Dynasty Warriors (1997 video game)

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Dynasty Warriors
Dynastry Warriors cover.jpg
North American cover art
Developer(s) Omega Force
Publisher(s) Koei
Series Dynasty Warriors
Platform(s) PlayStation
Release
  • JP: February 28, 1997
  • NA: June 27, 1997 [1]
  • PAL: December 1998
Genre(s) Fighting
Mode(s) Single player, two player

Dynasty Warriors [a] is a fighting video game developed by Omega Force [2] and published by Koei for the PlayStation. It is a "one-on-one" fighting game, preceding the hack and slash format of later games in the series.

Contents

Contemporary gaming journalists noted Dynasty Warriors for being a startling departure from the strategy games that Koei was known for. [3] [4] Upon release, it was greeted as a success in this regard by most critics.

Gameplay

All combat is weapon-based, similar to the Samurai Shodown , The Last Blade , and Soulcalibur series. [5] Rather than having a single all-purpose block button, as in most fighting games, the player must parry the enemy's strikes by executing their own attack at the same height with the correct timing, leaving the enemy vulnerable to attack. [5] The stages are in Dawn, Noon, and Dusk.

Name and series

In Japan, the game was released as Sangokumusou. With the next installment in the series a departure in genre and style from the original Dynasty Warriors, it was entitled Shin Sangokumusou in Japan. Nevertheless, in Europe and North America, the game was released as Dynasty Warriors 2, leading to a discrepancy in title numbers that has continued ever since.

Characters

The game features 16 playable characters, six of whom are unlockable. These characters are mainly historical figures from the Three Kingdoms era of China, [4] though two characters, Nobunaga and Toukichi, are figures from the Warring States period of Japan; this is their only appearance in Dynasty Warriors, but they do appear prominently in the Samurai Warriors spin-off series. The characters are not grouped into factions, as each have individual slots similar to most fighting games; for convenience, characters are listed according to the factions they are accorded to in later games.

Shu Wei Wu Other
Guan Yu Cao Cao Lu Xun Diao Chan
Zhang Fei Dian Wei Sun Shang Xiang Lü Bu
Zhao Yun Xiahou Dun Taishi Ci Nobunaga
Zhuge Liang Xu Chu Zhou Yu Toukichi

Bold denotes default characters.

Development

Dynasty Warriors was first unveiled at the November 1996 PlayStation Expo, shocking attendees familiar with Koei's track record of historical simulation video games. [2] The character's animations were all created using motion capture. [4]

Reception

Dynasty Warriors was met with positive reception upon release. GameRankings gave it a score of 78% based on 7 reviews. [6] It was called "a fluid, masterful fighter... a breath of fresh air in a world of repetitive, eye-candied wannabes" by Game Informer [10] and "an intriguing mix of Tekken -like polygonal fighters, a difficult but ultimately rewarding defense system, and a deep and complex backstory based on actual, historic figures" by Next Generation . [3] Most critics said it was roughly on par with its nearest competitor, Soul Blade , [9] [10] [12] [3] though GamePro held that Soul Blade was clearly superior, elaborating that "the glaring lack of kick attacks cuts the fun in half." [16]

Critics widely remarked that the translation of the historical setting into a fighting game was surprisingly successful, offering players an experience that is painstakingly authentic and even educational. [9] [10] [12] [3] Most also found the defensive system difficult to master but highly rewarding. [9] [10] [12] [3] Crispin Boyer remarked in Electronic Gaming Monthly that "Dynasty Warriors lets those who like and those who dislike block buttons beat each other up in peace and harmony." [9]

The visual were also well-regarded, particularly the detail in the characters [9] [12] [16] and the smoothness of the animation. [9] [10] [16] However, many criticized the static, two-dimensional backgrounds, [9] [12] [3] though Next Generation appended that they were most likely a necessary trade-off for the smoothness of the frame rate. [3]

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Dynasty Warriors 3 is a hack and slash video game developed by Omega Force and published by Koei for the PlayStation 2. It is the third installment in the Dynasty Warriors series in North America and the second in the Shin Sangokumusou series in Japan; it was also the first installment in the series to be released for the Xbox. THQ distributed the game in Europe.

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<i>Dynasty Warriors Online</i> 2006 video game

Dynasty Warriors Online, known as Shin Sangoku Musou Online in Japan, was a massively-multiplayer online game originally released for Microsoft Windows in Japan in 2006, and for PlayStation 3 on February 18, 2010. The game belongs to Tecmo Koei's Dynasty Warriors video game series, as well as the larger Romance of the Three Kingdoms meta series, which is based on the Great Classical Novel of the same name.

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Dynasty Warriors Advance is a 2005 hack and slash video game developed by Omega Force and published by Koei for the Game Boy Advance. A spin-off of the Dynasty Warriors series, it was published outside Japan by Nintendo. It is the only installment in the series to be released for the Game Boy Advance as well as the first to not be released on a PlayStation console.

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<i>Dynasty Warriors 6</i> 2007 video game

Dynasty Warriors 6 is a hack and slash video game developed by Omega Force and published by Koei for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It is the sixth installment in the Dynasty Warriors series. A version of the game was bundled with the 40GB PlayStation 3 in Japan. Dynasty Warriors 6 was also released for Microsoft Windows in July 2008. A version for PlayStation 2 was in 2008, making it the last installment of the series to be released on the console; it is also the first installment to not be released on the Xbox. An expansion, titled Dynasty Warriors 6: Empires was unveiled at the 2008 Tokyo Game Show and released in May 2009.

<i>Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce</i> 2009 video game

Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce, originally released in Japan as Shin Sangokumusou Multi Raid, is a hack and slash video game for the PlayStation Portable. It is based on Dynasty Warriors 6. It was released in February 2009 in Japan and Q2 2009 in North America, Europe, and Australia. A console release of the game for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 was released in Japan on October 1, 2009. American and European versions followed in February 2010. Its sequel, Shin Sangokumusou Multi Raid 2, was released in Japan on March 11, 2010 for the PlayStation Portable, and on July 26, 2012 for PlayStation 3.

<i>Dynasty Warriors 7</i> 2011 video game

Dynasty Warriors 7 is a hack and slash video game developed by Omega Force and published by Tecmo Koei. It is the seventh installment of the Dynasty Warriors series and the first to be released after original publisher Koei merged with Tecmo. The story is based on the 14th-century Chinese historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The game was unveiled at the 2010 Tokyo Game Show. On 26 October, it was revealed at the Koei Press Conference to have improved graphics and gameplay, with the support of stereoscopic 3D. It was released in 2011 after news that it has been delayed and was released on both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Tecmo Koei Japan had released Dynasty Warriors 7 with Xtreme Legends, along with downloadable content up to October 2011 released on PlayStation 3 version, on Microsoft Windows. It was later released worldwide in December 2018 via Steam as Dynasty Warriors 7: Xtreme Legends Definitive Edition.

<i>Dynasty Warriors 8</i> 2013 video game

Dynasty Warriors 8 is a 2013 hack and slash video game developed by Omega Force and published by Tecmo Koei for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It is the eighth installment of the Dynasty Warriors series. Having more than 82 characters featured in the game, the game largely based its system on Dynasty Warriors 7 and focused on adding more content for replayability while also making several tweaks to the combat system.

<i>Dynasty Warriors Next</i> 2011 video game

Dynasty Warriors Next is a hack and slash video game developed by Omega Force and published by Tecmo Koei for the PlayStation Vita. A spin-off of the Dynasty Warriors series, it was released as a launch title for the console.

<i>Dynasty Warriors 9</i> 2018 video game

Dynasty Warriors 9 is a 2018 hack and slash video game developed by Omega Force and published by Koei Tecmo. It was released in February 2018 for PlayStation 4, Windows and Xbox One.

References

  1. ↑ "eb world coupons and rebates". July 14, 1997. Archived from the original on July 14, 1997. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
  2. 1 2 "PlayStation Expo: Sony Shows Off in Japan". Next Generation . No. 25. Imagine Media. January 1997. pp. 14–6.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Breaking Away". Next Generation . No. 32. Imagine Media. August 1997. p. 115.
  4. 1 2 3 "Dynasty Warriors: Block Buttons Abound in Koei's First Fighter" (PDF). Electronic Gaming Monthly . No. 94. Ziff Davis. May 1997. p. 104.
  5. 1 2 "NG Alphas: Sangoku Musou". Next Generation . No. 25. Imagine Media. January 1997. pp. 89–90.
  6. 1 2 "Dynasty Warriors for PlayStation". GameRankings . CBS Interactive . Retrieved July 15, 2014.
  7. ↑ Ziegler, Adam. "Dynasty Warriors (PS) - Review". AllGame. Archived from the original on November 16, 2014. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
  8. ↑ "Sangoku Musou". Edge . No. 44. April 1997. p. 87.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Review Crew: Dynasty Warriors" (PDF). Electronic Gaming Monthly . No. 96. Ziff Davis. July 1997. p. 52.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Dynasty Warriors". Game Informer . May 1997. Archived from the original on October 21, 1997. Retrieved July 15, 2014.
  11. ↑ Cooke, Mark (April 1997). "Dynasty Warriors Review". Game Revolution. Archived from the original on June 6, 1997. Retrieved July 15, 2014.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Fielder, Joe (April 1, 1997). "Dynasty Warriors Review (PS)". GameSpot . Retrieved July 15, 2014.
  13. ↑ IGN staff (June 27, 1997). "Dynasty Warriors (PS)". IGN . Retrieved July 15, 2014.
  14. ↑ "Test : Dynasty Warriors". Jeuxvideo.com. March 15, 2012. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
  15. ↑ Jim (November 1997). "Dynasty Warriors". Playstation Plus . No. 26. pp. 95–96. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
  16. 1 2 3 Dr. Zombie (July 1997). "PlayStation ProReview: Dynasty Warriors". GamePro . No. 106. IDG. p. 86. Archived from the original on February 15, 2005. Retrieved July 15, 2014. Full review appears only in printed version.

Notes

  1. ↑ Sangokumusō (Japanese: 三國無双)
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