Sword of the Samurai is an interesting game, a very interesting game. Over many generations, you lead the life of a 15th century Japanese noble, travelling, fighting, marrying, procreating, retiring, with the ultimate goal of becoming Shogun. And this is not just a generic game dressed in a kimono, everything is very well researched.
Sadly, a strong arcade element makes it difficult to play for exactly the clientele that probably would take the greatest interest in it. I would have preferred more RPG-like gameplay.
Sword of the Samurai supports an array of sound cards typically for its time: Tandy, IBM, AdLib, Roland MT-32. Of course, only the last will give decent sound. And the game creators really loved this device:
We have discovered that the MT-32 is a fantastic toy to play with. If you get tired of listening to the sounds that we have provided try punching up some different instruments. Full orchestra is recommended for the melee.
The problem with the MT-32 is of course that it's hard to get nowadays and still comparatively expensive. I tried playing the game with the MT-32 drivers and a Terratec wavetable daughterboard mounted on a Soundblaster 16, and it went surprisingly well, though the MT-32 is originally used to create some sound effects which cannot come out right in such a setting. Unlike any other game I know, we even have details about these sound effects, as Jim McConkey, sound engineer of MicroProse Software tells us in the Readme:
It is possible to drive an FB-01 using the provided MT-32 MIDI drivers. Our drivers require a Roland MPU-401 or compatible MIDI interface. The driver is optimized for the MT-32, but with a little work, satisfactory results can be obtained with the FB-01. We do download sound data to the MT-32 via system exclusive messages, but these will be totally ignored by an FB-01. Sounds are selected via patch change commands as needed, so you will need to assemble a custom bank of sounds (in either bank 1 or 2) as follows. The following list is offered as a jumping off point, not a polished selection. In particular, please take the sound effect selections with a grain of salt! Patch Sound Good Starting FB-01 presets (bank/preset) _____ ______________ ___________________________ 1 Foot step Clock 6/45 2 Floor creak Strings 3/5 3 Step in water SynTimp 6/44 4 Door slides Wave 5/40 5 Musket shot SnareD2 6/48 6 Arrow shot Sitar1 7/29 7 Sword swish ZingPlp 3/36 8 Sword parry Smash 5/45 9 Hit enemy HuffTak 4/8 10 Flute3 Flute3 5/35 11 Flute2 Pan Flt 5/37 12 Gong TempleG 6/40 13 Koto Koto 3/23 14 Bass Monosyn 6/12* 15 Koto1 SftKoto 7/27 16 Timpani Timpani 3/32* 17 Flute Flute4 5/36 18 Flute4 Flute4 5/36 19 Bells Bells 3/27 20 Bass2 Monosyn 6/12* *could use to be raised an octave or two You will also need to be running a Mono8 type configuration. We use MIDI channels 2-9, so the channel of each voice should be set to one higher than the voice. IE. voice 1 is set to channel 2. Other parameters should be set as follows: # notes 1 Hi Key G#8 Lo Key C-2 Voice Bank 1 or 2, depending on which bank you stored the voices above in. detune 0 octave 0 level 127 pan RL
With this information you should get some interesting sound out of game with the right equipment. It needn't be a Yamaha FB-01—it could just as well be a Sound Canvas.
Besides these unusual social elements of the game, Sword of the Samurai reaches for approriate justice to its subject. Short "zen" phrases punctuate your loading times and neatly chide you into patience. Traditional Japanese court music rendered in Adlib synth sound is odd but fitting. The graphics are sparse and direct EGA (16 colour), quite simple. It looks as though the people behind the game might have actually looked at Japanese woodblock prints, and some painted scrolls and the like.
While its age shows thoroughly, the beauty of its design stands as a testament that age doesn't always matter. A fan of Japanese culture and samurai should give this one a shot and at least play it through to its conclusion once. No means a masterpiece, Sword of the Samurai is one of the best unknown games of its time.
The feeling of the game, the atmosphere, is perfect. No anachronisms, no wrong information. Everything was researched and presented thorough and correct. It creates a general feeling of feudal Japan. At the sides of menus are drawings that could've been taken from paintings, matching the event or place you are at. While a part of the game is being loaded, it goes Zen and gives you a random piece of wisdom to ponder about. When fighting a battle with your troops, even the formation and tactics have their specific Japanese name.
Some of the game's best features include: exciting duels (designed by Sid Meier), lots of branching choices (later used in Darklands to great effect), and an authentic medieval Japan setting, complete with beautiful woodcut graphics and Japanese ambient music. Gameplay is a masterful blend of action, strategy, and adventure. Similar to medieval Europe, you have a fiefdom and a number of men under your command. The difference, however, is that here you must heed Japanese concepts of honor which is quantified and is of paramount importance in the game. If you try to assassinate a rival and fail, for instance, your honor will decline precipitously, prompting your men to desert you or your bride to leave you. Lose enough honor, and you will have no choice but to commit seppuku (ritual suicide). With authentic Japanese premise, strong gameplay based on real Samurai culture, and great graphics, Sword of Samurai belongs in every strategy gamer's collection.
