Way Of The Samurai 4 Characters

Way of the Samurai 4 takes place in the humble port town of Amihama during the mid 19th Century, several years after the arrival of the 'black ships' from the West ended Japan's long history of cultural isolation. For Way of the Samurai 4 on the PlayStation 3, a GameFAQs message board topic titled 'how to unlock characters/faces'.

Japanese samurai in armor, 1860s. Photograph byBushidō (, 'the way of warriors') is a collective term for the many codes of and ideals that dictated the way of life, loosely analogous to the concept of.The 'way' originates from the samurai moral values, most commonly stressing some combination of sincerity, frugality, loyalty, mastery, and honour until death. Born from during times of peace in the (1600–1878) and following texts, while also being influenced by and, allowing the violent existence of the samurai to be tempered by wisdom, patience and serenity. Bushidō developed between the 16th and 20th centuries, debated by pundits who believed they were building on a legacy dating back to the 10th century, although some scholars have noted that the term bushidō itself is 'rarely attested in pre-modern literature'.Under the, some aspects of warrior values became formalized into Japanese feudal law.The word bushidō was first used in Japan during the 17th century in, but did not come into common usage until after the 1899 publication of 's.

In Bushido (1899), Nitobe wrote:Bushidō, then, is the code of moral principles which the were required or instructed to observe. More frequently it is a code unuttered and unwritten. It was an organic growth of decades and centuries of military career. In order to become a samurai this code has to be mastered.Nitobe was the first to document Japanese chivalry in this way.

In Feudal and Modern Japan (1896), historian Arthur May Knapp wrote:The samurai of thirty years ago had behind him a thousand years of training in the law of honor, obedience, duty, and self-sacrifice. It was not needed to create or establish them. As a child he had but to be instructed, as indeed he was from his earliest years, in the etiquette of. This section needs additional citations for.

Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.Find sources: – ( May 2010) Early history to 16th century Many early literary works of Japan talk of warriors, but the term bushidō does not appear in text until the Edo period.From the of the 13th to 16th centuries, there exists an abundance of references to military ideals, although none of these should be viewed as early versions of bushidō per se. noted that 13th- and 14th-century writings ( ) 'portrayed the bushi in their natural element, war, eulogizing such virtues as reckless bravery, fierce family pride, and selfless, at times senseless devotion of master and man'. Compiled over the course of three centuries, beginning in the 1180s, the depicts a highly fictionalized and idealized story of a struggle between two warrior clans, the and the, at the end of the 12th century—a conflict known as the. Clearly depicted throughout the epic is the ideal of the cultivated warrior. The warriors in the Heike Monogatari served as role models for the educated warriors of later generations, although the ideals depicted by them were assumed to be beyond reach. Nevertheless, during the early modern era, these ideals were vigorously pursued in the upper echelons of warrior society and recommended as the proper form of the Japanese man of arms. The influence of Shinto, Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism in the Bushido's early development instilled among those who live by the code a religious respect for it., the Japanese philosopher given credit for establishing Bushido, said that 'the first and surest means to enter into communion with the Divine is by sincerity.'

The sayings of retainers and warlords such as Katō Kiyomasa and Nabeshima Naoshige were generally recorded or passed down to posterity around the turn of the 16th century when Japan had entered a period of relative peace. In a handbook addressed to 'all samurai, regardless of rank', Katō states:'If a man does not investigate into the matter of bushidō daily, it will be difficult for him to die a brave and manly death. Thus, it is essential to engrave this business of the warrior into one's mind well.'

Katō was a ferocious warrior who banned even recitation of poetry, stating:'One should put forth great effort in matters of learning. One should read books concerning military matters, and direct his attention exclusively to the virtues of loyalty and filial piety.Having been born into the house of a warrior, one's intentions should be to grasp and to die.' Naoshige says similarly, that it is shameful for any man to die without having risked his life in battle, regardless of rank, and that ' bushidō is in being crazy to die. Fifty or more could not kill one such a man'. However, Naoshige also suggests that 'everyone should personally know exertion as it is known in the lower classes'. 17th to 19th centuries.

Killing a giant creature, fromJapan enjoyed a period of relative peace from 1600 to the mid-19th century. During this period, the samurai class played a central role in the policing and administration of the country. The of this time contains much thought relevant to a warrior class seeking more general application of martial principles and experience in peacetime, as well as reflection on the land's long history of war. The literature of this time includes:. Budo Shōshinshu (武道初心集) by Taira Shigesuke, (1639–1730). as related by to.

(武芸十八般). byThe contains many sayings attributed to retainer (1537–1619) regarding bushidō related philosophy early in the 18th century by (1659–1719), a former to Naoshige's grandson,. The was compiled in the early 18th century, but was kept as a kind of 'secret teaching' of the until the end of the Tokugawa bakufu (1867). His saying, 'I have found the way of the warrior is death', was a summation of the focus on honour and reputation over all else that bushidō codified.Tokugawa-era, scholar and strategist (1622–1685) wrote extensively on matters relating to bushidō, bukyō (a 'warrior's creed'), and a more general shidō, a 'way of gentlemen' intended for application to all stations of society. Sokō attempts to codify a kind of 'universal bushidō' with a special emphasis on 'pure' values, (rejecting the mystical influences of Tao and Buddhism in Neo-Confucian orthodoxy), while at the same time calling for recognition of the singular and divine nature of Japan and Japanese culture. These radical concepts—including ultimate devotion to the Emperor, regardless of rank or clan—put him at odds with the reigning shogunate.

He was exiled to the, (the future setting of the ), and his works were not widely read until the rise of nationalism in the early 20th century. Painting of committing, 1703The aging Yamamoto Tsunetomo's interpretation of bushidō is perhaps more illustrative of the philosophy refined by his unique station and experience, at once dutiful and defiant, ultimately incompatible with the laws of an emerging civil society. Of the 47 rōnin—to this day, generally regarded as exemplars of bushidō—Tsunetomo felt they were remiss in hatching such a wily, delayed plot for revenge, and had been over-concerned with the success of their undertaking. Instead, Tsunetomo felt true samurai should act without hesitation to fulfill their duties, without regard for success or failure. This romantic sentiment is of course expressed by warriors throughout history, though it may run counter to the art of war itself.

This ambivalence is found in the heart of bushidō, and perhaps all such ' codes'. Some combination of traditional bushidō's organic contradictions and more 'universal' or 'progressive' formulations (like those of Yamaga Sokō) would inform Japan's disastrous military ambitions in the 20th century. 19th to 21st centuries Recent scholarship in both Japan and abroad has focused on differences between the samurai caste and the bushidō theories that developed in modern Japan. Bushidō in the prewar period was often emperor-centered and placed much greater value on the virtues of loyalty and self-sacrifice than did many Tokugawa-era interpretations. Bushidō was used as a propaganda tool by the government and military, who doctored it to suit their needs. Scholars of Japanese history agree that the bushidō that spread throughout modern Japan was not simply a continuation of earlier traditions.More recently, it has been argued that modern bushidō discourse originated in the 1880s as a response to foreign stimuli, such as the English concept of ', by Japanese with considerable exposure to Western culture. Nitobe Inazo's bushidō interpretations followed a similar trajectory, although he was following earlier trends.

This relatively pacifistic bushidō was then hijacked and adapted by militarists and the government from the early 1900s onward as nationalism increased around the time of the Russo-Japanese War.The suicide of General and his wife on the death of occasioned both praise, as an example to the decaying morals of Japan, and criticism, explicitly declaring that the spirit of bushidō thus exemplified should not be revived. Against Chinese POWs in, c. 1937During pre-World War II and World War II, bushido was pressed into use for militarism,. This was presented as revitalizing traditional values and 'transcending the modern'. Bushidō would provide a spiritual shield to let soldiers fight to the end.

As the war turned, the spirit of bushidō was invoked to urge that all depended on the firm and united soul of the nation. When the was lost, attempts were made to make the more than two thousand Japanese deaths an inspirational epic for the fighting spirit of the nation. Arguments that the plans for the, involving all Japanese ships, would expose Japan to serious danger if they failed, were countered with the plea that the Navy be permitted to 'bloom as flowers of death'. The first proposals of organized met resistance because although bushidō called for a warrior to be always aware of death, they were not to view it as the sole end.

Nonetheless, the desperate straits brought about acceptance and such attacks were acclaimed as the true spirit of bushidō.As Japan continued its modernization in the early 20th century, her armed forces became convinced that success in battle would be assured if Japanese soldiers, sailors, and airmen had the “spirit” of Bushido. The result was that the Bushido code of behavior “was inculcated into the Japanese soldier as part of his basic training.” Each soldier was indoctrinated to accept that it was the greatest honor to die for the Emperor and it was cowardly to surrender to the enemy. Bushido therefore explains why the Japanese in the so mistreated POWs in their custody. Those who had surrendered to the Japanese—regardless of how courageously or honorably they had fought—merited nothing but contempt; they had forfeited all honor and literally deserved nothing. Consequently, when the Japanese murdered POWs by shooting, beheading, and drowning, these acts were excused since they involved the killing of men who had forfeited all rights to be treated with dignity or respect. While civilian internees were certainly in a different category from POWs, it is reasonable to think that there was a “spill-over” effect from the tenets of Bushido.

^ Matthews, Warren (2010). World Religions.

Outward bound wilderness. With locations throughout the United States and Internationally and over 500 courses to choose from, your perfect adventure awaits!Outward Bound programs emphasize personal growth through experience and challenge in the wilderness.

Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning. P. 199. Nitobe, Inazo (2010). Bushido, The Soul of Japan. Kodansha International. P. 81.

'The Zen of Japanese Nationalism', by Robert H. Sharf, in Curators of the Buddha, edited by Donald Lopez, p. 111. Willcock, Hiroko (2008).

Edwin Mellen Press. Koyo gunkan is the earliest comprehensive extant work that provides a notion of Bushido as a samurai ethos and the value system of the samurai tradition. Ikegami, Eiko, The Taming of the Samurai, Harvard University Press, 1995. 278. Kasaya, Kazuhiko (2014). Bushido Chapter I Appearance of the word Bushido (in Japanese). NTT publishing.

P. 7. Friday, Karl F.

'Bushidō or Bull? A Medieval Historian's Perspective on the Imperial Army and the Japanese Warrior Tradition'. The History Teacher, Vol. 3 (May 1994), pp. 340.

Nitobe, Inazō (1899). Bushidō: The soul of Japan. Arthur May Knapp (1896). Retrieved 2010-01-02.

'The Zen of Japanese Nationalism,' by Robert H. Sharf, in Curators of the Buddha, edited by Donald Lopez, p. 111. Shimabukuro, Masayuki; Pellman, Leonard (2007). Flashing Steel: Mastering Eishin-Ryu Swordsmanship, 2nd edition. Berkeley, CA: Blue Snake Books. P. 2.

^ William Scott Wilson, Ideals of the Samurai: Writings of Japanese Warriors (, 1982). 'The Samurai Series: The Book of Five Rings, Hagakure -The Way of the Samurai & Bushido - The Soul of Japan' ELPN Press (November, 2006).

Meirion and Susie Harries, Soldiers of the Sun: The Rise and Fall of the Imperial Japanese Army p 7. Eiko Ikegami. The Taming of the Samurai: Honorific Individualism and the Making of Modern Japan. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1995. Karl Friday. Bushidō or Bull?

A Medieval Historian's Perspective on the Imperial Army and the Japanese Warrior Tradition. The History Teacher, Volume 27, Number 3, May 1994, pages 339-349.

Every First Look is filled with informative gameplay showcasing each game's character creation menu, a breakdown of individual classes, some early PvE and PvP content and other features. Adventure quest 3d gameplay.

Oleg Benesch. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014.,., p 42-3. '. David Powers, '., War Without Mercy: Race & Power in the Pacific War p1., Why the Allies Won p 6., Japan's War, p 334., p 444 Random House New York 1970. John Toland, The Rising Sun: The Decline and Fall of the Japanese Empire 1936-1945 p 539 Random House New York 1970. Edwin P.

Hoyt, Japan's War, p 356. Edwin P. Hoyt, Japan's War, p 360. Borch, Fred (2017). Oxford University Press. Pp. 31–32. Edwin P.

Hoyt, p 256. Edwin P. Hoyt, Japan's War, p 257. Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2017-08-21. Archived from on 2006-03-15.

Retrieved 2006-03-05. Cleary, Thomas Training the Samurai Mind: A Bushido Sourcebook Shambhala (May 2008). Mikiso Hane Modern Japan: A Historical Survey, Third Edition Westview Press (January 2001). Zeami Motokiyo 'Atsumori'. Archived from on 2008-02-15.External links and further reading.

Oleg Benesch. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014.,.

易經道 Yijing Dao, 鳴鶴在陰 Calling crane in the shade, Biroco - The Art of Doing Nothing, 2002-2012, 馬夏 Ma, Xia, et. Al.,. 'Bushido Arcade' a Contemporary translation of the Bushido.

William Scott Wilson, Ideals of the Samurai: Writings of Japanese Warriors (Kodansha, 1982). by Thomas Cleary 288 pages Shambhala (May 13, 2008). Katsumata Shizuo with Martin Collcutt, 'The Development of Sengoku Law,' in Hall, Nagahara, and Yamamura (eds.), Japan Before Tokugawa: Political Consolidation and Economic Growth (1981), chapter 3. K.

Grossberg & N. Kanamoto 1981, The Laws of the Muromachi Bakufu: Kemmu Shikimoku (1336) and Muromachi Bakufu Tsuikaho, MN Monographs (Sophia UP). Hall, John C. 'Japanese Feudal Laws: the Magisterial Code of the Hojo Power Holders (1232).' 34 (1906).

'Japanese Feudal laws: The Ashikaga Code.' 36 (1908):. John Allyn, 'Forty-Seven Ronin Story'., The Regulations of Imagawa Ryoshun (1412 A.D.)., (1701 A.D.). The Message Of Master Gokurakuji — Hōjō Shigetoki (1198A.D.-1261A.D.).The True Story of Saigo Takamori Military History Magazine. Onoda, Hiroo, Trans.

It’s the age of the start of westernization in Japan. Different civilizations with radically different ideas are coming into contact with one another. Political sensitivity is at an all-time high.

Conflicts are easily instigated. And yet, it’s also an age where carrying a real sword around with you is permitted by law.

Yes, things can get messy rather easily. This is the premise of Way of the Samurai 4.The game takes place in a fictional port town called ‘Amihama,’ around the time of the —the local term referring to Western naval vessels. To be specific, this is the “second coming” of Black Ships around the middle of the 19th century, after the Second Industrial Revolution. As it has only been a couple of years since Japan ended a two-century-long isolation period, there is still tension in the atmosphere regarding the foreigners’ arrival. Your character is a Ronin (a Samurai without a master to serve) who arrives in Amihama around that time, without any goals in particular.Way of the Samurai 4 has things in common with Western sandbox games, but in a much more limited manner. Once you take control, you’re free to roam around Amihama and do whatever the game allows. Primarily, there are branching events that you can participate in, mostly related to the three factions residing in the area.First are the British foreigners represented by forthcoming young envoy Laura Lita and thrill-seeking vice-envoy Jet Jenkins.

Then there are the Tokugawa Shogunate vassals like the loyal and steadfast magistrate Kotobuki Hikaru and culturally open-minded customs manager Moro Shigeru. Lastly, there are the militant “Disciples of Prajna” aiming to drive the foreigners out by force, led by the brash and fiercely patriotic (if also xenophobic) Akagi Reddo. There are 10 possible endings to achieve, and the game actually provides a chart showing which of the paths you’ve completed, as well as which events you can trigger from the current path, which helps if you’re intent on seeing through all of them.Something that disappointed me, though, is that while a lot of these characters have their own unique backgrounds and personalities (complete with quirks), none of the are really developed as the storyline for their faction advances. Your own character isn’t ever really fleshed out either, for that matter. You’re effectively a freelance mercenary/bodyguard/errand boy for whichever faction you side with and never developed beyond that. I’d hoped that the game would try to make me care about my character, or the characters around me, but it didn’t really do either one, and the game’s short story campaign made this stand out further.The general intent behind Way of the Samurai 4 appears to be providing the player with a game that’s short, but replayable. Each playthrough of the game takes place over 4 in-game days, split in daytime, evening, and night.

The game never explicitly told me how or when it switches from one to the next, but from what I can tell, time passes when you enter and exit various areas of town and complete faction quests. Each event takes place on a certain day, and some events can only be triggered during a certain period on a specific day. If you intend to follow all of the events in a story path, there’s little to no free time to dawdle around and do as you please.The problem is, this tight schedule tends to conflict with the game’s open-world design. There isn’t a very good balance between having the freedom to run around and explore, and completing key quests so you don’t miss out on any important story bits.

Of course, you do have the option of skipping out on some events to free a little more time up for yourself, but this is obviously something that each player will have to decide for themselves. Personally, I wish I’d been allowed to do both.The one aspect of Way of the Samurai 4 that does have a lot of meat to it is the combat. Maybe even a little too much meat, actually.Pressing L1 draws your current weapon, at which point you’re locked into a straight line between you and your target.

You can run around freely by holding down L2. Doing this has the side effect of releasing the target lock on the current foe and re-assigning it to whoever is closest in front of you the moment you let go of L2.

Combat is executed through light attacks (Square), heavy attacks (Triangle), jumping (Circle), and X to talk to your opponent. Talking usually doesn’t have any practical effect; most of the time, you get two choices—one to taunt and one pleading for mercy—but whichever you choose, the foe gives you a generic reply and you’re still locked in combat, regardless.This odd, seemingly unnecessary addition made me wonder if the game’s controls couldn’t have been more streamlined. For instance, Way of the Samurai 4 also lets you kick your opponent to make them flinch. Kicking is done using R1 + Square, but the range is abysmally short, and oftentime, by the time you’ve recovered from your kick animation, you’ll find that your opponent has recovered from his flinch animation as well. Additionally, R1 + Square is also the button combination that’s used to pick up items, which wouldn’t have been necessary had a few of the more unnecessary elements from the combat system been cut. Oh, if you’re wondering what R1 does by itself, that’s the button used to guard.(Another example of unnecessary control scheme padding is to do with items. Switching between consumable items for quick use is done using the left and right D-Pad directions, and you can press Up on the D-pad to use the item.

Additionally, you can also hold Up to give the item to an NPC or opponent in battle. However, this is entirely unnecessary, as giving people items doesn’t seem to yield any benefits as far as I can tell. Oh, and good luck getting them to stay still as you line up to give them an item.)And then there are Styles. Styles are movelists that unlock more moves as you slay foes and gain Skill Points. It sounds reasonable on paper, but each Style demands a lot of points, and the moves you get in return don’t bring anything particularly new to combat.

That’s not to say that they start out with an adequate number of moves either; much of the unlocks are just one-hit follow-up attacks to existing ones. Between limited variety and slow progress, not to mention the awkward controls mentioned above, combat was admittedly not something I looked forward to.Aside from battles and events, there are other activities you can participate in across Amihama as well, such as fishing, visiting gambling parlors (Japanese style), and casinos (Western style). One unusual minigame is Yobai (Night crawling).

For a quick idea of what Yobai is,. In the game, Yobai is a “night-date” with two sections: one single-screen “stealth” section and one “tag” section.You can also open your own dojo. Once you do this, defeating various armed pedestrians non-lethally and talking to them gives you an option to recruit them into your dojo, increasing its popularity. The dojo is mostly for combat opportunities. Other minigames and side-activities in the game are more or less appropriate for the setting and time period.

Just don’t expect a lot of variety or depth from them, much like the rest of Way of the Samurai 4.Food for thought:1. The game has various other minor flaws like how stiff combat and controls are, which I didn’t mention as those are a little more subjective.2.

The game does not give you information about anything beyond tutorial button explanations; and the digital manual accessible from the main menu (alone) has information on controls only. There’s also no internal “Load game” function (as opposed to having to exit back to XMB to load a file again). Nor is there a “Retry” option for any accidents or failures during quests.