History YMMV / WarriorsOrochi

* CommonKnowledge: In ''[=WO4=]'', a lot of players assume that [[spoiler:Loki is Odin's son]] due to the popular portrayal from Creator/{{Marvel Comics}} regarding the Norse gods. However, it was never stated in his bio or mentioned in dialogue that the two are related. In Norse mythology, [[spoiler:Loki and Odin are actually BloodBrothers.]]

** Because of [[AmbiguouslyRelated their ambiguous relationship]] in the game, Odin [[spoiler:and Loki]] are also paired together. This is very evident in the game where after forcibly controlling the latter at the final battle, the former exclaims that they will rule the universe together. This is even FridgeBrilliance if you realize in Norse mythology, the two gods are BloodBrothers.

* CompleteMonster: [[AdaptationalVillainy Odin]], from the fourth game's original version, is a ruthless god who is terrified of dying ever since he survived [[{{Gotterdammerung}} Ragnarok]]. Lured into Zeus's new world with an attempt to dominate it, Odin starts a war and tricks Ares into murdering his own father Zeus, slowly gaining more power with the intention of using the world tree Yggdrasil. Odin's intention is to [[MultiversalConqueror conquer everything in the realms]] by [[OmnicidalManiac exterminating all life]] to leave himself the one being left, gleefully trying to destroy the heroes and their armies so he can reign supreme as the [[ItsAllAboutMe one master of all existence]].

** Perseus [[spoiler:is actually Loki in disguise]]. This is very well-known because the marketing for the 2019 Musou Festival, where Perseus's [[Creator/HiroShimono voice actor]] is one of the hosts, spoils it. The UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} trading cards [[spoiler:featuring Loki, but not Perseus]] and ''4 Ultimate'' [[spoiler:adding the ''real'' Perseus as a separate character]] also don't help matters.

** Considering that this is a crossover between ''Dynasty Warriors'' and ''Samurai Warriors'', expect a combination of rock and techno with Chinese and Japanese musical instruments. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oIT5bSGs8k "Samurai Scanners"]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBmtdyBAMdA "Fusion!"]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3g1GtWBe_7s&t "Welcome Back"]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnVjcixIfV8 "Eastern Wind"]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUC0lEkG6JY "Triple Helix"]] are some of the best examples out there. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fl5qNVQpcg Samurai Scanners is also remixed for the fourth game]] with its tempo increased.
** The music played in the character and stage selection menu, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOcaddi2nPs "Optic Line"]], really keeps you pumping as you prepare your characters for battle. The third game's ''Ultimate'' expansion for Gauntlet/Unlimited Mode has a different version for the stage select called "Optic Line II", while fourth game brings it back as [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TE9OIDKcIYo a remix to its original form]].
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6phwjnWWRs "Limpid Luster"]], which is played in the gallery and options menu, gives you peaceful melody. Its successor, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-07MevCwwoA "Limpid Light"]], is very calm and soothing as well.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Il3yBFLTho "Antispecter"]] is indeed a cool song and this is even played in one cutscene in ''[=WO2=]'' where Nobunaga jumps over Fu Xi in his white horse.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUSyA-cXMqM "Incarnation of Evil"]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8g6wyExeHY "Decisive Battle"]] are played in the final battle of ''[=WO1=]'' and ''[=WO2=]'' where you pulverized all of Orochi's force before you face the man himself.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tM9s7lD47qc "Miracle Convolution"]] from the fourth game is fusion of rock and techno with an orchestral build. The sounds of violin and trumpets really give a sense of triumph.

* SurprisinglyImprovedSequel: Warriors Orochi 3 is probably the best Koei "Warriors" game ever made, highly rated even by reviewers who usually say they hate the repetitiveness of the franchise. For the Orochi sub-franchise especially this is significant because [=WO2=] got only middling scores at best. Why? A variety of little reasons; inclusion of many characters beyond just Samurai/Dynasty Warriors (like Ryu Hayabusa and Joan of Arc.), better combat variety between characters in general in form of giving different charge attacks to everyone so that the only shared move between characters that use the same weapon is their basic combo, the hundreds of unique conversations in the camp between your characters, and most likely the mission progression. Instead of having a few story modes for different sides, everyone the player controls is on one side and you add more and more guys to your collection with each stage you conquer, leading to an addictive GottaCatchEmAll mentality.

* EvilIsSexy: Some players can't help but find Da Ji, Tamano [[spoiler:and Kyubi]] to be very appealing and sexy.

* ToughActToFollow: Odin in the fourth game. While he's established as a huge threat to the heroes and has one of the most awesome movesets which also makes him the most overpowered character in the entire game, his characterization and portrayal is very flat. While his endgame [[spoiler:which is to destroy life because he wants to eliminate anything that threatens his life after surviving Ragnarok]] may justify his villainy, it comes off as very generic as he keeps acting how evil he is despite that most of his actions are done [[OffstageVillainy offscreen]] and had his agent, [[spoiler:Loki]], do his bidding. It doesn't help that you encounter and defeat him two times in the last chapter which makes [[VillainDecay all the grandeur of being a threat look like a big joke]]. In the final mission, [[AntiClimaxBoss you can easily defeat him in a few minutes]] once you have leveled up your team well and used the right weapon attributes and Sacred Treasures. In contrast to Orochi who established himself as a threat at the beginning and Tamamo [[spoiler:who is responsible for kickstarting Yinglong's downfall to Orochi]], Odin is not very compelling as a dangerous villain. A lot of players even consider Hundun, who is just a BonusBoss, and Zeus, who is actually one of the good guys, as a difficult opponent to beat with than Odin. At the very least, Koei has acknowledged this and announced that ''4: Ultimate'' will give more details on Odin's characterization.

* SeinfeldIsUnfunny: As time passed and both ''Dynasty'' and ''Samurai'' added more characters, the games are slightly dampened in quality since it will not allow you to play as other historical officers who debuted ''afterwards''. Thankfully this would be averted in ''Warriors Orochi 4'', but as long as Koei kept introducing new characters in the original Dynasty or Samurai Warriors games, it seemed inevitable to happen again in the future.

** Tamamo-no-Mae ([[spoiler:or by proxy, her true form]]) is either a well-written sinister villain, or is someone who happens to be a complete JerkAss that is denying people who thwart her deeds [[KickTheSonOfABitch have every right to retaliate at her]] [[LaserGuidedKarma for all the horrible shit she's done]] (on top of she herself also tending to harbor grudges like so).

** Achilles won't be coming back for ''Warriors Orochi 4'', despite the fact that he's a literal Greek demigod who fought in a long, costly war that lasted for far longer than it should have thanks to the Olympians [[JerkassGods being themselves.]] Dropping him into a conflict involving the Greek gods seems like a no-brainer. It would have also been interesting to see how Sophitia would have dealt with her patron deities, but she wasn't owned by KT in the first place, so her exclusion is not as surprising particularly with ''VideoGame/SoulcaliburVI'' which is also a ContinuityReboot and was released in the same year as ''4''.
** Similarly with Achilles, the exclusion of Joan of Arc. While she has no dealings with Zeus, both ''VideoGame/BladeStormTheHundredYearsWar'' and ''VideoGame/WarriorsLegendsOfTroy'' are based on history as opposed to other fictional collaborations so they could fit in perfectly within the context of ''Warriors Orochi'' as the gateway for French, England, Greek and Troy groups (this can include other characters like Edward the Black Prince, La Hire, Gilles de Rais, Ajax, Hector, Penthesilea). ''4: Ultimate'' fixes this where Joan and Achilles are two of the three returning guest characters, but the idea of the whole ''Bladestorm'' and ''Troy'' joining the crossover are still not being considered.

** We never go to see the rest of the Olympians and the Norse gods, not even a cameo or flashback. Thor? Tyr? Heimdall? Frigga? Freya? Baldur? Hel? Died before or during Ragnarok. Poseidon? Hades? Apollo? Hercules? Hera? Hermes? [[spoiler:The ''real'' Perseus?]] No debut for you. Outside of her hair being mentioned as the second ingredient used to create the Deification bangles, Medusa never showed up either. At least, Gaia and Hades show up in the expansion.

** Not adding the ''Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce 2'' characters (other than Cai Wenji, who debuted in that game) like Shi Huangdi, Xiang Yu and Ji Man/King Mu is a missed opportunity because they are historical figures from the Zhou and Qin dynasties, considering that there were four Heian historical figures (Kiyomori, Yoshitsune, Benkei and Seimei) in ''Warriors Orochi''. Also, Xi Wangmu and her EvilCounterpart Huang Quan could serve as powerful Myatics. Likewise, for the ''Godseeker'' characters, Lei Bin and Lixia, because the latter has magic powers that suit her as a Mystic character. It also would bring a lot of interesting dynamics among the DW and SW characters.

* ToughActToFollow: Odin in the fourth game. While he's established as a huge threat to the heroes and has one of the most awesome movesets which also makes him the most overpowered character in the entire game, his characterization and portrayal is very flat. While his endgame [[spoiler:which is to destroy life because he wants to eliminate anything that threatens his life after surviving Ragnarok]] may justify his villainy, it comes off as very generic as he keeps acting how evil he is despite that most of his actions are done [[OffstageVillainy offscreen]] and had his agent, [[spoiler:Loki]], do his bidding. It doesn't help that you encounter and defeat him two times in the last chapter which makes [[VillainDecay all the grandeur of being a threat look like a big joke]]. In the final mission, [[AntiClimaxBoss you can easily defeat him in a few minutes]] once you have level up your team well and use the right weapon attributes and Sacred Treasures. In contrast to Orochi who established himself as a threat at the beginning and Tamamo [[spoiler:who is responsible for kickstarting Yinglong's downfall to Orochi]], Odin is not very compelling as a dangerous villain. A lot of players even consider Hundun, who is just a BonusBoss, and Zeus, who is actually one of the good guys, as a difficult opponent to beat with than Odin. At the very least, Koei has acknowledged this and announced that ''4: Ultimate'' will give more details on Odin's characterization.

** A LOT of people were most likely confused whenever they heard both Taigong Wang and Sun Wukong's names in the Japanese on'yomi reading (as respectively, Taikou Bou and Son Gokuu), meaning they may have been thinking way too hard about [[Manga/HoushinEngi two]] [[Franchise/DragonBall different]] ''[[Magazine/ShonenJump Shounen Jump]]'' manga/anime that have their own portrayals/versions of those two very characters with their names in that popular Japanese reading (because their names are technically the exact same)...

*** Even once more regarding both Nezha and Taigong Wang, they have something from the [[Manga/HoushinEngi manga]] that's carried over to their portrayals here: for the former, a bracer-version of his universe rings weapon that can be fired like a RocketPunch; and for the latter, a straight whip named after the deity Leigong/Raikou (Thunder Duke; though it was technically used by someone else).

** The relationship mechanic in 3 can be this, simply because specific characters are needed to reach a specific relationship level to unlock some extra levels. It doesn't help that these characters often include [[TierInducedScrappy hard to play characters]]. Thankfully, the teahouse makes this much easier to do (especially when you reach chapter 4).

** It's quite hilarious to point out that this would be an earlier time that Joan of Arc and Achilles would be either fighting against each other or fighting side by side, before getting called in [[LightNovel/FateApocrypha the Great Holy Grail War...]]

** [[spoiler:Orochi X/Shin Orochi]] in ''Warriors Orochi 3'' is less than satisfactory, considering the build-up throughout the game, including having players climb a huge spiraling staircase to get to the boss. Upon fighting it, the character's by itself without any reinforcements, and a few well-placed "[[LimitBreak Musou Attacks]]" can end this quickly. [[GameplayStorySegregation Despite shown to be capable of defeating Lu Bu with ease in the story]], ths boss is a GlassCannon - has devastating attacks, yet can't take much of a beating.

--> '''Taigong Wang''': ...I know how strong you humans are. With your combined might, there is no enemy that you cannot defeat.
--> ''(Talking to Xu Shu in ''Ultimate'')''\\
'''Xu Shu''': I hope that one day I can become more like you.
--> '''Taigong Wang''': You hope to become omnipotent? That is a pretty far goal to reach.

** In ''4'', the God characters and ''Samurai Warriors'' characters are categorically broken. While the [[PurposefullyOverpowered gods]] are expected to be overpowered, the latter is due to their hyper attacks, which can constantly activate elements. Compared to this, the EX attacks of the ''Dynasty Warriors'' characters seem very middling (not helping are the changes to the Dynasty figures as of ''8'' which neutered their elemental activation quite a bit, especially on their EX Attacks).

* EnsembleDarkHorse:
** Mizuchi/Diamondback, due to the ridiculously profuse amount of screen-time he gets in the third game, despite being a generic officer who never became playable (unlike fellow "generics" Gyuuki and Dodomeki) [[ThrowTheDogABone until the fourth game]]. His SmallNameBigEgo attitude certainly helps too.
** Out from the newcomers in ''4'', Athena garnered so much attention because of her cool moveset, powerful attacks and appearance most especially when she removes her mask late in the story, revealing her beautiful face. Many players prefer her to be unmasked not only because she's pretty but it also symbolizes her CharacterDevelopment after realizing her shortcomings and her limited perspective on humanity.

* ThatOneAchievement: While ''Ultimate'' has a roster of nearly 150 playable characters, the trophy for earning everyone's Mystic Weapon is ''not'' this! The title instead goes to the "Complete every request in Gauntlet Mode." There are 80 requests and they all boil down to "Kill X number of generics, officers, famous officer, otherworld invaders, troop types, or a particular officer." The only problem is only 5 requests can be accepted at a time and very few can be stacked together, thus adding a ''huge'' degree of FakeLongevity. It's very telling when trophy progress tracking sites showcase this one as having a lower completion percentage than the one for collecting all the Mystic Weapons[[note]]It also helps that Mystic Weapons can be more-easily obtained within some of the DLC stages for Gauntlet Mode too[[/note]].

* AuthorsSavingThrow:
** The TrueEnding for ''3'' was very poorly received as it consisted of [[spoiler:the fighters being returned to their respective eras/worlds as the dimension Orochi made collapses. The problem is everybody involved [[EasyAmnesia loses all memory]] of the {{Crossover}} series, meaning everything might as well have never happened, thus they resume their historical roles, going to war against the other factions in their respective franchise. When one considers the storyline of ''3'' was meant to bring humanity together, putting aside ambitions, grudges, selfishness, etc., to work for the greater good]]. This left a bad taste in a lot of people's mouths. ''3: Ultimate'' extended Story Mode by {{Retcon}}ning the TrueEnding of ''3'' and continues it via the good ending, instead. Furthemore, the actual ending of ''Ultimate'' [[spoiler:ensures nobody loses their memories; while characters from different franchises still part ways forever, characters from the same franchise aren't likely to kill one another or otherwise come into conflict with]], a stark contrast from the TrueEnding of ''3''. And while ''4'' follows up the events of ''Ultimate'', the characters still lose their memories just like in the vanilla True ending while the Mystic characters retained theirs.
** The announcement of ''4'' also has a clear message that the series will be back using the traditional Musou stage format and moveset style. Those who has been disillusioned with the change in moveset style and the venture to open world in ''VideoGame/DynastyWarriors 9'' were regaining their faith in Koei.
** The "Enemy officer defeated" quotes had been a frequent hassle for players because it keeps clogging the general message feed and in non-English dub games, it causes players to miss several mission objectives. It takes ''Warriors Orochi 4'' to finally remove them and the quotes can be only heard in the field.
** The 1.05 patch for ''4'' gave a majority of the Chinese-based figures (particularly anyone with EX Attacks) extra elemental activation charge attacks, putting them all in proper line with the ''Samurai Warriors'' figures that can spam Hyper Attacks all-day.
** Many fans were dismayed about the guest characters being cut out from the fourth game. The expansion seems to bring back three of them starting with Joan of Arc, Ryu Hayabusa and especially, Achilles.
** A lot of players are dissatisfied with the ending of ''4'' due to being singular and very similar to True Ending from ''3''[[note]]The humans went back to their time periods with their memories of the Orochi world erased ''again''.[[/note]]. Just like the third game, the expansion receives two new endings.
** Players hated the new user interface in the fourth game due to how cluttered and difficult it is to sort out and find certain characters. Fortunately, the expansion brings back the original [=WO3=] user interface where all the characters are sorted by faction (''Dynasty Warriors'' characters) and game debut (''Samurai Warriors'' and ''Warriors Orochi'' characters).

** Though minor, one of the [[Main/GiantMook Gyuki Clones]] is [[Main/NamesTheSame named]] [[Characters/JumpForce Galena]]

** A LOT of people were most likely confused whenever they heard both Taigong Wang and Sun Wukong's names in the Japanese on'yomi reading (as respectively, Taikou Bou and Son Gokuu), meaning they may have been thinking way too hard about [[Manga/HoushinEngi two]] [[Franchise/DragonBall different]] ''[[Magazine/ShonenJump Shounen Jump]]'' manga/anime that have their own portrayals/versions of those two very characters with their names in that popular Japanese reading ([[NamesTheSame because their names are technically the exact same]])...