Samurai Jack is a franchise with an interesting history. Originally running for four seasons on Cartoon Network, the show had a distinct presentation that set itself apart from other animated shows. Not hesitating to rely on solely visual cues for scenes, and taking inspiration from a wide variety of sources beyond Samurai fiction, Samurai Jack became a hit and was eventually revived for a final fifth season to wrap up the story. The unique blend of Samurai cinema, cyberpunk aesthetics, and various mythologies allowed for a great backdrop for stories, and being paired with excellent animation and writing allowed Samurai Jack to stand out even compared to shows airing today. The show spawned games on the GBA as well as GameCube and PS2, but this author has little experience with those games. When it comes to recent games however, Samurai Jack has received a must play experience thanks to Adult Swim Games and Soleil.
Samurai Jack Battle Through Time takes place after the fifth season as an alternative ending scenario for the series. This game sees Jack fight his way through various stages and battle enemies from the show, while coming across various allies such as the Scotsman and his daughters. These allies will give you items such as health, weapons and skill items when interacted with, and finding them all is key to succeeding. Jack can use his sword or fists, but can also use a variety of other weapons such as bows, clubs, spears and more. The weapons aside from his main sword do have a drawback though, as they have a durability meter and overuse will break them. If you have a weapon you are fond of however, you can spend gold at the vendor (Da Samurai acting as vendor) to repair the items. You can also stock up on weapons and health items here with the gold you find in game, but there is a limit to how much you can carry.
The combat is smooth and responsive, and gives the game an epic feeling. Considering this game was made by former developers of the modern Ninja Gaiden games, there is a certain pedigree here and the game lives up to that. As mentioned above, different weapons are available, such as ranged weapons like shurikens and reapers, as well as bows and guns. Jack can also just use his fists for beat em up action. You can build up enough energy to unleash a stronger attack called a Kiai attack as well, and this can be used with any melee weapon including fists and is good for chaining attacks. You can also block attacks and dodge, and as you unlock more skills, more options become available to use, such as grabs, counter attacks and more. You have three main skill trees to advance in, as well as training in various weapon, which in turn unlocks more abilities. Skills require skill flame to unlock, and there is plenty to find throughout the game. You will also need various secondary upgrade components like Bushido spirit and various gems. These skills allow you to learn new attacks, increase inventory, become stronger, and learn new abilities to advance as well. Make sure you consider your skill carefully, as the right choices are needed to find everything.
The stages show off various elements of the show, as do the enemies and weapons, and Battle Through Time shows its hand as a loving tribute to the show. All of the surviving voice actors have returned for the game, and it does its best to retain the unique visual style of the show, albeit the visuals are not the game’s strongest point. It is clear that the game is substance over style, and more effort was done to make a great playing game, over a great looking one. Still, the soundtrack is great and the voicework is top notch, and some stages like Aku city really do stand out. The bosses are done well, and show off a variety of characters from the show to do battle with in fights that feel authentic to Samurai Jack. The bosses include Aku’s servants, but also other forces under mind control and others with their own purpose.
The stages are incredibly well designed, and there are a number of secrets to find in each one. It is a good thing you can return to a stage after beating it, because some parts of a level became inaccessible once you reach a certain point in them. Once you become aware of a hidden area, or later gain a new skill that lets you reach a previously inaccessible area, such as with a higher jump, you can go back to the early stage and find said secret or item. You will often find that some stages have a wide variety of secrets that you would not have expected at first glance. The game also has a unique way to show damage, by having Jack’s clothing take damage and becoming more tattered over time with the more damage you take, You can of course restore your health and remove battle damage with items like Haggis or reaching a checkpoint, bit it is a nice touch nonetheless.
Aside from a few minor gripes, such as the visuals being a little lacking, the skill tree stacking some unrelated skills close together and making advancing in one area dependent on an unrelated skill, the only other issue is that loading between stages or when starting the game does take a bit of time. Aside from this, Samurai Jack: Battle is a wonderful game, it has everything fans of the show will love, but is also just a great game that non fans can enjoy it as well. This is just a well designed game and one more should check out. I highly recommend this.
Disclaimer: A review key was provided