Samurai Champloo: Sidetracked

Samurai Champloo: Sidetracked is a beat 'em up game for Playstation 2. It has an original story based on the anime series Samurai Champloo though Bandai has stated it has no relation to the show.

Story
The game follows an original story that combines the Edo Period of Japan (1603-1867) and the hip hop culture. Each character has his own specific storyline, so playing through the game several times will offer a different experience and adventure with each character.

Characters
The playable characters are Jin and Mugen. Upon the completion of the game, a third “secret” character is made available. The game includes the original three characters: Mugen, Jin, and Fuu.

Mugen(ムゲン),　is the group's wild card who is not to be underestimated. He has a sword style all his own which incorporates breakdancing techniques. Mugen has little tact and is easily swayed by food, booze, or women. His speed and ability along with his care free attitude and short temper make Mugen a force to be reckoned with.

Jin(ジン),　who is known quite well for his tremendous skill with the style he uses, which he learned from his former Sensei, Mariya Enshirou of the Mujushin Kenjutsu Dojo, one of the few master swordsmen. Jin is calm, cool, and he keeps his wits about him. As most traditional samurai, Jin has two swords by his side at all times. He is more likely to part with a comrade than his swords. Jin is gentle but when he unsheathes his sword there is no greater force in the land.

Fuu(フウ), unlike both of the swordsmen, is cheerful and a quite colorful person. She is indecisive, stubborn and has no greater joy than eating until she is as fat as a cow. She is spunky, brave, and compassionate. She never thinks twice about helping a stranger in need, even if that stranger stole her money pouch earlier in the day.

Worso Tsurumaki, Worso is the secret character who is unlockable after you beat either Mugen or Jin's stories.

Combo/Fighting system
Regularly fighting opponents in the field is usually easy. You interchange between pushing the "square" button and the "triangle" button. Additionally, there is a combo tree next to your health bar with the designated buttons on them. After pushing square a certain number of times, pushing triangle will lead to a more powerful combo, but if you don't pay attention to how many times you push square before pushing triangle, you could cancel your combo, leaving you open for attack.

There are two other features to the fighting in this game.

One is the ability to counter-attack before your opponent can make contact. To do this you need to attack at the exact moment they do. Then, sometimes one of the combo's on your combo tree will have a red frame around it. If you pull off the combo, you then go into Hyper mode for a few seconds, whereupon your attack speed triples, your attack power increases, and the screen turns red. This mode comes in handy for boss fights. Another feature is "fate mode" whereby, if you have maximum tension (built up overtime by killing opponents), you'll see an enemy with a star over his head. Attacking this enemy takes you to another screen. You push a designated button and "combo time" will start. You then rapidly push all buttons to repeatedly slash your opponent within the given time limit. Your goal is to reach 100 slashes, even though the time limit is sometimes too short to do so. Furthermore, any enemies near your "fated" opponent will die instantly depending on their location. "Trance mode" is activated if you get 100 or more slashes in fate mode. You'll be transported to a shadow screen room where all you see are shadows. One shadow is you, the rest are your enemies. You have a one-hit-kill attack here, but you can only take three hits (don't worry, if you take all 3 hits you won't lose). You keep killing opponents until you reach 100 slashes. If you do this successfully then you get a very nice item. Though even if you fail, you'll still get an inferior item.