This crossover offers the more of the same, but it should be more than enough to please fans of both games.
- More of the same, satisfying and sometimes highly addictive gameplay
- Over 70 characters from both Dynasty and Samurai Warriors series
- Forming a party of three characters is a new good idea
Negative
- Gameplay retains most of the problems from before
- Almost zero content outside the story mode
- Looks awful
Did you ever want to see Dynasty Warriors meets Samurai Warriors meets evil serpent overlord? Warriors Orochi is just that; a pure fan service game filled with the same tired and addictive gameplay the series is known for with bland visuals and bad voice acting, but this time with over 70 characters from both series to back it up.
What would have if an evil serpent overlord descended from the heavens and creates a rift in time and space to bring together warriors from the Three Kingdoms era of China and the Warring States period of Japan to test their might? You would get Warriors Orochi. A pure fan service game that unites Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors together. This great concept is fan service galore. The following stories may not be as much. There is no storyline for each of the 79 characters present, but there are four main, slightly related storylines consisting of SW, WEI, SHU, and WU. Each story stars three characters initially but as you move on you'll convince other legendary warriors to join you to fight Orochi, therefore unlocking them in free play mode and that story. Other characters have to be convinced in that story to play as, so you can't play with those you have unlocked in other stories. The story mode consists of multiple stages and a decent half-baked storyline. The stories aren't bad, and sometimes are amusing especially seeing familiar looking characters one from China (Zhao Yun) and from Japan (Sanada Yukimura). These are obviously completely unrelated to what really happened, so Koei decided to mess with them quite a bit. Different forces will join each other to save their comrades and such. Unlockable characters can be unlocked from, but not all in the same manner. Some are unlocked by rescuing them and then they join forces with you. Others require a special objective to unlock. Most disappointing there are no alternative modes aside from the story mode and free play. Some of the stories make some commanders way too kind hearted and easy going. Oda Nobunaga is a victim of that.
What never changes in Koei's gameplay is the gameplay itself. First of all you played this game before, or at the very least something very similar. Combat still consists picking a character, in this case you get to choose any three warriors you have unlocked or initial characters and use any you want in free play mode. It is still repetitive, tiresome, and sometimes with bad camera angles. When you use a character from Dynasty Warriors it feels like you are playing Dynasty Warriors. If you are using a Samurai Warriors character you feel like you are playing Samurai Warriors. As simple as that. The enemies are repetitive and there will be waves and hordes of enemies to kill. They are still as weak and mindless as ever before, with only high ranking officers provide more fight but only enemies such as Lu Bu, Da Ji and Orochi himself will make you say 'Oh No!". There are four difficulties to choose from so there is no shortage of difficulty and challenge in the game. Still slashing your way through enemies is satisfying and addictive, especially if you like these kinds of things.
At first characters you use will usually have only four consecutive attacks, a short health bar and not so stronger. As you use them more and more often, and since you can choose three characters at once and switch between them in battle, you will earn experience by defeating enemies and enemy officers. Each warriors fights very differently from one another, so it may be difficult to pick a favorite warriors, but there is be more warrior's styles to dislike than like. The great part of the game is the character growth. Character growth always you to increase a character's experience, even if you haven't used that character once. In the story mode it is almost a must to increase their growth. For example if you use a level 1 character in stage 6, you will have much more trouble dealing with high ranking officers. Of course characters will gain new, more powerful weapons as you fight tougher stages. You have to unlock stages from the story mode to use them in the free play mode, possibly making the story mode a must as well and there is nothing else to back it up. There is a co-op mode letting you team up with a friend and play in split-screen. Some hard missions are generally eased with this idea. It may be uncomfortable having to share a keyboard. And worst of all the drawn distance is horrendous but this only happens in co-op mode. The mission design still forces you to protect comrades and defeat the highest enemy ranking officer. Freedom is minimal unless the defeat condition consists of your defeat. There are some infuriating missions; one such demand you to protect to allies, and when they separate you can obviously keep up with one. No matter who you assist, you'll still lose.
Koei at least changed the presentation. The menus are very different, despite being empty but still look good. Somehow there are no slowdowns which were present in the PC version of Samurai Warriors 2 making the game ultra-fast and all the more playable. The portrait characters in cutscenes aren't very appealing. The graphics are nothing to speak of; in fact they are bland and ugly. The environments are awful. The camera is still a pain and can easily make you lose sight of allied or enemy officers. Warriors are recognizable at least with over 70 characters to see, if you can unlock them all. The music doesn't fare much better. Some characters have new voice actors and some characters like Keiji Maeda and Hideyoshi sound almost horrific. The music is cheesy and merely decent but it's not so catchy this time around. Sound effects are still the same, boring and repetitive.
If you are a fan and like both Dynasty and Samurai Warriors, Warriors Orochi calls for you. It is pure fan service, joyful more of the same gameplay, still with ugly graphics and passable music. There is nothing special about it though, so none fans have to reason to stop here. But for fans this spin-off should be one of those games they must to least take a look.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Graphics = 3.8
The environments are still bad but the warriors are recognizable. Enemy design is still repetitive.
Sound = 6.2
Some bad voice acting for some characters, sound effects didn't change at all and the soundtrack is pretty mediocre. It's catchy though.
Presentation = 5.5
Menu design changed considerably. The camera can still be a royal pain, but it's still playable. There are no slowdowns and the controls work well for a PC game. Needs more cinematics and cutscenes.
Gameplay = 7.5
The same, ultra-repetitive gameplay Koei is famous for. But this fan service game offers over 70 characters from both Dynasty and Samurai Warriors. Character growth, weapons and difference between characters is a nice touch.
Story = 7.0
Love the concept and the stories pass. Total lack of modes doesn't help at all.
OVERALL = 62 / 100
This crossover offers the more of the same, but it should be more than enough to please fans of Dynasty and Samurai Warriors.