mechanics. Furthermore, being able to pick one of three factors is dulled down by repetitive quests and the like.

These might sound like some stock complaints, considering some others have similar issues, such as Samurai Warriors relying on a heavy amount of fast button inputs, but there really is a difference. In a game like that, the focus isn't on combat so much as it is on battlefield control and objectives. In a game like Way of the Samurai 3, though, these things are at the forefront. That is how it's going easy on Dark Cloud 2's simplistic combat is not a problem, while there's no way not to be harsh here.

This is the real bee in the bonnet; the constant, seemingly amateurish, mistakes that make this feel less like a modern product, and more like something from back in the PS1/N64 days, when developers were still getting accustomed to 3D. If it wasn't for these mistakes, it would be great to talk about how many minor things that can be done can end up having consequences down the road, and can result in the player stopping to think in a manner greater than "pick the obviously good or evil option," or things like how the combat, when it does try, can be solid, or even the decent visual design.