Samurai Jack was an action adventure animated series on Cartoon Network created by Genndy Tartakovsky, who was known for also making Dexter’s Laboratory, the 2003 Star Wars: Clone Wars series and his current show on Adult Swim, Primal.
The series follows a lone samurai warrior from Feudal Japan named Jack who was sent to the future by the evil demon Aku.
Throughout the series, Jack tries to find a way back to the past to defeat Aku once and for all to not only save the people of his time, but the future from the demon’s tyranny as well.
The series started out in 2001 and ran for four seasons before it ended in 2004 without concluding the story, but was revived in 2017 for a fifth and final season for Adult Swim’s Toonami block, giving the story a proper conclusion.
Almost three years after the conclusion of the series, a new game based off of the show titled Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time was given a surprise announcement earlier this year and was released last week for Playstation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC. It was published by “Adult Swim Games” and developed by “Soleil,” who previously worked on Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Striker.
Battle Through Time was the first Samurai Jack game to be released in 16 years since the last game released was 2004’s Samurai Jack: The Shadow of Aku.
The game begins right into the last remaining moments of the final episode where Jack and Ashi, Jack’s love interest and Aku’s daughter, manage to escape the future with the use of a time portal created by Ashi after obtaining Aku’s powers.
However, unlike the show where both characters were able to make it back to the past and Jack was able to destroy past Aku once and for all, future Aku was instead able to disrupt the heroes time travel by throwing Jack off course and through a time rift, leaving Jack thrown off the course of time.
With the fate of the future still in jeopardy, Jack must find a way to fix the time rift in order to return to Ashi and journey back to the past.
Throughout the game, Jack is taken to different areas in time that was shown throughout the series.
Players are able to relive some of the best moments of the show and will see many familiar characters, friend or foe.
Each level involves Jack fighting against groups of enemies as he travels throughout the level until he comes across the boss.
Every time Jack defeats a boss, they drop a pendant which Jack destroys which leads him closer to the portal back to the past and transports him to the next level.
Jack will come across many allies throughout the show who will offer items to help him whether it be health, attack boosts or weapons.
Not only will Jack have his famous sword, but there are a wide variety of weapons such as spears, axes, shurikens, firearms and other weapons each with their own strengths and weaknesses such as durability and damage.
The player can also visit Da Samurai’s shop whenever they come across the character throughout the level, where the player can use gold to purchase and repair weapons, purchase health items, power ups, learn new moves for weapons, increase attack power and sell items for more gold.
The game includes skill tree system, where the player can learn new abilities, upgrade their health and receive other benefits such as a special Kiai Attack which each weapon type has and can cause massive damage towards enemies.
These upgrades can be purchased with Skill Fire and Bushido spirits, which can be earned by defeating enemies and exploring the level.
Pickups dropped by defeated enemies will also offer temporary damage and defense buffs.
In addition, the game will have a ranking system where, depending on how fast the player was able to beat the level, using the least amount of items and continues as possible and defeating enemies, will award the player with a skill rank, with “SJ” being the highest.
Samurai Jack is a classic series that has developed a cult following over the years. It’s still going strong today, being well known for its story, art style and action.
Although the new game is rather short, the story is something fans of the show are sure to appreciate.
With its rewarding combat, challenging difficulty, appealing art style and nostalgic feel, Battle Through Time will surely bring fans back to the past.
