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Author |
File Description |
KayanZ (id: ZayanK) |
Posted on 10/27/07 @ 01:31 PM
File Details |
Version: |
The Conquerors 1.0c |
ACSC07 - The 47 Ronin
by ZayanK
The japanese people tell the story of the 47 Ronin, the honorable warriors who gave their for honor, without hesitation. They lived and died accordingly to the bushidô code at a time where the samurai were struggling to mantain an identity, to understand the real meaning of the word samurai...
They cared for nothing but honor, and they gave their lives in order to purge the shame brought to their lord...
Get ready to enter a world of bushidô, death and vengeance!
For optimal viewing, please make sure your in-game settings are set like the following:
Screen resolution: 1024x768
Speed: Normal
Music volume: Off
Sound volume: High
This cutscene has been created for Mashek's Annual Cutscene Competition 2007, and hopefully it will win! ;-)
Remember to extract the .cpx file to the campaign folder and the sound files to Sound/scenario.
Now watch and enjoy! |
Author | Reviews ( All | Comments Only | Reviews Only ) |
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Mash (id: Mashek)
Staff
Official Reviewer |
Posted on 12/03/07 @ 04:26 AM
‘47 Ronin’ is the single scenario cut-scene and epic retelling of the historic event of forty-seven samurai who avenged their fallen master, even when the law forbid them from doing so. After their deed they accepted their punishment by death as ordered by the Shogun and died to preserve their honour and the code of Bushido, which they adhered by. The cut-scene traverses this tale, following the story of Oishi, the samurai leader of the forty-seven, who waits for a whole year to pass before executing his plan for revenge against a corrupt Shogun official whose rather difficult character led to his master’s death. Witness a story of undying perseverance and honour and absolute loyalty to one’s master. Witness one man and the samurai who followed him to an eternity of reverence and legend, at a time when Japan lay conquered by Oda Nobunaga, self-proclaimed Shogun, after years of war, and when the very existence of the samurai began to come in question. The cut-scene has a running time of seventeen minutes.
PLAYABILITY: (4.0)
The ‘47 Ronin’ is a powerful cut-scene, one that utilises drama and atmosphere to excellent effect. I liked the characters, the drama and tension, the unraveling ball of events leading to the climax; the music which was electrifyingly moving and matched the cut-scene’s intrigue every step of the way. The atmosphere was dark and dramatic, and the cut-scene played like a film. I enjoyed the build-up to revenge; the telling of a Japan wracked from years of bloodshed and conquest and the philosophy of the samurai suddenly coming to a crashing end, only to be reborn from the deeds of a few brave men. Scenes of injustice left me aching for vengeance, and I was fulfilled with an overall pleasing ending which followed the real-life events of forty-seven samurai quite very well. This is the story that marveled Japan and is its modern-day consensus for true sacrifice and honour. However, the category misses out on a perfect rating because I felt the end scene with the siege on Kira’s mansion suffered too greatly from a lack of detail and effort and really left things to be desired. It looked more like a battle with men throwing themselves at one another rather than a carefully planned assault against a manor in the secret of the night. It seemed as though Kira’s men were waiting for the attack all along which leaves the waiting for a year in question. In my opinion this was the cut-scene’s only downfall.
BALANCE: (5.0)
In a scenario, the reviewer usually rates balance according to his struggle to survive in a given situation, whether it was too hard or too easy to complete for him or if it was well balanced all around. This scenario was a cut-scene and as such does not permit the player a unit to control or a struggle to survive, seeing as he does not actively play or control the outcome of the cut-scene. The cut-scene features scenes of fighting which all seemed to me perfectly balanced in terms that they met the author’s intentions and helped to decide the historical outcome of events. According to review guidelines, as the author’s intentions for balance are met there is no reason to knock down points from the overall rating.
CREATIVITY: (4.0) +
The cut-scene wields a generous amount of creativity within all areas, from a samurai forced to commit ritual suicide, or seppuku, to conflict over Japan’s territory between her many warlords. The sounds and music were wonderfully chosen and induced around scenes of corrupt Shogunate officials and plans for revenge, and not only helped to tell the story, but developed a mood and style of their own as well. Attacks on a mansion were well conceived, for the most part, with ramming down gates, slaughtering guards and capturing the master of the estate. In addition, the narrating voice of one of the characters part of the forty-seven was a nice touch and immediately put us, the audience, into the story.
MAP DESIGN: (5.0) -
The map design was certainly very good, well detailed in many areas, however lacking in some parts with either too little detail or too much, forcing a few scenes to look a little ugly and bare, some cramped. Nonetheless, the extent of towns, mansions and palaces featured in the design were all relatively well detailed, together developing a rather nice Japanese look and feel. In particular the small ponds and fountains and a temple with graves added to the feel of the design, and the bustling streets of a town had a nicely unique touch.
STORY/ INSTRUCTIONS: (5.0) -
The music and atmosphere immerse you in the tale of forty-seven samurai, which overall, is told to very pleasing detail. The plot and story are both well conveyed through the tension and emotion of characters lives and the music portrays the mood of events well. Accordingly the good bitmap and helpful instructions together with plentiful, reasonably well-written dialogue bring this category to a perfect rating, but only just. I felt there could have been a further polish to round things off a little more in the written aspects of the cut-scene and more attention in general to the pre-game screens of history and instructions to make it look a bit more professional.
CONCLUSION:
‘47 Ronin’ is a cut-scene that resonates well with its viewers, and leaves us thinking about it long after it has ended. The music and atmosphere are a treat and the story of regained honour a fulfilling one. The characters and their lives, the events which transpired to the undertakings of revenge of forty-seven, master-less samurai went generally well and was moving. I highly recommend downloading this cut-scene.
In a word – Resonating.
In closing – A highly recommended download. |
HGDL v0.8.2 |
Rating |
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4.6 | Breakdown |
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Playability | 4.0 | Pacing | 5.0 | Creativity | 4.0 | Map Design | 5.0 | Story/Instructions | 5.0 |
Statistics |
Downloads: | 1,260 |
Favorites: [] | 0 |
Size: | 8.64 MB |
Added: | 10/27/07 |
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