Samurai Western

Overview

Samurai Western, known in Japan as Samurai Western: Katsugeki Samurai-dō, is a historical-fantasy third-person action game developed by Acquire and published by Spike for the PlayStation 2 in Japan on January 1, 2005, with a North American release by Atlus on June 7, 2005 and a European release by 505 Game Street on June 30, 2005.

A spin-off of the Way of the Samurai series, Samurai Western takes place in the early 19th century American Old West and puts players in the role of Japanese samurai Gojiro Kiryu as he fights the forces of a tyrannical tycoon to inflict justice and hunt down his brother, the outlaw Rando.

Unlike the main series, this game does away with the open-world adventure elements and branching storyline, putting the player in a linear set of stages while leveling up and changing their gear. Instead of swordfights, players must contend against enemy gunslingers. The game also features a unique form of two-player co-operative multiplayer, with the second player controlling the mysterious gunman Ralph Norman (who has his own unique gun-based playstyle).