Samurai Warriors

"Nothing groundbreaking, but still a nice tweak"

Well, when I first heard about this title it invoked very little, if any, interest from me. After playing hours upon hours of Dynasty Warriors 3 and 4, I had comfortably nested myself in Chinese history. I could really care less about historical Japanese figures beating the crud out of one another super human style, after all I'd seen the Chinese do it just fine. Well after unlocking all of the characters and having experienced a face full of what Samurai Warriors (Sengoku Musou) is capable of, I must say I didn't give this one a fair shot!

Story: N/A
This is all based off of history and on those grounds I really don't feel obliged nor capable of giving the game a fair rating in this category. Now don't get me wrong, this game is most definitely not line-by-line exactly like the history it was so fondly based off of. If so, then riddle me this Batman: why the hell is Nobunaga's kid sister Oichi running around killing enemy soldiers by the hundreds with a child's toy? Despite it's straying from actual history here and there, it is definitely interesting to see the various ‘what if' stories.

Graphics: 9/10
Graphics are completely pushing the PS2 to its limits, more than ever when you have well over two-dozen, well-rendered soldiers on screen at once. My only complaint with the game is how dark and gritty it looks. This isn't necessarily a bad thing (if it isn't for you, then add +1 to this score) but it'd be nice if they'd change up the overall look of the levels and maybe have at least a few colorful ones. Aside from the atmosphere, all of the character models look absolutely awesome and are well polished with great skins and textures.

Music / Sound: 7/10
(Music) Seven out of ten, why? Well, this is because I'm a horrible, horrible man who is very biased. I loved the rock / metal music in Dynasty Warriors 3 and 4 and that's exactly what I was hoping for in this one. Sadly it's almost entirely absent, there's maybe one or two tracks that have a slight hint of the old, hardcore style of music the series used to have, but other than that its all very… Technoey for lack of a better word. It's not entirely terrible, but it's not the greatest thing in the world. The music though definitely hits a more serious note and helps deliver the darker feel of this game that graphics try so hard to achieve.
(Voices) The game is dubbed in both English and, for the delight of purist, Japanese (something that many people sorely missed in DW4). I honestly have no qualm with English dubbing and rather enjoy it over the original Japanese in most cases. In this game I'm no different. There is only one character's voice that bothers me, and that would be Kunoichi. Here's the thing though, both her Japanese and English actress are equally crummy and make me said.
(Sound) It gets the job done, ‘nuff said

Gameplay: 8/10
Well, the key gameplay elements of the Dynasty Warriors series has been left intact but many things have been changed, tweaked, or added. The weapon system has reverted back to the old DW3 style where you collect new weapons rather than level them up as you defeat enemy officers. Meh, nothing wrong with this though personally I had grown rather fond of the leveling system. It was very sad to see it go.
The Musou Mode or Campaign Mode has also reverted back to the old DW3 style where each character goes through five or more preset stages. This has been tweaked with the addition of missions, which typically have you running around the map doing various jobs i.e. finding a hidden path, protecting someone, killing someone, etc. Depending on how many of these missions you accomplish (or fail) will cause your game to branch off into different storylines. Definitely adds to the reply value and definitely a plus. Something else that adds replay value (assuming you like it) is the new castle system. After a mission you'll invade a randomly generated castle by yourself for some reason or other and fight your way to the top dodging traps along the way. To most people this is just a pain in the arse, but to others I guess it's a fun diversion.
Probably one of the biggest and surprising tweak to the tried and true DW engine would be the new leveling system. After the battle you'll be evaluated on your time, kills, musou kills, ranking etc. Depending on your rank in each category you will receive an increase in your character's stats (Health, Musou [special], Defense, Attack). The old power up system was getting old I suppose. This one certainly does just dandy as a replacement though.
The last thing I'll talk about is the new CAW (Create a Warrior) system. Unlike the old one, you're given no options to change their appearance other than to choose a different character model. Once you've selected the model you like and named them, you now train them and attempt to raise their stats accordingly so that they can be accepted as true warrior. If you do well in the time you're given then your character will pass and you're free to use them in the Musou and Free modes. It's considerably stiffer than the original DW4 system, but you're given more control as to what they're strong points are.
Probably the most welcome change is the presentation of characters. Though the game's line up has only fifteen characters (compared to DW's 42), each one is their own person and doesn't need to borrow from another character's repertoire of attacks (Huang Zhong and Xiahou Yuan come to mind) and has their own cosmetic sense of style. Adding to this uniqueness you can customize each character however you want with the skill points you earn after battles. By investing skill points into the different skills you can set them up however you'd like. Want the cute little girl to be slow and powerful? Do it! Want the fat guy to be quick? Go ahead! A very nice touch on the part of KOEI.

Overall: 8/10
Samurai Warriors isn't anything new or groundbreaking but its definitely a nice tweak on the same ol' same ol'. Very hardcore (or rather conservative) Dynasty Warrior fans may not enjoy the game, but it's a good way to get into this line of games for the newcomers or a breath of fresh air for the average DW fan. Judging by all the work and tiny little changes placed into this game, you can easily tell that KOEI is trying its best to make each game they make with this engine different from the last. With all of its replay value and hundreds of levels it's both a good buy and rent, though I whole-heartedly suggest a buy.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 05/10/04