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Dairojo Samurai Defenders
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Graphics & Sound:
There's a retro quality to Dairojo Samurai Defenders that is enhanced by its simple, top-down gameplay. Tower Defense games can take many forms, from cute cel-shading to highly realistic 3D, in this age of powerful console graphics. Nothing you'll see in Dairojo Samurai Defenders represents the top tier of DSi games, from a visual standpoint. This could easily have been a game from the earliest days of the DS. Luckily, this breed of game doesn't require much sophistication to be playable, and all the right elements are in place for Dairojo Samurai Defenders. It's a medieval Japanese setting, with castles that you'll defend against a rush of enemy forces. The battle animations are simple but effective, combining the ground combat with some effects as magic and air attacks go flying across the screen. The soundtrack does a nice job of adding to things without seeming out of place. Sure, you can play Dairojo Samurai Defenders with the volume dialed completely down, but you'll be missing some of the fun. If you're looking for a sophisticated experience, you won't find it here, but behind a rather simplistic presentation there turns out to be some solid gameplay.
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Gameplay:
So, it's literally you defending a tower... Yep, in medieval Japan it was all about protecting territory against the enemy, back when there were plenty of factions dividing up the country. Don't get the wrong idea: This isn't any kind of historical simulation, but the backdrops for play are all attempting to depict a time long, long ago in a Japan far, far away. The point of the game is really just to defend each castle from waves of attackers, by placing units of your own and adding to or upgrading your army. The easiest mode to jump in on is Normal, because you'll have the full range of options available within the game, including special items. Score Attack challenges you to defeat each level with a superior score, but deprives you of those items. Items come in handy, even if they are a bit hard to use in an otherwise hectic battle. Between offensive items that damage or slow the enemy, and items that heal or boost your side, you'll find this to be a handy feature. Playing against a friend is possible in VS Mode, and this is perhaps the best thing going for Dairojo Samurai Defenders, in terms of replay value. All aspects of the game can be configured when launching a two-player game, so you have the most flexibility, or try Random Mode to launch a variation on the existing single-player modes. Like the comments earlier about a retro-feel, we found Dairojo Samurai Defenders to be pretty demanding, if a bit one-dimensional. You end up managing the action on screen much more than you might expect, even in the earlier levels. It's certainly engaging for players that want something simple but not a purely casual gaming experience.
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Difficulty:
That frantic quality we alluded to may scare off gamers that approach this download title with the assumption that its cute-and-cuddly exterior reflects something easy or casual. There's nothing of the sort in Dairojo Samurai Defenders. Core Tower Defense fans will enjoy the challenge, although there's less of the DIY approach taken here. Compared to other similar games available for DSi download (the Steampunk Western SteamWorld comes to mind...), Dairojo Samurai Defenders forces the player to work with existing structures, rather than place units in ways that channel enemy troop movement. Enemies stream in from multiple directions, so it's up to you to determine where to best locate your units. There are a limited number of places for units, so only the first 30% of any level is about location. After that, you'll have to upgrade units or retire them, based on how the enemy units are advancing. You have to be quick and smart to read the battlefield and match ground units against ground units, or air-ready attacks against flying units. There are some instructions bundled with the game, but nothing in the way of a tutorial, which means that any player new to Tower Defense will be completely lost. Looking at Dairojo Samurai Defenders as an entry for the core gamers is fine, but it's a shame that extra time wasn't taken to make the game more approachable for newbies.
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Game Mechanics:
Dairojo Samurai Defenders uses touch controls in combination with physical buttons on the DSi, and finds a nice balance. You can spend all of your time on the lower touch-screen, but there are a few shortcuts that help you navigate between elements in the game using buttons. The virtual "buttons" include selecting troop units, at which point you'll see the stats for that unit displayed on the top screen. You can also tap during battle to assess the status of a unit (if it's available for an upgrade, for example) or retire that unit and collect some cash to replace it. Shifting off to the status screen during battle won't be a common occurrence, but you may want more control over your items. Item selection works a bit like rotating power-ups in a kart-racing game, so that each enemy drop randomizes to one of several items. If you don't like waiting, you can tap a button while the item is being resolved, to make it available sooner. Once an item is ready, you simply tap on the appropriate area of the battlefield, to use it. Matching enemy types against your soldiers is relatively easy, considering there are only a handful of types. Ground, Air/Ground, and General that boosts troops around him sums up the amount of choice you have in Dairojo Samurai Defenders, which may not sound as robust as other games of this type. Considering there are some additional powers available from leveling up units, we'd say Dairojo Samurai Defenders will satisfy most fans of Tower Defense. It's hardly the most approachable game of its type in the DSi library, but Tower Defense is already a bit of an arcane art, compared to other puzzle game genres out there. If you've exhausted the other options in this category, or simply like the idea of a TD game themed around ancient Japan, Dairojo Samurai Defenders is certainly worth a try.
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-Fridtjof, GameVortex Communications AKA Matt Paddock |
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