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Commodore Format
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First Samurai
Well, it all started off as a bit of a joke, really. John Twiddy of the Vivid Image team had programmed Last Ninja 1 and 2 for System 3. So when he and some of his mates started up Vivid Image, the name First Samurai was just a working name to wind up his previous employers. The name stuck and, two years later, the purple-trousered warrior appeared. Then, just when the game was ready for release the publishers sank without trace. Which left Viv with a Corker - and no-one to sell it.
Earlier this year UBI Soft won the rights to distribute First Samurai. And so, at long last, after years of hanging around, this brilliantly playable beat-'em-up-arcade-adventure-style-thingy is in the shops.
The game's set in a future at a time a Daemon King has taken over the role of being the nastiest person in the universe. A young Samurai, who's the sole survivor of one particularly nasty episode sets out on the vengeance trail. That's you that is, and all you have to defend yourself with is a magic sword and a weirdy floaty wizard.
At the start you're completely unarmed, apart from your "certified lethal to bats" chops, sweeps and jumps. Kill enough bats and you'll get a sword. Let the nasty things get you and you'll lose your sword and eventually a life.
It's difficult to describe how fab this game is. Despite being three years old by now it still puts any Street Fighter of this world to shame. It's stunning.
Good Points
- More massive than a particularly big, pregnant elephant.
- Passwords on the disk version.
- Gorgeous backgrounds and sprites.
- Smoother-than-smooth scrolling.
Bad Points
- No in-game music, only spiffy FX.