Genji: Dawn of the Samurai is a hack and slash, action game made for the PlayStation 2 and is the first game of the Genji game series. It is loosely based on The Tale of the Heike.
Main characters[]
Story[]
The story follows the adventures of Minamoto Yoshitsune as he descends from his mountain retreat and eventually embraces a quest to defeat the Heishi, thereby avenging his father.
Early in his journey, he meets the Tamayoribito clan who are the guardians of the Amahagane – jewels of power that allow selected individuals to release magical powers known as Kamui. On his journey, Yoshitsune meets Musashibo Benkei, a warrior monk who later became his partner; and Lady Shizuka, a Tamayori priestess who perform the unique power of Yosegane. Fighting together, the 2 young warriors seek the Amahagane from their enemies while Shizuka combine them using Yosegane, in order to bring down the Heishi. However, they soon realize how weak they are when they lost to Heishi's general, Taira Kagekiyo, and the two take on a new journey to Oushu-Hiraizumi, where they would train themselves and gain more power.
Follow the instruction of their new guide, Kichiji Nobutaka, Yoshitsune and Benkei head to Konijikido, where they meet the God of Smithery Shukenten, and he proposes a challenge for each of them in order to test if they are worthy of his power. Both Yoshitsune and Benkei passed the test, and Shukenten bestows them "The true power of the Amahagane" along with 2 new weapons made from the light of his power. The 2 warriors leave Konijikido just to find out that they were betrayed by Kichiji, and Kagekiyo stands before them, ready to finish his early mission to kill them. Using their new earned power, Yoshitsune and Benkei defeated Kagekiyo, and he suddenly disappeared in a rage. Kichiji offers his apologize, and tells the 2 warriors that their hide-out has been attacked by the Heishi. Shocked by this new, Yoshitsune, Benkei and Minazuru hurried back to Kyoto in order to save Otohiko and Lady Shizuka.
The two warrior arrives at Kyoto, just to see it ruined and covered with evil auras. And in addition to their surprise, Otohiko turns out to be Lady Shizuka herself, and she has been captured by the Heishi. Both of them hurried to her rescue, however when they arrived everything were too late, Shizuka was controlled by the Heishi's magic, and she combined all of their Amahagane into one. Kyomori, using his new Amahagane, intends to kill Yoshitsune and Benkei but failed, and he drag Shizuka into another place using his power. The two warriors follow them just to see Kagekiyo has returned, and his Amahagane was combined with Kyomori's to create a Black Amahagane. However, Kagekiyo steals the Amahagane and slays his own lord at the end, and he unleashes his power in order to fight with Yoshitsune and Benkei. Using all of their strength and will, the 2 warriors finally killed Kagekiyo and save Lady Shizuka.
Having lost their leader, the Heishi was unable to perform a good defense against Yoritomo's attack, and fled to the west. Yorimoto went on to create a land centered around the samurai. Meanwhile, on a riverside far away, Yoshitsune, Benkei and Shizuka takes on a new journey in order to protect the Amahagane.
Gameplay[]
Gameplay is third-person combat, similar to what is found in the Dynasty Warriors series (produced by Koei) and Shinobi 2 (produced by Sega). The player controls Yoshitsune or Benkei, and both characters are equipped with two basic attacks: Normal and Special.
Yoshitsune is your archetypal fast and agile warrior, making up in speed what he lacks in strength and defense (unless equipped). He is able to jump on small platforms (which, if jumped on by Benkei, would collapse). He wields Double Swords, and can also use his sword to 'hang' onto a ledge before jumping again, allowing him a double jump of sorts.
Benkei is the stronger but slower character, with greater range than Yoshitsune. He uses 2 kinds of weapons, a large war Clubs and a long Fauchards, which can also be used to destroy certain structures and heavy doors in the game.
There are two ways to improve your character: By leveling up normally through defeating foes, or by using Essences of Amahagane to level up certain stats. Both methods are independent of each other. Normal experience can be gained by defeating enemies - the more enemies defeated in a row and the more strikes scored, the higher the experience. Benkei and Yoshitsune share this experience total. Amahagane experience is increased by using three Essences of Amahagane to increase a stat (either health, attack, or defense). This level is independent for both characters.
Gallery[]
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Opening sreenshots[]
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