Dynasty Warriors 9 Review - Supreme in combat

lyra.roberge (56)in #gaming • 7 years ago (edited)

The ninth part in the now 21 years running hack and slash series Dynasty Warriors has taken a courageous step by using an open world setting. I take you along the ups and downs of the latest Dynasty Warriors, Dynasty Warriors 9.

Extensive storymode

Dynasty Warriors 9 is a hack and slash game where you defeat armies on your own. In the story mode you go through several periods and every period brings other heroes. The nice thing about the story mode is that you can switch between 5 different kingdoms. The five sides of the story come together in different places, where you unlock new characters. With these characters you can redo the fight from the other side, or as the enemy. Some chapters are absent in a certain storyline, so that the story is still kept within the lines.

In short, the story is about a big war between different kingdoms and the influence this has on them. In addition, old legendary heroes are thrown off their throne and climb new to the top. But despite the fact that the story is ingeniously woven together from several sides, it still feels like a thin story.

Play as the enemy

If you have just played a part as the hero of one kingdom, you can redo the battle as a hero of another kingdom. If you start a part as the enemy, it really feels like the enemy. Unfortunately, this feeling is never long, since the moderate to bad voice-acting often comes across as arrogant, so you quickly get distracted from the story. "Of course we won, I participated." Because of this kind of statements and the emotionless expressions of those who speak, I noticed that at the beginning I regularly pushed conversations. You can also talk to random NPCs that have some nice conversations. Unfortunately, because of the lack of emotion in characters and the not-so-correcting expression, the fun is quickly gone.

Because the story is meager, it feels like the only reason to play it from the opposing team is unlocking new characters. There are about 90 heroes throughout the game, so there is a character that suits you. The annoying thing is that most of the characters are very similar in terms of gameplay. The combos are the same, on the same buttons, only the speed of attack and the damage you make is slightly different. You only play with a slower or faster clone of the previous hero, in another skin.

Each of the 90 heroes has its own super attack that is unique. This is also started with a short, unique cut scene. The variations in this are enormous and that alone could be a reason to try out many heroes.

A bold open world

Dynasty Warriors 9 is the first in the series that has an open world. The world feels very big because you are on your horse for a few minutes on a regular basis. There is a fast travel function, but in one way or another I did not feel called to use it, especially because the distances seem to fall. You will also encounter settlements of the enemy along the way that can attack and take over. The upcoming field battle will be brought to your advantage in a small way.

The world itself looks bleak and empty and the trees that stand there are far apart and almost all are the same. Just like the settlements, castles and other places that you may encounter. It does not feel like a living, inhabited world. In addition, the graphics leave much to be desired, the game comes across visually as if it could run fine on an earlier generation of consoles. The graphics are only disturbing if you travel from one to the other on horseback. During combat, the total is not in the way, except that you get the idea that you have done the fight before.

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Sublime in Combat

The core of Dynasty Warriors 9 is of course the combat. You stand there on your own against an army of a thousand enemies. Most of these enemies hardly offer resistance and are ready to be defeated. It continues to feel good to be able to blow them up in rows at the same time and then work hard against the ground. Although most of the heroes feel like clones to each other, it continues to give a supreme feeling when you empty the field with a few simple combos.

In the game you can get new, better weapons from defeated enemies that might be stronger, but not always work for your hero. Every hero has a favorite weapon type so that he or she can not always get along with the new weapon. That is very fine solved by the in-game ability to exchange weapons, regardless of which storyline you are currently in. For example, a hero who likes to work with a spear does not suddenly have to fight with fans and vice versa.

Farther fighting with a new hero can sometimes also be refreshing, the change in speed on the battlefield gives it just that little bit extra at such a moment, so that the repetition comes along. If you choose to cling the whole game to the same pair of heroes, you will quickly feel that you are constantly doing the same. Especially because the background does not offer too much variation. Every hero and NPC has its own voice, so that even the small variation can work fine. So despite the fact that most of the heroes feel the same, I still recommend that you take on a new hero every time the opportunity presents itself.

Conclusion

Dynasty Warriors 9 is not a good game, the choice to leave the co-op of part 8 behind and to continue with an open world is in my opinion not the right one. The open world feels too easy, the fights are just too far apart, so you still grab your horse and watch your horse-riding character for a few minutes. The fights themselves are as delicious as ever, one against a thousand and enemies rows thick over bowling continues to bring a powerful feeling with them and that is why it is still a fun game.
It seems a bit like for all good innovations in Dynasty Warriors 9 there is an error or annoyance. The game certainly has some very strong points, so the choice to play the story from different sides at times is very cool and I have never played a game where you have so much choice in heroes. It is particularly unfortunate that the weak points, the missed opportunities overshadow the strong points.