One of the most unique open world games you'll come across on the PS2, your choices have a big impact on how the story unfolds and there are six different endings you can achieve based on which faction you joined and what specific events you took part in. It's incredibly immersive, both the visuals and the music create this melancholic "end of an era" atmosphere that permeates throughout the whole experience, which is fitting for a samurai game set during the start of the Meiji Period. The combat isn't anything mind-blowing, but it's serviceable and the different swords you can get add a bit of variety to it.

The biggest issue I have with this game is one that unfortunately plagued all of its sequels as well: It's just too short. I know, it may seem like the multiple routes/choices make up for the length, but they ultimately don't, because this short length causes the story and characters to feel underdeveloped, even if they are functional and captivating as they are. Every Way of the Samurai game always left me wanting to see more, to see the characters in it getting more fleshed out, having complete story arcs, but it never happened because the game doesn't really have time for that.

Despite this criticism, I still think this and all the other three WOTS games are worth checking out for the novelty alone, especially if you're into samurai-themed stuff. All I can hope is that if they ever make a new WOTS game, or some kind of spiritual successor, they succeed at keeping the good qualities that made this series stand out, as well as offering a longer experience with a fully-realized story.