Samurai II: Vengeance is an action-adventure game where we use our trusty old samurai sword and quick reflexes to survive in feudal Japan under the oppressive rule of an evil tyrant and his henchmen.

We follow the story of a young sword master on a quest to right all the wrongs, which involves traveling across Japan while fighting a rich abundance of powerful enemies.

We control our character with a d-pad, dodge enemy attacks with quick evasive rolls, and land regular or heavy attacks using two buttons. Tapping these buttons in the correct sequence also executes devastating combos that we unlock more of by spending our hard-earned experience points.

What I like the most about the game is just how fast-paced it is. And despite the combos requiring precise timings, the touch controls feel incredibly responsive. Not to mention that the neat cell-shaded graphics, vibrant visual effects, beautiful music, and screams of dying opponents create just the right atmosphere for the gameplay. Even the somewhat grotesque level of violence, with gallons of blood and heavy dismemberment, blends right in.

Memorizing all the sword combos is difficult, and even then, most players won’t be able to execute them in the right tactical situations, reducing the gameplay to semi-mindless button mashing that becomes repetitive over time. Another downside is that the campaign ends before we’ve earned enough experience points to unlock all the combos, making it impossible to upgrade everything.

Samurai II: Vengeance is a premium game that costs $0.99 on Android and $2.99 on iOS, which is a ridiculously low price for something as great as this "old-but-gold" action-packed masterpiece. Any fan of the genre should definitely give it a go. It’s also part of Google Play Pass.