Review – Dynasty Warriors: Origins

With , Omega Force and Koei Tecmo mark the return of the franchise, promising to use the full potential of the new generation to provide a totally new experience, reaching levels of grandeur that we have not seen in any previous game of the genre.

Here everything seems to be superior, with better visual quality, more enemies, larger areas, more frantic combat, many weapon and strike options, more gameplay mechanics, and a more interesting story. The efforts exist and are noticeable from the beginning of the game, delivering an excellent musou title that promises to please both old fans and the curious on duty who decide to embark on a journey through Ancient China.

Renewal in the history of the Three Kingdoms

Starting just before the Yellow Turban rebellion, this time we follow the story of this chaotic period of the Han Dynasty from the perspective of Ziluan, a wanderer who suffers from amnesia and proves to be an impeccable martial artist. As the chapters progress, for more than 20 hours (if you don’t get lost in the secondary missions like I did), we discover more about the protagonist, his connection with the Guardians of Peace and the origin of his powers, while facing political conflicts .

The first change is in the way the developers managed to work with a new perspective on familiar events, but with a new approach and a more rhythmic narrative construction through a more accessible plot, especially for Westerners. Little by little we get to know the main names in this story such as, for example, the famous Liu Bei, Cao Cao and Sun Jian, the companions Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, in addition to the trio linked to the forces of each general. The game also adds Zhuhe, Yuanhua and a mysterious figure with ties to Ziluan, as well as Zhang Jiao, the leader of the Yellow Turbans, and other “dodgy” figures such as Lu Bu, Dong Zhuo and Diaochan.

All these names appear, always accompanied by their colors to facilitate assimilation, and form part of the chapters, in a structure that depends on your choices about supporting the Shu, Wu or Wei factions, going from the more classic narrative style to something more new. This will mean, from one of the important points in the story, that your choices will reverberate in different endings. The weight of choice appears from the beginning, even without critical changes, due to the options in dialogue responses throughout the story. However, the importance of this association is clear due to the friendships and alliances throughout the game.

To accompany this new proposal, Omega Force put a lot of effort into delivering an exquisite look. And he did it! Dynasty Warriors: Origins is full of beautiful scenes, whether due to the character models or wonderful landscapes. In sequences during the game, the battlefields are larger and with more details, especially in terms of lighting, no longer always the same style of location to mix different biomes during the same mission.

The massive number of soldiers and the increase in the number of stronger enemies for you to face on the battlefield are impressive. The leaders of each force will be accompanied by their generals, not counting conflict missions with bosses or quick missions against some officers or bandits. Unlike previous games, where all the missions were very similar and had long matches, Omega Force managed to balance the quick encounters, which allow you to grind to improve your level and gain new skills in five skill trees, with the complexity of the main combats, with different victory and defeat conditions, several characters as companions and a lot of war strategy.

War is no place for anyone

The new features, especially for those who, like me, are returning to the franchise after many years, are interesting additions to break the monotony and repetition of eliminating hordes of enemies, which easily reach two thousand defeated soldiers. In addition to having many weapons, such as swords, spears, gauntlets and typical Chinese blades, you can use your horse, choose a companion to assist Ziluan, and use tactics to command your allies in an attempt to take enemy bases, contain the advance of the forces enemies and even cause a “Dramatic Success” or launch a “Large Force”, increasing the morale of your army to emerge victorious in even the most difficult situations.

The special conditions during combat to cause an attack on enemies’ morale are quite interesting and the inclusion of Phantom Reign’s mysterious forces also adds more challenge. After all, they will require Ziluan to use his Eyes of the Sacred Bird ability, as he is a Guardian of Peace, to identify the incense flowing through the hearts of men at war and destroying the source of all evil, and only then manage to defeat enemies. This new mechanic requires attention not to move away from the battlefield, leaving your fellow soldiers without support and causing a defeat condition with someone retreating.

Speaking of strategy, Dynasty Warriors: Origins was concerned with keeping tactics simple while adding Grand Tactics, which when activated cause a massive mobilization of the army depending on their morale and the combat area. This can also influence orders to destroy a structure or invade a location. The same happens, in a calmer way, on the world map where you need to move between missions, being able to start several secondary missions and collect items to craft accessories, being another strategic level when customizing your character, with weapons, arts, accessories and skills.

The controls are fluid and responsive, even in times of despair due to not being able to understand what is happening or see your character due to the excess of enemies in the same location. The attack combinations flow like a ballet and the Arts execute incredible blows that, in addition to defeating dozens of enemies, cause a lot of damage to generals and main enemies. The developers have resumed parrying, which can be done with your defense or even with an art, in addition to dodging, with both being able to be executed during a sequence of blows, as we saw in the distant Dynasty Warriors 3.

To pace the main fights during the war phases, generals, leaders and bosses have a fortitude bar that needs to be reduced by increasing their bravery when executing a parry and perfect defense. This mechanic causes a break in the opposing character to encourage the player not to mash the buttons without thinking, including maintaining the assault attack so you can finish a sequence or fallen enemy. With your R3 and L3 you can also launch a Musou Attack, a type of special attack, with incredible animation and devastating blows.

In Dynasty Warriors: Origins, 1-on-1,000 combat has never been as fun as in this title. The strategic depth, from combat against generals and bosses to commands to mobilize your army, is a delight for those looking for a good dose of challenge. Even though its base is hack and slash, the developers added an interesting story that works on the narrative construction in a very competent way, as well as accompanying the visuals to brighten the entire journey through Ancient China and brilliantly recreating the events related to the Three Kingdoms.

Prepare your fingers, warm up your neurons and choose your faction to defend your favorite leader, discovering more about Ziluan and the Guardians of Peace, while embarking on the best musou ever released to date, as well as being an excellent gateway to the Dynasty franchise Warriors.