I love Koei. I love the fact that they can take a good game, and milk it for a whole gen. As a fan of said game (Dynasty Warriors) I adore the fact that they continue to pump out slightly modified versions, at rapid intervals, with just enough extras to keep me happy. After the last update (DW4 Xtreme Legends) I began to doubt this. Would this spin-off be finally the one game too far? I?m happy to say that it?s not.
Samurai Warriors is basically A mixture of both DW3 and 4, taking the crunchy peon -slaughtering of DW3 and adding the mission based focus of DW4.The game is quite stripped down though, with a small roster of starting characters, and a few more unlocked as you progress. The new Create-a-warrior system is fun too, as now you have to train your new warrior up, before you can join a battle. This takes place in several sub-games where a simple objective is given and you are ranked, and levelled up appropriately. At the end you have to revisit two trials and get a good score to be able to save your newbie warrior, and use him/her in the story modes. This feature adds tension to the CAW process, as if you fail, the game deletes your character.
The main story mode relies on small missions during a large scale battle, that are conveniently signposted for ease. Unlike in DW though, ignore or fail a mission and the tide of battle is very quickly turned against you. These missions offer a little less freedom than before, but it?s ultimately satisfying to achieve your given tasks. This feature, along with the reduced character roster makes SW perfect for newcomers to Koei's self-made genre.
Another new feature is the games variation to the enemy character models, now you are attacked by a wide variety of samurai, ninja, monks and foot soldiers, the Sumo-esque strike ninja being the most deadliest/annoying here.
Aurally SW is fantastic. The music is quite different to the invigorating rock of the Dynasty series. Here the soundtrack is more subtle allowing the game to utilise a lot more noise on the field. In the game you are bombarded with the absolute chaos of the battles you take part in. Generals announce their presence loudly, peons moan in pain, swords clash against armour and horns trumpet a call to arms. All this adds to the atmosphere greatly.
In conclusion, all the changes to the Dynasty Warriors format make this a fun, hack and slash title that goes some way to refresh my ardour for the overall series. To sum up then:
Good
Delivers the Dynasty Warriors experience.
Excellent cut scenes.
Good voice acting (Hideoshi excluded)
Novel CAW building experience.
Great for newcomers.
Sounds fantastic.
Co-op mode.
Bad
If you hate Dynasty warriors, it won't convert you.
No Japanese voice acting option.
Graphically a step back from DW4.
Missions can be restrictive.
No mid-battle saving.
No 60hz mode (no borders though)
Anyone else pick this up? I?d be interested to hear if it has re-ignited your love for the DW games.
Samurai Warriors is basically A mixture of both DW3 and 4, taking the crunchy peon -slaughtering of DW3 and adding the mission based focus of DW4.The game is quite stripped down though, with a small roster of starting characters, and a few more unlocked as you progress. The new Create-a-warrior system is fun too, as now you have to train your new warrior up, before you can join a battle. This takes place in several sub-games where a simple objective is given and you are ranked, and levelled up appropriately. At the end you have to revisit two trials and get a good score to be able to save your newbie warrior, and use him/her in the story modes. This feature adds tension to the CAW process, as if you fail, the game deletes your character.
The main story mode relies on small missions during a large scale battle, that are conveniently signposted for ease. Unlike in DW though, ignore or fail a mission and the tide of battle is very quickly turned against you. These missions offer a little less freedom than before, but it?s ultimately satisfying to achieve your given tasks. This feature, along with the reduced character roster makes SW perfect for newcomers to Koei's self-made genre.
Another new feature is the games variation to the enemy character models, now you are attacked by a wide variety of samurai, ninja, monks and foot soldiers, the Sumo-esque strike ninja being the most deadliest/annoying here.
Aurally SW is fantastic. The music is quite different to the invigorating rock of the Dynasty series. Here the soundtrack is more subtle allowing the game to utilise a lot more noise on the field. In the game you are bombarded with the absolute chaos of the battles you take part in. Generals announce their presence loudly, peons moan in pain, swords clash against armour and horns trumpet a call to arms. All this adds to the atmosphere greatly.
In conclusion, all the changes to the Dynasty Warriors format make this a fun, hack and slash title that goes some way to refresh my ardour for the overall series. To sum up then:
Good
Delivers the Dynasty Warriors experience.
Excellent cut scenes.
Good voice acting (Hideoshi excluded)
Novel CAW building experience.
Great for newcomers.
Sounds fantastic.
Co-op mode.
Bad
If you hate Dynasty warriors, it won't convert you.
No Japanese voice acting option.
Graphically a step back from DW4.
Missions can be restrictive.
No mid-battle saving.
No 60hz mode (no borders though)
Anyone else pick this up? I?d be interested to hear if it has re-ignited your love for the DW games.
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