Kengo: Legend of the 9 (Xbox 360, 2007)

Firstly, if you are going to get this game to play/gift, be absolutely sure that it comes with the manual, as there is NO tutorial in any way, shape, or form for this game. Unlike other fighters/brawlers, there is no "move list" to refer to, the game opens with a battle and no "hold your hand for the first mission to highlight which moves do what", and there is no optional training ground to go to. You just have to know which attacks to use and when, and what to do if your sword get's trapped.

For those that are interested (or fascinated) by the Shogunate era of Japan, this game has it's bonuses in that it uses factual people from that era as the "fighters", as well as places and transpiring events.

Pros:
Factual people and places from a fascinating (to some) time.
Realistic sword combat (for the most part), so no blocking from a flanked/behind opponent.
Different fighting stances allow different advantages/disadvantages for given fights/situations
Factual people and places from...Oh wait. I already said that. Hmmm.

Cons (long list):
Realistic sword combat (for the most part), so no blocking from a falnked/behind opponent.
Different fighting stances allow different dis/advantages for given fights/situations. Since it doesn't tell you which stance is good for what, there is a lot of trial and error, and I end up just using one stance, for the most part.
Difficulty has no stability. Some boss fights are simple and easy, others make you go bald on the sides of your head from pulling out your hair. I think a lot of it is just luck.
The fighting system is haywire in general. You can't block without Stamina, but as you block/attack/run you lose stamina. You constantly have to run to keep from getting surrounding, then blocking, then attacking, lather, rinse, repeat. The stamina does not regenerate NEARLY fast enough to keep up, and once your stamina is gone, you can die in one hit, regardless of how much health you have.
No counterattack capability, which is odd for a sword technique intensive fighting style.
Graphics are NOT up to par for the 360. A roommate came in and asked why I was playing an original XBox game. They look like the later games on the original Box.
CPU controlled XBox Live Tournament. Yes, CPU controlled.
AI traits that you accrue during the story mode are used by the CPU for the XBL Tourney, which is a double edged sword.
If you die on a story mission, you die. Back to the main screen, then start the whole loading thing all over again.
Experience system. The amount of experience earned doe not properly coorellate to the amount needed to buy new attacks.
Extremely hard "Mission Mode" (standalone missions that are non-character dependent).
NO TUTORIAL MODE!!!

If you get this game, my recommendation is after every story mission, save it on a different slot, do NOT overwrite your old one. Those AI Traits can suck (Weak vs. Attack). Also, Story Mode in this review is called "Normal Mode" in the game.

Overall, I would ONLY recommend this game if you can find this for under $10 (including shipping) and are interested in that time period of Japan. If you can overlook the cons and focus on the factuality of the game (characters, stances, attacks, and the names of all it), it's not an OVERLY terrible game.

Kengo: Legend of the 9 is a good fighting game. Many "gamers" won't like it but for simple gameplayers like myself, it is a good game. The moves are simple and combinations are simple. There is a storymode but I think the combat fighting is where the game is enjoyable. A family member played it and recommended it. I only spent $10 on ebay for it so for $10 it was well worth it. I think that many people spend $30-$60 for games and are easily disappointed when the game is "perfect". If you have patience, games come down in price quite rapidly and many games on ebay are dirt cheap as time passes. I think if more people paid less for games, they would like them better. In conclusion, Kengo is a good samurai fighting game. It may not be the best but as the old saying goes.....it is what it is.

The game allows you to play story mode for solo missions or v.s. via X-box live or 2 player. THE GOOD, you can unlock new characters on story mode and up grade you fighting style for each character. Test your skills on v.s. against friends. THE BAD, the game lacks excitement. In story mode, the game gets a little annoying when you die in a mission, and then you have to start all over.

We'll I rented Kengo out of pure curiosity and boy what a waste of 8 bucks this was. Personally this should'nt even be considered as a rental heres the good and the bad.

The Good

Ok graphics

Sort of a hack an slasher fun type game.

Actually uses real life historical figures, with several to choose from all with different storylines.

The Bad

Impossible to understand controls and move sets that offer absolutely no tutorials too.

Due to the extremely hard to master control sets all boss fights are rendered nearly impossible.

ITS NOT IN ENGLISH, only subtitles of poorly written dialogue that make Godzilla movies look like shakespeare.

Overall senseless plot lines.

Pointless boss fights.

Too difficult compared to quality of game, you'll want to just quit after 10 minutes guaranteed.

Overall, no reason to buy,rent, or even look at this game. The fact your even reading this review is too much time spent on this garbage.

Lets be blunt, this game is not the game you want if your looking for something that you can play for along time or reply.

Kengo is a good game in the sorta kinda catagory, sure its got swords who doesn't love those? It's samuri even better right? Wrong, The control scheme should be ilegal, you have to attack, block, switch stances, and turn the camera at the same time. Not that you'll need to do anything but the first and last point because the A.I. in Kengo will just rush at you maybe decide to attack every now and then.

Perhaps the only things you'll like about this game is that the gamerscore is semi-okay disstributed through the achivments as well as the concept of the game.

That being said, I would rent it or buy it for cheap (were talking below ten dollars) I mean gamerscore is gamerscore... right?