by The Dynasty Warriors series, known for its “Musou” genre, has undergone numerous iterations, with its latest game, Dynasty Warriors Origins, aiming to maintain its identity while focusing on a single-player RPG experience with streamlined gameplay progression features, compared to previous entries in the franchise.
Dynasty Warriors Origins, despite its nonsensical story, remains visually stunning and offers a vast amount of content. The combat remains unchanged but has received new upgrades, benefiting veteran fans. However, the shift to single-player RPG mechanics may deter some.
Enlistment
The game, Dynasty Warriors: Origins, takes place in ancient China during the Three Kingdoms period, focusing on an amnesiac Guardian of Peace who joins forces with a coalition militia to drive out the Yellow Turban bandit group.
The protagonist, a Guardian of Peace, brutally kills thousands of soldiers in Dynasty Warriors: Origins gameplay. Despite numerous shifting alliances, the plot becomes confusing and uninteresting, making it difficult to focus on the fun gameplay. The protagonist’s actions are ironically portrayed as ruthless.
The coalition splits into factions after a confrontation with a formidable adversary, fueled by conflicting world-changing goals. The protagonist can align with a different faction, resulting in contrasting narratives, akin to Fire Emblem: Three Houses where players select a faction.
The game offers replayability with each campaign taking over 30 hours to complete and each route having a true ending. However, the repetitive pacing can wear players down, making it only suitable for hardcore and dedicated Dynasty Warriors fans who want to complete all story routes.
Dynasty Warriors: Origins has few standout characters, except for commanders from the three factions. Side characters occasionally invite interaction, similar to Persona, but it’s challenging to get invested in them due to their similar personalities, making it difficult to distinguish between hard-headed and sensitive characters.
Origins may appeal to fans who enjoyed switching between multiple characters, but it may also alienate them. The protagonist can wield various weapons, including swords, lances, wheels, and spears. They can also bring a companion character, who can temporarily play as the companion to execute powerful attacks when their Swap Gauge fills up.
The mechanic quickly turned the tide of battle, especially when defeating a mini-boss. Although character switching isn’t possible, these mechanics maintain variety without it, making them satisfying substitutes.
Don’t Fix What Isn’t Broken
Dynasty Warriors: Origins maintains its power fantasy style, allowing players to defeat hundreds of enemy soldiers in real-time. Missions typically involve defeating a boss commander at the end of the map, while also defeating foot soldiers. Some missions require capturing all bases or ensuring an ally’s escape, enhancing the repetitive nature of the missions and combat.
Origins is a single-player RPG with a unique protagonist control, unlike previous entries like God of War Ragnarok. Players can learn flashy Battle Arts for enhanced combat fun. The game also introduces new mechanics, such as an AI-controlled army that automatically fights alongside the player and can be given commands.
The game features a dueling system where players can engage in one-on-one battles with a commander or mini-boss, creating a sense of control over a vast army. This allows players to engage in combat without distractions, making it a fun alternative to traditional battles. The system allows players to guard enemy bases, charge forward at troops, and engage in combat without distractions.
Dynasty Warriors: Origins features a stunning diorama-like pop-up showcasing the overworld map, reminiscent of Unicorn Overlord and Fantasian’s. Despite not achieving hyper-realistic visuals like The Last of Us Part 2, the bright and charming character models add a sense of realism.
The English voice acting, which accurately spoke the Chinese names of the characters, also pleased me. The audio to Dynasty Warriors: Origins is also outstanding. It features a well-balanced blend of traditional, soothing Chinese music in the overworld and blaringly catchy guitars in its fight tunes.
The game’s progression system is straightforward, with weapon proficiency increasing as you use gauntlets. This leads to more experience in that weapon type and new Battle Arts. NPCs offer training objectives, like defeating 200 enemies with a spear, earning skill points for passive skills. This makes progression feel natural and intuitive.
The Bottom Line
Dynasty Warriors: Origins is a visually appealing and long-lasting soft reboot of the franchise, with impressive combat and gameplay mechanics. However, its story and character cast are weak, and the pacing can be repetitive due to numerous story missions and similar map objectives.
Dynasty Warriors: Origins is a thrilling new addition to the series, suitable for both newcomers and veterans. The standard edition is set to release on January 17, 2025, with early access available for those with Digital Deluxe Edition pre-orders from January 14, 2025.
