Dynasty Warriors

"Koei goes off stategy to fighting"

Dynasty Warriors, oh yes, instead of Koei making another strategy game based on China in the Han Dynasty (very chaotic back then, of course), Koei has thought instead of thinking how to win, you should beat up everyone in order to win. But Koei hasn't gone off China, instead, they used the most famous generals back during the Han Dynasty.

Graphics 7/10
Graphics aren't bad... but not realy great either. Each fighter closely resembles the person who lived in real life (Guan Yu and Zhang Fei are great examples). But, the characters are very blocky, they're more "edgy" than "round," meaning that there clothes and hands look more like blocks and seem to look sharper than in real life (Guan Yu's pants, even though they resemble bell bottoms, never move in the wind or anything, and since it's so blocky, his pants seem more like stone). FMVs are pretty impressive, but not as good as earlier games have done before it (like Soul Blade and Tekken 1 and 2).

Controls 9/10
As any fighting game's controls should be, they are fast, easy, and responsive. But some moves can be hard to execute because of control crossing (there is one annoying move where a man named Zhou Yu would slash in the air, but because the same buttons also made you jump, you wouldn't know if you'd jump or if you execute the move).

Plot 9/10
Because of Koei, I started to love Chinese history. And Koei, adding some fictional elements in, has used some real history to add in this plot, which I really liked. Well, if I explain there plots, I would ruin their endings so I won't say anything.

Sound 7/10
Sounds aren't bad, but not good to make you whistle or scream a grunt or two. Music fits every stage perfectly (evil music in Cao Cao's level, an insane, ruthless warlord), but most of the music is not really impressive or actually make you whistle. Sounds are done well though, to Lu Bu's halberd piercing your flesh to Zhang Fei's war cries, everything is done well. Voice actors have nice, well acting voices but what I didn't really understand... why do CHINESE fighters say JAPANESE words?

Gameplay 7/10
Well, gameplay is fast and furious, and their are even some devastation moves to make you very impressed. But, the gameplay is old. The gameplay here has been done nearly the same or better in Soul Blade and the Tekken series before Dynasty Warriors was even made. In short, if you played the games I said before, this will not impress you, maybe even bore you.

In closing, Dynasty Warriors is not a bad game, Koei has done well in making its first fighting game. But, many games older than it has done better, like Soul Blade. If you like Chinese history and fighting games, consider this a rental, there are a few secrets to keep you playing for at least 3 days to a week.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 11/01/99, Updated 11/01/99