Samurai Warrior: The Battles of Usagi Yojimbo
Encyclopedia
Samurai Warrior: The Battles of Usagi Yojimbo is a computer game released for the Commodore 64
, ZX Spectrum
and Amstrad CPC
platforms in 1988, by the now-defunct label Firebird. It is based on the comic book Usagi Yojimbo
, which featured the adventures of an anthropomorphic
samurai
rabbit
. The game closely follows some of the themes of the comic. The package artwork comes from the cover of the comic book Anything Goes #6.
The game was released in the United States
under the title Usagi Yojimbo as part of the Thunder Mountain Action Pack, Vol. 1. It was contained on Disk 1, Side 1 along with the games Great Escape
, Paradroid
, and (on Side 2) Implosion. The packaging for this version used artwork from the cover of Usagi Yojimbo
Volume 1, # 17 along with images from the other games included in the set.
The game was designed and programmed by Doug Palmer, Paul Kidd
and Russel Comte.
has to defeat opponents in sword fights, and also have encounters with other characters (also anthropomorphic
animals), for example priests, who usually carry a cane and utter Zen
Buddhist
koans, such as "if you see the Buddha on the path, kill him". Usagi is often attacked by bandits and enemy ninja
. These opponents frequently disguise themselves as harmless peasants, villagers or priests.
Although progress is always left-to-right, there are branches along the way that allow some gameplay liberty. There is also a sword training level, with bales of hay instead of enemies.
The scoring system is based on karma
; doing good deeds raises Usagi's karma, and doing bad deeds reduces it. If, ultimately, Usagi's karma drops to zero, he will commit seppuku
. Good deeds include killing armed opponents and donating money to peasants and priests. Conversely, attacking priests or unarmed characters or even drawing his sword in front of them reduces it (besides turning them hostile).
To earn money, Usagi can gamble at inns along the path and collect coins from slain enemies. The money can be spent on food, which in turn increases his energy.
Paul Kidd and Russel Comte wrote a much larger script for the game, which would see Usagi be able to traverse through many multiple paths and lead to entirely different adventures and endings. In the design documents for the game, characters and situations are detailed such as mole ninjas surfacing out of the soil, a side quest rescuing an innocent villager being dragged by a stampeding horse and numerous activities such as gambling and dialogue sequences in the town sections of the game.
Likewise, the karma system was downscaled into a simplistic numeric system which acted as a on screen counter that led Usagi to perform Seppuru if it fell under 0. In the original game design documents, Karma was envisioned as a more fulfilled reputation system, which would affect the NPC's views and actions towards Usagi.
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
, ZX Spectrum
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...
and Amstrad CPC
Amstrad CPC
The Amstrad CPC is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, where it successfully established itself primarily in the United Kingdom,...
platforms in 1988, by the now-defunct label Firebird. It is based on the comic book Usagi Yojimbo
Usagi Yojimbo
is a comic book series created by Stan Sakai in 1987. In 2011 IGN ranked Miyamoto Usagi 92nd in the top 100 comic books heroes.-Concept:Set primarily at the beginning of Edo period of Japan , with anthropomorphic animals replacing humans, the series features a rabbit ronin, Miyamoto Usagi, whom...
, which featured the adventures of an anthropomorphic
Anthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism is any attribution of human characteristics to animals, non-living things, phenomena, material states, objects or abstract concepts, such as organizations, governments, spirits or deities. The term was coined in the mid 1700s...
samurai
Samurai
is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...
rabbit
Rabbit
Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world...
. The game closely follows some of the themes of the comic. The package artwork comes from the cover of the comic book Anything Goes #6.
The game was released in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
under the title Usagi Yojimbo as part of the Thunder Mountain Action Pack, Vol. 1. It was contained on Disk 1, Side 1 along with the games Great Escape
The Great Escape (video game)
The Great Escape is a video game which shares a title and similar plot to the movie The Great Escape. It was programmed by Denton Designs, who went on to produce the similarly acclaimed Where Time Stood Still...
, Paradroid
Paradroid
Paradroid is a Commodore 64 computer game written by Andrew Braybrook and published by Hewson Consultants in 1985. It was also remade as Paradroid 90 for the Amiga and Atari ST home computers and as Paradroid 2000 for the Acorn Archimedes. There exist several fan-made remakes for modern PCs...
, and (on Side 2) Implosion. The packaging for this version used artwork from the cover of Usagi Yojimbo
Usagi Yojimbo
is a comic book series created by Stan Sakai in 1987. In 2011 IGN ranked Miyamoto Usagi 92nd in the top 100 comic books heroes.-Concept:Set primarily at the beginning of Edo period of Japan , with anthropomorphic animals replacing humans, the series features a rabbit ronin, Miyamoto Usagi, whom...
Volume 1, # 17 along with images from the other games included in the set.
The game was designed and programmed by Doug Palmer, Paul Kidd
Paul Kidd
-Career:Before pursuing a career in writing Kidd had worked at Beam Software, an Australia-based game developer. He is credited as, among other things, the writer, director and lead designer of Nightshade, an ambitious action-adventure title for the NES....
and Russel Comte.
Gameplay
The game is a sideways-scrolling adventure, where Miyamoto UsagiMiyamoto Usagi
Miyamoto Usagi is the titular character of Usagi Yojimbo, a Dark Horse comic by Stan Sakai. Usagi is an anthropomorphic rabbit and a ronin now walking the musha shugyo ....
has to defeat opponents in sword fights, and also have encounters with other characters (also anthropomorphic
Anthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism is any attribution of human characteristics to animals, non-living things, phenomena, material states, objects or abstract concepts, such as organizations, governments, spirits or deities. The term was coined in the mid 1700s...
animals), for example priests, who usually carry a cane and utter Zen
Zen
Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism founded by the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma. The word Zen is from the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word Chán , which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which can be approximately translated as "meditation" or "meditative state."Zen...
Buddhist
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
koans, such as "if you see the Buddha on the path, kill him". Usagi is often attacked by bandits and enemy ninja
Ninja
A or was a covert agent or mercenary of feudal Japan specializing in unorthodox arts of war. The functions of the ninja included espionage, sabotage, infiltration, and assassination, as well as open combat in certain situations...
. These opponents frequently disguise themselves as harmless peasants, villagers or priests.
Although progress is always left-to-right, there are branches along the way that allow some gameplay liberty. There is also a sword training level, with bales of hay instead of enemies.
The scoring system is based on karma
Karma
Karma in Indian religions is the concept of "action" or "deed", understood as that which causes the entire cycle of cause and effect originating in ancient India and treated in Hindu, Jain, Buddhist and Sikh philosophies....
; doing good deeds raises Usagi's karma, and doing bad deeds reduces it. If, ultimately, Usagi's karma drops to zero, he will commit seppuku
Seppuku
is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment. Seppuku was originally reserved only for samurai. Part of the samurai bushido honor code, seppuku was either used voluntarily by samurai to die with honor rather than fall into the hands of their enemies , or as a form of capital punishment...
. Good deeds include killing armed opponents and donating money to peasants and priests. Conversely, attacking priests or unarmed characters or even drawing his sword in front of them reduces it (besides turning them hostile).
To earn money, Usagi can gamble at inns along the path and collect coins from slain enemies. The money can be spent on food, which in turn increases his energy.
Planned Content
Due to the hardware limitations of the Commodore 64, numerous features had to be cut from the final product. Originally, Samurai Warrior was envisoned as a much larger, open world experience.Paul Kidd and Russel Comte wrote a much larger script for the game, which would see Usagi be able to traverse through many multiple paths and lead to entirely different adventures and endings. In the design documents for the game, characters and situations are detailed such as mole ninjas surfacing out of the soil, a side quest rescuing an innocent villager being dragged by a stampeding horse and numerous activities such as gambling and dialogue sequences in the town sections of the game.
Likewise, the karma system was downscaled into a simplistic numeric system which acted as a on screen counter that led Usagi to perform Seppuru if it fell under 0. In the original game design documents, Karma was envisioned as a more fulfilled reputation system, which would affect the NPC's views and actions towards Usagi.
External links
- Samurai Warrior: The Battles of Usagi Yojimbo at Hardcore Gaming 101
- Absolutist recreation of C64 game
- Samurai Warrior (Commdore 64 version) at GameFAQsGameFAQsGameFAQs is a website that hosts FAQs and walkthroughs for video games. It was created in November 1995 by Jeff "CJayC" Veasey and was bought by CNET Networks in May 2003. It is currently owned by CBS Interactive. The site has a database of video game information, cheat codes, reviews, game saves,...