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PS2
Samurai Champloo
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NCS
Game Synopsis
«©NCSX»
Mugen is
a radical samurai who slashes and breakdances, not
necessarily in that order, when attacking foes. His
unlikely traveling companion is a proper ronin who observes the ways of Bushido,
despite having no master, and all
the edicts that fall under its auspices. The two
warriors trail a woman named Fuu whose goal in life
(or maybe just for now) is tracking down a samurai
who has the scent of sunflowers on him. In a
sequence near the beginning of the adventure, gamers
see the sunflower samurai in a field of sunflowers
but the sunlight puts a glare on his face... The two
swordsmen are beholden to Fuu in a way because she
helped them get out of a jam. That... and a fateful
coin toss that Mugen nearly sent into orbit.
NCS would describe Samurai Champloo as a 3D samurai rhythm action
game. It would be routine fare were it not for the
combination meter that's located on the top of the
screen which indicates the available combos for
either Mugen or Jin. The combos may be pulled off at
any time. Mugen's movement and attack style are
unorthodox to say the least - he mixes devastating
swordplay with back spins where he rotates on the
ground and then kicks out to blow back any warriors
that might be closing in for the kill.
NCS Game Notes
* In the intro to the game, a stylized cinema taken
from the animation series plays which depicts Fuu,
Mugen, and Jin in polished and glossy CG. Along with
familiar scenes such as Mugen yawning and Jin
pushing up his glasses, Fuu pokes up with two
shish-kebab-like food items but in her usual way,
drops them on the floor. In another sequence, Fuu is
tied to a wooden post and appears to be in need of
rescuing. There's a stranger who appears in the
intro who is a silver-backed player with big blue
headache and slashing sword skills. After the intro
ends, a guy shouts, "Samurai Champloo" while major
static/scratching sounds as the title screen jiggles
and breaks.
* CONTROLS
L-Analog / Movement
R-Analog / Toggle combo styles and music;
push to bring up dual DJ deck
L1-Trigger / Guard
L2-Trigger / Reveal full menu indicators
R2-Trigger / Map and map toggle
X-Button / Jump
SQUARE / Attack ; press continuously to
trigger combos as indicated on top indicator
TRIANGLE / Spinning attack ; used with SQUARE
for combos
* Game options after pressing START are:
New Game: Start a new action adventure and
play as Mugen or Jin
Load Game: Restore save data point from
memory card
Option: Joypad configuration, Dual Shock, etc
Practice: Test your combo skills and chains
with an opponent who doesn't press the attack but
will attack if he's attacked first. Great way to
learn the Champloo fighting system and hone skills.
* The top combo indicator basically lists which
attacks may be triggered. For example the first
combo is SQUARE followed by TRIANGLE, TRIANGLE.
Pressing this button combination will send Mugen in
a forward slash attack followed by a spinning slash
and ending with a break-dancing spinning move where
he twirls on his back and kicks out as he rises up
from the floor. The second combo is four SQUAREs in
sequence followed by three TRIANGLEs. As each
combination button press is triggered, the combo
meter lights up to show where in the combo sequence
you're currently at. Attacks are very simple to pull
off and chains are by the book. There are a few
times when your orientation might need adjustment
during the heat of battle but this is simple to
correct and continue.
* In the Now Loading screen, a profile of Fuu is on
the lower right screen where she's drinking a
soda.and dressed in her trademark pink kimono. As
the load bar reaches right, her face fills up with
red as she slurps up the soft drink.
* All of the dialogue in the game is accompanied by
spoken vocals by voice actors.
* When ninja are killed, they turn into blood red
silhouettes which then shatter apart into bits of
red blobs.
* Scene #0: Easy Come. Easy Go.
The three travelers are walking when they spy
someone standing in a field of sunflowers but the
sunlight is glaring his face. The intro recounts the
initial meeting between Mugen and Fuu and how Mugen
and Jin originally got off to a flying start. As the
three are calmly walking and chatting, their recent
past doesn't seem so harsh since they're all
basically friends now. More flashback and scenes
from the animated series are shown albeit in CG
rendered style. A map of Japan shows a trail going
to Nagasaki and the camera takes in the three
wanderers as they slovenly walk through a seaside
town. They spy a ship and Mugen rushes to it and is
halfway up the hull when Jin and Fuu spy someone
poking Mugen with a stick perhaps in an attempt to
dislodge him. Next the ship is shown sailing while
seagulls trail its wake and progress. Realistic wave
effects and the credit slowly flash on screen while
the boat continues its way. The camera takes in
views of the ship from multiple angles and
occasionally focuses on the seagulls as they flap
around in steady progression.
* In the next scene, its a snowstorm and Mugen and
Jin are freezing while Fuu stares at something - the
boat sails away and the three are in Ezo. As the
snow continues to drop and the winds howl, the three
are shivering as they walk across the vast white
expanse. Mugen is dressed the worst for the weather
since he's basically wearing shorts and a vest but
the other two have kimonos on. In the middle of
nowhere, ninja creep towards them, and leap into
view as the three are surrounded. Mugen and Jin
prepare for battle and attacks like hyenas. At this
point, control is handed over to the player and
various combination attacks may be pulled off. The
ninja aren't very useful and they're broken apart
with a few slashes and twirling kicks. A woman's
voice sounds off and she appears amidst a column of
light and is dancing in a sexy wavy way. She binds
Mugen in another circle of light and sends a snake
squirming down his throat - as he chokes and is
writhing on the floor, he blacks out . Snow falls
again and the camera checks out Mugen on the floor.
A stranger walks towards him in the snow and.. TO BE
CONTINUED appears.
* At this point, the results of your battle is
ranked and scored. You're given the option to save
your progress at this point.
* Scene #1: Watch for the Witch
A pagoda-like tower is shown as sunset approaches
and a narrator relates the tale and where we are at
this point of the story. Fuu and Jin are sitting and
conversing as hip hop music plays in the background.
Camera cuts back to Mugen as he's sleeping and the
silver-backed guy tending a fire speaks to him as he
lays there. The two hold a conversation and
silverback approaches closer before Mugen blacks out
again.
* In the next scene, ninja wearing bird beak masks
appear outside his igloo but he explodes from within
and destroys the ice structure and faces his
pursuers. Another battle starts and during attacks,
there are times when the action slows to a crawl and
one or four of the DS pad face buttons flash on
screen. Press the button that's cued up and you'll
perform a special kick attack or super slash attack
on an enemy. Miss the cue and nothing happens or
you'll get hit by a return blow from a ninja. As
ninja are dispatched, coins may be picked up which
swirl into a storm when collected.
* There are times when a fighter goes one-on-one
against an enemy in a separate cut scene. A single
button flashes quickly and if you're trigger-happy
enough to tap the corresponding button on the joypad
fast enough, you'll enter a short and fierce
sequence where you smash the same button repeatedly
to perform 100 hit combinations on the hapless
target. We're routinely able to smack out 73 hits
but we might need a turbo-fire joypad to smack the
100 mark. Miss the original cue however and you're
booted out of the sequence and won't check a chance
to mash.
* The first somewhat challenging battle takes place
near the middle of level #1 where a bird beaked mask
wearing man attacks Mugen with hand-claw
attachments. There's a bunch of slow motion sequence
events. After the encounter, Mugen watches the
burning of a village below and leaps into action to
battle the arsonist-cum-malcontents below. After
beating them, the dancing witch appears again to
torment Mugen. The silver-backed warrior from
earlier intercedes against the witch and is about to
slash her from behind when she teleports out of
harm's way and bids both warriors adieu as she
disappears in a column of purple light...
* In Mugen's story, he travels on a snowy
environment. When he runs, he looks like a cross
between a vagabond and MC Hammer. His arms pump up
and down like a true dancer in need of the spotlight
and his motion is like that of a man who is wearing
uncomfortable wooden shoes. Since Mugen IS wearing
wooden shows, they clack something fierce when
they're pounding the pavement.
Scene #2: Hare and Hound
Mugen is walking in a town when he passes a
crowd gathered around a "WANTED" poster. He joins
the crowd and a guy realizes that the WANTED man is
him and cowers away. He reunites with Fuu and Jin
and the three are seated and eating snow-cones -
Mugen has lime, Jin has lemon, and Fuu is struggling
with what appears to be strawberry flavor. As they
scratch and scrape the ice with spoons, Fuu and
Mugen are active and in motion but Jin eats like a
proper statue with barely any movement. Fuu is the
first to finish her snack and she tips it over to
drink up any ice that has melted on the bottom of
her cup... In the next scene Mugen enters a building
and points his sword at a ghastly looking guy in a
green kimono...
Conclude
* NCS consensus: Highly enjoyable fighting game that
uses a nifty gimmick for the fighting action.
Instead of mindless hack 'n slash, the attacks have
a rhythm to them if you're willing to follow the
beat meter on the top of the screen. After slashing
a few times, they're second nature and you won't
have to monitor the combo meter anymore to keep
track of your attacks. Samurai Champloo is still a
button masher but one that has a purposeful button
mashing where directed button coordination will
ignite sequenced attacks that are chained together.
Color from Champloo Episode #1
*
At the outset of the Samurai Champloo animation,
Vagabond Mugen and Ronin Jin are about to be
beheaded when their executioners give them a chance
to express their remorse and beg for mercy. When
snide remarks from the two don't exactly endear them
to the mob, two killing strokes plunge downwards....
Scene shift to a day earlier where hip hop music
plays and a busy street scene as cars flash across
the screen. Scene shift and rewind to a quaint
village where a rascal asks if the dumplings are
ready yet. A waitress name Fuu rushes out and caters
to the patrons. A couple of rough customers are practically
molesting the girls they are with and are generally
fouling the atmostphere. Fuu watches
one of them knock over a mug of hot water on an
old guy and she's about to attack when her fellow
workers rein her back...
In their first meeting, Mugen walks into Fuu's
teahouse and asks for water. Just water. Fuu tells
him that they don't serve customers who only order
water. He then beckons her forward and asks for 50
dumplings and he'll roust out the rowdy customers
for her. Fuu counters with 20 dumplings when a
customer interrupts their reverie and asks for service. In her rush to provide waitress
duties, she stumbles and splashes the
magistrate's son with a drink. To make up for her
clumsiness, he decides to take a finger or two and
his roadies hold her down. As the ruffians are preparing
for surgery, Fuu looks to the side and notices Mugen
lounging on a table.
Cut to a scene with Jin as he faces off against a
bad magistrate and Yagyuu sword handlers. Jin
eventually kills all three Yagyuu and puts a scare
into the magistrate before walking off and
collecting his "payment."
Cut back to Fuu as she yelps out 100 dumplings. That
gets Mugen shuffling over to the scene of the
impending dismemberment and he drawls that 100
dumplings is still way too cheap for the price of
the ruffians' lives...
Eventually Jin and Mugen cross paths, battle, and are caught by the
Magistrate. During their battle, a lunatic sets fire
to the teahouse which kills the Magistrate's scion
and someone's got to pay.
QUESTIONS THAT NCS HAD WHEN PLAYING THE GAME
* Where do the ninja keep all those coins that
they give up when they die? They don't have pockets
and why would ninja need coins anyway? It's not like
they're going to buy anything looking like that.
* How does Mugen keep his hair spiked up in feudal
era Japan? What was his inspiration for the spiky
hair?
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This document is ©NCSX 2006. All rights reserved. No
reproduction in whole or in part of this document
may be made without express written consent of
National Console Support, Inc.
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