Usagi Yojimbo The Video Game

[Tycho]

Hey, Tycho here of www.penny-arcade.com If you visit you would find out that my partner, Gabe, And I love video games and we've been talking about it and we believe, If handled by the right people, a game based upon the stories of the wanderings of Miyamoto Usagi would turn out very well. We talked about how as a tutorial or training level you would progress through the teachings of Katsuichi developing skills and learning about bushido and what are the best choices to make in situations to truly exemplify the way of Usagi. The first level would have to be the tournament in front of Mifune where Usagi gets his swords. Gabe thinks that it should just be an FMV or short movie showing this. We believe that the best genre for Usagi would be in RPG like Final Fantasy or EverQuest. We have many other ideas and would like to hear comments. What do you think?

[Magnus9]

Actually there was a game released in Europe and Australia based on Usagi called Samurai Warrior. It was supposed to be pretty cool but I can't say since I never had the chance to play it. You can get some info on it and even download a sharware version that's supposed to run in DOS mode HERE at the Dojo

Well I always thought a fighting game based in the Usagi universe would be fun. Id have to say I'd vote for it to be a 2D fighter but could really see something like Bushido Blade working well for the series. Seeing a UY game in a Guilty Gear XX environment would definately be very very cool and druel inducing!

As far as the rpg goes I think that would be cool although instead of FF style I'd much rather see some kind of combo system like those in Xenogears or Valkyrie Profile to be used for fights. It just seems like those would be much more in the spirit of the comic.[/url]

[ziritrion]

I had an idea of a UY videogame (I'm studying computer science in order to become a videogame developer ), and I think that probably the best idea for it would be either a Zelda 64-like game (Action RPG with lots of exploring, using the "z-targetting" thing in order to attack the enemies) or a graphical adventure like Grim Fandango (although I really didn't like this one). Having a Monkey Island-like game with Usagi (with 2D sprites instead of using a 3D engine) would be pretty cool too . The story line for the game would either be a custom story made by or with the approval of Stan Sakai (the story line shouldn't necesarily fit into the current UY storiline) or an adaptation of a story already done by Stan (Grasscutter, The Dragon Bellow Conspiracy, Demon Mask or the Hairpin Murders would make great choices, I think). But the best thing would be if the developers made it for the Dreamcast...

Oh, and if it had to be done with a 3D engine, it should be made with cell-shading (like Jet Set Radio or Auto-Modellista or any of those cartoony-looking games out there).

[digulla]

I started doing an UY game a while ago but stopped the project because of lack of time. It was basically a low-level RPG where you can progress through the story by selecting an action from a list. I chose this form because I'm good with text and bad at art.

The advantage of this is that it's pretty simple to do and doesn't need anything besides a web browser to play. OTOH, it's limited in what you can do.

[Usagi-Kun Samuraikatagi]

I am definatly for a Usagi Yojimbo game. It would be way cool and fun to play it to hope if it ever is made one that it reaches sweden. And I think that ziritrion is right about the cellshading it would totaly rock if it was in that mode!

[ghostdog]

Still, the original game for Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum is pretty solid. I love the karma-point system, it's really cool and very original. The game is even more fun today on an emulator where you can save the game and resume anywhere/anytime you like!

[Shinobi-no-Ryu]

Where did you get the ROM for it? Also if you know any good Neo-Geo ROM sites that would be awesome.

[ziritrion]

Try looking on google or your favourite search engine, but the best place to look for ROMs is on any P2P network like KaZaA, Gnutella or eDonkey2000. However, let me remind you that if you do not own the original game, the possesion of the ROM file is illegal, unless the copyright has expired. Most people think that when five years or so hasve passed since the game stopped being sold, then it's OK to have the ROM or the game itself (which is known as abandonware), but but I don't know if that's legal at all. It's at your own risk .

I believe that I saw the ROM file here on the Dojo, just go to the top of the forum index and select "Usagi Yojimbo Videogame page" from the scrolling menu. What I'm pretty sure of is that you can download a DOS version of the game which you can play without any emulator at all.

[ghostdog]

I believe that I saw the ROM file here on the Dojo, just go to the top of the forum index and select "Usagi Yojimbo Videogame page" from the scrolling menu. What I'm pretty sure of is that you can download a DOS version of the game which you can play without any emulator at all.

Nitpicking: it's not a ROM, it's a disk image. Well, except for the DOS-version, that's the usual '.exe'-file

[ziritrion]

That's what I said; you can download the DOS (.exe) version of the game here . I didn't know if the Commodore64 version (or the Spectrum version) was a disc image or a ROM, but it doesn't really matter as long as you have an emulator .

[Freelance]

When I think of the possiblity of a game using the Usagi universe I somehow envision it as something akin to the recent GC Zelda game. The idea of having the young Usagi learning the basics of combat and other controls under the supervision of Katsuichi is an excellent idea. But carrying a few buckets of water and dodging the seemingly insane Katsuichi's attacks first would be a nice feature.
... Heck, one could make a standalone game about the young Usagi. There are already lots of short stories by Sakai that would work in this setting. Like the recent Tengu story for example.
The game ending would preferably be when Usagi wins the tournament.

The next game could pick up just before Usagi gains employment as Mifune's bodyguard...
*mmmmmm* *yeaaaah* "I can practically taste it!

Cheers,
Freelance

[ziritrion]

That sounds cool. Zelda: the Wind Waker has one of the best graphic engines I've seen in a long time, and it would be perfect for the idea I had of a 3D UY game. Playing as Young Usagi would be really nice too, but I was thinking of a plot on which there wasn't a certain "goal" to achieve. Let me explain:

Usagi is a ronin, so he must find a job somewhere to earn some money if he wants to live. The player would take the role of Usagi and travel all throughout Japan, from town to town, trying to find a job. On each town, there would be people that you could interact with, and they could even help you or become your enemies. Depending of the situation Usagi is in, and the people he meets, and what choices the player does, the game plot would change, so the game would be different each time you play it. Kind of like a mix of Shenmue and Grand Theft Auto, but set in Medieval Japan with anthropomorfic characters . Usagi could improve his skills and learn new ones, so it would be more of an RPG than an action-only game like GTA or almost-adventure-only like Shenmue. If you think of it, there could even be an MMORPG based on the world of UY (kind of like Ultima Online, Everquest, Final Fantasy XI, or any other), and each player could choose to be a samurai, ronin, ninja, or whatever, and ally to achieve different goals (it would be cool if the player could also be able to become a lord and manage his/her lands, build castles and towns, and go to war). It would be really nice .

[C4]

There will be a Usagi video game released shortly for selected BREW and J2me enabled mobile handsets.

A trailer for this game can be viewed at www.c4-digital.com/games

more updates on this will be posted as they come

[ghostdog]

Interesting ideas ziritrion. I agree if a new game is developed for a major platform it should be more of an RPG than a simple action game. Perhaps it could be made open ended. Then you could, as Usagi, choose not to join Mifune and instead battle on Hikiji's side at adachigahara. That would make for some interesting twists.

[ziritrion]

That'd be interesting too. It could also be interesting if Kenichi won the Dogora school tournament against Usagi and joined some lord's army.

I also thought that, among other stats in an RPG like strength, wisdom, dexterity, etc... there could also be "karma": depending of the actions the player does in the game as Usagi, then he/she would obtain good or bad karma, and thus allowing for some plot twists or making the game harder/easier. For example: a woodcutter is carrying wood from the woods to his town, twists his ankle and falls to the ground, dropping all the wood he was carrying. Usagi is passing by, and he would have 2 choices: help the woodcutter (good karma) or just ignore him (bad karma). Depending of the action the player chooses, once Usagi arrives to the woodcutter's town, he would have a good welcome, or a bad one. Maybe, if he gets a bad welcome, Usagi wouldn't be able to meet a character that could have helped him to find a missing person that Usagi was requested to find on another town (kind of like "Images from a winter's day"), and the game would be a little harder. Also, the player wouldn't be able to get any supplies on that town.

I'm pretty excited about the UY game for mobile handsets that C4 is developing. I saw the trailer and it looks really nice. Although I wonder how it will be distributed (downloading it from the internet? buting it on a shop?) and how much it will cost.