Samurai Maiden
Top Critic Average
Critics Recommend
Critic Reviews for Samurai Maiden
Despite having an original story and setting, many elements of Samurai Maiden bring about a feeling a deja vu.
Samurai Maiden is mostly hack, slash, dodge, and hack some more. But, while naturally repetitive, it's not much different in that respect from many traditional arcade games. What it does well with is in expanding its combat options in enjoyable but never confusing ways; by giving your aides different skill functions in attack and healing, and in navigating stages. It's a simple but nicely layered adventure that will encourage grinders to unlock its galleries, weaponry and digital trinkets, while appreciating what is an attractive-looking and well-optimised game. Increased challenge is there if you need it, and, discounting the trite elements of its dialogue and story, the character models are exceptionally good, mildly bewitching, and do a great job of selling the product.
An Exercise in apathy, neither solid nor liquid. Not exactly bad, but not very good either. Just a bit 'meh,' really.
Very little about Samurai Maiden makes the game appealing. When you combine overtly simplified and imbalanced combat with slow attacks, fast enemies, and an incredibly humdrum storyline, a bad time is unavoidable. Unless you want something with mindless anime girls and half-baked gameplay, Samurai Maiden is not the game for you.
Devotees of yuri, musou, or anime visual novels might find something to enjoy in Samurai Maiden. Aside from its genre trappings, fans of action RPGs won’t be impressed. The game’s combat is simply too frustrating, repetitive, and janky. Samurai Maiden doesn’t take any chances. The result is an overpriced, low-budget game with tepid combat bound to a collection of familiar genre tropes.
Every time you use your partners’ skills, your relationship with them rises. They're pleasantly designed in a way that means you don't have ton rely on them, acting more as stun mechanics. In addition, these attacks help mask the game's numerous frame rate dips. Sadly, these drops, alongside your main character's stiff attacks, make Samurai Maiden's encounters much more frustrating than they should be.
Samurai Maiden gives players a goofy mix of hack-and-slash action, light platforming, and yuri fan service. Surprisingly, it also gives us some pretty fun combat when it's not being overly frustrating. The game will appeal more to achievement completionists than those seeking a good (or even coherent) story, so consider that when looking at this game at full price.
Samurai Maiden would have been a fun and satisfying RPG if its several stark issues didn't hinder the experience so significantly.
