Samurai Jack returns for probably the very last time only instead of a new season, TV special, or film, this effort comes in the form of a new video game. Acting as a true series finale following the successful fifth and final season released in 2017 the story of Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time takes place during Ashi & Jack’s battle with Aku after she breaks his mind/body control. Ashi & Jack attempt to travel through the past to kill Aku and save time from his rule only Aku gets the edge and attacks Jack sending him back to the beginning of his first trip to the future effectively changing the timeline.

Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time is a 2020 action-RPG, it is developed by Soleil and published by Adult Swim Games. It is currently available on PC, Playstaytion 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and iOS devices via Apple Arcade.

Editor’s Note: An advanced review copy of Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time was provided by Adult Swim Games in support of this review. Near complete to complete spoilers for the story may be present within this review.

Relive some of Samurai Jack’s greatest moments in ‘Battle Through Time’.

In Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time, Ashi and Jack face off against Aku in the future like in the series finale. Ashi is controlled by Aku due to their familial link and Aku forces her to fight Jack. Ashi is able to not only regain control of herself, but also gain control of Aku’s magical demonic abilities including time travel. She forces open a portal to the past with Jack and they enter. However, history is changed as Aku is able to fire a last ditch effort attack at Jack sending him back to the current past where he first appeared in the future at the start of the series. This causes Jack to relive a majority of the series albeit with some differences to fit the story such as characters like The Swordsman being possessed by Aku’s magic.

Samurai Jack: Battle through Time retells and ends Jack’s story in an epic redux.

THE GOOD: When playing Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time one of the things you’ll notice is that there’s not a lot that differentiates itself from the core story of the original series and the game. Then you realize that this is meant to be a retelling of the final episodes of the series which received some criticism for its ending in which Jack (now in an Aku free present) travels alone after Ashi had her existence extinguished following the defeat of Aku in the past. The message while powerful was admittedly lackluster and a little too heartbreaking considering everything Jack went through in addition to the fans who waited years for the story to find its true conclusion. Most of the story is recycled key scenes from the series with Jack reacting to reliving these moments again and that’s fine pretty much everyone are here to see the new ending anyways so they can get away with it without causing any fan backlash or much of it that is to say. The original story bits mainly contains Ashi traversing the timeline to get back to Jack only for the portal to run out of time due to Aku interference. Jack faces off against The Swordsman and several past enemies in what acts as boss fights. There’s also a recurring boss fight of Demongo who sort of evens out the spacing between bosses.

‘Battle Through Time’ is the ultimate love letter to the five season Cartoon Network classic.

Gameplay is admittedly basic and simple, but it’s also part of ‘Battle Through Time’s charm. While there’s no leveling system per se you can upgrade Jack with new abilities such as increased health, longer combos, more item quantities, etc. Graphically the game is represented in a slight 3D/cel-shaded like style. This actually meshes pretty nicely with the art style of the show itself and the character designs. As the game progresses Jack will come into possession of more powerful weapons in the form of loot found throughout the game. Most of these weapons are breakable with very few having high enough durability to be used longterm with the exception of course being Jack’s trademark katana. Jack can also use long range weapons such as bow & arrows, shuriken, kunai, and explosives. A cool detail to point out is that when Jack loses health he gets battle damage with his outfits up to the point where his hair becomes loose and he’s covered in dirt. The ending of the game has a happy ending for what it’s worth. Two versions in fact, but I’d rather not spoil either here. The secret ending is unlocked by collecting unique medals spread throughout the game (a total of fifty).

Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time features an RPG system that’s simple and easy to use.

THE BAD: One of the many draw backs for Battle Through Time is that while the aforementioned battle damage is neat I’d have much preferred the skins be unlockable outfits just for some extra incentive for players. For it’s budget Battle Through Time has some surprisingly deep gameplay, but I can’t help but feel that they could have done so much more if they had a stronger cash flow backing the game. Jack and enemies leveling up as the story goes on would have made for a greater amount of playtime and challenge. Enemies do get stronger as the story continues but it isn’t until the final chapters that you’ll really find yourself coming even remotely close to dying. I also have to admit that the lack of collecting such as extra art for example is a bit of a blow this likely being the last we see of Jack in his current animated form. The story is also disappointingly short being able to be completed at around the five hour mark.

Players can upgrade Jack to a certain point making him much more powerful and durable in combat.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time is another example of what a great licensed video game could and should be. However there’s a few issues such as a lack of collecting for fans and low difficulty that holds it back from heavier hitters such as the Batman: Arkham series and Marvel’s Spider-Man. Even so at a price of $39.99 you’re getting way more bang for your buck especially if you’re craving more Jack after the conclusion of the series three years prior. It’s an almost perfect true finale fans deserve and well worth it’s price of admission.