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Samurai Online
Pantherninpo
Member UncommonPosts: 90
I'm a huge fan of things dealing with feudal Japan, so I thought I'd see what I could find in the way of MMORPGs dealing with the topic. Of course there's Tatsumaki, which I keep an eye for, but its still in developmental stages. I came across a game though that's out and is actually quite fun all things considered. Its called Blade Chronicle - Samurai Online.
I'm going to start this out by saying that everything is in Japanese. I don't read Japanese yet, but that doesn't hinder me from enjoying my experience. I'm sure, however, it would be more fun since I have only come across a couple people that speak broken English. The game seems to have been released to open beta in the past month or so, and it will be a free to play game with a cash shop. If you're looking for a p2p, this isn't it.
The combat is pretty neat. When you draw your sword, it actually shows the animation of proper iato, as is the same when you put it away. Its not like WoW where one second the sword is on your back and the next it is in your hand. Also, there are a couple of methods in cutting. Clicking the left mouse button and moving the mouse in the cardinal directions allows you to chain slices together. If that is a pain in the neck, the letters I,J,K,L also allow you to slice in the up, left, down, and right directions respectively. You can also dodge attacks by watching your opponent and double tapping the WASD keys in whatever direction you would like to move. You can also click to move.
Since I do not read Japanese, I do not know what the menus and such mean but I read on a wiki, (http://bladechronicle.wikidot.com/), that skill progression is done by using your weapon, not by buying skills from a vendor. I'm a low level, around seven or so, and through the usage of my sword I have gained a couple new skills. Pretty interesting to me.
The graphics are nice in my opinion. All of the settings are either of Japanese cities or countryside so far, but they are well done and do not look like a carbon copy of everything else that's out. Not ground breaking, but nice. When you make your character, you can choose from various hair styles and features. If you change an option and the option turns red, however, that means you are choosing a cash shop option. At least I think so. I just stick with the white options, if you understand my meaning. You can also change the voice sounds.
All in all, if you can muddle yourself through a language you do not understand (or if you do indeed understand Japanese), and are looking for a new game then I would give this one a try. Its free, the combat is different, and I could use some people that speak English to play with. My name is Onikudaki on the Murasame realm. There are screen shots in the wiki, and I will link the website. If you need help with how to create an account and whatever, look at the wiki or send me a pm.
http://bladechronicle.wikidot.com/game-operation - Wiki
http://bladechronicle.jp/index.html - Japanese game site
Note: I edited the title so as to give an idea of the game genre.
Comments
Just refreshing the post in case anyone that would be interested missed it. Also to annoy those that aren't.
Sounds very interesting but i can't wrestle with japanese. Can you inform us/me when it gets translated? Thanks
Yeah, wrestling with the Japanese is a pain but hey, I like the combat and the setting enough that I deal with it. Plus it is helping me with the self-study of hiragana I've just recently taken up. In any case, I am on the Murasame server and apparently one of the Japanese people I've met there that speaks English just started a guild and asked if I wanted to invite some Americans. So if anyone is interested, let me know.
I looked at a few videos on youtube and the game is very stylish. I love the animation but i was really hoping it would have more "in depth" sword play combat mechanics. When you said it was strictly japanese, i went in thinking, "ohhh yeah, finally... i'll be able to block and parry and even throw my opponent off balance". That was not the case. Swords never even collide. Players in pvp never even react from getting hit until they die the "very dramatic, drop down on two knees", death. It's disappointing because coming from Japan, where sword fighting is still practiced in their culture, i would have expected some kind of hit detection system. Oh well......
The game hasn't been out very long but I did read that they will be implementing a parry system. Also, you can double tap your movement key and it will allow you to sidestep attacks, if you time it right. Its definitely no 11133225111 crap. Also, there's player housing and such. I like it.
Awesome. As in let us know when they get the parry update and i will immediately download. Sidestepping is fun but a timing "parry" system would seal the deal. I miss an old game from the playstation console called "Bushido Blade". Its combat was ahead of its time. Talking about consoles is frowned upon on this site so i'll stop with that lol.
I played Bushido Blade back in the day. I tend to enjoy anything dealing with samurai, the Edo period of Japan, etcetera. But yeah. When we can parry I will let you know. Actually, we might be able to parry now but I can't read most of the words. There was a patch today.
It looks interesting to me even though I don't like cash shops. I'd definitely try it out if they ever do a NA release or something. I've been trying to motivate myself to learn Japanese since I played FFXI five years ago. Never did get around to it...
Not really relevant, but If you're looking for a good book check out, 'Across the Nightingale Floor' by Lian Hearn. It's the first book of a series titled, 'Tales of the Otori'. I guess it would qualify as low fantasy, but it's set in feudal Japan and the fantasy elements are limited. Great series.
I read that one. It was very well done. I bought the second book in the series but haven't gotten around to reading it. I'm currently using a couple of items I've picked up to teach myself Japanese. It's an entertaining pursuit.
Sounds very neat. Are there other classes to be besides Samurai?
I read that in future updates there might be ninja and such. What I do know is that there are all sorts of weapons. Naginata, katana, daikatana, dual wakizashi. I do not know if there are bows and arrows. I'm still a low level. I have seen crafters, I have learned to pick plants and such. I have resituated the furniture in my apartment, and I have killed various types of creatures. There are pvp lands for battles, but I do not know what the rewards are. I understand that you can make furniture and each weapon you have can learn different techniques.
this game actually makes me want to play it even tho i cant read a word of kanji lmao :P im kind of a die hard fan of edo japan :P thought of joining a kendo school in my area BUT i dont have a few grand to buy armor and such HAHA
but ya this game really looks enjoyable, tho the game is clearly alittle dated by the animtions i found of it on youtube and such (game it self might be a year or so old but the eng is dated) still it looks refreshing. i have too many games im toying with right now to even remotely consider trying to play BC.. plus most asian games require a SS for their area ... which i do not have and is kind of illegal to forge one...
still if it can f2p with no IP block or was semi translated id play it in a heartbeat. (game translated not fan translated >>)
I got in without having a Japanese SS. I live in Maryland in the USA. Also, the graphics aren't bad. I've played many games with worse graphics. The animations of drawing the sword and sheathing it are really nice. I enjoy that. The game is f2p with a cash shop. I do not know if the cash shop has game breaking items since I do not know what any of them do anyway. I just like the setting and the kenjutsu.