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[Giran]

Way of the Samurai 4 takes place in the humble port town of Amihama during the mid 19th Century, several years after the arrival of the “black ships” from the West ended Japan’s long history of cultural isolation. Amihama’s downtown area has slowly been converted to a “Little Britain,” complete with European-styled buildings, occupied by an influx of adventurous foreign settlers. Not everyone welcomes these new residents though, and three distinct factions with opposing ideals begin to take shape.

You must take on the role of a master-less samurai looking to establish yourself in this conflicted land of opportunity and uncertainty. It is up to you to decide which faction to support in an almighty conflict amongst the region’s three powers, and so direct the course of Japan’s history.

Developer: ACQUIRE
PC Publisher and port job: Ghostlight
Available on: Steam
Steam features: Trading Cards, Achievements, Cloud Saves
Release date: 2015.07.23.
Base price: 23 EUR / 25 USD / 19 GBP

• Branching storylines with multiple endings
• Dynamic combat system
• Vast array of melee and gunpowder weaponry
• Extensive character customization
• Key event decision making
• Sword collecting
• Original Japanese voiceover with English subtitles

Q: Do I have to play the previous games to not feel lost?
A: Nope. Completely different time period and characters. One of the DLCs features two returning characters from the previous games though.

Q: Are any of the DLC packs included?
A: Nope. They will be sold separately.

Q: Will it run on my toaster?
A: Yep.

Q: Is the resolution locked?
A: Nope.

Q: Is the framerate locked?
A: Yep.

Q: But is there a way to unlock it????
A: Nope. Not without speeding up the game.

Q: How are the mouse and keyboard controls?
A: Functional, but a gamepad is highly recommended.

The foreigners: The British attempt to establish silk trade with Japan, aid the country in its modernization and foster cultural exchange. They are led by the gambler vice-envoy Jet Jenkins and the good-natured little ambassador Laura Lita.

The shogunate: The government's aim is to establish cordial relations with the foreign contingent and keep the Prajna threat in check. Some officials however, have different goals in mind. The Amihama office is led by the strict and loyal magistrate Kotobuki Hikaru, who answers to Chief Minister Kinugawa Onsen and his three daughters.

The Prajna: A nationalist group of xenophobes whose goal is to keep the traditional Japanese way of life and rid the country of all foreign influence. Their leader is the reckless Akagi Reddo.

From Durante, MickeyKnox and myself

 

[Shikoba]

I don't know why, but I love this series. This is the one I didn't get around to getting so I am jumping on this. This topic was a reminder to me that I needed to jump on the promotion deal before it ended. So thanks! (Still going on steam atm for anyone interested).

 

[Iorv3th]

What time is it supposed to unlock? I still can't install it.

 

[Giran]

What time is it supposed to unlock? I still can't install it.

Two hours left.

 

[Corpekata]

It's 45 minutes, going by the store page's discount ending.

 

[Gbraga]

Pre-ordered. I'll probably only play this on saturday, but I can't wait!

 

[ghostlight_ross]

Thanks for doing this

We don't often get OTs for our releases.

 

[crazyrabbits]

Thanks for doing this

We don't often get OTs for our releases.

It's definitely been a long time coming, but I'm very excited for the launch.

 

[Tizoc]

My body is ready for megamelons.

 

[Shengar]

What's a megamelon?

 

[ghostlight_ross]

It's definitely been a long time coming, but I'm very excited for the launch.

It really has. I was so relieved when I could finally announce a release date for it

 

[indigo-cyclops]

Shit i forgot this came out today!

 

[pahamrick]

Looks like my steam refund didn't hit in time, so I'm going to have to wait until next time it's on sale. Looking forward to impressions though.

 

[UnluckyKate]

Damn I wanted to preorder this but I forgot. Is this like Yakuza ? I looks like Ishin and I'm tired of Waiting for y5

 

[crazyrabbits]

What's a megamelon?

You'll find out soon enough, lol.

 

[Giran]

Thanks for doing this

We don't often get OTs for our releases.

And thanks a lot to you guys for bringing it to PC.

 

[Corpekata]

It really has. I was so relieved when I could finally announce a release date for it

Now that this is basically out, when will we get info on that other game you recently teased?

 

[Eila]

Bought it since it was cheap and runs on a toaster. Hope it's playable and I find it enjoyable.

 

[Sölf]

So it's basically Gintama the game, right?

 

[Terra_Ex]

Can't wait to play this again, this time on the best platform. Such an amazing series.

 

[ghostlight_ross]

Now that this is basically out, when will we get info on that other game you recently teased?

We're waiting on our partner in Japan to give us permission to announce it Not entirely sure how long it will take though.

 

[Tain]

I'm probably in, even though I've been meaning to play 1-3 forever.

 

[Peff]

We're waiting on our partner in Japan to give us permission to announce it Not entirely sure how long it will take though.

Is it more in line with Elminage or with Agarest, though ?

 

[ghostlight_ross]

Is it more in line with Elminage or with Agarest, though ?

It's not a Dungeon Crawler.

 

[MichaelFassbender]

Been waiting for this release on PC for a looooong time. Glad that it's finally getting its day in the sun...first one was damnedly cool to play, what with all the alternate ways to get a game over in the first 10 minutes, heh.

Hope to see more of that here! Going in blind aside from the promo screenshots. This should be fun!

 

[Oni3298]

Why can't I download this yet?! >.<

 

[Peff]

It's not a Dungeon Crawler.

Ah, I meant artstyle-wise, but now that you answered that one feel free to not give any more clues.

Should be about an hour-ish from now, right? Looking forward to trying the game at last.

 

[Archaix]

I am pretty sure I bought this game because Steam refunds exist. I haven't refunded any games yet, and I don't really expect to get a refund for this purchase, but I have no history with the series and only bought it because I like the setting and it seems kind of goofy. Looking forward to trying it later.

 

[Revolutionary]

Up for download now. 7GB
Edit: Seems that's the install size, download is 4.5GB.

 

[Mifec]

Is my boy afro samurai in this one? I only played the one where you go over a bridge, school some guys then meet your boy afro samurai and cutie waifu.

 

[Giran]

Yeah, it's up now. The downloaded package is only 4.5GBs.

 

[FallingEdge]

Will play the shit out of this tonight.

 

[Kurt Russell]

The day finally came! Everyone should read crazyrabbits' review if they are unsure about the game, btw.

 

[Terra_Ex]

Is my boy afro samurai in this one? I only played the one where you go over a bridge, school some guys then meet your boy afro samurai and cutie waifu.

A dlc adds him to the game for a small cameo role.

 

[crazyrabbits]

Might as well post my review here too.

Let's just get this out of the way first. If you think Way of the Samurai 4 is a serious samurai game, you're carving up the wrong tree.

Acquire/XSEED Games' 2011 third-person action adventure (ported here by Ghostlight Games, who have done a stellar job addressing a number of bugs and deficiencies in the original release) balances a deep exploration of post-isolationist Japan... with BDSM torture minigames and supporting characters like "Melinda Megamelons" and "Jet Jenkins".

The story is fairly straightforward. You (a wandering samurai) arrive at the Amihama Harbor just as a conflict is breaking out between British emissaries, the local shogunate and a band of nationalistic rebels. After an initial tutorial and understanding of the various factions involved in this conflict, you have free reign to do what you want. You can choose to ally with one or more of these factions, carry out side missions for characters or simply say "screw it" and train up for the local fighting tournament on the third day. Even though there is a timer involved, the game clock is fairly slow and you'll almost always run into one or more plot events that advance the story.

The best way I can describe this game is Grand Theft Auto-meets-Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes. While there isn't a huge area to explore (there are a handful of different districts in the city, along with a couple of forest areas and caves), you can pretty much do anything you want. Take on jobs for certain NPCs, rob shopkeepers, double-cross factions at certain points, farm for money to upgrade your weapon, enlist people for your dojo, get arrested and tortured, go "nightcrawling" (ask women out on dates, then try to seduce/wrestle them) or anything in-between.

As far as the impact of the story goes, know that first and foremost, you won't see the majority of content in one, two or even five playthroughs. This is a game that requires you to complete it many times over, whether for unlockable items and costumes (obtained by points that are given out after each playthrough is done) or to see certain variations of plot events that can only be "triggered" by playing the storyline in a certain order.

In fact, unlocking most of the endings either requires you to use a guide or have extreme patience, as some events aren't even accessible unless certain buildings are functioning a certain way and you know enough to go against the beaten path to do things you might not otherwise expect.

I admit that there were parts of this game that are genuinely heartwarming, such as the Flames of Prajna ending (where you side with the mercenaries against an inevitable truth) or the interactions with some of the side characters. It's a game that definitely wears its heart on its sleeve, and balances moments of lighter or absurd humor with a complicated plot that allows each faction to be thoroughly explored and understood.

I'll be the first to tell you that I have very limited experience with the series, having only played the original back on the Playstation 2 in the mid 00s. WotS4 definitely lives up to the premise and plot of that game, though it doesn't have quite the same "open world" feeling. Regardless, there's still a massive number of things to see and do, and it can be almost overwhelming for new players.

The weapon and style customization options are also back in full force. You can upgrade and hone your weapons to deal more damage or not break as quickly. I quickly found myself maxing out one of the "Black Mark't" swords you get for completing a side mission in a certain way, and using that to chainsaw through enemies for a good number of future playthroughs.

The combat might also be a "make it or break it" situation for some people. You can't always go into battle and expect to mindlessly slash at people, especially on higher difficulties. Enemy encounters often require you to master parrying, block and effective use of your special meter, which allows you to execute whirlwind-like attacks against blocks of enemies. While I found that simply spamming my forward thrust attack was enough to get me by on the lowest difficulties, it was downright infuriating when I cranked up the difficulty and found myself getting schooled by high-level enemies who melted my defense (and sword durability) down.

As far as the port itself goes, Ghostlight did a great job soliciting feedback from the community and scrubbing out a number of major bugs and graphical issues. I was part of the beta testing team for the game, and saw just how polished it became by release. Ghostlight's always had a knack for producing high-quality ports, and this is no exception.

Will you like this game? If you can past the somewhat absurd tonal shifts and the chore of doing multiple playthroughs to see all the endings, there's a wealth of content to discover and play through. The customization and character interaction will also keep you coming back for more. This is definitely worth a look for the price, and so far, it's my favorite PC port this year.

 

[Peff]

Hm, I can't seem to download the game.

 

[ghostlight_ross]

Hm, I can't seem to download the game.

Try restarting Steam. That seems to have fixed it for most people

 

[Peff]

Try restarting Steam. That seems to have fixed it for most people

Yup, that did the trick. Downloading!

 

[Reluctant-Hero]

Glad I preordered it last night while it was still $15. Will give it a try this weekend.

 

[GifGafIsTheBestGaf]

how good is the port? might grab this for pc since i dont think a ps4 port will come out (and i dont want to play this on my ps3)

 

[levious]

Thanks for doing this

We don't often get OTs for our releases.

What are some other ghostlight releases?

I wish the original would get a rerelease.

 

[Dick Justice]

how good is the port? might grab this for pc since i dont think a ps4 port will come out (and i dont want to play this on my ps3)

Pretty good. Has issues (30fps being the major one), but it's stable, performs well, has almost instant load times, supports arbitrary resolutions (I'm downsampling from 4K personally), and controller support is great.

Really hope this performs well so we have a better chance of seeing the third game on PC too.

 

[GifGafIsTheBestGaf]

Pretty good. Has issues (30fps being the major one), but it's stable, performs well, has almost instant load times, supports arbitrary resolutions (I'm downsampling from 4K personally), and controller support is great.

Really hope this performs well so we have a better chance of seeing the third game on PC too.

nice, thanks for the feedback. i just have the funds enough to buy this

edit: and purchased

 

[Taruranto]

I remember really lking WotS 1 back in the days, I have 2 but I could never really get into it.

Will give this one a try, I guess.

 

[ghostlight_ross]

What are some other ghostlight releases?

I wish the original would get a rerelease.

On steam we've released the Agarest trilogy and Elminage Gothic. Not to mention Flame Over and OMG Zombies! from Laughing Jackal.

On console we released a lot of stuff in Europe including the Agarest games on PS3, Trails in the Sky, Fate/EXTRA, Persona 2: Innocent Sin & Persona 3 Portable all on PSP.

There was also a lot of PS2 stuff.

 

[Conezays]

Never played other entries, but am somewhat intrigued by the look of this. Hmm...is this similar to Yakuza in any way?

 

[Mifec]

A dlc adds him to the game for a small cameo role.

Good enough for me. Will buy in September.

 

[dark_inferno]

This game is awesome and everyone should play it.

Spoiler

Or like the english guys in the game say "Hentai" "Wonderful" "Hentai".

 

[Dick Justice]

On steam we've released the Agarest trilogy and Elminage Gothic. Not to mention Flame Over and OMG Zombies! from Laughing Jackal.

On console we released a lot of stuff in Europe including the Agarest games on PS3, Trails in the Sky, Fate/EXTRA, Persona 2: Innocent Sin & Persona 3 Portable all on PSP.

There was also a lot of PS2 stuff.

Regarding bugs and feedback, should those of us from the beta continue to report them on the Ghostlight forum? Or is there a different method now?

 

[Ascheroth]

Never played a Way of the Samurai game, but from what I've seen and read, this seems to be right up my alley. Can't wait til my downloads finishes