Samurai Warriors

"Japan rumble!"

Most of us would consider this game as another Dynasty Warriors series. However, I disagree. Why? Read on to find out.

Graphics: 8/10
Ok the graphics are not very well done in this game. I myself was also surprised that Koei, who is a graphic genius, did badly in terms of graphics for this game. However, the Musou, which is terrific when unleashed patches up for the graphics to give a 8.

Story: 9/10
There isn't much of a story, like most hack n slash game. However, this is one part that really makes the game worth playing over and over again. There are a lot of characters and each of them have their own story and stages, which separates it from Dynasty Warrior.

Gameplay: 9/10
The gameplay for this hack n slash game is much different from Dynasty Warriors. In Dynasty Warrior, the game's musou charges up soo quickly and they are soo powerful. However, in Samurai Warriors, musou comes once in a while and they aren't that powerful as they seem. This adds a difficultly level to it. In Samurai Warriors. You can also ride on horses, unleash musou while on them or do a stampede. In story mode, you basically use a character and you follow the instructions around and accomplish the mission. Some of them would be like escorting your warlord, ambushing a certain place, lay siege to a certain castle etc. There is also a Create A Warrior Mode. This one is one interesting area. You create a warrior and after that, you will have 12 months to train. Each training session is 1 month and each rest is also a month. Then, you will have to choose a warlord to server under after the 12 months. Each warlord will test you on 2 skills. Choose the warlord who possess the skills you are best at and serve under him. Your stats will increase after a session of training. Now I will move on to the after mission part. After each mission, you will achieve points. These points are used to so called "buy" skills. For example, you can use the points to learn skills like Torrent, Frenzy etc. Also, arrows from archers can be deflected back at them and there are more unique enemies like the fat Strike Ninja, the fast and furious Wind Ninja, the deadly accurate Musketeers etc. This game may lack in characters as they only have 15 but do not turn away from this game as I promise you this will be much more fun than Dynasty Warrior which has a good 42 characters but more or less a clone of each other, whereas Samurai Warriors has 15 characters each with their own unique method of fighting.

Audio: 8/10
The audio as I expected, wouldn't get any good. A few good pieces of music, played at the correct time.

Replay Value: 10/10
The only section I give a 10/10. Like I mentioned, 15 characters each with their own unique methods of fighting and different storyline makes the game really intense and fun. There are a few characters with a double route, meaning if you do different things in that mission, you get a new story. Very fun and lots of replay value.

Overall: 8/10
Overall the game is pretty neat, and fun. It is a must-buy if you are a fan of hack n slash series type of game. Rent it if you feel hack n slash isn't your type.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 10/19/04