Nearly three years ago, Warriors Orochi 3 hit the Japanese shores to much anticipation. Mashing the two worlds of Samurai Warriors and Dynasty Warriors into one complete and utter crazy, time traveling package, the third installment was met with positive reception. Since then, Omega Force has ported the game to the PlayStation Portable and Wii U, and now that the company is familiar with a new set of platforms, Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Adding additional content to the main game and enhancing the visuals, Warriors Orochi 3 has never looked so strong.
This page contains a compiled list of miscellaneous weapons found in Warriors Orochi 3 and its expansion titles. Most of these include special or previous weapons from the Dynasty Warriors series, fifth weapons from Sengoku Musou 3: Moushouden, and even those from other Koei titles. Others are merely replicas of four star weapons only with unique visual effects to distinguish them in battle. A new character in Dynasty Warriors 7 that is a member of the Shu faction with a bladed yo-yo style of weapon. Musou Orochi 2 Ultimate Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate. Chapter 8 of Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate. Tamomo – Showdown at Odawara Castle. Kyubi – Escape from the Mystic Realm. Hundun – Get to level 4 of gauntlet mode. Continue Reading.
If you’ve played a Dynasty Warriors, Samurai Warriors or Warriors Orochi game in the past, you’ll have a good grasp of what to expect. Square and Triangle (or X and Y for Xbox One owners) will be your best friends as hacking through thousands of soldiers in a single ten minute map won’t have you breaking a sweat. There’s far more to it than just the two buttons, though, as it’s required to go into each mission with three party members in order to switch between mid-battle. There’s also special attacks, linked separations – although it leads to more trouble than good – and a triple attack that inflicts damage to everyone in a certain radius.
Unfortunately, some of the mechanics are feeling a bit dated when compared the latest Dynasty Warriors game as there’s no weapon swapping, nor do officers have weakness that can be exploited with the rock-paper-scissor elemental weapon system. That by no means makes this a poorly designed game as the huge cast of characters ensures that combat will feel fresh, even after slaying the 100,000th enemy, but there are certain features that are missing form a modern Warriors game. It certainly helps, though, that there’s cooperative features tied into the main campaign as it’s an absolute blast to play with friends in all out wars. Overall, the gameplay can be a bit repetitive at times, but thanks to the massive list of warriors to select, it ends up being an addictive experience.
The story mode is the main attraction, allowing gamers to go through a lengthy campaign and collect various characters scattered across the Dynasty and Samurai Warriors universes – not to mention some appearances from other Tecmo Koei franchises. The story is as crazy as it was three years ago as a deadly Hydra creature has appeared out of nowhere and aligned itself with a demon horde looking to take over and destroy the world as we know it. After a battle that only looks to end in disappointment, the three main characters are saved by a Mystic who is looking for a way to fend off the Hydra by any means necessary. This begins the wild campaign of going through time in order to save important figures from Japanese and Chinese history in order to defeat the Hydra.
In addition to the main story, a secondary campaign called Gauntlet Mode is available right from the get-go. It’s almost advised that players play this after completing the majority of the story, or at least leveling up a number of characters because this can be an incredibly challenging, putting a group of five in an arena where the map is greyed out. It’s not just the element of darkness but the enemies swarm in just incredible numbers and their strikes have never been harder. Death will be inevitable, although the rewards are worth it, even from defeat. It’s an enjoyable and engaging mode that should have players expanding on their collection of characters.
Another mode called Musou Battlefields allows players to take existing arenas that have been cleared out in the main campaign, and edit them to their liking. This includes adjusting which officers are on the battlefield, the different lines of dialogue that are spoken, the music that will be playing and various other elements. This is an intriguing feature, especially considering players are allowed download others’ maps and evaluate them, but the tools are very limited. Some sort of 3D editing tool, allowing for a complete overhaul of maps would really help flourish this into something special, but right now it’s a lacking feature. Finally, Duel Mode is a three-versus-three battle mode, allowing for combat against the CPU, local multiplayer and online multiplayer. It’s really nothing special as it basically becomes a 3D fighting game, but the survival mode can be challenging as it’s actually a little deeper than expected with the inclusion of equipable cards.
Let’s be clear: this isn’t the current generation Omega Force Warriors game we’ve been looking for. Dynasty Warriors 8: Xtreme Legends was a good start, but Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate is essentially a rehashed version of the Wii U version. The visuals aren’t anything to gawk over as, while they’re definitely crisper than the previous iterations and character models have a certain smoothness to them, they still include ugly swarms of repetitive enemies and bland environments. With that said, the frame rate has been greatly improved, fluctuating above 30 FPS on a constant basis. Rarely, if ever, did we see anything below that, making this really the smoothest version yet. This certainly helps when things get hectic as no one wants to see their over the top specials move at ten frames per second. It may not be the prettiest current generation game, but it’s a decent stop gap for the series.
Unfortunately, Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate doesn’t necessarily use all the tools the PlayStation 4 has to offer. The start / pause button is now the touchpad, which can take a little while to get used to, and the recorded Japanese dialogue comes through the DualShock 4’s speakers. While this is a nice touch, I do wish they would have picked one or the other because the audio comes through both the controller and the television, causing a slight echo that becomes distracting in the midst of combat. As for content, this includes virtually everything found in the Wii U Hyper edition plus roughly eight new characters and a couple of new stages. Other than that, this is a visually enhanced port with no major gimmicks.
Closing Comments:
Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate is purely for the hardcore fans of the series, or newcomers wanting to finally jump in. There’s little incentive to upgrade, especially if you played the the Hyper version in late 2012, but if you’re looking for a fix of one of the best Warriors games available, then this is best solution. With a smooth frame rate and oodles of new content, this is truly the ultimate version. With that said, this isn’t for everyone as, even with its diverse cast of characters, combat can be a bit repetitive if you stick to the same formula, and the outlandish time travelling plot can be confusing. Regardless, Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate is arguably the best Omega Force developed game available.
Version Reviewed: PlayStation 4
After reviewing Dynasty Warriors: Gundam Reborn a month ago, I was convinced that this was one franchise I would never fully appreciate. While I enjoyed some of the robot action, the core gameplay was far too repetitive for my taste. The whole experience left me with a bad taste in my mouth, and I had no interest in going back for another helping. But while I may have been done with Dynasty Warriors, Koei's long-running action franchise was not done with me.
A funny thing happened to me as I began working my way through the convoluted story of Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate. Instead of rolling my eyes at the button-mashing play mechanics, I started to understand what people saw in this series. With so many characters to choose from and an over-the-top story that involved both time travel and Ninja Gaiden's Ryu Hayabusa, Dynasty Warriors won me over.
Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate Weapons Guide
In case you haven't figured it out by now, I'm not a Dynasty Warriors expert. I've played bits and pieces of the games over the years, but Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate is only the second game I've put a substantial amount of time into. In fact, I was so much of a novice that I wasn't even aware that this specific offshoot is a crossover between Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors. As it turns out, this is an electrifying pairing, and before I knew it, I was hooked on this simple hack and slash action game.
It didn't matter that I hadn't played through the first two Warriors Orochi entries, because the game throws me into an epic battle against a monstrous hydra. With so much death and destruction happening all around me, there was no time to worry about backstories. Unfortunately, the gigantic hydra was too much for my small army and we had to retreat.
What should have been a tragic defeat was turned into something intriguing when a mysterious woman tells our heroes that they need to go back in time to form a powerful army to take on this evil menace. And wouldn't you know, that's exactly what we do. In a conceit that probably don't make any sense to the continuity of either series, we're thrown across time to help allies, make new friends and collect more than 100 fighters for your cause. As a fan of time travel fiction, I was on board right from the start.
As great as the gimmick is, it doesn't change the fact that you're largely doing the same things in every level. Each battle takes place in a large, intricate play field. It's up to you to race around the stage keeping your friends safe and killing the army leaders to open gates and advance the story. If you've played any other game in this series, you'll likely know exactly what to expect from the mission structure.
To make these repetitive stages more interesting, Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate lets players assemble a three-person team to take into battle. These can be any of the characters from the game's enormous roster, each with their own unique weapon and set of attacks. And best of all, player can switch between these three characters at a moment's notice, giving the game some much need variety.
I would be lying if I said I played as all 145 characters, but the several dozen I put time into were all incredibly unique and satisfying. Although none of the characters were particularly deep, each offered enough special attacks and combos to keep the combat interesting. Not every warrior is good for all occasions, and a lot of the fun comes in finding which characters fit your play style. Once you've found the perfect pairing, your three-person team is nearly unstoppable.
I never realized how big of a difference weapons would make in a game like this. Even though Dynasty Warriors: Gundam Reborn featured a lot of different guns and missiles, the action never felt all that different from one mission to the next. But that's not the case in Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate. Making your way through the angry mob with a giant battle axe is demonstrably different than battling everybody with a knife or small sword. And yet, the game offers enough incentive to get you to try both types of weapons.
It was at this moment that I realized I hadn't been giving the franchise enough credit. Up until this point I had largely written the series off as a mindless button masher, measuring its worth based solely on the complexity of its play mechanics. Once I was able to let go of this metric, I discovered that the true depth is in the large variety of characters and weapons. The fun is in playing as a bunch of different warriors and leveling them up, constantly earning new weapons and items.
That said, it wouldn't hurt to make the missions a little more varied. Far too many stages can be boiled down to killing leaders, taking over parts of map and making sure your allies aren't killed in battle. Although I had just gone through the Gundam spin-off, I still wasn't prepared for how chaotic this game would be right off the bat. With so many armies on the map, it's sometimes difficult to figure out what you're supposed to be paying attention to. It's frustrating to lose a battle because you couldn't locate an injured friend, especially when that means starting the whole mission over again.
Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate Weapons 5 Star
Aside from a complete lack of checkpoints, a large part of the problem involves the woefully inadequate map. Because there are literally thousands of soldiers on the battle field at any given time, I found the standard overview map to lack enough details. It's even worse when you zoom in, only to find a map that is of absolutely no use in any situation. The only way to get the information I needed was to push the 'start' button and use the map in the pause menu. Given how many sequels, spin-offs and re-releases this series has seen, I'm surprised Koei is still having problems getting the map right.
Even after I came to grips with the on-screen map, my shock continued to linger. There are so many design decisions in Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate that feel like they come straight out of the PlayStation 2 era. As much as I loved collecting 145 characters, I was surprised that the experience wasn't polished. It was especially overwhelming for somebody brand new to not only the Warriors Orochi series, but also proper Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors.
When it comes to the presentation, this is the best the series has looked on the PS Vita. Compared to other recent entries, Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate is much more detailed and everything looks larger. Unfortunately, this seems to come at a price. I was surprised by the draw distance in the portable version. Sometimes you won't see an enemy until they are just a few feet in front of our warriors. The draw distance is also bad on the PlayStation 3, but it's noticeably worse on the Vita.
Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate Weapon Compatibility
Understandably, a large part of the appeal of this game comes from pairing up fan favorites from both Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors. As somebody who hasn't put much time into either series, I went in expecting to have no personal attachment to these popular characters. As it turns out, I was wrong. While it's certainly true that I didn't know most of the cast, I was delighted to see faces I recognized, including characters from Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive. For whatever reason, these characters helped ease me into what would have otherwise been a daunting mishmash of new faces.
Speaking of being overwhelmed, Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate comes with an awe-inspiring amount of modes. Beyond the time traveling story mode, players will also be able to customize their own missions, battle it out in the duel mode and create the ultimate five-person army in the gauntlet mode. There are even bonus objectives in the different modes, as well as side missions to take on. There is nothing barebones about this re-release.
Although I doubt I'll ever love this series as much as the die-hard fans, I can honestly say that I was given a brand new appreciation for the franchise thanks to Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate. There are a lot of outdated design decisions that I would change and it could probably use a proper next generation reboot, but I was won over by the insane roster of characters and deep modes. There's a lot to like about this game, even if, like me, you're not the typical Dynasty Warriors fan.