Japanese Samurai/Imperial China Games

[otbr87]

Can anyone recommend any video games worth experiencing that deliver a good story and game play with something based in ancient Asian cultures?? I already beat Ghost of Tsushima and I know I'm reaching on hoping to find another gem as good as GoT, but I'm open to checking out some games. Console generation doesn't matter as long as it's from a 3D era console or newer. Ghost of Tsushima was amazing, I've also played a few Tenchu games which I like but aren't really that great as well as mediocre stuff like Dynasty Warriors, Onimusha and Ninja Gaiden. I've also played Sekiro, NiOH and Way of the Samurai and didn't care for any of those. Not into anime/manga or cartoonish Asian culture games. I wish there were other realistic games in the genre like GoT, or if it's more fantasy based something like the movies Jet Li's Hero, The Housing of Flying Daggers or the new Mulan movie. This may be a needle in a haystack outside of Ghost of Tsushima and Tenchu, but I figured I'd ask. Thanks!

 

[kidSEGA93]

Hello! Have you ever heard about Nobunaga's Ambition or Romance of Three Kingdom? These strategy games are so huge and time consuming, but they are worth it. I can highly recommend this series,you can even start your journey from the first nobunaga which was released on SNES. But before you start snes version of this game read the game manual. Also you may try more latest games of this series such as NA: Sphere of Influence on PS4 or PC. History, Asia, Amazing soundtrack, Crazy amount of strategy and so on and so on, this is all about NA or ROTK.

I hope this was useful for you :) And yeah, sorry for my language I'm still studying English.

 

[Tsukuyomimagi99]

Based on your criteria there is very little I could suggest for you. Some of the best jidaigeki or wuxia video games tend to either focus exclusively on gameplay to the detriment of the story, or they are cartoonish in nature. That being said, I have a few recommendations.

I). Shinobido Imashime - After Aquire lost the Intellectual Property to Tenchu, they developed their own spiritual successor with Shinobido. The gameplay is similar to Tenchu but is more dynamic in nature due to your alliances and choices. Allowing the player more freedom in comparison to Tenchu's linear nature.


II). Jade Empire - Jade Empire is a 2005 Wuxia action role-playing video game developed by Bioware. The game features your standard RPG mechanics but comes with a moral alignment system similar to Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic.


III). Bushido Blade I & II - If you're into fighting games the original two Bushido Blades are probably the most realistic depiction of a weapon-based fighter. The games are more about proper strategy than mindlessly hitting your opponent.


IV). Ryu ga Gotoku Kenzan/Ishin - Jidaigeki spin-offs based around the Ryu ga Gotoku series. Kenzan is loosely based around the history of Miyamoto Musashi while Ishin is based around Sakamoto Ryoma of the Bakamatsu Period. Sadly though, neither of these two games were ever localized. So if you really want to play them you will have to use KHH Subs for translations.



V). Black Myth Wu Kong - If you can wait for a little while there is the dark-themed Wu Kong game based around the Chinese mythical figure Sun Wu Kong the monkey king.


VI). Xuan-Yuan Sword VII - Similar to Black Myth Wu Kong, this action roleplaying game will be releasing in the future. It is based on Chinese mythology and history. The primary focus centers around the Mohists advanced scholars who rivaled Confucianism over two thousand years ago.

 

[Rydeen]

Not sure how anyone could not like the original Onimusha--.

Maybe Blood Will Tell / Dororo? I haven't actually played it, but have heard it's quite good, and I've always wanted to. English language versions of the game are very expensive, though. The JP version of the game is pretty reasonable, but it seems less common, actually.

There are also a few Yoshitsune games (games adapted from The Tale of the Heike) on the PS2: Yoshitsuneki and Yoshitsune Eiyuuden. The latter was made by From Software. I have both, but have only played them for a few minutes each. Also, I'm not actually sure if they're available in English, or if they have any translation patches. They're a little bit like Dynasty Warriors, though.

 

[otbr87]

Based on your criteria there is very little I could suggest for you. Some of the best jidaigeki or wuxia video games tend to either focus exclusively on gameplay to the detriment of the story, or they are cartoonish in nature. That being said, I have a few recommendations.

I). Shinobido Imashime - After Aquire lost the Intellectual Property to Tenchu, they developed their own spiritual successor with Shinobido. The gameplay is similar to Tenchu but is more dynamic in nature due to your alliances and choices. Allowing the player more freedom in comparison to the Tenchu's linear nature.


II). Jade Empire - Jade Empire is a 2005 Wuxia action role-playing video game developed by Bioware. The game features your standard RPG mechanics but comes with a moral alignment system similar to Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic.


III). Bushido Blade I & II - If you're into fighting games the original two Bushido Blades are probably the most realistic depiction of a weapon-based fighter. The games are more about proper strategy than mindlessly hitting your opponent.


IV). Ryu ga Gotoku Kenzan/Ishin - Jidaigeki spin-offs based around the Ryu ga Gotoku series. Kenzan is loosely based around the history of Miyamoto Musashi while Ishin is based around Sakamoto Ryoma of the Bamamatsu Period. Sadly though, neither of these two games were ever localized. So if you really want to play them you will have to use KHH Subs for translations.



V). Black Myth Wu Kong - If you can wait for a little while there is the dark-themed Wu Kong game based around the Chinese mythical figure Sun Wu Kong the monkey king.


VI). Xuan-Yuan Sword VII - Similar to Black Myth Wu Kong, this action roleplaying game will be releasing in the future. It is based on Chinese mythology and history. The primary focus centers around the Mohists advanced scholars who rivaled Confucianism over two thousand years ago.

Your list is definitely onto the kind of stuff I'm looking to experience. Thank You for the recommendations! The Shinobido games looked very much like Tenchu, I didn't realize it was a departure of the creators, too bad it's PS2 era, I still may give it a chance out of lack of options on the newer consoles in the genre.

I recently took a look at Jade Empire on youtube and it looks decent but not quite what I'm looking for.

Bushido Blade games are amazing for their time, I could never understand why they didn't survive into the following console generations, I would love to see a current gen Bushido Blade reboot.

I actually tried the Yakuza demo last week. I'm not a Yakuza fan at all, but I did think it was somewhat decent for a watered down experience. It has some of the look but none of the feel I'm searching for.

Black Myth Wukong actually looks fairly interesting. I was just watching a movie on the Monkey King recently. Any idea on a release date in the USA? I noticed only the Asian markets when looking into it.



I started playing Tenchu Z on 360 yesterday and while it feels nice to reconnect with the Tenchu vibe, I can't help but feel overwhelmed with disappointment that Tenchu never made it to the current gen. Tenchu Z is the best in the franchise, but still feels incredibly dated and difficult to immerse myself in after coming off of Ghost of Tsushima. At least it still beats Sekiro's gritty dirty dark vibe. I would love to see a Tenchu reboot with a lot more depth and detail that the modern console experience allows. They were definitely my favorite in the genre during their time.