Truly Sengoku Basara Samurai Heroes is an absolutely addictively fun game that I simply cannot put down once the controller is in my hands.  The game is based around the Sengoku period of Imperial Japan with a slightly modern twist.  The war torn country of Japan is in a bloodbath as many war generals are fighting each other in order to become leader of Japan.  The best part is that you, as the player, get to choose and unlock multiple war generals.  Basically you get to experience the war from many point of views in a challenging environment if you wish.

   Speaking of environment, the graphics are absolutely stunning!  The background is colorful and is full of the beauty that imperial Japan was known for.  The characters are placed into colorful outfits that makes them look epic when on the battlefield.  Every little detail is beautiful, from the grass blowing in the wind to the character’s fluid motions when they run, ride, or fight.  To put it simply, the graphic designers have spent many hours putting each detail together.  The voices on the characters and cut scenes are also crystal clear.

   The most important element of any game is the storyline.  Nobody wants to play a video game with an unexciting storyline that could’ve led to a good, or terrible ending.  When it comes to storylines, it kept the player engaged with the main points of the storyline while they get to choose which kingdom to invade next.  Sometimes though, the player will be forced to attack a specific kingdom to keep up with the characters’ main story line.  On rare occasions though, your own army can get attacked and you’ll have to defend yourself, or a specific character will have to choose between allies which could be a major turning point in the war which keeps the entire game very interesting.

   The controls on the game are very simple, which is perfect for newbie gamers.  The controls require a lot of button mashing to rack up combos from a crowd of enemies and to get a lot of Zennys, which is the currency within the game.  Though more experienced gamers may think that the controls are simply too easy to use, they need lots of strategy.  Some levels have bosses before you get to the real bosses and if you want to be brave enough to fight them, simple button mashing isn’t enough.  This game requires planning, timing and evading skills, which could keep more experienced gamers engaged with the gameplay.

   Though this game is mainly a gem, it has its flaws too.  For example, sometimes the storyline can drag on and on which makes you wonder when the character’s story will be over.  When you suffer through the plot and level, you get rewards for many things from killing mini bosses to capturing camps.  You’ll need these supplies to help upgrade your character and most of the gifts are repetitive which can be a pain when you want a specific badge to make your general stronger.  Also aside the fact your character will level up like crazy, special skills can sometimes take forever to unlock, which could be an even bigger pain when you want to rack up those combos.  The enemies spawn a lot and it is super annoying to take them down sometimes when you just want to blaze through the entire map.

   On the brighter side of things though, you can partner up with a buddy and play multiplayer mode to go through maps together to collect lots of spoils.  With its explosive moves and amazing storyline the Sengoku Basara series even has its own manga and anime.  In Japan they even have the characters on pizza boxes, showing it has many fans.  So with its graphics, plots, and gameplay, Sengoku Basara is surely a button mashing mess of fun.