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D3Publisher and developer Shade announce: Samurai Maiden, a new multi-platform game. The description of the game is a samurai action game, but on closer inspection there is more to it.
Here’s the setup.
Samurai Maiden plays Tsumugi Tamaori, a high school student who falls asleep during history class and wakes up back in time. Specifically alongside Nobunaga Oda himself, probably sometime in the mid-late 1500s.
In this case, the pair reach the Honnoji Temple to find it burning and double as a portal to the underworld. Considering that historically that was an assassination attempt on Nobunaga, it’s probably not the best place to be.
Tsumugi, a trained swordsman, receives a sword from Nobunaga to end the sudden disaster. The hero, now equipped, is ready to descend into the underworld to fight zombies and other enemies.
If it were, Samurai Maiden would already be a potentially interesting isekai story. Based on reading the set up I thought it might have a Drifters feel to it.
But then it goes full isekai. Tsumugi meets three ninjas in the temple. The trio, known as The Gokage, choose to travel into the underworld with Tsumugi. Iyo is a tool-using ninja, Hagane is a robot ninja, and Komimi is a genius with unique powers.
Throughout the game, players use the Gokage system, which combines Tsumugi’s sword and ninja techniques. Players can choose which combos work best for a given situation. Furthermore, the group has unlockable, even stronger special abilities.
It’s a full isekai story
Those stronger abilities? You use them by hugging the ninjas.
That’s right, it’s not just any isekai. It touches a whole host of tropics. There are numerous games, past and future, in which a fish in water is played. But here we have a full pseudo-harem on the go. It’s a Dynasty Warriors style slash ’em up combined with some sort of romantic subplot.
It’s almost like Shade Inc. OneeChanbara and Senran Kagura has watched and thought a mix of the two could be something special.
In any case, it certainly piques my interest. Fortunately, I can play it practically anywhere. Samurai Maiden comes out this winter. It will be available on Playstation 4, Playstation 5, Nintendo Switch and Steam.
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