Owning a copy of a game for many years and not playing it is bad. Owning two copies of a game and not playing it is even worse. This was the case for me and Bujingai. I have owned a Japanese and a North American copy for years and it wasn’t until a few days ago that I finally played it.
Developed by Red Entertainment (Sakura Taisen, Gungrave), Bujingai is a Wuxia-inspired hack and slash. Being a collaboration with Taito, it has a sick Zuntata soundtrack, but most notably, the game stars musician/actor/Japanese TV institution Gackt. Gackt did motion capture, voice work, contributed to the story, and provided the basis for the game’s main character, Lau Wong.
OK so how is the actual game? Well, exactly what you would expect/hope for something like this. You run around fairly linear stages, do some awkward platforming, and slice dudes up while looking very cool. There’s lock-on, dodging, counters and it all runs run at a very smooth frame rate.
You pick up orbs from the stages and downed enemies, which can be used to upgrade your Gackt.
Despite having a low level of Japanese skill, I still figured that I’d go with that version of the game, fearing the type of rough dub that was prevalent during this era. Turns out the English version totally worked for me. The localizers understood the assignment and nailed vibe of dubbed Wuxia films.
Bujingai is a quintessential PS2-style game; it’s exactly what people are thinking of when they describe something modern as “a PS2 game” (complimentary or derogatory). It’s overall a very polished, well-designed, and accessible experience. If you’re into this sort of thing and don’t expect a mind-blowing story or super sweaty technical combat, you’ll probably dig Bujingai. I’m a fan!
Photo by me. Screenshots and video captured by me on original hardware.
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