Dynasty Warriors

Dynasty Warriors 8 XL Complete is coming to Steam in a couple of days. It's apparently gonna retail for $50.

Haven't seen a DW game come to PC (at least in the West) since Dynasty Warriors Online, so this is interesting to see.

edited 11th May '14 1:49:35 AM by Nettacki

And now the game's out on PC today. Shot straight to the top of the Top Sellers list in short time. Impressive.

As for the port, well from what I can gather it looks like a cross between the PS 3 and PS 4 versions (the former's texture/model quality mixed with the latter's post-processing effects and higher resolution), it seems to run well, and it doesn't crash that much. However, there's no online multiplayer (local only). Also (obviously), it's best played with a pad.

edited 13th May '14 6:11:50 PM by Nettacki

I just bought the PS 4 version the other day, seems pretty good so far, though Koei has been slow on giving it updates for things like configuring depth-of-field.

with Dynasty Warriors 8 being a success on Steam,I hope this opens Tecmo-Koei's eyes for the PC market with the Warriors franchise.Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate is basically confirmed for a western release,if they give a PC port to that kick ass game,I'm sure it would be another success.

edited 14th May '14 7:43:04 PM by johnnysasaki

So anyone got their hands on the Japanese version of 8 empires yet? I am having a hard time actually getting good info on it.

Not me. Instead, I've been keeping myself busy playing a copy of 7 that I got on the cheap, waiting for 8 Complete to get a big discount on PC again. And in my downtime, I'm playing DW Vol 2 (the PSP game) on the Vita.

... I need to play Samurai Warriors Chronicle and Samurai Warriors 4. After playing 2 and 3, I still feel like 1 is the best of them. Best Warriors game I've played outside of Warriors Orochi 3 and Hyrule Warriors.

Although Granted I haven't actually done many ACTUAL Dynasty Warriors games.

Also, how did they drop the ball so hard with Dynasty Warriors Gundam 3...

Random thought: If they could give custom characters distinct portraits in Dynasty Warriors 4 empires how come that has NEVER HAPPENED SINCE.

I picked up Warriors Orochi 3 on Wii U awhile back. What are tips for handling generals in, well, general? I always die once they whip out their Musou attacks.

Block, block, block. And if it's Himeko, don't let her use it in the first place!

Some characters, like Achilles, are unblockable but in turn massively telegraph it so just get out of range and then counterattack their stupid face.

edited 24th Jan '15 10:06:41 PM by ShirowShirow

Yeah, well Dynasty Warriors 5 remains my favorite DW game. The pinnacle of the Pre-6 series, in my opinion, with 4 close behind.

And don't they do the custom portrait thing in DW 8 Empires? I thought DW 7 Empires had it too. Haven't played either though.

Haven't played Orochi 3 in a while, but know which attacks of yours make you temporarily invincible and use them. Typically they will be musou attacks or special attacks, so try to keep some of that energy in reserve. It's easier in Dynasty Warriors 8 since you can have up to three musou attacks stored, plus Musou rage...

edited 25th Jan '15 12:19:50 AM by Ryuhza

Been playing Dynasty Warriors 8 on Steam way way too long.

A random thought; the Shu roster is home to some of the most bizarre roster choices out there.

They could go for the logical choices like Liao Hua, Huo Yi or Zhuge Zhan, but for some weird reason the latest additions either accomplished nothing in real life, or did not exist. And only in XL did they add Fa Zheng; AKA the best strategist in Shu, and pretty much the whole reason Liu Bei captured Yi and Hanzhong in the first place.

edited 22nd May '15 7:06:56 AM by mrsunshinesprinkles

Half-off-topic, but if they ever do a Warriors game on the Napoleonic Wars, who do you think will be one to get the Bishounen treatment?

I actually got 8, or rather my sis did, and it's the first game i played in the series. It's actually a LOT better than I expected and finally gave me a good entry into the 3 Kingdoms mythos which I was interested in before but always found too dense to really jump into. It's quite fun, the combat while not particularly deep is plenty fun and easy to jump into, and the variety of unique weapons is fantastic with most of them being an absolute blast(Xu Shu's being like, one of the coolest swords ever). Plus it's just too awesome wiping out like 500 hundred dudes with one rage attack, just the insanity you can pull off is just deliciously crazy. While the acting is cheesy and a lot of the characters pretty flat admittedly, there's still a good few who really stand out. Oh, and the soundtrack? Amazing. Trio the Beryl, Beyond the Destiny, and Solo are probably my favorites.

I think in order from favorite to least favorite kingdom it'd go Jin > Wei > Shu > Wu. As for favorite characters, they would be Sima Yi, Simi Shi, Zhou Tai, Xu Shu, Zhang Yun, Jia Chong, Zhorung, Guan Yinping, Gan Ning, Yueying, Lu Bu, Sima Yi's wife, and Jia Xu. Simi Yi would be number one though, the laugh is too great. Zhurong is probably my favorite female with Guan Yinping close behind. Actually idk, I like the former more in gameplay/design but the latter more in character.

@Hallow Hank: Realistically speaking...Most of them, really.

@Vertigo: That flatness is sort of an endearing trait for Koei games, and makes those with depth stick out even more.

You have to love Sima Yi's laugh. Dude just revels at your pain.

Personal favorites are Cao Cao, Liu Shan, Sima Zhao, Zhang Liao, and last but most certainly not least, beautiful Zhang He. In particular, 8's design for Zhang He is absolutely stellar.

edited 22nd May '15 6:44:27 PM by mrsunshinesprinkles

Zhang He is basically DW's Vega, so of course the guy just clicked for me. Not to mention that he is an absolute beast to use, the claws are so much fun.

Out of the 3 kingdom "O Gs", Cao Cao was definitely my favorite. I did Wei's campaign first(which ironically was the hardest IMO) and he seemed like a more capable leader than Sun Jian or Liu Bei or at least stuck with me more. If anything Shu seemed like a shadow of its former self without Zhuge Lian who I felt was the biggest part of Shu's success.

Wang Yi deserves a shout out too. Probably the most badass female in the game and saves Wei from being a total sausage fest in the DW 8 historical path lol. Xing Cai is the prettiest though. She's too good for freakin Liu Shan :/

edited 22nd May '15 7:06:10 PM by Vertigo_High

Respectfully disagree on that Xingcai part. Liu Shan is a guy that plays the idiot part to a tee. He doesn't want the burden of governing a kingdom, he wants peace. In the end, he's one of the few characters who's willing to be the first to stop fighting, so the madness would end.

The funny thing about history is that Zhuge Liang isn't really Shu's reason for victory. His biggest accomplishments were either embellishments (Chibi was Zhou Yu's victory, and Yi Province/Hanzhong was indeed the work of Fa Zheng and Pang Tong). While a competent politician and scholar, his military record...Leaves a lot to be desired. The Northern campaigns were a string of awe inspiring failures. Heck, that famous rivalry between him and Sima Yi wasn't a thing; Sima Yi creamed him in every encounter.

Shu as a whole tends to be romanticized a ton, thanks to politics and, well, Romance of the Three Kingdoms. A lot of its officers were fairly trashy human beings, which even includes Liu Bei himself.

It's Cao Cao's presence and drive that set him apart. The man is an imposing figure that makes no effort to hide what he wants. But even if he's ruthless, his goals are ultimately noble, and he does want to see peace as well.

edited 22nd May '15 9:56:21 PM by mrsunshinesprinkles

Haha really? That I didn't know, that's actually pretty cool. Seems like a lot of adaptations then hype Zhuge Liang up like crazy, huh? I know there's a lot of debate about him and Meng Huo with regards to the seven captures thing.

Simi Yi is even MORE badass for me now lol.

Considering what Zhuge Liang had to work with he did really well. He is pretty much China's version of General Lee, always out numbered out geared etc but still does very well.

Meng Huo is fictional, none of that actually happened aside from Shu focusing on internal problems.

edited 22nd May '15 10:15:04 PM by Memers

I know his wife is fictional but I thought him actually existing or not is still a matter of debate?

@Memers: He was a very good politician, and one of Shu's crucial pillars, but the very reason his military campaigns failed was because he overstretched himself. In all instances, he failed on his goal to retake Chang'an, and his enemies defeated him by letting him exhaust his own supplies. In real life, he just wasn't that good a commander.

And there were several times that he had the advantage. The enemy just managed to outwit him, and then let him exhaust his own supplies.

Meng Huo actually did exist. He just wasn't as important as they played him up to be. He was the subordinate of the real mastermind of the rebellion within Shu, Yong Kai.

edited 22nd May '15 11:01:25 PM by mrsunshinesprinkles

Meng Huo the barbarian didn't exist and the fact that the Nanman were barbarians at all was fiction. They were just a faction of Shu that didn't want to stay with Shu after Liu Bei's death, with good reason.

Most of the southern campaigns and a lot of the generals in that section of the novel are fiction too and the 7 catch and releases is very likely fiction as well.

Heck Meng Huo's existence itself is up for debate as 'Huo' itself is a pun on 'catch' and so much of that section is complete fiction.

edited 23rd May '15 10:35:52 AM by Memers

Aight, you got me there.

Been maxing out on the weapons of my mains...Well, on their elements at least. Getting the gems for full attack strength would take a long time. Liu Shan, Zhang He, and Cao Cao have all the elements I want on their 6/5 star weapons, and I'm currently working on maxing out Sima Zhao's 6/5 star weapons, and actually getting Huang Zhong and Zhang Liao's star weapons.

I should play more with the other officers.

edited 23rd May '15 10:43:37 AM by mrsunshinesprinkles

Hey a Dynasty Warriors thread, where we talk about historical accuracy and how Zhuge Liang was a butt.

(You're welcome btw. :P)

Let's see, started with 3, sucked at it. Played 4 XL and 4 Empires, (4 Empires sucked). Played 5 and all its expansions (best in the series, love it). Played 6 (it sucked) and 6 Empires (it didn't suck, surprisingly). Played 7XL (loved it).

Played 2. Don't recommend. It's garbage.

Then what about Gerbahrd Leberecht von Blucher or Mikhail Illarionovich Golenischev-Kutuzov?

edited 23rd May '15 11:26:20 AM by HallowHawk

You...got me there. Honestly, it was a bit of misinformed remark; I know basically jack shit about the Napoleonic Wars.

@Arrow: glorious northern campaigns

In a honesty, though, complainjng about historical accuracy isn't helpful in a game with fire spitting tiger tanks. With DW, it is best to take things at face value.

We shouldn't hate Guan Suo and Bao Sanniang for being fictional when there are plenty of legitimate reasons to hate them.

As someone who has only played 8 and Orochi 3 seriously, how is post-7 combat different from the PS 2 days?

edited 23rd May '15 1:58:20 PM by mrsunshinesprinkles