Samurai Warriors
Encyclopedia
is the first title in the series of video games created by Koei's Omega Force team based loosely around the Sengoku
("Warring States") period of Japanese history and it is a spinoff of the Dynasty Warriors
series. A port of this game called Samurai Warriors: State of War has been released for the PlayStation Portable
, which includes additional multiplayer features.
and crowd-clearing special moves known as Musou attacks. The variety of attacks available increase as the character increases in level and gains new weapons.
Musou attacks can only be performed when the character's Musou gauge has filled up, which does so gradually when the player inflicts or receives damage. Additionally, if the player is low on health or possess a special skill, they can use their special True Musou attack which causes elemental damage in addition to normal damage as well as adds on a trio of attacks that cleans up the final few enemies in the vicinity. One difference between Samurai Warriors and Dynasty Warriors is the ability to perform free-style combo attacks during Musou attack mode, during which the game enters bullet-time
; common soldiers move very slowly, however officers are unaffected. Other abilities that Samurai characters have over the Dynasty series include the ability to perform a roll to dodge attacks, and deflect incoming arrows with their weapon.
Each of these categories is given a rank (from lowest to highest: E, D, C, B, A, S) depending on the player's performance, and then the player is given an overall rank. The higher the rank and the harder the difficulty setting of the game, the more the player's character attributes will increase. In addition to the growth of the character's stats, Skill Points are also awarded. With these Skill Points the player can buy skills that enhance their character's abilities.
One of the two most significant changes over Dynasty Warriors is the introduction of the mission system in battles. Each stage has a number of different missions which become available depending on which character the player is controlling and the success or failure of previous missions. Such tasks include eliminating specific enemy officers, launching sneak attacks on enemy bases or thwarting the plans of the enemy. Success in these missions can be crucial to the outcome of many battles as failure often results in a massive loss of morale to the player's forces. It will also determine the path that will be carved out for the next stage if there is a split route. However one can choose the path to take if both routes had been opened.
Like items, weapons can also be found in battle. Each character has four different types of weapons they can find. In addition to these base attributes, weapons will also randomly have other attributes attached to them. The value of these bonuses depends on three things: the difficulty level
, the stage the player is on and the ranks the character has in the 'Discern' skill.
In addition to the random weapon drops there are other special fifth weapons to find. Unlike the other weapons, the fifth weapons have set bonuses and attributes. Like the rare items, the player has to play a specific stage and complete a specific task to get a supply team to appear. However, unlike the rare items, in order to get the weapon the game must be on either the Hard or Chaos difficulty level.
Each of the different tests affects different attributes of the character. After the completion of the test the player will be ranked out of a score of 100 points, by getting more points the character's attributes will increase by a greater amount. If the character is defeated during the course of a test, they will automatically fail the test and will have to spend one training session resting.
After twelve test sessions have passed, the character must take a final exam. This exam consists of two training sessions back to back. The player has to score a total of 100 points between these two tests in order to pass the exam. If the player completes the final exam successfully then they will be able to use their gun to rank up.
series, Samurai Warriors combines traditional Japanese instrumentals with techno. The sounds of both Samurai Warriors and Dynasty Warriors are combined in their crossover game, Warriors Orochi
.
expansion disc for Samurai Warriors . While Xtreme Legends can be played alone, it is not possible to use any of the features of the original.
This offers four new characters (Imagawa Yoshimoto
, Hashiba Hideyoshi
, Honda Tadakatsu
and Inahime) and a brand new mission and map. This also offers new weapons, a new survival mode, and fixes several problems.
Even after they reached rank 20 characters could still gain skill points and increase their attributes without having to the reset the character to default. Samurai Warriors Xtreme Legends extended this further, by adding even more powerful sixth weapons to earn. These can only be discovered by playing on Chaos mode (or Hard mode, if the correct bonus is purchased).
Exclusive to Samurai Warriors Xtreme Legends, through the completion of special tasks, the player can earn Bonus Points in order to purchase special features. These features include additional costumes for characters, voice sound tests, lowering the difficulty required to unlock the fifth and sixth weapons and the ability to break the default limits for character's stats. Methods of earning bonus points include the following: earning all of a character's endings, unlocking rare items and weapons and successfully creating new characters.
, Hanzo Hattori
and Keiji Maeda
as playable characters with their own stories using character models from Samurai Warriors. Nōhime
, Masamune Date
and Hideyoshi Toyotomi
are included as normal bosses, while Oda Nobunaga
is a special boss. Other characters who make non-playable appearances are Kunoichi, Shingen Takeda
, Okuni
and Goemon Ishikawa
.
's 2004 Game Awards and received a 34 out of 40 rating from Famitsu
.
The game is met with mixed reviews from Western critics, most reviewers criticize the game's visual and technical similarities to the Dynasty Warriors series as the cause. What earned the most praise was the RPG element added into the game as it deviates from its spiritual predecessor by adding a higher replay value for gamers. The Create a Character mode was received with mixed results. Phantom from Game Planet commented that it is, "well implemented", allowing players to accurately play a character made for them while Alex Navarro from Gamespot
regarded the option as "a nice touch" but "rather tiresome" in the end. The innovations made were still met with criticism for the genre as a whole, Patrick Garratt from EuroGamer
stating, "we’re seriously on the verge of being all warriored out."
The PS2 port holds an average 71% rating at Game Rankings
.
, called Samurai Warriors: State of War, was released in Japan on December 8, 2005 and March 7, 2006 in North America. It has a number of additional multiplayer features.
Sengoku period
The or Warring States period in Japanese history was a time of social upheaval, political intrigue, and nearly constant military conflict that lasted roughly from the middle of the 15th century to the beginning of the 17th century. The name "Sengoku" was adopted by Japanese historians in reference...
("Warring States") period of Japanese history and it is a spinoff of the Dynasty Warriors
Dynasty Warriors
is a series of tactical action video games created by Omega Force and Koei. The award-winning series is a spin-off of Koei's turn-based strategy Romance of the Three Kingdoms series, based loosely around the Chinese classical novel of the same name. The first game titled Dynasty Warriors,...
series. A port of this game called Samurai Warriors: State of War has been released for the PlayStation Portable
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
, which includes additional multiplayer features.
Gameplay
In the basic gameplay of Samurai Warriors, the player takes the role of a single officer in battle and must fend off hordes of enemy soldiers and defeat the enemy commander. The player has at their disposal a range of combo attacksCombo (computer and video games)
In video games, a combo is a term that designates a set of actions performed in sequence, usually with strict timing limitations, that yield a significant benefit or advantage. The 1st combo was done in the Street Fighter II series. The term originates from fighting games where it is based upon...
and crowd-clearing special moves known as Musou attacks. The variety of attacks available increase as the character increases in level and gains new weapons.
Musou attacks can only be performed when the character's Musou gauge has filled up, which does so gradually when the player inflicts or receives damage. Additionally, if the player is low on health or possess a special skill, they can use their special True Musou attack which causes elemental damage in addition to normal damage as well as adds on a trio of attacks that cleans up the final few enemies in the vicinity. One difference between Samurai Warriors and Dynasty Warriors is the ability to perform free-style combo attacks during Musou attack mode, during which the game enters bullet-time
Bullet time
Bullet time is a special and visual effect that refers to a digitally enhanced simulation of variable-speed photography used in films, broadcast advertisements, and video games...
; common soldiers move very slowly, however officers are unaffected. Other abilities that Samurai characters have over the Dynasty series include the ability to perform a roll to dodge attacks, and deflect incoming arrows with their weapon.
Character growth
The other significant change is the way in which characters grow stronger. There is a new ranking system after battles which depends on five categories:- Time in which the battle is won
- Amount of experience earned
- Missions successfully completed in battle
- Number of enemies defeated while using a Musou attack.
- Number of enemies killed in total.
Each of these categories is given a rank (from lowest to highest: E, D, C, B, A, S) depending on the player's performance, and then the player is given an overall rank. The higher the rank and the harder the difficulty setting of the game, the more the player's character attributes will increase. In addition to the growth of the character's stats, Skill Points are also awarded. With these Skill Points the player can buy skills that enhance their character's abilities.
One of the two most significant changes over Dynasty Warriors is the introduction of the mission system in battles. Each stage has a number of different missions which become available depending on which character the player is controlling and the success or failure of previous missions. Such tasks include eliminating specific enemy officers, launching sneak attacks on enemy bases or thwarting the plans of the enemy. Success in these missions can be crucial to the outcome of many battles as failure often results in a massive loss of morale to the player's forces. It will also determine the path that will be carved out for the next stage if there is a split route. However one can choose the path to take if both routes had been opened.
Items and weapons
Each character can equip up to five items before each battle, which will affect their attributes or give them additional abilities. Players can find items which affect their attributes through normal battle by defeating enemy officers or breaking open crates. The items which give characters special abilities are harder to come by. Players must fight a specific battle and complete or fail specific missions to cause an enemy supply team to appear. Defeating this supply team will cause the item to appear.Like items, weapons can also be found in battle. Each character has four different types of weapons they can find. In addition to these base attributes, weapons will also randomly have other attributes attached to them. The value of these bonuses depends on three things: the difficulty level
Difficulty level
In general usage, difficulty level refers to the relative difficulty of completing a task or objective.In computer and video games, the term specifically delineates the ease or difficulty with which an average user may complete a game or a part of a game. Arcade games as well as many early console...
, the stage the player is on and the ranks the character has in the 'Discern' skill.
In addition to the random weapon drops there are other special fifth weapons to find. Unlike the other weapons, the fifth weapons have set bonuses and attributes. Like the rare items, the player has to play a specific stage and complete a specific task to get a supply team to appear. However, unlike the rare items, in order to get the weapon the game must be on either the Hard or Chaos difficulty level.
New officer training
Samurai Warriors gives players the opportunity to create new characters via the officer training mode. In this mode players must study under a mentor and complete twelve training sessions and a final exam. The first thing the player must do is choose the look of their character, from an initial selection of eight different models, there are also 4 different models that can be obtained if a certain event is accomplished within the mode. The initial stats of the character are dependent on the model chosen. The player must then choose to partake in a test and one of three weapons they will use for the test.Each of the different tests affects different attributes of the character. After the completion of the test the player will be ranked out of a score of 100 points, by getting more points the character's attributes will increase by a greater amount. If the character is defeated during the course of a test, they will automatically fail the test and will have to spend one training session resting.
After twelve test sessions have passed, the character must take a final exam. This exam consists of two training sessions back to back. The player has to score a total of 100 points between these two tests in order to pass the exam. If the player completes the final exam successfully then they will be able to use their gun to rank up.
Music
Unlike the Traditional-Chinese music & rock collaborations in the Dynasty WarriorsDynasty Warriors
is a series of tactical action video games created by Omega Force and Koei. The award-winning series is a spin-off of Koei's turn-based strategy Romance of the Three Kingdoms series, based loosely around the Chinese classical novel of the same name. The first game titled Dynasty Warriors,...
series, Samurai Warriors combines traditional Japanese instrumentals with techno. The sounds of both Samurai Warriors and Dynasty Warriors are combined in their crossover game, Warriors Orochi
Warriors Orochi
, is a PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360 hack and slash video game developed by Koei and Omega Force. It is a crossover of two of Koei's popular video game series, Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors...
.
Xtreme Legends
Samurai Warriors: Xtreme Legends is a PS2PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
expansion disc for Samurai Warriors . While Xtreme Legends can be played alone, it is not possible to use any of the features of the original.
This offers four new characters (Imagawa Yoshimoto
Imagawa Yoshimoto
was one of the leading daimyo in the Sengoku period Japan. Based in Suruga Province, he was one of the three daimyo that dominated the Tōkaidō region. He was one of the dominant daimyo in Japan for a time, until his death in 1560....
, Hashiba Hideyoshi
Toyotomi Hideyoshi
was a daimyo warrior, general and politician of the Sengoku period. He unified the political factions of Japan. He succeeded his former liege lord, Oda Nobunaga, and brought an end to the Sengoku period. The period of his rule is often called the Momoyama period, named after Hideyoshi's castle...
, Honda Tadakatsu
Honda Tadakatsu
, also called Honda Heihachirō , was a Japanese general of the late Sengoku through early Edo period, who served Tokugawa Ieyasu. Honda Tadakatsu was one of the Tokugawa Four Heavenly Kings along with Ii Naomasa, Sakakibara Yasumasa and Sakai Tadatsugu. - Biography :A native of Mikawa Province in...
and Inahime) and a brand new mission and map. This also offers new weapons, a new survival mode, and fixes several problems.
Even after they reached rank 20 characters could still gain skill points and increase their attributes without having to the reset the character to default. Samurai Warriors Xtreme Legends extended this further, by adding even more powerful sixth weapons to earn. These can only be discovered by playing on Chaos mode (or Hard mode, if the correct bonus is purchased).
Exclusive to Samurai Warriors Xtreme Legends, through the completion of special tasks, the player can earn Bonus Points in order to purchase special features. These features include additional costumes for characters, voice sound tests, lowering the difficulty required to unlock the fifth and sixth weapons and the ability to break the default limits for character's stats. Methods of earning bonus points include the following: earning all of a character's endings, unlocking rare items and weapons and successfully creating new characters.
Pachi Slot Sengoku Musou/Sengoku Rush
This is a slot machine based game featuring Yukimura SanadaSanada Yukimura
was a Japanese samurai, second son of the Sengoku period daimyo Sanada Masayuki . His proper name was Sanada Nobushige , named after Takeda Shingen's younger brother Takeda Nobushige, who was a brave and respected warrior. He and his father were known as being excellent military tacticians...
, Hanzo Hattori
Hattori Hanzo
, also known as , was a famous samurai and ninja master of the Sengoku era, credited with saving the life of Tokugawa Ieyasu and then helping him to become the ruler of united Japan. Today, he is often a subject of modern popular culture.-Biography:...
and Keiji Maeda
Maeda Toshimasu
, better known as ' or Keijirō , was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku Period through early Edo Period. Toshimasu was born to the Takigawa Clan of Owari, originally the son of Takigawa Kazumasu. He was adopted by Maeda Toshihisa, the older brother of Maeda Toshiie. Toshimasu served under Oda...
as playable characters with their own stories using character models from Samurai Warriors. Nōhime
Nohime
also Kichō or Lady Noh, was the wife of Oda Nobunaga, a major daimyo during the Sengoku period of Japanese history. Her proper name was Kichō, but since she came from Mino Province, she is most commonly referred to as Nōhime . She was renowned for her beauty and cleverness.Nōhime's father was the...
, Masamune Date
Date Masamune
was a regional strongman of Japan's Azuchi-Momoyama period through early Edo period. Heir to a long line of powerful daimyo in the Tōhoku region, he went on to found the modern-day city of Sendai...
and Hideyoshi Toyotomi
Toyotomi Hideyoshi
was a daimyo warrior, general and politician of the Sengoku period. He unified the political factions of Japan. He succeeded his former liege lord, Oda Nobunaga, and brought an end to the Sengoku period. The period of his rule is often called the Momoyama period, named after Hideyoshi's castle...
are included as normal bosses, while Oda Nobunaga
Oda Nobunaga
was the initiator of the unification of Japan under the shogunate in the late 16th century, which ruled Japan until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was also a major daimyo during the Sengoku period of Japanese history. His opus was continued, completed and finalized by his successors Toyotomi...
is a special boss. Other characters who make non-playable appearances are Kunoichi, Shingen Takeda
Takeda Shingen
, of Kai Province, was a preeminent daimyo in feudal Japan with exceptional military prestige in the late stage of the Sengoku period.-Name:Shingen was called "Tarō" or "Katsuchiyo" during his childhood...
, Okuni
Izumo no Okuni
was the originator of kabuki theater. She was believed to be a miko at the Grand Shrine of Izumo who began performing this new style of dancing, singing, and acting in the dry riverbeds of Kyoto.-Early years:...
and Goemon Ishikawa
Ishikawa Goemon
was a semi-legendary Japanese outlaw hero who stole gold and valuables and gave them to the poor. Goemon is notable for being boiled alive along with his son in public after a failed assassination attempt on the civil war-era warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi. A large iron kettle-shaped bathtub is now...
.
Reception
The PS2 release of Samurai Warriors sold a million copies within a month in Japan and reached the Japanese platinum chart with a total of 1.06 million. It was awarded an award of excellence in CESAComputer Entertainment Supplier's Association
Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association is a Japanese organization that was established in 1996 to "promote the computer entertainment industry [...] with the aim of contributing to the strengthening of Japanese industry as well as to the further enrichment of people's lifestyles." It...
's 2004 Game Awards and received a 34 out of 40 rating from Famitsu
Famitsu
is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Enterbrain, Inc. and Tokuma. Currently, there are five Famitsū magazines: Shūkan Famitsū, Famitsū PS3 + PSP, Famitsū Xbox 360, Famitsū Wii+DS, and Famitsū Wave DVD...
.
The game is met with mixed reviews from Western critics, most reviewers criticize the game's visual and technical similarities to the Dynasty Warriors series as the cause. What earned the most praise was the RPG element added into the game as it deviates from its spiritual predecessor by adding a higher replay value for gamers. The Create a Character mode was received with mixed results. Phantom from Game Planet commented that it is, "well implemented", allowing players to accurately play a character made for them while Alex Navarro from Gamespot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
regarded the option as "a nice touch" but "rather tiresome" in the end. The innovations made were still met with criticism for the genre as a whole, Patrick Garratt from EuroGamer
Eurogamer
Eurogamer is a Brighton-based website focused on video games news, reviews, previews and interviews. It is operated by Eurogamer Network Ltd., which was formed in 1999 by brothers Rupert and Nick Loman. Eurogamer has grown to become one of the most important European-based websites focused on...
stating, "we’re seriously on the verge of being all warriored out."
The PS2 port holds an average 71% rating at Game Rankings
Game Rankings
GameRankings is a website that collects review scores from both offline and online sources to give an average rating. It indexes over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 games.GameRankings is owned by CBS Interactive...
.
Legacy
A port to the PlayStation PortablePlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
, called Samurai Warriors: State of War, was released in Japan on December 8, 2005 and March 7, 2006 in North America. It has a number of additional multiplayer features.
See also
- Samurai Warriors 2Samurai Warriors 2is a sequel to the original Samurai Warriors, created by Koei and Omega Force. The game was released in 2006 for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360, and received a port to Microsoft Windows in 2008....
- Samurai Warriors: Katana
- Samurai Warriors 3Samurai Warriors 3is the third installment in the Samurai Warriors series, created by Tecmo Koei and Omega Force. The game was released in Japan on December 3, 2009, Europe on May 28, 2010, Australia on June 10, 2010, and in North America on September 27, 2010 for the Wii....
- Warriors OrochiWarriors Orochi, is a PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360 hack and slash video game developed by Koei and Omega Force. It is a crossover of two of Koei's popular video game series, Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors...
- Dynasty WarriorsDynasty Warriorsis a series of tactical action video games created by Omega Force and Koei. The award-winning series is a spin-off of Koei's turn-based strategy Romance of the Three Kingdoms series, based loosely around the Chinese classical novel of the same name. The first game titled Dynasty Warriors,...