Genji: Dawn of the Samurai -- Final Opinion.

My after the credits save file for Genji clocks in at eight hours and thirty-five minutes. So a little over twice as long as I was told it would take to complete the game. The storytelling style of Genji is tight and to the point and I for one appreciate that style. Not every game needs massive story full of all the grandiose trappings. Genji's story is straightforward and even simplistic. But it's well told. Everything makes sense, which isn't usually the case dealing with Japanese legend or mysticism. The story won't win any rewards for originality but it doesn't matter when it's told so well. The music and voices add to it in that they offer up authenticity to the game. The music is all traditional Japanese in nature and fits perfectly. The voices being in Japanese come of as credible. I can't say if the voice acting is good or not, you know, not understanding Japanese and all, but I can say it doesn't come off as overacted or cartoonish in any way. It might very well be like the most emotionally bankrupt English vocal work and I wouldn't know or care because it just seems to fit. The graphics are as good as you're ever going to see on the PlayStation 2. They're up there with the best for the platform. The gameplay as I stated in the last entry is solid and fun and it remains so throughout the game. It never gets cheap as they ramp up the difficulty. It's not like the game is ever truly tough, but near the end it's not exactly a cakewalk. I'm going to give Genji: Dawn of the Samurai an 8.