There is just something about the Samurai that remains incredibly appealing to many gamers. Whether it’s the unique martial arts style, the famous code of honor, or the sheer satisfaction of using a katana, players continue looking for thebeloved playstyle across various titles.
RELATED:The Best Roguelike RPGs, Ranked
While games that are focused on the Japanese warriors are great in their own regard, the archetype can still be engaging and satisfying in other RPGs. It can be especially interesting to look at Samurai in unusual settings, such as medieval Europe, futuristic cities, interplanar operas, and practically anything that the developer’s imagination can work out.
JRPGs and MMORPGs have also been considered.
6Shadowrun: Hong Kong
Street Samurai
The setting ofShadowrunis a fantastical fit for a variation of the Samurai, with its unique blend of fantasy and sci-fi. As a shadowrunner navigating the gritty streets of this cyberpunk universe, every decision carries weight, and every ally or adversary could be a game-changer.
RELATED:The Best RPGs On Game Boy Advance, Ranked
The Street Samurai is a perfect combination of martial arts and technology, allowing players to quickly dispose of their enemies using both the sword and their weapons. It is a fun, engaging, and particularly effective class to play as, with a unique twist and vision of the famous archetype.
Final Fantasy 5is truly a gem in the RPG universe, which was incredibly innovative for its time. Released in 1992, it seamlessly blends an intricate job system with a compelling narrative, allowing players tocustomize their characters with impressive depth.
The game series’jobsystem for all intents and purposes acts like a class. The Samurai are more than a little useful in combat, with unique and powerful physical abilities, providing both support and significant damage on the battlefield. And given when the game was released, one must admit: they do look great.
TheFire Emblemseries always had animpossibly large array of characters, generally categorized into various classes and races. While players usually create just one character per game, they often control dozens of various fighters, mages, and everything in between.
The Samurai were first introduced inFire Emblem: Fates,as a basic infantry class in the game, who could then be promoted either to Swordmasters or Masters of Arms. They are extremely effective in the right hands and can be absolute lifesavers in sticky situations with their glass cannon playstyle.
The successor to the incredibly popular RPG has taken the very best from the first game and greatly improved in almost every aspect. With improved combat, more transportation methods, improved graphics andsomuch more, players who enjoyed the first game will absolutely love the sequel.
RELATED:Switch RPGs To Play If You Love Skyrim
Among the new colorful cast is Hikari Ku, a gentle-hearted warrior prince, who sets out on a hard and complicated journey of peace, while trying to conquer his own inner demons. While playerscanchoose a specific path for him, everything from his looks to his abilities simplyscreamsSamurai.
Starfieldis incredibly ambitious in terms of the amount of character customization, with unique backgrounds, classes, and abilities. Aside from the existing presets, players canmix and match their perks and attributesto create something truly unique.
The game has plenty of melee options, and the Katana is only one of many, but its implementation is nothing short of awesome. Given that one of the game’s backgrounds is literally called “Ronin”, it makes perfect sense for there to be everything a player might need when creating a proper space samurai. The only thing one might wish for is perhaps better-suited armor pieces to complete the look.
Bandai Namco have clearly learned from their previous titles, and turned the Samurai up to 11 inElden Ring,going as far as to make it one of the starting class options. It is a fairly balanced class, with great melee and range damage, packed into a decent medium armor.
The game’s Katanaarsenal is nothing short of impressive,definitely going with “quality over quantity” for the lineup. Some of the most powerful ones are magic-based, so players will actually need to put quite a few points into Intelligence if they want to make the most out of them.
