Sure, the game was a moderate commercial hit back in 1994 (it apparently outsold the 3DO port of Samurai Shodown), but contemporary reviews were far from kind. Magazines such as EGM, GamePro, GamesMaster and EDGE gave it scathing reviews, comparing it rather unfavourably with Mortal Kombat due to its use of digitised characters.
While Way of the Warrior hasn't gone down in history as Naughty Dog's finest hour, it still stirs up memories for Nakayama, who recalls hearing about the game from another of his 3DO-owning friends back in '94.
His pal – referred to by the pseudonym Hiroshi – mentioned that the game's soundtrack features Rob Zombie, a fact which caused Nakayama to run to his local video game store. "I'm a big fan of Rob Zombie 's White Zombie, so I immediately ran to Akihabara," he remembers. "The school was in Ochanomizu, so it was a 15-minute walk."
"Both operability and game balance are not good," he later admits, before adding that "it's a very endearing game, with unique characters and item elements (like the original Samurai Shodown). Also, the power of BGM is great."
Sadly, shortly after the release of the game, Nakayama lost contact with his 3DO buddy. "I wonder if you're doing well," he says at the conclusion of the blog post. "Every time I watch Uncharted, I think of Way of the Warrior and Hiroshi. I [feel] depressed."
