Based on the animated adaptation of Akira Kurosawa's Shichinin no Samurai (The Seven Samurai, 1954), PS2 Samurai 7 follows the backdrop of the 26-episode television series. As the story goes, the village of Kanna is one of many victims of the Nobuseri - a band of roving ronin who have become cyborg vandals after losing their masters. Exacting a heavy chunk of the rice harvest each year, the Nobuseri have no qualms with snatching women for their whims either. That certainly won't do.

In the animation series, the denizens of Kanna send out three young adventurers to seek out samurai who are willing to defend the village for rice. Just rice. The PS2 game follows the travels of a young orphan named Ibuki who ventures out into the world to become a samurai after losing his parents. One day, he meets an old friend from Kanna named Kirara and they enjoy a impromptu reunion before the subject of the Nobuseri is brought up. Despite vowing to become a samurai, the seeds of change in Japanese society have sprouted and the samurai class are going the way of the dinosaur. With little prospects of finding a master, the protagonist agrees to return to Kanna with his friend and recruit seven samurai (well, they're really ronin) to defend the village from the Nobuseri.

The PS2 game uses animation sequences from the source material as well as new animations exclusive to the adventure. As an added bonus for fans of the series, background information on the seven samurai will also be revealed in the game. Samurai 7 follows the strategy-battle theme of familiar Idea Factory games and an affinity system is used where the player's level of interaction and trust with each samurai affects their performance in battle. While the game follows the story arc of the animation series, there are alternate routes which lead to new stories and developments which affect the course of the game. The affinity system extends to the rapport that the protagonist shares with the villagers which affects how they support the team of samurai throughout the game.

JAN Code: 4995857060511

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