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Samurai Champloo: Sidetracked

October 29, 2023

Samurai Champloo: Sidetracked[a] is a 2006 action-adventure game. A tie-in with the 2004 anime television series Samurai Champloo, the game was developed by Grasshopper Manufacture and published by Namco Bandai Games for PlayStation 2. Described as an untold story set within the series, the game has storylines following series protagonists Mugen, Jin and Fuu, and new protagonist Worso Tsurumaki during a political conflict in Edo period Hokkaido.

Samurai Champloo: Sidetracked
North American box art
Developer(s)Grasshopper Manufacture
Publisher(s)Namco Bandai Games
Director(s)Goichi Suda
Producer(s)
  • Takahiro Sasanoi
  • Yoshinobu Matsuo
Artist(s)Akihiko Ishizaka
Writer(s)
  • Goichi Suda
  • Masahi Ooka
Composer(s)Masafumi Takada
Platform(s)PlayStation 2
Release
  • JP: February 23, 2006
  • NA: April 11, 2006
Genre(s)Action-adventure
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Premise and gameplay Edit

 
An early combat section from Samurai Champloo; Mugen fights a group of enemies.

Samurai Champloo: Sidetracked is an action-adventure game based on the 2004 anime television series Samurai Champloo.[2][3] Set in the Edo period, the anime's storyline follows the adventures of three wanderers; the outlaw swordsman Mugen, the ronin Jin, and the itinerant Fuu who saved the two from execution in exchange for help finding a samurai who smells of sunflowers.[2][4][5] The storyline is described as a "missing episode" of the trio's travels through Japan. They end up taking a ship to Ezo (modern day Hokkaido), which is suffering from conflicts between the ruling Matsumae clan and the indigenous people. Mugen and Jin's storylines run on separate yet parallel paths, and they interact with original character Worso Tsurumaki, who is associated with the native resistance of Ezo.[2][6][7]

Players take control of three characters; they first complete a story campaign as either Mugen or Jin, and after one of these is completed Worso's campaign is unlocked.[3] The remaining character Fuu is only playable in minigames.[6] Gameplay focuses on melee hack and slash combat with the chosen player character, completing basic combos using alternating weak and strong attacks. The battle system is split into multiple styles, which are influenced by what musical track is playing through equippable record albums, switched using the analog sticks. Filling a tension metre activates Tate mode, where a quick time event is triggered to kill a number of enemies within a time limit. The game is split into stages divided between the different campaigns, and separated by visits to the main town where new weapons and music discs can be purchased after being unlocked through high scores when in Tate.[6][7][8] The game also features a two-player competitive multiplayer mode, with the winner being determined by their kill number and combo count.[8]

Development and release Edit

Samurai Champloo was created by director Shinichirō Watanabe and anime studio Manglobe, with the aim of blending a traditional Japanese setting with the culture and music of hip hop.[5][9] Sidetracked was one of two licensed anime titles created by Grasshopper Manufacture for the PlayStation 2, the other being Blood+: One Night Kiss based on the series Blood+.[10] Suda selected it from a group of potential projects presented by Namco Bandai Games, coincidentally after he had watched and liked the anime's first episode.[11] Company founder Goichi Suda cited these licensed projects as the first sign of the company's international recognition following the release of Killer7.[12] Suda acted as the game's director and co-writer.[13] The scenario was co-written with Masahi Ooka, who had collaborated with Suda on The Silver Case.[14][15] It was co-produced by Namco Bandai's Takahiro Sasanoi and Yoshinobu Matsuo.[14][16] The original cast (Ayako Kawasumi as Fuu, Kazuya Nakai as Mugen, and Ginpei Sato as Jin) returned, with new character Worso being voiced by Akira Ishida.[17]

According to Matsuo, the game's genre was chosen as it fit in with the series's tone and action.[16] The gameplay was designed with a North American audience in mind, also incorporating the musical elements the anime was known for.[11] Suda felt Grasshopper and Samurai Champloo were a good fit due to the studio's reputation for games with a non-traditional style,[11] though he later noted that when contracted Grasshopper were asked to hold back the studio's "signature style".[18] He described the relationship with the original studio Manglobe as "easy-going", with Grasshopper being allowed to choose the game's genre and Watanabe checking the script and voice work so it remained consistent with the anime. Suda enjoyed working with the staff, citing it as a positive interaction between game designers and animators that was rare in Japan.[11] The art director was Akihiko Ishizaka, while Katsu Fukamachi, Junya Iwata and Kazuhiko Enzaki acted as character designers.[14] The team used their experience creating cel-shaded graphics for Killer7 when creating the art design. The CGI opening was created by Jet Studio, re-creating the anime's opening using realistic versions of the anime's protagonists.[11] Motion capture was handled by Dynapix.[19]

The game was first announced by Namco Bandai in August 2005.[20] It was previewed to the public at that year's Tokyo Game Show.[2] The localization was handled by Bang Zoom! Entertainment, the same studio who handled the original series.[14][21] The original English cast returned with the exception of Mugen's voice actor Steve Blum, who was replaced by Liam O'Brien.[2][22] Worso is voiced by Lex Lang, who voiced the characters Shoryu and Xavier III in the anime dub.[14][23] It was released on February 23, 2006 in Japan, and on April 11 in North America.[3] His work on Sidetracked together with Blood+: One Night Kiss, both using more action-based gameplay, informed Suda's design on his next project No More Heroes.[24]

Music Edit

See also: Music of Samurai Champloo

The anime's opening theme "Battlecry", composed by Nujabes and performed by Shing02, is used in the game's CGI opening.[6][25] Due to difficulties with licensing, none of the anime's soundtrack was used for the in-game music.[11] The music was composed by Masafumi Takada, a long-time collaborator of Suda's and a core member of Grasshopper's in-house sound team.[11][26] Takada was a fan of the anime's soundtrack, listening to it and emulating it as much as he could within his original music.[26] Sidetracked was Takada's first time using the Logic Pro workstation, finding it well suited to creating the game's soundtrack.[27] A soundtrack album was released on March 1, 2006 by Scitron Digital Contents.[28]

Reception Edit

The game received "average" reviews according to video game review aggregator Metacritic.[29] In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of three eights and one seven, for a total of 31 out of 40.[39]

Notes Edit

  1. ^ Known in Japan as simply Samurai Champloo (Japanese: サムライチャンプルー, Hepburn: Samurai Chanpurū)[1]

References Edit

  1. ^ a b . Famitsu (in Japanese). Archived from the original on August 16, 2013. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e "TGS 2005: Samurai Champloo -- First Look". IGN. September 15, 2005. from the original on December 14, 2021. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
  3. ^ a b c サムライチャンプルー. Grasshopper Manufacture (in Japanese). from the original on January 21, 2014. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
  4. ^ "Samurai Champloo". Newtype USA. Vol. 2, no. 10. Kadokawa Shoten. October 2003.
  5. ^ a b "Road Trip: Samurai Champloo". Newtype USA. Kadokawa Shoten. 4 (7). July 2005.
  6. ^ a b c d "Samurai Champloo: Sidetracked Updated Hands-On". GameSpot. May 17, 2006. from the original on January 11, 2022. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  7. ^ a b Turner, Benjamin (January 24, 2006). . GameSpy. Archived from the original on January 11, 2022. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  8. ^ a b Li, Richard (January 24, 2006). . 1Up.com. Archived from the original on June 13, 2016. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  9. ^ . The Daily Texan. February 14, 2006. Archived from the original on July 15, 2009. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
  10. ^ Ciolek, Todd (21 July 2015). "The Art of Japanese Video Game Design With Suda51". Anime News Network. Anime News Network. from the original on 9 April 2016. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g Halverson, Dave (April 2006). "Samurai Champloo: An Interview with Goichi Suda". Play. Fusion Publishing (52): 47–49.
  12. ^ . Edge. April 2006. Archived from the original on June 18, 2006. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  13. ^ ラジオ 第108回 (06.10.05). Konami. October 5, 2009. from the original on March 6, 2012. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
  14. ^ a b c d e Grasshopper Manufacture (April 11, 2006). Samurai Champloo: Sidetracked (PlayStation 2). Namco Bandai Games. Scene: Credits.
  15. ^ Wojnar, Zack (March 1, 2017). "Suda 51 Shares The Secrets Of The Silver Case And His Legendary Career". Game Informer. from the original on March 2, 2017. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  16. ^ a b "Bandai Announces Samurai Champloo for PlayStation 2". Anime News Network. September 20, 2005. from the original on December 23, 2018. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  17. ^ サムライチャンプルー (PDF). Bandai Namco Entertainment (in Japanese). 2006. (PDF) from the original on March 15, 2022. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  18. ^ Sheffield, Brandon (July 6, 2007). . Gamasutra. Archived from the original on July 10, 2007. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
  19. ^ Dynapix - モーションキャプチャ (in Japanese). Dynapix. from the original on 2007-05-12. Retrieved 2019-07-05.
  20. ^ Gantayat, Anoop (August 23, 2005). "Samurai Champloo to PS2". IGN. from the original on May 7, 2021. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  21. ^ Bertschy, Zac (2007-11-07). "Eric P. Sherman, President of Bang Zoom! Entertainment". Anime News Network. from the original on 2007-11-09. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  22. ^ . Behind the Voice Actors. Archived from the original on September 25, 2015. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  23. ^ . Lex Lang Website. Archived from the original on June 30, 2007. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  24. ^ Vazquez, Suriel (November 22, 2018). "The Strange History Of Grasshopper Manufacture". Game Informer. from the original on November 23, 2018. Retrieved January 16, 2022.
  25. ^ Samurai Champloo Roman Album. Dark Horse Comics. March 13, 2017. pp. 98–99. ISBN 978-1-5930-7642-9.
  26. ^ a b Sheffield, Brandon (June 27, 2008). . Gamasutra. p. 2. Archived from the original on 2011-02-09. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
  27. ^ Napolitano, Jayson (July 15, 2010). . Original Sound Version. Archived from the original on April 28, 2012. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  28. ^ . Scitron Digital Contents (in Japanese). Archived from the original on September 14, 2006. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  29. ^ a b "Samurai Champloo: Sidetracked for PlayStation 2 Reviews". Metacritic. from the original on February 4, 2015. Retrieved March 24, 2015.
  30. ^ Edge staff (June 2006). "Samurai Champloo: Sidetracked". Edge. No. 163. p. 96.
  31. ^ Li, Richard (April 11, 2006). . 1Up.com. Archived from the original on June 3, 2016. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  32. ^ Juba, Joe (May 2006). . Game Informer. No. 157. p. 101. Archived from the original on June 12, 2006. Retrieved March 24, 2015.
  33. ^ Burner, Rice (April 11, 2006). . GamePro. Archived from the original on April 20, 2006. Retrieved March 24, 2015.
  34. ^ Bedigian, Louis (April 11, 2006). "Samurai Champloo: Sidetracked - PS2 - Review". GameZone. from the original on January 25, 2009. Retrieved March 24, 2015.
  35. ^ Roper, Chris (April 11, 2006). "Samurai Champloo: Sidetracked". IGN. from the original on October 2, 2018. Retrieved March 24, 2015.
  36. ^ "Samurai Champloo: Sidetracked". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine. June 2006. p. 94.
  37. ^ "Review: Samurai Champloo: Sidetracked". PSM. May 2006. p. 78.
  38. ^ . X-Play. May 23, 2006. Archived from the original on April 17, 2007. Retrieved March 24, 2015.
  39. ^ Gantayat, Anoop (March 1, 2006). "Now Playing in Japan". IGN. from the original on November 8, 2017. Retrieved March 24, 2015.

External links Edit

  • Samurai Champloo: Sidetracked at MobyGames
  • (in English)
  • Official website (in Japanese)

October 29, 2023
samurai, champloo, sidetracked, 2006, action, adventure, game, with, 2004, anime, television, series, samurai, champloo, game, developed, grasshopper, manufacture, published, namco, bandai, games, playstation, described, untold, story, within, series, game, st. Samurai Champloo Sidetracked a is a 2006 action adventure game A tie in with the 2004 anime television series Samurai Champloo the game was developed by Grasshopper Manufacture and published by Namco Bandai Games for PlayStation 2 Described as an untold story set within the series the game has storylines following series protagonists Mugen Jin and Fuu and new protagonist Worso Tsurumaki during a political conflict in Edo period Hokkaido Samurai Champloo SidetrackedNorth American box artDeveloper s Grasshopper ManufacturePublisher s Namco Bandai GamesDirector s Goichi SudaProducer s Takahiro SasanoiYoshinobu MatsuoArtist s Akihiko IshizakaWriter s Goichi SudaMasahi OokaComposer s Masafumi TakadaPlatform s PlayStation 2ReleaseJP February 23 2006NA April 11 2006Genre s Action adventureMode s Single player multiplayer Contents 1 Premise and gameplay 2 Development and release 2 1 Music 3 Reception 4 Notes 5 References 6 External linksPremise and gameplay Edit nbsp An early combat section from Samurai Champloo Mugen fights a group of enemies Samurai Champloo Sidetracked is an action adventure game based on the 2004 anime television series Samurai Champloo 2 3 Set in the Edo period the anime s storyline follows the adventures of three wanderers the outlaw swordsman Mugen the ronin Jin and the itinerant Fuu who saved the two from execution in exchange for help finding a samurai who smells of sunflowers 2 4 5 The storyline is described as a missing episode of the trio s travels through Japan They end up taking a ship to Ezo modern day Hokkaido which is suffering from conflicts between the ruling Matsumae clan and the indigenous people Mugen and Jin s storylines run on separate yet parallel paths and they interact with original character Worso Tsurumaki who is associated with the native resistance of Ezo 2 6 7 Players take control of three characters they first complete a story campaign as either Mugen or Jin and after one of these is completed Worso s campaign is unlocked 3 The remaining character Fuu is only playable in minigames 6 Gameplay focuses on melee hack and slash combat with the chosen player character completing basic combos using alternating weak and strong attacks The battle system is split into multiple styles which are influenced by what musical track is playing through equippable record albums switched using the analog sticks Filling a tension metre activates Tate mode where a quick time event is triggered to kill a number of enemies within a time limit The game is split into stages divided between the different campaigns and separated by visits to the main town where new weapons and music discs can be purchased after being unlocked through high scores when in Tate 6 7 8 The game also features a two player competitive multiplayer mode with the winner being determined by their kill number and combo count 8 Development and release EditSamurai Champloo was created by director Shinichirō Watanabe and anime studio Manglobe with the aim of blending a traditional Japanese setting with the culture and music of hip hop 5 9 Sidetracked was one of two licensed anime titles created by Grasshopper Manufacture for the PlayStation 2 the other being Blood One Night Kiss based on the series Blood 10 Suda selected it from a group of potential projects presented by Namco Bandai Games coincidentally after he had watched and liked the anime s first episode 11 Company founder Goichi Suda cited these licensed projects as the first sign of the company s international recognition following the release of Killer7 12 Suda acted as the game s director and co writer 13 The scenario was co written with Masahi Ooka who had collaborated with Suda on The Silver Case 14 15 It was co produced by Namco Bandai s Takahiro Sasanoi and Yoshinobu Matsuo 14 16 The original cast Ayako Kawasumi as Fuu Kazuya Nakai as Mugen and Ginpei Sato as Jin returned with new character Worso being voiced by Akira Ishida 17 According to Matsuo the game s genre was chosen as it fit in with the series s tone and action 16 The gameplay was designed with a North American audience in mind also incorporating the musical elements the anime was known for 11 Suda felt Grasshopper and Samurai Champloo were a good fit due to the studio s reputation for games with a non traditional style 11 though he later noted that when contracted Grasshopper were asked to hold back the studio s signature style 18 He described the relationship with the original studio Manglobe as easy going with Grasshopper being allowed to choose the game s genre and Watanabe checking the script and voice work so it remained consistent with the anime Suda enjoyed working with the staff citing it as a positive interaction between game designers and animators that was rare in Japan 11 The art director was Akihiko Ishizaka while Katsu Fukamachi Junya Iwata and Kazuhiko Enzaki acted as character designers 14 The team used their experience creating cel shaded graphics for Killer7 when creating the art design The CGI opening was created by Jet Studio re creating the anime s opening using realistic versions of the anime s protagonists 11 Motion capture was handled by Dynapix 19 The game was first announced by Namco Bandai in August 2005 20 It was previewed to the public at that year s Tokyo Game Show 2 The localization was handled by Bang Zoom Entertainment the same studio who handled the original series 14 21 The original English cast returned with the exception of Mugen s voice actor Steve Blum who was replaced by Liam O Brien 2 22 Worso is voiced by Lex Lang who voiced the characters Shoryu and Xavier III in the anime dub 14 23 It was released on February 23 2006 in Japan and on April 11 in North America 3 His work on Sidetracked together with Blood One Night Kiss both using more action based gameplay informed Suda s design on his next project No More Heroes 24 Music Edit See also Music of Samurai Champloo The anime s opening theme Battlecry composed by Nujabes and performed by Shing02 is used in the game s CGI opening 6 25 Due to difficulties with licensing none of the anime s soundtrack was used for the in game music 11 The music was composed by Masafumi Takada a long time collaborator of Suda s and a core member of Grasshopper s in house sound team 11 26 Takada was a fan of the anime s soundtrack listening to it and emulating it as much as he could within his original music 26 Sidetracked was Takada s first time using the Logic Pro workstation finding it well suited to creating the game s soundtrack 27 A soundtrack album was released on March 1 2006 by Scitron Digital Contents 28 Reception EditReceptionAggregate scoreAggregatorScoreMetacritic66 100 29 Review scoresPublicationScore1Up comB 31 Edge6 10 30 Famitsu31 40 1 Game Informer6 75 10 32 GamePro nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 33 GameZone7 5 10 34 IGN7 2 10 35 Official U S PlayStation Magazine nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 36 PlayStation The Official Magazine6 10 37 X Play nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 38 The game received average reviews according to video game review aggregator Metacritic 29 In Japan Famitsu gave it a score of three eights and one seven for a total of 31 out of 40 39 Notes Edit Known in Japan as simply Samurai Champloo Japanese サムライチャンプルー Hepburn Samurai Chanpuru 1 References Edit a b PS2 サムライチャンプルー Famitsu in Japanese Archived from the original on August 16 2013 Retrieved January 13 2022 a b c d e TGS 2005 Samurai Champloo First Look IGN September 15 2005 Archived from the original on December 14 2021 Retrieved December 14 2021 a b c サムライチャンプルー Grasshopper Manufacture in Japanese Archived from the original on January 21 2014 Retrieved December 14 2021 Samurai Champloo Newtype USA Vol 2 no 10 Kadokawa Shoten October 2003 a b Road Trip Samurai Champloo Newtype USA Kadokawa Shoten 4 7 July 2005 a b c d Samurai Champloo Sidetracked Updated Hands On GameSpot May 17 2006 Archived from the original on January 11 2022 Retrieved January 13 2022 a b Turner Benjamin January 24 2006 Previews Samurai Champloo Sidetracked GameSpy Archived from the original on January 11 2022 Retrieved January 13 2022 a b Li Richard January 24 2006 Preview Samurai Champloo 1Up com Archived from the original on June 13 2016 Retrieved January 13 2022 Cowboy Bebop director Watanabe talks anime The Daily Texan February 14 2006 Archived from the original on July 15 2009 Retrieved January 6 2015 Ciolek Todd 21 July 2015 The Art of Japanese Video Game Design With Suda51 Anime News Network Anime News Network Archived from the original on 9 April 2016 Retrieved 8 December 2016 a b c d e f g Halverson Dave April 2006 Samurai Champloo An Interview with Goichi Suda Play Fusion Publishing 52 47 49 Into The Darkness Edge April 2006 Archived from the original on June 18 2006 Retrieved January 13 2022 ラジオ 第108回 06 10 05 Konami October 5 2009 Archived from the original on March 6 2012 Retrieved March 5 2017 a b c d e Grasshopper Manufacture April 11 2006 Samurai Champloo Sidetracked PlayStation 2 Namco Bandai Games Scene Credits Wojnar Zack March 1 2017 Suda 51 Shares The Secrets Of The Silver Case And His Legendary Career Game Informer Archived from the original on March 2 2017 Retrieved January 13 2022 a b Bandai Announces Samurai Champloo for PlayStation 2 Anime News Network September 20 2005 Archived from the original on December 23 2018 Retrieved January 13 2022 サムライチャンプルー PDF Bandai Namco Entertainment in Japanese 2006 Archived PDF from the original on March 15 2022 Retrieved March 15 2022 Sheffield Brandon July 6 2007 Die Without Regret An Interview With Goichi Suda Gamasutra Archived from the original on July 10 2007 Retrieved March 5 2017 Dynapix モーションキャプチャ in Japanese Dynapix Archived from the original on 2007 05 12 Retrieved 2019 07 05 Gantayat Anoop August 23 2005 Samurai Champloo to PS2 IGN Archived from the original on May 7 2021 Retrieved January 13 2022 Bertschy Zac 2007 11 07 Eric P Sherman President of Bang Zoom Entertainment Anime News Network Archived from the original on 2007 11 09 Retrieved January 8 2022 Samurai Champloo Mugen Behind the Voice Actors Archived from the original on September 25 2015 Retrieved January 13 2022 Anime Lex Lang Website Archived from the original on June 30 2007 Retrieved March 15 2022 Vazquez Suriel November 22 2018 The Strange History Of Grasshopper Manufacture Game Informer Archived from the original on November 23 2018 Retrieved January 16 2022 Samurai Champloo Roman Album Dark Horse Comics March 13 2017 pp 98 99 ISBN 978 1 5930 7642 9 a b Sheffield Brandon June 27 2008 Masafumi Takada Grasshopper s Musical Craftsman Gamasutra p 2 Archived from the original on 2011 02 09 Retrieved December 14 2021 Napolitano Jayson July 15 2010 A Blast From The Bast The Original No More Heroes With Masafumi Takada Original Sound Version Archived from the original on April 28 2012 Retrieved January 13 2022 SAMURAI CHAMPLOO ORIGINAL SOUND TRACK HipHop Samurai Action Game Scitron Digital Contents in Japanese Archived from the original on September 14 2006 Retrieved January 13 2022 a b Samurai Champloo Sidetracked for PlayStation 2 Reviews Metacritic Archived from the original on February 4 2015 Retrieved March 24 2015 Edge staff June 2006 Samurai Champloo Sidetracked Edge No 163 p 96 Li Richard April 11 2006 Review Samurai Champloo 1Up com Archived from the original on June 3 2016 Retrieved January 13 2022 Juba Joe May 2006 Samurai Champloo Sidetracked Game Informer No 157 p 101 Archived from the original on June 12 2006 Retrieved March 24 2015 Burner Rice April 11 2006 Samurai Champloo Sidetracked GamePro Archived from the original on April 20 2006 Retrieved March 24 2015 Bedigian Louis April 11 2006 Samurai Champloo Sidetracked PS2 Review GameZone Archived from the original on January 25 2009 Retrieved March 24 2015 Roper Chris April 11 2006 Samurai Champloo Sidetracked IGN Archived from the original on October 2 2018 Retrieved March 24 2015 Samurai Champloo Sidetracked Official U S PlayStation Magazine June 2006 p 94 Review Samurai Champloo Sidetracked PSM May 2006 p 78 Samurai Champloo Sidetracked X Play May 23 2006 Archived from the original on April 17 2007 Retrieved March 24 2015 Gantayat Anoop March 1 2006 Now Playing in Japan IGN Archived from the original on November 8 2017 Retrieved March 24 2015 External links EditSamurai Champloo Sidetracked at MobyGames Official website in English Official website in Japanese Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Samurai Champloo Sidetracked amp oldid 1179575561, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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