Dynasty Warriors 4

"Addictive, repetitive, and showcasing a lot of unpronounceable names"

There are only so many ways you can milk the same cow before you exhaust all the possibilities. Luckily for all us gamers, Koei still has a few tricks up their sleeves, as Dynasty Warriors 4 manages to continue the tradition of excellence the series demands. Yes, it is all about slashing hoards of foes to pieces (all of which happen to vanish), but homicidal tendencies have never been so much fun.

The series is based on the ancient tales from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and though it tries to educate a small minority of gamers about those times, the majority of the game focuses on the missions. You take control of an officer from one of the legendary dynasties, or other forces once unlocked, and your goal is to completely dominate China. You, along with a few of your officer friends, will dominate all of China. Ever heard the proverb, “a warrior worth a thousand?” That would be you.

If there is one thing DW4 does well, it’s continuous, glorified, and gratuitous violence. Do not be fooled, because that’s all this game is. Yes, there are cut scenes in between chapters, and yes you can gawk at some of the graphics presented in these cinemas, but that isn’t the focus. Those are just tidbits, tithing you over to the real meal. It isn’t uncommon to kill 300 men in one level, and I myself have managed 1500+ (thank you Nanman)! Doing well in the game relies heavily upon technique, and knowing your character. Since you have roughly 42 to choose from, not to mention the officers you might create, it is a vast undertaking. It is very worthwhile though.

Smiting puny mortals never felt so good.

Ok, so maybe your character is mortal too, but when you’ve already taken thousands of lives, what does it matter? You might as well let that ego swell a bit. This is where DW4 shines: its gameplay is superb. At first you will think the game is nothing more than a button masher. It can be, but then you’re missing out on a lot. On top of that, you’re making things much harder than they should be. The true strategy is in knowing where to be as well as how to most effectively dispatch your foes. Should you combo one sword slash before charging, or maybe go up to your max with 8, then charge for the final 9? It’s all about timing, and thinking on the run. Yes, you could just mash the attack button endlessly, but the enemy officers will soon start to block and combo your pathetic butt. That’s when the nasty “Game Over” screen pops up.

As I previously mentioned, you can learn the combos and control, but that will only work for one character. Most play entirely different from one another, as there are lots of different weapons, and even more differing styles within each weapon. Liu Bei and Xiahou Dun both use swords, but that’s the only similarity… except that and both names are harder to say than many will realize. There is lots of adversity here, and this just makes the replay that much better. Unlike the previous games, you don’t get a musou mode for every character. You get one per kingdom/group. This works pretty well, though, because then the casual gamer won’t have to worry about endless repetition due to the need to beat every officer’s solo adventure. This also allows you to change officers mid-campaign, which gives you a bit more strategy. One person might be better at different things, faster, or stronger for example. All in all, it makes the game very entertaining, and you’re able to put in just as much effort and time as you want to.

What makes the game a bit easier is the fact that the music never really distracts you. Both good and bad, it also means the music will absolutely not impress anyone. It fits in nicely as background, which can easily be ignored (and likely will be). The main highlight to the game’s sound comes when the multiple verbal messages are sent out. Though frequently delayed, it is always good to hear yourself proclaim, “I have taken out an officer!” Both the cheers from your adoring fans and the praise from your current leader as you slay multiples of 50 men will always lift your spirits. The dubs during cinema sequences are questionable, and some of the character voices seem out of place, but overall the sound is ok. It’s not great, but with gameplay this good, spectacular sound isn’t needed.

A few minor problems plague the game, thus becoming major.

Though the graphics are visually stunning, and there are times when I had no doubt there were easily 30 fighters on the screen at once, this all comes at a price. Slowdown, the scourge of gamers everywhere, plagues this game. The worst part is that it appears just when you want it the least – when you’re surrounded by more foes than you can handle. Of course you could just whip out a musou attack and kill as many of the poor saps as you can, and this will eventually deplete the number of bodies on screen, speeding the game back to normal again. This takes time, however, and the fact that it happens at all is, at best, discouraging. In fact, the lagging feeling is the only strike against the gameplay at all, but it hurts tremendously.

In addition to the slowdown, the game utilizes a very Pokemon-esque item collection system. However, unlike the aforementioned game, it relies much more heavily on luck than skill. You can maximize your chances by repeating harder levels, or raising the difficulty level, but in the end it all comes down to luck. You might end up with an item you already have, which is very likely. You might end up with an item of lower level than what you have, which is also very likely. You WILL play through multiple levels just trying to find secret items, or hidden items, or extra weapons, but I suppose this is all part of the ‘addictive nature.’ The next time might be the one where you get that level 4 Vorpal Orb! It likely won’t be though.

Frustration aside, the item system is beautifully implemented. Your equipment slots increase with your character’s abilities, and their weapons now max at level 9. It takes extra effort, and very specific knowledge of exactly what you’re doing (read: consulting a FAQ) to find the elusive, ultimate weapons. This just throws further fuel on the fires, and as the addiction takes hold, the urge to play will be more and more driven by the need for completion. The action, which is awesome, begins to take a back seat. This is when the replay value suffers.

After a while, you become utterly bored with the missions. Don’t get me wrong, there are lots of them, and they’re all challenging in their own right, but I will only assault Lu Bu’s castle so many times before I get tired of it. In fact, after the countless tries (in which I got my ass kicked) it took just to beat that level, I think I was tired of it. The rest aren’t quite so bad, but they all begin to feel the same after long enough. Varying characters will help, and trying different missions from different forces’ perspectives will help, but it still gets old. You can exhaust the original modes (Musou and Free) and begin the bonuses, such as Versus and the Challenges, but even those rely heavily on the same formula. Hack countless things, break lots of bodies, and with minimal effort exerted, smite the weak. It still gets old, but probably not until you’re months in.

Enter the creation systems! These are always some of my absolute favorite aspects to many games. As with your typical sports sim, you’re allowed to create your own player. As if that weren’t enough, you can also edit your own bodyguards a la DW3:XL. All of a sudden your repetitive levels have a whole new meaning, because you are personally the one waxing hundreds of men with ease. Though the creative choices are rather limited, you can unlock more as your roster of playable characters expands. It really adds just the right amount of personalizing to the game to keep almost anyone wanting more.

There is much more to this game than just a hack-and-slasher, but many will never get that far. The histories are all there, and though they have been embellished slightly to make things more appealing (women on the battlefield… and skimpily dressed?), it all flows together to make the experience fulfilling. You have the option to hook up another controller and bring a friend with you (or against you), should you so desire, but this also splits the screen in half, and many more of your foes mysteriously vanish, just to reappear after you kill enough others to let the processor work. If you can get past the flaws, you’ll discover a very rich game just starving to be explored. You also might learn to pronounce a few names, or not.

Gameplay: 8/10
Graphics: 9/10
Sound: 6/10
Replay: 8/10
Multiplayer: 8/10

Overall: 8/10

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 05/19/03, Updated 05/19/03