IT’S ONE OF THOSE.
I have no past experience with the non-licensed musou games so the first thing I did was look up the core concept behind this series. Apparently Dynasty Warriors is loosely based upon Chinese history. Samurai Warriors is loosely based upon Japanese history. Warriors Orochi takes characters from both series through space and time, throws them into a fantastical world made by the Serpent King Orochi (I don’t know who that is, he’s dead by the time this game comes around) and decides to have them fight to test their might. In what could have been an interesting look at the tumultuous relationship between China and Japan throughout history it is instead a dumb excuse to have characters who all wear ornate armor to fight against and alongside each other.
Warriors Orochi 4 is the fourth one of these and has Zeus (the Greek god) summoning a bunch of Chinese and Japanese warriors (because that makes sense) back to the world Orochi built because… reasons. Best part is that NO ONE REMEMBERS THE PAST OROCHI GAMES. Basically it’s Groundhog Day and no one is Bill Murray. Everyone has forgotten past events in Orochi’s world and are once again introducing themselves to one another, surprised at the events transpiring as they all were just going along their day until a mysterious fog appeared. This is terrible writing and a lame excuse to recycle the same ideas. Apparently this time though Nobunaga has become the main enemy for the united heroes, or at least I think that’s new to Orochi 4. I don’t care either way though.
PLATFORMS: XB1, PS4, PC, SWITCH
MSRP: $59.99
PRICE I’D PAY: $14.99
Fun fact, the reason I’m not sure is that everyone speaks Japanese. Not only do the heroes magically understand each other (despite definitely not speaking the same language), but the Chinese warriors and Greek gods all speak Japanese which is jarring. Every bit of dialog is fully voiced but since I don’t speak Japanese I can’t say it’s good acting or that it is at all helpful or engaging. During gameplay, dialog is consistently being exchanged but since I’m focused on gameplay I can’t read the subtitles that are featured to the left of the screen, I have no idea what is going on. Every static image dialog exchange with its mediocre dialog is less engaging than the gameplay (which I will be getting to). Past titles from the Warriors series of games have featured English dialog that is usually terrible, but there is a sense of charm to it. Without that this game lacks nearly all appeal.
Gameplay is remedial. I wish I could say that all the systems that this game has made it anything more than just mashing the same buttons as I plow through hordes of identical looking enemies, but they don’t. There’s a musou gauge, a magic gauge, special full team attack gauge, and health bars not to mention a mini map and a consistent text box among a clutter of other useless info. Characters come in three types: power, technique, and speed. Dynasty Warriors and Warriors Orochi characters have slight mechanical differences to the Samurai Warriors characters. The nuance between them is noticeable as the timing of wailing on the same button has to change slightly. Weapons can be upgraded as well as heroes themselves all to benefit an arbitrary grind to level up characters by mashing buttons.
Am I clear that this game involves mashing buttons? No amount of window dressing mechanics can change the fact that the core mechanics of this game are of the simplest caliber. Warriors Orochi 4 consistently waves things in front of my face to imply that there’s something deeper to be found in this game, but there isn’t.
I will concede that the fact that there are 170 playable characters is neat, and most of them use unique move sets. There’s also bonuses to be had for owners of Warriors Orochi 3 and Dynasty Warriors 9 apparently as upon startup it searched for data from those titles. Music is this weird high energy fusion of symphonic music, butt rock, and techno which sets the mood well. Local co-op might be fun, I wouldn’t know though because I didn’t try it but the fact that it is there is appreciated. I enjoy switching between three characters on the fly to chain combos and heal hurt characters, but I’m disappointed that given the fact that the world of Warriors Orochi is completely fictional that enemies are still generally just a generic person with a weapon instead of monsters based upon Japanese, Chinese, or Greek mythology. This game could have done both simultaneously more and less.
It is 2018. Omega Force needs to stop cannibalizing their market with all these button mashers. It seems like every few months there’s another bloody button mashing title from the people who brought you Dynasty Warriors and who have milked that formula for the last 18 years. Sure, each new title adds something to the formula, but the main gameplay comes down to mashing buttons to destroy large hordes of enemies. In fact, this year alone Omega Force put out Dynasty Warriors 9, Attack on Titan 2, and reissued Hyrule Warriors. That makes Warriors Orochi 4 not only the fourth title in the Warriors Orochi series, but the fourth title Omega Force has put out this year, and it lacks the licensing of Attack on Titan or The Legend of Zelda or the open world of Dynasty Warriors 9. Last year in the US, Omega Force put out Fire Emblem Warriors, Warriors All-Stars, Berserk and the Band of the Hawk, and reissued Warriors Orochi 3 and Samurai Warriors: Spirit of Sanada. I don’t know why this would be the Omega Force title anyone would pick up.
I enjoy the occasional mindless title. Earth Defense Force is my go to. What keeps Earth Defense Force fresh is that there aren’t multiple Earth Defense Force games out every year. At one point the Omega Force style of gameplay was charming, but they have milked that formula dry. It’s time to smarten up and stop flooding the market with the same game and don’t insist that this title is worth the same amount as big name titles like Spider-Man, Tomb Raider, God of War, Forza Horizon 4, etc. That is absurd. This is the same issue the LEGO titles have. Nearly every title from this company feels the same for the most part and that is a genuine problem with how many games they put out.
Only the hardest of hardcore Warriors fans should even look at this title. Otherwise, there’s better games of this type from the exact same people.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
