Way of the Samurai 4

Way of the Samurai 4 (侍道4) is a video game developed by Acquire and published by Spike for the PlayStation 3. It was released in Japan on March 3, 2011.

An English version was announced on January 19, 2012, by Rising Star Games. The game was released in Europe on October 5, 2012. On April 4, 2012, XSEED Games published the game in the U.S. as a downloadable title on PlayStation Network with a release date of August 21, 2012. The game was initially for PlayStation 3 only; however, the game was later released for Microsoft Windows by Ghostlight on July 23, 2015.

Plot
The game is set in a fictional port town called Amihama during the last days of the Shogunate. Players can create their samurai and choose to align themselves with one of three factions: the pro-government forces, the anti-government rebels seeking to repel foreigners, or the British Navy stationed in the city to negotiate a peace treaty. When the negotiations between the Magistrate of Amihama and the British go wrong after a Prajna attack at the meeting point, the Tokugawa Shogunate sends one of their Tairō to quash the revolt.

The main story takes place over five days. The player character's decisions and actions shape their path.

Gameplay

 * Endings, Events, and Customization: Way of the Samurai 4 is much longer than previous games, as the game has 10 endings. The game also features flexible events and cutscenes based on player decisions. Events are also easier to follow compared to previous games. There are more customization options than in the last game, allowing players to choose features such as the face, hair, clothing, footwear, and accessories.

Health and Energy

 * An energy meter is added in this installment. It regenerates life points (which are set at 1000) if the player is stationary or moving away in combat and depletes when the player's samurai fights or is regenerating health. Food and sleep regenerate the energy meter. There are straw blankets in set locations outside (or in) the dojo and inns around Amihama where the player pays to sleep. Any bed the player can stand on can be used to sleep and recharge energy.

Combat

 * There is a wide variety of fighting styles and skills that the player can master. Swords can now be switched to any stance, and skills, once learned, are bound to the player, not the swords. Players can then assign learned skills to their own "school" of fighting.
 * The "push and pull" mechanics from the first and third games are kept. A new special mode is introduced, in which the samurai enters slow motion for a limited duration and can slash enemies repeatedly. After the samurai sheathes the sword, all dead enemies fall simultaneously.
 * "Durability points", which gradually decrease with use and eventually break weapons, have taken the place of the sword's "heat" mechanics. This forces players to visit the blacksmith regularly for repairs unless their weapons are "unbreakable".

Sword Enhancement/Creation

 * Players can go to the blacksmith to enhance their weapon's attributes (attack, defense, durability), repair it, or appraise it. The player can also ask Dojima to melt a sword and then use the metal to recast another sword.
 * The custom sword-making system introduced in Way of the Samurai 3 also appears in the game. In addition to normal parts such as the blade, hilt, and grip, players can also add a charm that will have a special effect. Along with swords and spears, pistols and muskets have been added as weapons. Muskets are primarily used by British soldiers.

New features

 * Proof of Life: The player's actions affect the game world in the next playthrough. For example, if the player has killed a lot of townspeople in the last game, there will be more guards to hunt the player. There are many foreigners in the game, but unlike the previous game, the protagonist will be unable to understand what they say at the beginning (the texts will appear as "?????"). Players can convince the Shogunate to open a school to teach foreign languages, and the player will eventually be able to talk to foreigners.

Night Crawling

 * There is a minigame called "Yobai" where a samurai can romance an NPC by sneaking into their home at night, avoiding or knocking out family members, and pulling out the right futon to find them. The NPC will offer playful resistance, and the player must try to throw them into bed. A turtle head will guide the samurai to their target. The player can practice "night crawling" with most male and female characters in the game, as long as the requirements are fulfilled.

Torture

 * Once arrested for doing bad deeds, the player's character will be sent to the torture room to play minigames with the three Kinugawa sisters. The tortures include riding a flaming wooden horse, being tied to a water wheel, and being pelted by huge stones. If the samurai survives the torture, the sisters will be impressed, and he can practice "night crawling" with them.

Minigames

 * Besides various jobs that the samurai can get from different sources, players can earn money by fishing, working as an assassin, delivering love letters, or flirting with foreign women. The samurai can also play poker at the casino and hanafuda at the gambling parlor.

Dojo

 * Players can open a dojo, take on apprentices, and fend off challengers. The reputation of the dojo depends on the number of apprentices and their quality. The player can tell any of the apprentices to "follow me", and they will fight alongside him.

Crossroads Killing

 * When connected to PSN, character data is automatically uploaded and transferred into other players' game worlds, where he will appear as a wandering samurai (NPC). Players can defeat him to obtain the custom sword that another player created. This feature is called online tsujigiri.

Setting

 * Amihama: The setting of the main story. It is a port town where black ships are docked, and Japanese and foreign cultures are mixed. The main street is located in the center, from which there is the government office to the north, the foreign settlement where foreigners and "homeless" live to the east, the port and casino to the south, and the townspeople's residential area with row houses to the west. In addition, a submerged shrine sleeps in a cave on the outskirts of the town, which is used as a hideout for the Tsangxi forces. Amidhama is a fictional place, and the specific location is not revealed, but from the information in the game, it is known that it is somewhere in the southern Kanto region and along the coast. In addition, the setting of the aforementioned "Fight Bancho 5" is also said to be "Amidhama (Yokohama City motif)", but the specific relationship between the two "Amimahama" is unknown.

Characters

 * Protagonist: The main character is a nameless rōnin who just came into the town of Amihama.

Foreigners

 * Laura Rita is the daughter of a millionaire from a British ducal family (her parents have already passed away). She visited Japan as a goodwill ambassador for the conclusion of trade between Japan and the UK. She does not like violence and ghosts. She also has a sweet tooth and always keeps chocolate on her consulate desk. She became the de facto heroine of the foreign power route and the hidden route.
 * Count Jet Jenkins is 24 years old, blood type B. Commonly known as JJ. A young count dressed in a flashy tailcoat. As Deputy Envoy to the United Kingdom, he assists Laura. He is a thrill-loving actor who hates boredom and enjoys gambling. His left arm is a prosthetic, but this is because he lost a bet and cut it off himself. In his spare time, he plays at the casino in the port, but he is skilled with a pistol and has a top-notch sword skill. Apart from the main character, he is the only character who uses a handgun in battle.
 * Melinda de Cameron is a female knight who serves as the captain of the Royal Marines and as Laura's bodyguard. She has a female knighthood, "Patzkin Corps," under her control. Dressed in golden armor, she is feared as a "demon captain" due to her strictness towards himself and others, but once she takes off her armor, she pays attention to her beauty and does not give up her admiration for men. In battle, she wields a British-style greatsword with ease and has an ironclad defense with the effect of her special ability "Fudoshin", which prevents her defenses from being destroyed. She is the only one of the main characters who can be killed at any time without affecting Root, and if she dies, a character called the New Captain will appear in her place.

Magistrates

 * Hikaru Kotobuki, Magistrate of the Amihama. He is a hot-blooded man who is hot-tempered, and for better or worse, he has a straight personality. Although a little idle, he is a good person at heart. As soon as it unfolds, it will break away from Kinugawa. His hobby is caving. It uses a compound school that can use both the middle and upper stances, and among them, the "Biguban", which accumulates qi and then releases it all at once to blow away the surroundings. It also has powerful and unmatched performance.
 * Shigeru Moro is Hikaru Kotobuki's friend and manager of customs. He is unserious and always looks sleepy, but deep down in his heart, he is always thinking about the future of the country. He aspires to incorporate cutting-edge foreign culture and technology because of his crisis with the current old shogunate, but the shogunate forces view him as an enemy as a result. He is a master of physical skills and a "handless" user who can go toe-to-toe with opponents without swords. Also, although he does not have many opportunities to show off, he has a high level of sword power. In addition, it is said that he is married from the mouth of the person himself.

Tokugawa Shogunate

 * Onsen Kinugawa: Daimyo and Tairo in the Shogunnate. He comes from Edo to exterminate the Shangyi Shishi. A ruthless person who enjoys torture and execution (mainly boiled in a kettle) under the pretext of "restoring the prestige of the shogunate". In addition to his own guard, the Maringumi, he leads the secret group Kurayami no Uten, as well as a Kagemusha who looks just like himself. He uses a special school that allows him to use three stances: a side stance, a middle stance, and a one-handed stance, and boasts tremendous sword prowess. It is the root of all evil in this work and the final boss in the hidden route, that is the true ending.
 * Kinugawa Three Sisters / Mayu, Chika, Yuri: The three daughters of Kinugawa. The eldest daughter is Mayu, the second daughter is Chika, and the third daughter is Yuri. They are fond of torture and execution as her father and are scolded as "three cruel sisters" in Chimata. They usually wear kimonos, but when they fight, they change into their special combat uniforms. Manyu is a sword, Chika is a dual wielder, and Yuri is a spear user. According to the official website, it takes Mayu 20 seconds to complete the 100m, Chika has always been unable to raise the iron bar backwards, and Yuri gets upset when it is pointed out that her language is strange.

Disciples of Prajna

 * Reddo Akagi - Leader of the Disciples of Prajna.
 * Jinrai Kogure is Swordsman and a close friend of Akagi, the leader of the Prajna. He serves as Akagi's right-hand man. Kogure may have been inspired by the Japanese samurai Izo Okada. Izo was a Japanese samurai of the Tosa Domain and Assassination, he's also called Assasin Izo. Moro called Kogure Assasin Kogure.
 * Akemi

Downloadable content
A Shinsengumi costume DLC pack was offered for free from March 24 to April 27, 2011. After that, it was priced $6. Players need to apply a patch before using any downloadable content.

Hijikata Toshizō and Kondō Isami are among the downloadable Shinsengumi characters.

Ryoma Sakamoto pack is also available.

Dona Dona, from the original Way of the Samurai, and a grown-up version of the character Sayo from Way of the Samurai 2 are also available for download. Sayo will appear in the road and offer rice balls.

Reception
Upon its release, the game received mixed reviews, with the PlayStation 3 version scoring 58 out of 100 on the review aggregator site Metacritic. Many critics praised the story, customization options, various non-combat activities, and multiple endings. However, the gameplay, bugs, and technical issues were criticized.

The PC port received mixed to positive reviews, scoring 72 out of 100 on Metacritic.

Plus version
On January 26, 2012, Way of the Samurai 4 was repackaged, bundled with all DLCs, and re-released as "Way of the Samurai 4 Plus" (at half price). Sakamoto Ryōma is available as playable character in this version.