Warriors Orochi 4 from Koei Tecmo features characters from both the Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors universe.  It broke a Guinness record with its roster of 170 playable characters.  This is big news for fans of both franchises, as it is a complete package of your favorite warriors and also features 4 new gods that include Perseus, Ares, Athena and Odin.  Let’s see if the quality of the game is as impressive as the quantity presented here.

Upon hearing about the record breaking character selection and that Warriors Orochi 4 combined all the Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors, I wondered if this was perhaps too much to handle for any one team. That’s an enormous amount of story, narrative and plot to script out. Would everyone get their fan favorites in the spotlight? Koei Tecmo somehow managed to do a phenomenal job here and merges all these characters into one thrilling universe. I can only imagine the unfathomable amount of hours this took to pull all this content together and keep the story balanced and polished throughout the campaign.

For those that haven’t played previous entries, players get to choose a 3 person team to take on huge armies, defying the odds that are stacked against them. Each character has a class that defines their Power, Speed, and Technique. New for this venture is Magic and Sacred Treasures. These incredibly powerful attacks raise the carnage level quite considerably. Players can switch between their heroes at any point within the game on the fly. Continuing an active combo from a chain of normal, charge, or musou based attacks, allow players to be a one man hurricane that devastates anyone in their path. The camera can still get hung up a little in the corners, but overall the action, animation and effects look absolutely fantastic.  The combat is very satisfying and keeps you glued to the screen.

Some heroes can become immensely powerful by going through a process called deification, that occurs midway through battle. If you want the strongest and most lethal squad, you’ll want to be your team is composed with one of these characters. You however, can still clean house with any of warriors chosen . With 170 to select from, you won’t be left wanting for choices.  Traversing across the battlefield is no longer a huge chore, thanks to the brilliant move to allow horseback at any moment. You simply need to hold the shoulder button and tap the jump button. After that, you are off covering ground at a very quick pace. From chaining combos, to Magic, to switching between heroes, it’s all very fluid and very natural. Most importantly, it’s insanely fun.

Key Features:

• 170 playable characters from the Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors universes
• New Magic abilities for truly devastating blows
• Fan-favorite split screen co-op is back
• Character Deification – a brand-new gameplay feature which bestows characters the ultimate power of the mythological gods
• Four new gods including: Perseus, Ares, Athena and Odin

Conclusion

I camped out for the release of the Sony PlayStation 2 at launch and picked up Dynasty Warriors 2 as my first game. I still remember being blown away by the mere scope and action. Fast forward 18 years and Koei Tecmo continues to break new ground on what is possible within the gaming industry. Warriors Orochi 4 offers up intense and thrilling battles, an incredibly detailed campaign, alongside the largest character roster any video game has ever seen in history. This one is a must have for fans and honestly for any gamers who enjoy this genre.

Review Copy provided by Koei Tecmo