Warriors Orochi 3

I'm playing Warriors Orochi 3 Hyper, and the question is entirely justified. At a glance (or even a lingering stare), the continued success of the Warriors franchises is hard to grasp.

The game's a mixture of the two major Tecmo Koei brands: Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors. Both series that have long legacies and several games under their respective titles. The premise though is roughly the same: mowing through enemy hordes and everything that has any relation to Japan's early history.

Hyper is an extended version of the Warriors Orochi 3, expanded for the Wii U version and provides, for fans of these Japanese war games, plenty of enjoyable material to get into.

One peculiarity here is that we can play with a trio of characters during battle, moving seamlessly between them throughout the game. Each fighter in the roster's divided into power, speed and technique categories and have individual special moves that consumes Musou energy. Along with this there are specific weapons that we can customize and improve.

The story takes place a few years after the events of immediate predecessor Warriors Orochi 2. We are in a battle against a giant hydra with multiple heads and have no chance of survival. Many brave fighters have already fallen and the snake seems invincible.

The Moon Princess Kaguya has gained the power to be able to travel back in time, and thus sends remaining warriors Takenaka Hanbei, Sima Zhao and Ma Chao back to reunite warring warriors to win through. It's classic Japanese hero epic, expected ingredients - friendship, loyalty, betrayal and love - interspersed through dialogue.

Yes, Warriors Orochi 3 Hyper {} is very Japanese, if only because of the historical background. In essence, it is really just an exaggerated Hack'n'Slash. The number of enemies that we cut down in missions number into the thousands.

While there's a few tougher opponents between the easier and long-range fighters, all battles run with very similar concepts. Our role, simply and with little tactical thought, is to identify the next target and string together combos.

A fairly banal game system, that could be brittle and dull. Yet for some, there's an addictive entertainment to the slaughter. Between battles improving weapons, and gradually clocking up new characters until we hit over the 130 mark on the roster.

<newpage>

The special features of the Wii U version are limited. Besides the two new characters, there is a duel mode in which we are competing with three characters against the computer or a friend, with the whole thing expanded via cards as bonus items. The Wii U GamePad can be used for local co-op modes as another Pro controller player uses the TV.

But the title was originally designed for platforms without the extra options the Wii U offers, so there's little additional content here to recommend this as the "definitive" version.

The game's scale is quite impressive, especially when we want to find all the characters and dig into the levelling up system. there's a Musou battlefield editor, which we can create our own scenarios and share them online. Again, possible monotony when viewed outside proves fun when you get stuck into it.

The much bigger hurdle is the fundamental background of the game.

The Samurai Warriors and Dynasty Warriors games have never been light fare, and some may find the seemingly endless dialogues with inconsequential story will get on their nerves. Yet for the fan of the series, Hyper offers one of the best experiences in the series yet. And for these souls, the enjoyment at mowing through a sea of enemies will take some time to diminish.