It seems like it wasn’t
that long ago when you could load up a video -- a song, or maybe an out-of
context clop -- and be done with it. But
recently, it seems like every time I load up the site (which is often, given
that I listen to video game music when writing), I end up getting sidetracked
by the “recommended for you” cache that inevitably pops up. It’s like a measure designed specifically to
make sure my time gets wasted. It’s
either that or ensuring that I fall prey to the siren song of nostalgia.
One of the things that
happened to catch my eye one day was a song from Sengoku Basara. I’ve always
had a fondness for the franchise -- for
obvious reasons -- and Samurai Heroes
helped secure that fondness thanks to its great soundtrack. But thanks to the anime tie-in and YouTube’s
dark magic sorting algorithm, “This is a Fight to Change the World” ended up
getting recommended. I’ll do you a solid
and offer up a courtesy
link…along with an assertion.
As it stands, the
character that song belongs to -- one Hideyoshi Toyotomi -- is my favorite
anime villain.
I have a confession to
make: I’m not really a fan of the Dynasty
Warriors series. I mean, at one
point I was -- when I played the fourth game on the PS2, I was pleasantly
surprised. I made a warrior of my own
with a massive sword, and delighted in spinning about like a death-blender to
the sound of some rockin’ tunes. And I
do have some fond memories of co-op with my brother, and scrambling to survive
against Lu Bu (“It’s Lu Bu! Lu Bu has
come to destroy us!” Classic line,
that). And the victory jubilee is one of
my favorite jingles ever.
But of course, my brother couldn’t leave well
enough alone. After the fun we had with 4, he decided to pick up DW5.
Fair enough…except the game was starting to lose its luster, and its
flaws more apparent than last time.
Brain-dead AI, way-too-simple combat, and allied units that would make
YOU fail a mission just because they can’t be arsed to practice a bit of self-control. But I still played it…and the same applied
when he picked up a cheap copy of DW5:
Empires. The sheen had really
started wearing thin by then -- though interestingly, I would be the one
playing it more, since I tried to take over China in the campaign. Of course, in the interstice between games my
brother nabbed the Japanese-substitute Samurai
Warriors 2. And after that, DW6 (a game which, as I recall, boasted
that its new mechanics were the ability to swim and climb ladders). And after that, DW7. And that’s ignoring the
anime tie-ins like DW: Gundam and Fist of the North Star: Ken’s Rage...though as noted, One Piece: Pirate Warriors
is the best of the bunch. And THAT’S ignoring the fact that we both
played the hell out of the GameCube title Mystic
Heroes, which (by virtue of being by the same company) might as well have
been Dynasty Warriors, But with Magic and
Big-Headed Children.
In recent years he’s
gotten better about buying so haphazardly, but I can still see flashes of his
fanaticism every now and then. Case in
point: when he started recommending a purchase of Sengoku Basara: Samurai Heroes on the grounds that it was “Like Dynasty Warriors, but better”, I wanted
to start clobbering him with the PS3.
And maybe a sledgehammer for good measure. But I decided to give it a chance. It couldn’t have been that bad -- and of
course, it was made by Capcom, the once-kingly purveyors of stylish crazy
action. It certainly helped that he had
to order the game online because nobody from GameStop had even heard of Sengoku Basara.
“Like Dynasty Warriors, but better.” That’s actually a very apt description.
