Samurai Warriorsbegan way back in 2004. There have been many spinoffs in the series since, but it’s pretty astounding to know that in almost two decades, only five numbered entries exist. The mainDynasty Warriorsseries is a bit higher with it now being at aDynasty Warriors 9. That began in 1997.
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This is a series that never seems to end much to the chagrin of some gamers. They feel the franchise is repetitive and that the games always play the same. From the outside looking in, that may seem true for this newPS4andSwitchgame fromKoei Tecmo. However, longtime fans know there are a lot of changes withinSamurai Warriors 5to make it feel like a new experience. These changes are for the better and for the worse in some cases.
6Cel-Shading In An Earlier Era
This is perhaps the most striking change inSamurai Warriors 5, although it isn’t new for the entire series. The anime spinoffs have been using this style for a while now. In cases such asOne Piece: Pirate Warriors, it works well since cel-shading helps make the anime property pop out. Most of thoseOne Piecegames are pretty good too.
It works well forSamurai Warriors 5too even if it isn’t an anime. Another change to coincide with the new art style is that the period is set earlier than any game before it. Nobunaga is now a younger man on his journey to unite Japan. Both he and Mitsuhide are now the two focuses of the story. This age change is reflected through other characters as well.
5New Characters, Reductions, And Weapon Changes
There are several changes to go through in finer detail with the characters. For one, many of them have new gameplay styles that were seemingly chosen to reflect the new ages. For example, Ieyasu was well known for his giant drill-like spears in the series. He now sports twin katanas.
Even the lead characters are different. Nobunaga went from a Western broadsword to an Odachi. Mitsuhide was a katana user and while he still uses it, it is now secondary to his bow skills. Those are just three examples but there are many others inSamurai Warriors 5. It’s great forwhen playing co-op.
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The roster overall is smaller than the past game,Samurai Warriors 4, but it still boasts over twenty playable characters. Among the old cast, there are also a lot of newcomers such as Mitsuki, Sena, and Yasuke. Yasuke may look familiar since the character justhad an animeseries debut in 2021. He joins as one of the very few black characters in this series overall.
4No Create A Character
One downside to the character roster is that there is no longer a character creator.Samurai Warriors 4had a mode wherein players could create a male or female warrior and then progress them through their ownsamurai/ninja game. They could customize their abilities as well as their look and weapon design.
This was referred to as Chronicle Mode. That mode has seemingly been replaced by Citadel Mode, which is more or less like a tower-defense game. It’s not bad but it doesn’t equal the scale of Chronicle Mode.
3Not Many Clan Modes
Most games in this series have multiple families to follow. This is aKoei Tecmo special.Samurai Warriors 4, for example, had twelve starting points such as The Legend of the Takeda or The Legend of Kanto. This time around,Samurai Warriors 5primarily focuses on Nobunaga’s rise to power as well as how Mitsuhide aided him.
There are some other surprises inbound, but those two timelines are the main focus. This is more in line with how most ofthe anime spinoffsoperate. This is not so much a bad thing as the story is interesting. Nevertheless, it’s very different from the other games in theSamurai Warriorsfranchise, which may be disheartening to hear for longtime fans.
2Ultimate Skills
Samurai Warriors 4-IIhad a similar skill system butSamurai Warriors 5is different enough to merit noting the changes.Samurai Warriors 4itself did not have any sort of skill system, whileSamurai Warriors 5has a gameplay feature called Ultimate skills.
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These are actual attack commands that range from weapon moves to individual character specials. They’re great and add more variety to battle to thishack and slashgame. There are also passive skills to activate; for example, Pride temporarily raises attack power. Four of these skills can be equipped on a character at a time and they are unlocked via a skill tree.
1No Unlimited Saves
Saving can be a big issue in video games.Samurai Warriors 5has five save slots, which is better than the standard three that most games implement.Samurai Warriors 4relied on PS4 storage.
This meant that the saves were seemingly endless just as long as the system had enough memory. Going from unlimited saves to five save slots is a shame. This won’t be a problem for a lot of people, but the change is still something worth noting for the few players who do care.
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