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gamesfromthebox · 9 years

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As with so many of the later PlayStation 2 games, Samurai Western is only available to play on its parent console. Even though it comes at the cost of a relatively new game (~$40 online), Samurai Western is tons of fun and features high quality animation and voice acting.

Of course, you could always just play its oddball cousin God Hand via the PlayStation Network, but then you wouldn't get to discover the fate of the Kiryu brothers. Or deflect bullets with your badass samurai skillz.

#samurai western #sword to a gunfight #Instruction Manual #Gojiro #acquire #atlus #anime #sony #Sony PlayStation 2 #year 2005 #recommended #video games #gaming #games from the box

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gamesfromthebox · 9 years

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Time to come clean: I did not try out the 2-Player Mode in Samurai Western. This is pretty strange for me, considering that I adore disparate co-op experiences (see: 8 Eyes). I chalk this lack of experience up to moving stress and work issues. Fortunately, I was able to mess around with Samurai Western's odd take on red barrels.

Instead of being happy little explosive items, the "danger barrels" are temporary power-ups for Gojiro's sword. As if striking a barrel of nitroglycerin will simply ignite a blade instead of destroying its wielder.

#samurai western #Gojiro #acquire #atlus #sword to a gunfight #sony #Sony PlayStation 2 #anime #red barrels #Instruction Manual #co-op #video games #gaming #games from the box #items

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gamesfromthebox · 9 years

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When I first started Samurai Western, I wasn't expecting much. After all, there were quite a few shovelware brawlers on the PlayStation 2. Fortunately, this game subverted my expectations and turned out to be a rather fun experience.

The quality of character animations, for both Gojiro and his enemies, are fluid and keep the action level high. There is a nice variety of moves for the player to use, including the classic, "deflecting bullets with your katana." Samurai Western even features some character customization, in the form of new weapons and costumes for Gojiro.

Plus, the enemies can drop whole roast chickens as health items. Even in 2005, brawler tradition stays strong.

#samurai western #sword to a gunfight #Kenneth Rocafort #acquire #atlus #Gojiro #Sony PlayStation 2 #sony #video games #gaming #games from the box #anime #year 2005 #Instruction Manual #brawler #street chicken

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gamesfromthebox · 9 years

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It would not surprise me to find out that the story from this instruction manual also served as the elevator pitch for Samurai Western. Every bit of it oozes with the wording and ellipses of a 2000-era video game idea. Swords... blood... anime revenge plot... samurai versus boozehounds...

Yup, it's all here.

#samurai western #Gojiro #anime #sword to a gunfight #acquire #sony #Sony PlayStation 2 #video games #games from the box #Instruction Manual #atlus #Dualshock #year 2005

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gamesfromthebox · 9 years

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Always reblog OldGameMages and VGAA. Always follow OldGameMages and VGAA.

Hello, my Tremendous Tumblrs!

This is a friendly monthly reminder to check out our other blog - The Video Game Art Archive! Every day we post new, extracted artwork from a ton of old, classic games to allow anyone to use them for their own purposes. Using my own manuals and books, I work hard to extract the art at the best quality, and bringing all sorts of weird, rare artwork to the limelight.

It, along with Old Game Mags, are maintained by just me - Ryan Langley, aka Rlan. It’s a lot of work maintaining, extracting and posting everything. If you like what I’m doing, you can support us on Patreon, where you can get updates on both blogs, as well as the original high resolution extracted art from VGAA! You can also do a single dontation from the main page of both blogs.

The post above shows just some of the art we’ll be posting over the month - Last Bronx, Zelda II, Paper Mario, Hermie Hopper Head and Virtua Fighter Kids, just to name a few. A lot of this stuff has never been available online at this quality! Try looking for artwork of Captain Falcon from the original F-Zero online - it’s all terrible! That’s about to change!

Hope these aren’t too annoying, hope you enjoy both blogs!

#oldgamemags #vgaa #recommended #video game art #game magazines #Nintendo power #Awesome Tumblr Blogs #likefollowsubscribe

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gamesfromthebox · 9 years

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Even the instruction booklet for Samurai Western features multiple art styles!

While I do enjoy the juxtaposition of a colorful action scene against a black-and-white moment of respite, there is something that stands out even more. This is the first instruction manual I have read where the different types of PlayStation 2 consoles are called out. Hence the giant asterisk by "Getting Started."

#samurai western #Gojiro #atlus #sony #Sony PlayStation 2 #acquire #video games #games from the box #Instruction Manual #Dualshock #sword to a gunfight #Kenneth Rocafort #anime #year 2005

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gamesfromthebox · 9 years

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One of my favorite trends in video game packaging is the reversible cover. I particularly love when different artists and styles are used for each side. In the case of Samurai Western, comic book artist Kenneth Rocafort drew the cover artwork before his glory days at Top Cow.

The top artwork definitely seems like Rocafort's style (see Madame Mirage comics), but the alternate cover looks like a completely different artist. No other illustrator is credited, though. Another mystery unsolved.

#samurai western #acquire #ps2 #sony #sony playstation 2 #atlus #gojiro #anime #sword to a gunfight #video games #gaming #reversible covers #games from the box #year 2005 #video game mystery #Kenneth Rocafort

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gamesfromthebox · 9 years

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During the later years of the PlayStation 2, there was a glut of anime-inspired games released for the console. I recall many of these titles featured some sort of archetypical hero doing battle in a desert wasteland against diabolical forces. You know, like a samurai fighting in a Western...

Released in June 2005 by Atlus, Samurai Western was unsurprisingly developed by ACQUIRE, a group known for their polished action series like Tenchu and Way of the Samurai.

#sony #sony playstation 2 #acquire #samurai western #gojiro #video games #gaming #games from the box #anime #Kenneth Rocafort #sword to a gunfight #year 2005 #dan hibiki

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gamesfromthebox · 9 years

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We close our Spider-Man coverage with another great piece from OldGameMags: a timely and informative review from the year 2000.

In spite of being released on nearly every console of its day (including Dreamcast, PlayStation, Nintendo 64 AND Game Boy Color), Neversoft's Spider-Man has not been ported to any modern consoles. As with so many media tie-ins, the reason for a lack of re-release is likely based on licensing issues.

So if you wanna enjoy this fantastic classic, you will need an original copy and one of the various consoles for which it was released.

Power #57, October 2000 - Spider-Man on the PlayStation was awesome!

Follow OldGameMags on Tumblr for more classic magazines and adverts. Like what we do? Support us on Patreon!

#spider-man #doc ock #venom #peter parker #sony #sony playstation #neversoft #activision #video games #gaming #games from the box #oldgamemags #super hero #comic book game #year 2000

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gamesfromthebox · 9 years

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A great interview from a great blog. Seriously, you should all be following and supporting OldGameMags.

Also, fascinating to read about the creative process behind Spider-Man for the PS1. Avoiding an unnecessarily dark and brooding story to make a universally appealing game? Modern developers, take note.

Power #57, October 2000 - An interview with Neversoft over their PSone Spider-Man games.

Follow OldGameMags on Tumblr for more classic magazines and adverts. Like what we do? Support us on Patreon!

#spider-man #oldgamemags #likefollowsubscribe #peter parker #sony playstation #sony #video games #gaming #games from the box #doc ock #neversoft #activision #super hero #venom #interview #comic book game

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gamesfromthebox · 9 years

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Another quaint notion from gaming's past- a special section in the instruction manual dedicated to gameplay tips. These days, the assumption would be that players are so connected to the internet at all times, any tips they could need are right at their swiping fingers.

#spider-man #Instruction Manual #venom #peter parker #doc ock #sony playstation #sony #year 2000 #video games #games from the box #gaming #neversoft #activision #super hero

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gamesfromthebox · 9 years

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The instruction manual for Neversoft's Spider-Man features some fantastic copy. The bio section for Peter Parker highlights his identity ("Secret"), his friends (who come in two flavors: superhero or deceased), and his super powers ("Similar to a Spider").

My favorite bit comes from the "Other Abilities" note, where a delightful run-on sentence tells us what a great scientist Parker would have been if it weren't for that pesky radioactive spider. Spectacular, indeed.

#spider-man #venom #peter parker #neversoft #activision #sony playstation #sony #Instruction Manual #super hero #doc ock #year 2000 #video games #gaming #games from the box

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gamesfromthebox · 9 years

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Here is the content that makes Spider-Man stand out as the best superhero game of its day- piles upon piles of fan service.

There are dozens of milestone Spider-Man comics hidden throughout the game as collectibles. Finding this secret sequential art unlocks a backstory gallery, along with different enhanced legacy costumes for Ol' Webhead. Finally, there is a character viewer that features poseable sprites and short biographies narrated by Stan Lee.

Best of all: this massive chunk of content was available on the disc, waiting to be unlocked through play or cheat codes. Take that, modern DLC!

#spider-man #venom #doc ock #video games #gaming #games from the box #sony playstation #sony #peter parker #activision #neversoft #year 2000 #Instruction Manual #dlc #super hero

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gamesfromthebox · 9 years

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Unlike so many cross-media games that focus on a specific market, Spider-Man appeals to a wide range of players. Since the superhero has fans across the generations, Neversoft included plenty of training modes and difficulty settings to cater to every age.

For younger gamers, Spider-Man has a "Kid" difficulty mode, which takes most of the sting out of the challenge, allowing for easy access to the story. For the more experienced crowd, the tutorials are optional and there are piles of hidden content that can only be attained through skillful play.

#spider-man #peter parker #sony playstation #sony #video games #games from the box #venom #stan lee #Instruction Manual #year 2000 #gaming #neversoft #activision #super hero

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gamesfromthebox · 9 years

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Spider-Man has quite a repertoire of moves on the PS1. Fortunately, the tutorials for said actions are made optional thanks to avoidable information icons. If the player wants to learn how to make Spidey shoot his webs, then he/she can simply run into a giant floating question mark for an instructional interlude.

Most of these tutorials come from Black Cat, who is voiced by the talented Jennifer Hale. So it's like getting superhero lessons from FemShep.

#spider-man #doc ock #venom #black cat #jennifer hale #femshep #sony playstation #sony #video games #gaming #games from the box #Instruction Manual #peter parker #neversoft #year 2000 #activision

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gamesfromthebox · 9 years

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Hyperbolic as the words from Official PlayStation Magazine may seem, Spider-Man for the PS1 was the cream of the superhero crop when it debuted in the year 2000. Besides being a solid action game with impressive voice acting, the game is chock full of content for Spidey-Fans.

There are dozens of hidden comic books to collect, a wide array of costumes to unlock, and bios for every major character in the game. To top it all off, the game was narrated by Stan Lee. Excelsior, indeed.

#sony playstation #sony #spider-man #neversoft #peter parker #dan hibiki #video games #gaming #games from the box #venom #doc ock #stan lee #activision #super hero #year 2000 #marvel #comic book game

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gamesfromthebox · 9 years

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Between the big three console publishers, I find it’s easiest to transition across Sony’s generations. This is mainly due to how little their controller design has changed from the original PlayStation. Once the DualShock controller hit the market, my muscle memory changed to accommodate a pair of analog sticks.

It’s also interesting to note that the DualShock controller included with the PlayStation 2 is both forward and backward compatible. The DualShock 2 works with the original PlayStation and with the PlayStation 3 (thanks to certain adapters).

#sony #sony playstation #ps2 #playstation 2 #video games #gaming #games from the box #dan hibiki #console #year 2000 #dualshock

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