Way of the Samurai 2

Story

Way of the Samurai 2 takes place in the town of Amahara which has the magistrate going to war with the local gang. The story of the game depends on the choices you take. For example if you decide to work with the magistrates then the story will focus on taking out the gang.

Gameplay

Way of the Samurai 2 is quite like a sandbox game as you are not forced to do any missions and can do anything you like in the town. The game starts off with the character creator screen in which you are able to choose from a list of faces and clothing to customize your character. After beginning the game you are given choices and which choice you give will determine which group you will follow. The groups which you can join consist of the local magistrates, the Aoto gang or the townspeople.

Missions are given by a certain person in the group you wish to work for. Depending on who you work for the mission type changes, for example if you work for the Aoto gang you will be sent to collect money and kill certain people. The magistrate however will ask you to collect missing items and deliver secret messages for them.

The sword controls consist of horizontal and vertical slashes, kicking, throwing and parrying opponents’ strikes. Heavy importance is placed on the parrying system, as a successful parry opens up your opponent to a dramatic one-strike-kill. When you are facing multiple enemies at once this is a very useful attack. During your time either progressing through the story or just killing people you will collect many swords. Depending on the sword you chosen to wield will depend on the stance you will take.

Even though you are not forced to do any missions the game will end at a certain point. After this you will be given points and a title on how you did in the game. These points will unlock more clothing and faces for your character.

Game time

WotS 2 uses a passage of time system whereby the players character can choose freely what they want to do in Amahara, although some options only become available at certain times of the day (shops open in the daytime etc). 'Ep' is spent in travelling from one area of the city to another, and typically when 10 Ep passes, the game time moves on to the next part of the day (morning -> afternoon and so on). Ep is also spent in activities like taking a bath or a nap.

If the player has enough money, certain items can be bought that reduce the Ep used. In theory if these items were consistently used, the player could stand still in time, never moving on to the next section of game time.

Whilst the game plays in a mostly free form way, certain major events seem unavoidable for the player and a specific choice has to be made. The most obvious example is the Festival in the city, so that when the time comes, the player is given no choice but to attend.

Soundtrack

Noriyuki Asakura returned to compose the score for Way of the Samurai 2.