Dynasty Warriors 3

"Spectacular! Even better than the second!"

This game is one of the best there is! With loads of replay value and great graphics and music, this is a must have!

Graphics: 9/10
The graphics aren't breath taking like Final Fantasy X, but they are pretty good. What really gets me is how many soldiers can be displayed on the screen at one time. It's got to be around 40, and there isn't any slowdown. (unless in two player mode or with like 60 guys on the screen) All the edges are smooth and it just looks great.

Gameplay: 10/10
Ancient China. You choose a general from either the Shu, Wu, or Wei kingdoms. Then you hack 'n' slash your way through a variety of levels which leads you to the final showdown. You can also get items, upgrade your bodyguards, and get better weapons for you character. (My personal fav is Zhou Yun) With three difficulty levels, there is always a challenge. In each level, there are two main commanders. To win, defeat the enemy commander before the time runs out (not a problem really, most levels have 90 min) or your commander is defeated. There are literally about 1000 enemies on a normal sized stage. Defeat enemy officers to get permanent attack, defense, life, or musou (special attack unique to each character) or get a weapon or item. There are 4 modes, free, musou, challenge, and vs. Musou mode is a story mode. Free mode can be used to train your character, challenge mode has endurance and a time mode where you see how fast you can defeat 100 enemies. The only problem I have is that with 2 player mode, you and your friend can't develop on their own game and then load each individual one and play. You have to have your own spot on the memory card for that.

Controls: 10/10
Very simple. One button for attacking, one for a special attack, one for jumping, and one for a charge. Combine the attack and charge for awesome combos. You can also block with L1 and pull out a bow with R1. Can't get better than that. The bow system is kinda quirky, but it isn't terrible.

Sound/Music: 8/10
The music is pretty cool, but gets somewhat repatitive. The sound effects are good as well. The grunts of the soldiers gets old after a while, but you can get over that.

Replay Value: 10/10
There are about 40 characters to unlock and 3 other weapons for each character, along with many items.

Buy or Rent?
Buy! You will be playing this game for a long while, and still after you unlock everything, you will still be playing it.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 02/11/02, Updated 02/11/02