Blah, blah, review, blah, blah, Poopgang, blah, blah, 2005. You know the drill.
Format – PS2
Developer – Taito/Red Entertainment
Publisher – 505 Gamestreet
Release – February 2005
What is it with Japanese rock stars and videogames? First Takeshi Kaneshiro provided the image and voice for Samanosuke in Onimusha, and now the effeminate heart-throb Gackt has provided his likeness for this hack and slash title. To add further mumblings of cynical hardcore cash-in, the characters and enemies were designed by Toshihiro Kawamoto of Cowboy Bebop fame. The cynicism is misplaced though, as Bujingai reveals itself to be more than just a simple button basher revolving around a profile raising exercise. The main protagonist, Lau, is elfin and androgynous, a master of dual sword techniques who possesses amazing fighting prowess and an unmatched proficiency of agile manoeuvres.
At first you would be forgiven for thinking this was a straight forward button basher, as a simple 12 hit combo can be strung together with repeated presses of the standard attack button. In addition to this basic combo attack, you can perform a spinning attack with the triangle button that will prove immensely helpful if/when you are surrounded by enemies. Furthermore, a tap of triangle at any point during your basic combo will interrupt its normal flow and allow you to branch off with multiple options. Once you’ve done the combo interrupt, hitting triangle again will cause you to integrate the spinning slash move into the combo; hitting square will uppercut your enemy high into the air allowing you to continue to juggle him and score additional hits; and hitting the jump button will add a rapid flying kick to the end of the combination.
Though the less skilled bread and butter enemies you encounter on your travels will accept your punishment without too much of a grumble, the powerful ones (especially bosses) take exception to your attempts to carve them up with two big swords. When you or an enemy block an attack, the game switches into a back and forth parrying mode in which the timing of your button presses determines who gains the upper hand, represented by colored flashes that are incorporated well into the frantic, frenetic flow of the action. If your timing is accurate enough, you’ll be able to beat back your opponent and eventually unleash the combo of your choice. But be careful, it is based on timing, not button bashing, and Lau can only afford so many misses before he is vulnerable to a lengthy combo attack himself. The way the camera angle switches back and forth during these one-on-one fights is extremely fast paced and pretty dramatic to watch.
I mentioned Lau’s agility earlier, and compared to other staples of the genre, he measures up favourably. Where Shinobi’s Hotsuma can only grip a wall, Lau can grip and climb. Where Raikou of Otogi fame can dash through the air, Lau can do the same; only control his direction with more conviction. Where the Prince of Persia can run across a wall, Lau can disregard gravity and momentum and propel himself upwards, downwards, whichever way he pleases. While Dante (Devil May Cry) is confined to three or four swipes with his sword, Lau can utilize his weaponry for upwards of 15 hits in a single, continuous combination attack. Whereas Kunoichi, known as Nightshade in the UK, stalled and spat out magic to a full stop, Lau works it into his extravagant combination attacks. His Gungrave-esque stylish posing mid-battle and moody silence during cut-scenes further strengthen his unique character. Lau’s character model is finely detailed and richly ornamented; his colourful costume bears a variety of intricate streamers and decorations that flap around convincingly while fighting.
There’s an in-game combo counter that will keep track of the number of hits you’ve consecutively strung together; this reviewer reached a high 200, but has seen evidence of a count nearing four figures. Higher difficulty levels will decrease the games tolerance for sloppy timing; on the hardest difficulty, you may have a hell of a time keeping up in a duel with some of the more powerful, stubborn characters. As is de rigueur, you’ll also be ranked at the end of a level based on many factors including the style of your sword-play, level completion time, number of items picked up, and then assigned an overall score per stage. Like in many recent action games, the better you perform, the more you’ll be able to increase the essential aspects of your character, including the length of your health bar, magic bar, magic skill level and attack/defence strength.
The environments that Lau must navigate are rich in colour and varied in theme, although a tad clichéd. Ancient Japanese ruins and bamboo ridden forests are typical ninja game fare, even though this is supposedly set in an apocalyptic near future. Some of the levels set in deserted cities are bland and uninspiring, although Lau’s colourful and high octane combat manoeuvres brighten things up no end. Menu management is swift and sensible, often an area that trips up so many other examples of the genre. At least the frame rate is exceedingly smooth, which facilitates the blindingly fast action. All of Bujingai’s elements contribute to its unique style; in addition to flamboyant fighting and stylized visuals, the music is an eclectic mix of wailing rock guitars and traditional Asian rhythms that surprisingly works well in the context of the game. There’s some typically overblown voice acting in there too, but we’ve come to expect that from an English language dub.
This isn’t the longest of games. With only 8 levels, first consisting of 4 sub-sections, rising proportionally to 16 later on, it was easily be clocked in under 10 hours, and I did each mission twice to fully power up Lau’s abilities. Bujingai is very much focused on the core combat mechanics, or more specifically, the duels, and the players who latch onto and understand the process will be the ones who are really into honing their abilities and seeing their performance dramatically improve as they master a game. Ideal for anyone who is awaiting the next instalment of Devil May Cry, but for everyone else, it’ll be just another button basher. [7]
Those were all the original screenshots I used in the original review, too.
