Afro Samurai Review

by Sean Anthony

With the success of the animated TV show and a fallow up movie, Afro Samurai has taken the animated world by storm. With voice talents of Samuel L. Jackson, Ron Pearlman and Kelly Hu it’s no wonder why it has been called one of the best animated series along with getting its own game. So onto that, we have Afro Samurai the game where you get to take over the role of Afro on the quest for the Number 1 in the land. Afro is the Number 2 best fighter in the land and therefore is the only one allowed to battle the Number 1, but the catch is that anyone can battle the Number 2 to attempt to take his Number 2 status and the right to battle the Number 1. Now that we got that out of the way, here is the review for Afro Samurai.

Story:

The story goes, Afro witnessed his father (at that time the Number 1) get decapitated by the then Number 2 “Justice” who became the Number 1. Afro then grew up with vengeance as his prerogative and as the Number 2, seeks out to find “Justice” and avenge his father’s death all while becoming the Number 1. Your aided (use that term loosely) by Ninja Ninja who is a loudmouth, obnoxious, and cowardly person, that fallows Afro everywhere. Ninja Ninja is revealed to be imaginary and is Afro’s outlet from his emotions.

Afro becomes the Number 2 after killing the Sword Master, a friend of his father’s and the one who trained him. The Sword Master gives Afro 2 choice; forget avenging his father's death and live a normal life, or walk the path of the Number 2. Needless to say Afro cuts down Sword Master and becomes the Number 2.

Throughout the game it tells the story of the show and allows you to become the most sought after man, the Number 2. Take over the role of Afro in your war to find and destroy “Justice.” While it stays true to the show, it does vary itself away in differences that will be obvious to those who watch the show. Such as the school where Sword Master is, is attacked because Afro killed the local Daimyo and his armies converged on the school for revenge, while in the show it is for the Number 2 headband. These small differences among some others will cause some noticeable problems for avid show watchers.

Gameplay:

The game itself has that hip-hop feel and style within it. The controls are very easy to learn and keep it simple so you have maximum killing ability. You have your short quick strikes and your heavy slashes that are slower, but cause larger damage. The game path is linear, which it should be considering you have one objective, to become the Number 2 and kill the Number 1.

The game allows you to do certain moves in certain areas, kind of like situational moves you could say. Such as wall runs and wall climbing which are used in a Ninja Gaiden kind of way, except sparingly. You can fight dozens and dozens of enemies at a single time which really shows Afro’s ability as well as vengeance against all who stand before him. The gameplay on its own is truly basic; fight these enemies, go this way, fight enemies, chase boss character, close or open this, and fight enemies and boss. It does suffer from that rudimentary set up, but the game makes up for it with the strong storyline and lots of blood and gore. You can deal with basic game controls if the game itself is made correctly and Afro Samurai does a decent job with the gameplay. It is in fact, a typical hack and slash, but it makes up for itself with lots of it and bosses that make you think and change strategy.

Your typical enemies are annoying, but with the mass amount of them it creates for a fun and destructive. Your enemies also respond smartly to your attacks with rolls, jumps and slides to avoid your blades. You can also block and mix combos for multi kills, it makes for a more strategic feel in some situations. The gameplay is decent, it offers plenty to kill and a good amount of boss fights and oh yeah, Samuel L. Jackson! As I said, it does suffer from typical setting and controls, but with the show and story being seen in such a high light it makes up for the simple gameplay. While it is fun, it becomes totally repetitive and offers very little unique to the gamer. With all that the gameplay is still enjoyable and if you’re a fan of the show then you’ll love this hack/slash happy title.

Graphics:

The graphics have to be looked at on a different scale due to the unique style it has. It has a cartoonish, but realistic feel to it. They used a cell shading system that works with the game and offers a mainstay to the animation it represents. It is given with that old school ancient hip-hop styling that is imaginary yet beautiful at the same time. The graphics offer a free flowing and retro feel to them, all while still staying in the new-gen stylings. The graphics keep the animation feel from the show and contribute to the games want to stay rooted next to the show. True, they are not the best around, but that isn’t what the game prides upon, it gives the graphics in the light of the story and the idea of the show and works beautifully.

You can’t hate on a game for staying true to the roots of its predecessor (example: Uwe Bol for straying away from the roots in game movies) because it stays true to not only the story, but the way it is portrayed. Alas, it does have a simple and somewhat weak graphic system in the end. It has very little to interact with, it is a-typical and is hurt by lack of unique structures as well. The graphics are in no way bad, not at all in fact, they are just basic and been done before. The game XIII set a high bar for cartoonish game graphics and that excelled and to the detriment of Afro Samurai.

Sound:

The sound has hip-hop beats and old school Asian music sounds which make for a good sound flow with the game itself. The voice actors are cast straight out of the show so that it solid and in a definitely check for a positive for the game. The RZA of the Wu Tang Clan did the music for the show and helped contribute to the game as the music director which gives that awesome hip-hop/ninja vibe that the series has carried since day one.

The quality is strong and there and you got to thank RZA for keeping the music in line with the game. The music holds together the game in some senses when you look at it; it keeps it original, within the same story, and interesting. Without the sound the game would have some problems with keeping true to the show and keeping fans around to play the game.

Without the voice talents, music and original score, this game would be far less than standard. It relies heavily on its sound to keep the Afro feel within itself. When killing it makes it easier to do to hip-hop beats, kind of like Def Jam Icon except it doesn’t suck.

Replay:

Ok, I can’t lie here, it has nearly no replay value. With no online and a storyline that has no outlets from the main quest, you have nothing much to look to here. I can usually find something in a game that makes it worthwhile to play it again, but here there is not much. Yeah, there are a few achievements you could go back and try to get, but why? Is it worth another 4 or 6 hours of your life for those 45 G-Achievements? Play Madden for 5 minutes and you’ll get 100 easy.

The game offers no replay value and is a straight through storyline from start to finish. It really hurts it bad in the end. If there was some kind of online or separate paths to take it would have made this a much more replayable game. Alas, it offers purely nothing in the form of replay and that will make it suffer, greatly.

Overall:

Here’s where you might get a little confused at my rating, I gave it strong B’s throughout the review, but when it came down to the replay it got a D which is awful. In light of that, I have to say the game is in fact, good and fun and offers a lot in a game. It has a strong story, interesting gameplay, decent graphics and great sound, but in the end it has nothing and I mean that literally, to get you to play it again. When I beat it I shelved it. It keeps your interest until you beat it, then you don’t play it again simply cause it gives no reason to.

I have to say that it was a big disappoint to me, I love the show and love the characters and thought the game was done quite well, but it seems like they finished the main story and then that was that. You have no interest to even pick it up again when you could play Soul Caliber 4 or Dead or Alive 4. It becomes a fighting game with no multiplayer after you beat the main game and it really hurts it. Don’t get me wrong, the game is fun and has a deep story that spans the entire show as well as graphics and sound that stay true to its heritage. But, when it comes down to it, the game doesn’t hold true because it offers not a damn thing after the game is beaten the first time. It is unfortunate that such a good game from such a great show cuts itself short simply from lack of after play. The game is good until you beat it, then it becomes a game that sits on the shelf. The game is worth renting, but not buying and I don’t recommend buying it unless you are simply obsessed with the show.

	A Secret History	10
	Complete "THE DAIMYO'S STORY".
	The Death of Innocence	15
	Complete "SCHOOL INVASION".
	The Price for Vengeance	20
	Complete "SWORD MASTER'S STORY".
	Love Lost	25
	Complete "OKIKU'S STORY".
	The Path to Godhood	30
	Complete "THE LOWDOWN EAST PASS".
	And so it begins	5
	Complete "PRELUDE".
	Copy-Cat Killer	35
	Complete "THE DOPPELGANGER".
	The Past Laid to Rest	40
	Complete "KUMA'S STORY".
	All That Stood Are Gone	45
	Complete "THE EMPTY SEVEN'S STORY".
	Revenge Served?	50
	Complete "JUSTICE'S STORY".
	Completionist	200
	Complete the game on both difficulties.
	Closer to God	5
	Slice an enemy using a Vertical Attack with a bonus.
	This Little Piggy	10
	Slice off fingers and toes at the same time.
	Give Me a Hand	10
	Slice off an enemy's hand.
	Two Birds One Sword	5
	Slice 2 enemies at once.
	Three-way	5
	Slice 3 enemies at once.
	Four to the Floor	10
	Slice 4 enemies at once.
	The Child Without a Name	5
	Collect 5 mementos in "THE DAIMYO'S STORY".
	Afro Samurai	5
	Collect 5 mementos in "SCHOOL INVASION".
	The Demon of Vengeance	5
	Collect 5 mementos in "OKIKU'S STORY".
	The Number Two	5
	Collect 5 mementos in "THE LOWDOWN EAST PASS".
	The Death Bringer	5
	Collect 5 mementos in "THE DOPPELGANGER".
	Widow Maker	5
	Collect 5 mementos in "KUMA'S STORY".
	The Samurai Ghost	5
	Collect 5 mementos in "THE EMPTY SEVEN'S STORY".
	The Number One	100
	Unlock all skills.
	Hundred Head Hunter	20
	Slice off 100 heads with a bonus.
	Head to Toe	25
	Slice 50 enemies using a Vertical Attack with a bonus.
	Meijin	5
	Achieve 100 kills.
	Kengo	20
	Achieve 1000 kills.
	Kensei	50
	Achieve 2000 kills.
	Made Hand Ronin	5
	Complete a Ronin Straight Flush.
	No Limit Ninjas	10
	Complete a Ninja Straight Flush.
	Kunoichi Suicide Queens	10
	Complete a Kunoichi Straight Flush.
	Gutshot Android Straight	15
	Complete an Android Straight Flush.
	Off Suit Samurai	25
	Complete a Samurai Straight Flush.
	Hip Hop	10
	Slice off an enemy's foot.
	Slow Your Roll	5
	Slice an enemy during their attack.
	You Are Glue	10
	Kill an enemy with a sliced bullet.
	I Am Rubber	10
	Kill an enemy with a reflected bullet.
	Mash Medley	5
	Achieve a 20 hit combo.
	Rhythm Section	20
	Achieve a total of 3000 combos.
	Let It Flow	15
	Spill 2000 gallons of blood.
	Bushi	30
	Unlock 40 skills.
	Ashigaru	10
	Unlock 10 skills.
	Hatamoto	20
	Unlock 25 skills.
	*F!# Gravity**	5
	Slice an enemy in the air.
	Hats Off to You	5
	Slice off a head with a bonus.
	Torso From Tail	15
	Slice 50 bellies.