Jan-Ken-Pon
In Japanese, the game rock-paper-scissors is typically called “janken”. The players first raise their fists with the phrase “saishowaguu”, meaning “fist only”. Then, they count down: Jan. Ken. Pon! On the last count, they present their chosen gesture between either rock (guu), paper (paa) or scissors (choki). Guu beats choki, choki beats paa, and paa beats guu. In case of a draw, players recount with the phrase “aikodesho” (“it’s a draw”), showing their newly chosen gesture again on the last syllable.
Rock, Paper, Katana
Sometimes, it’s okay for a game to take inspiration from the most well-known, mundane things. I would even argue that it’s how most significant things are made. Developed by Good Good Games LLC, Janken Samurai is a rock-paper-scissors-style, turn-based fighting game.
I don’t think it’d be wrong to say everyone knows what rock-paper-scissors is. One might thus wonder how the mechanics of that game would translate to a fighting game without the victor being left entirely to luck. The answer is simple: feints, or “taunts,” as the game calls them. Imagine you’re playing rock-paper-scissors, and you intend to pick rock, but to fool your opponent, you pretend that you want to pick paper. But as such, your opponent might be onto you, suspecting that you don’t actually intend to pick paper. The mind games would be endless.
Game Boy Samurai
With its graphical and audio presentation, Janken Samurai attempts to emulate a particularly nostalgic feel. The title’s green-and-white color scheme is very much reminiscent of the Game Boy, and the bleep-bloop sound effects aid in completing that feel (the murmur of the audience being an exception, which sounds a lot more modern for some reason). Being a mere 39 pixels in width, the game’s low-res art aims to represent the scenes and characters in a minimalistic but still recognizable fashion. The fighters look distinct, and you can always tell what they’re doing even if it’s the first time you’ve seen them.
Up Top, Down Low
The graphical clarity mentioned above is vital for the rock-paper-scissors gameplay. While the winning strategy isn’t always obvious, the rules are the same throughout the game. High attacks beat low attacks, low attacks beat mid-attacks, and mid-attacks beat high attacks. On top of this, you can also choose a taunt, which is essentially a feint to pretend you mean to do a different type of attack than you actually are.
You can tell what kind of strike the opponent will do by just looking at them, but like you, they could be bluffing as well. How can you tell what their actual intentions are?
I don’t know.
In my experience, each opponent has their own number of different ways to react to your stance and try to bait you out with their own. By switching your taunt, you can watch their reaction (if any) and figure out what rules they’re currently working by. You only get about five seconds to decide though, so make it count.
The Way of the Warrior
A simple game requires a simple goal, and in the case of Janken Samurai, it’s a scoreboard. Once you beat all the opponents presented in the “story mode,” you unlock an endless mode where each participant gets one life. You must try to win as many times in a row as you can to climb the online leaderboard. A respectable score requires deep knowledge of the AI or plenty of luck.
Sadly, the title offers no online multiplayer. I can only imagine the mind games that could go down between real people, but I can respect trying to keep it simple. With that in mind, Janken Samurai also offers no monetization whatsoever. The title is free to download and play. There are no ads and no in-game store. No combos, no flashy graphics or explosive finishers.
There is only Jan-ken-pon.
