It is the games with the most promise are the most frustrating when they fail to pull it all together. Such is the case with samurai slasher, Kengo: Legend Of The 9. The game features some of the best sword-fighting mechanics videogames has ever seen, but the developers appear to have run out of time before actually finishing the game itself.
Kengo's battle system features the most depth and customization in a martial arts game in quite some time. With three unique fighting stances available to each samurai and a slick counter-attack and parry system in place, the game's fighting engine is light-years ahead of its competition. Despite using relatively few buttons, the game has brilliantly executed fighting mechanics. The game splits up the four basic controller buttons into attack (B and Y) and defense (A and X).
When on the attack, 'B' is your basic attack and 'Y' is your heavy attack. This sounds very basic, until your realize that the right-bumper changes your fighting stance and start playing around with the deadly combos. The game's slick RPG elements allow you to purchase new combos and attacks at the end of each round with level-earned experience points, as well as use 'spirit spheres' towards upgrading your samurai's main attributes.
The game offers separate upgrades for each of the three stances; making how you develop the character's fighting skills an intriguing part of the game. Unfortunately, the game does force you to spend all your experience points earned on a certain level right then, clearing out your unused experience points after each upgrade session. The system also could use some serious balancing, as what is an incredibly difficult experience on level one quickly turns into a breezy bloodbath as quickly as level two thanks to how quickly your character learns his craft.
The game will often force you to go on the defensive, with the 'A' button used as a block and the 'X' button used as a sword-locking battle of strength. The most useful of your skills throughout the game is the 'X' button, as locking swords with an enemy and running them until they loose stamina and stumble over is an easy 'out' in a tough battle, thanks to 'finishing moves'. The game's controls occasionally get in the way of doing so, as locking up and opponent and trying to run them sideways will sometimes result in a thrust forward or a stumble in the wrong direction. Stronger enemies can do the same to you, having a boss toss you to the ground will typically mean 'sayonara' in a hurry.
Should you get an enemy in a dazed state, hitting either 'B' or 'Y' will usually perform a 'finishing move', instantly ending your enemy's life. These moves come in the form of an up-close-and-personal cut-scene, always bloody and brutal. The more creative moves come in the form of 'environmental finishes', where forcing an enemy to stick his sword into a wall, or pushing them onto a pull-cart, can result in some fantastically cool deaths. Ending a boss battle with a finishing move might seem cheap, until you remember how many times it happened to you before you really learned how to fight.
Players treating the game as a typical button-masher will find themselves repeatedly left bloodied and send back to the title screen, eventually with a weak character for Live play; more on that later. Since the game uses health and stamina meters, gamers will have to keep a close eye on both to succeed. When your stamina drops too low, blocking and slashing effectiveness drops dramatically; often leaving your character open to one-hit kills until you get the hang of pacing your fighter. Successful battles require patience and skill, at least when fighting bosses and ronin enemies.
Despite the rich battle system, the enemy A.I. is typically too bland and lifeless to put up much of a fight. Most of the non-descript baddies will circle around you, waiting for their impending death. You will be encircled in a swarm that looks like a high-school fight just broke out, only to find the enemies unwilling to take the first swipe. They will occasionally take cheap shots at you when you have your back turned, but most of the time you will find yourself slicing apart enemies, two at a time without much difficulty. The seemingly never-ending swarm of bland bad guys, including what seems like a ninja rainstorm, gets old fast, and often forces you into frustratingly boring button-mashing in search of the more difficult battles.
