If you play games, chances are you at least know of Dynasty Warriors. Hell, there’s a good chance you’ve owned one of the dozen+ iterations of the franchise. It’s certainly created a stigma surrounding itself as a game that comes out like clockwork with only minor tweaks, but this time around, Koei has changed things up with the first current-gen Dynasty Warriors game DESIGNED for the current gen. Boasting a new combo system, some better combat animations and a much more powerful engine backbone, is Dynasty Warriors 6 really the Dynasty Warriors revolution Koei wanted to deliver?
Yes, and no. For starters, if you’ve played Dynasty Warriors before you know exactly what to expect combat wise. It’s essentially a one (and sometimes two!) button masher, which allows the occasional use of a third button when you’re in a dire situation.
What was added, however, is the Renbu system. As you connect on combos, a meter will build up on the bottom of the screen. Once it fills up, you’re rewarded with an extra combo hit and some stronger attacks. It can build up a total of three times, making your stage 3 renbu warrior much more effective than the normal one. Unfortunately it depletes when there’s no action or you take significant damage, and anyone who’s played a Dynasty Warriors game can share stories of the giant empty swatches of land you need to cross in order to reach the next area to fight.
Despite the combat’s renovation being strictly a new combo system, the “next-gen” power of the game is evident and really makes it feel different from previous titles in the franchise. For starters, there are more on-screen enemies in Dynasty Warriors 6 than in any other DW game by far. It’s not unusual to see nearly 100 people on screen without any noticeable slowdown, and people do all sorts of little things.
When you’re sieging a fort or castle, for example, people will go off to the side to build catapults or battering rams, and even construct and place ladders to scale walls. It’s a far cry from the past DW games where your troops would just stand around facing walls while you fought off Lu Bu and all of those other generals.
Unfortunately, there are some problems plaguing DW6 that aren’t really in other versions. Characters are missing with no explanation, and a lot of the more unique characters in the past games are now clones of more popular characters. Combined with the bad dialogue (at least they pronounce Cao Cao right this time) and the boring cutscenes and actual stories, and there’s plenty to find issues with even for the most ardent DW fans.
The biggest mistake Koei made with this game, though, is the non-inclusion of online co-op. This was made specifically for next-gen platforms…so why can’t I go across Three Kingdoms China with a friend online? It’s especially frustrating when you have missions involving escorting and protecting refugees AND making sure that idiot Liu Bei doesn’t die. The guy is like the Kenny of ancient China…
In the end, the tweaks made to the Dynasty Warriors series won’t be enough to win any new fans. The new animations make the game look great, the engine allows for more people on-screen, and the co-op remains strangely addicting as always – even if your friend has no idea who these strangely named people are. Like many new Dynasty Warriors games, though, there’s little reason to justify purchasing the new version when older ones offer a similar experience at a much cheaper price. If you absolutely want the best looking DW game, pick up Dynasty Warriors 6 (or Gundam, which would be my recommendation). If you just want to have some fun, though, pick up an older DW title used. You’ll have the same overall experience at a much cheaper cost.
