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Don’t like the looks of the peasants who’re trying to save your life? Flash some steel and scare them away. And you can do it in nearly every cutscene, with or without provocation. Really, though, these pauses serve a purpose – they’re so that you can interrupt them by unsheathing your sword, an action that the game will constantly remind you is available by flashing a little drawn-sword icon onscreen.ĭrawing your sword won’t just be perceived as just a warning, either if you do it during a conversation, said conversation will immediately turn violent. This is mainly because they’re filled with long, seemingly meaningless pauses during which your samurai just stares blankly at the object of his attention after being asked a question. The cutscenes in Way of the Samurai 3 can be, at first glance, irritating as hell.
![way of the samurai dona dona way of the samurai dona dona](https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steam/apps/333811/capsule_616x353.jpg)
However you decide to play, there are more than 15 endings to discover – and with Achievements and Trophies to be earned as you unlock them all, just seeing what happens isn’t your only incentive. The story is always fairly short, but that’s made up for by the fact that you can play through it repeatedly and experience a different outcome – and a completely different side of the story – every time. It’s that the games thrust you into a clockwork, Kurosawa-esque plot, which you can influence and dramatically alter, depending on your actions. If you’ve delved into either of the first two Way of the Samurai games, then you already know that their main selling point isn’t the fighting, the graphics or even the customization. But don’t let that fool you – underneath its ropey exterior lies a versatile, wildly customizable game that anyone who cares about story in games should at least try. And its standard sword-fighting action (while deceptively deep and a lot of fun) still feels like run-of-the-mill slash ‘em-up stuff, with enemies that insist on fighting you one at a time. A free-roaming, RPG-tinged adventure set in Japan’s warring-states period, Way of the Samurai 3 might seem a little dated, with chunky-looking graphics, stiff animations and dialogue relayed mostly through word bubbles.