Samurai Warriors 2

[Robert Sharp]

Ok, I know there are only about 5 of us that like these games (Dynasty Warriors, anyway), so this thread is for us!

I didn't play the first SW game, but I've played all the DW games and I like them. I've heard SW has some twists on it, and this new one seems to really have some new features (extra depth to musou attacks, for example...unique attacks by character). I'm really looking forward to it. It's supposed to release next month. Is it already out in Japan? Has anyone tried it, or an advanced copy?

http://www.gamingtrend.com/GameInfo/...hp?GameID=4788

[Kitsune]

Is it already out in Japan? Has anyone tried it, or an advanced copy?

Yes, and it's fantastic. It uses the extra power and oomph from the revised Dynasty Warriors engine seen in Shin Sangoku Musou 4 for great effect. It really improves on the lesser points of the first game, or downright nixes them and replaces them with something more compelling, or rethinks them out from scratch. My dominant impression of Samurai Warriors vs. Dynasty Warriors is that Samurai Warriors had a more visceral, smoother feel to it as opposed to Dynasty Warriors more methodical, step-by-step feel.

It's been a while since I played it, since it was released here this February, so I don't remember the nitty gritty of the exact details. I think you could say it manages to separate itself from Dynasty Warriors more completely this time by tweaking the focus. My impression is that Samurai Warriors has become "Who and what am I going to be in this conflict?" whereas Dynasty Warriors is about, "How shall I interact with history amidst the waves of these battles?" I feel like Samurai Warriors has come to concentrate more on the RPG-esque/Diablo-side of character building that the two sisters series have integrated into the beat-em up war battles and Koei just absolutely nailed this execution brilliantly. There's also the fact that the game's scope feels much more broad now that it's the second game and they can expand on ideas, so its closer to the later Dynasty Warriors in how many options you have to enjoy the core idea.

Sorry for the vagueness, but there you are.

-Kitsune

[BobJustBob]

I also never played the first SW, but I'll probably pick up this one.

[Limedust]

If Koei has toned down the rampant fruitiness of the characters from the first, then I'm sure I will enjoy it. That was really my only gripe with SW, and something that the DW series has always nailed perfectly.

[curst]

Please say they got rid of the random-layout castles. I haven't played the original in a long time and can't remember why I hated them so much, but, uh, I did. SW was really cool otherwise, assuming you haven't had your fill of the Warriors games.

[RobotPants]

It's hard to tell from the screenshots, but I hope this looks more like a 360 title than the 360 Dynasty Warriors does.

[BobJustBob]

No graphics snobs allowed. This is a thread for people who like to play games. You want the PS3 thread, over thataway ---->

[VegasRobb]

As a newcomer to the genre. How does Dynasty Warriors compare to N3 and how does N3 compare to SW?

[BDGE]

As someone that put an embarrassing amount of time into Samurai Warriors on PS2, I'll be the first in line to snatch the sequel.

The first game essentially acted out similarly to any Dynasty Warriors game featuring the same canned combo system and 'whack-em-all' battle structure; however, the hero development is far broader than its cousin. Points can be dumped into a variety of combat skills upon level-up, campaign missions branched based on battlefield goals you can choose to undertake or avoid on the fly during every map. The experience really came off as more character-driven compared to the mostly-samey progression that comprises the multitude of heroes under the 3-kingdoms in a DW game.

The big problems with SW involved the lameduck castle stages(randomized dungeons with respawning enemies and no savepoints); and some egregious balancing issues that only got resolved if you purchased the $30 expansion.

The sequel supposedly maintains the tight focus on character missions and signature stage goals, but removes the infamous item-collection and skilltree upgrades in favor of a shop interface to microtransact your combat potential. I personnally prefer the challenge of taking down a dozen midbosses for some phat loot, so I hope this redesign pans out.

[Demon G Sides]

My friend from Hong Kong has this to say:

OMFG Honda Tadakatsu is the shit in this, as well as Date

So... If you liked the first, I guess you'll like this...

Also: Nothing like N3, which same Hong Kong friend has. N3: Way more men in Brigades. SW2: More of a squads fighting against a hero things going on. Its also HIstory! Which is always fun.

[BobJustBob]

You can already buy extra content for this game on the Xbox Live Marketplace, despite the game still being three weeks out. Extra mounts and guards, for 60 and 40 points respectively. Thirteen pieces of content totalling $7.25.

This game was a must-buy for me, but now I'm having reservations.

[BDGE]

Really? I can't imagine Koei physically removed content from the game to gouge us on the marketplace, probably just some bonus saddles/skins tossed together for the hardcore.

The game is ridiculously cool though, having tried it out briefly this weekend. Looks really nice with lots of gaudy effectwork and flying messages on screen for beating samurai up, doing which nets gold to blow in the shop on crazy skills and traits. LOTS and LOTS of skills and traits to equip.

You can't seem to pan the camera out though, SW1 had that option and it was crazy nice to get a glimpse of the peons about to jack you from behind at all times.

[dogbert]

You can already buy extra content for this game on the Xbox Live Marketplace, despite the game still being three weeks out. Extra mounts and guards, for 60 and 40 points respectively. Thirteen pieces of content totalling $7.25.

This game was a must-buy for me, but now I'm having reservations.

The downloads are also 106K, which is relatively small for a new skin/model etc.

[Balasarius]

Wait - this is a 360 title?

What make it worthy of such a distinction?

[BDGE]

Yea, I took a look at the downloads, the saddles are usually standard across all of these games to be found via specific challenges. I imagine they can still be discovered normally, but those willing to pay can have them up-front without the hassle. They better be, at least the Red Hare one!

Not sure about the NPC allies, I would hope they are also available to be earned regularly instead of removed from the game for bucks.

[Demon G Sides]

Well.... I'm sure there are plenty of guards that you can have by exploring. The extra content is just that, Extra Content. Its nice to see at least one familiar face within the crowd of buyable bodyguards, though. (Tenkai Nankobo. Look it up. He's either Akechi Mitsuhide, or his son. Pending on Legends)

[Robert Sharp]

It's multiplatform, isn't it? So I assume the extra content is just for the 360 version and therefore is just bonus. People won't pay for a game with LESS content than it has on the other platforms.

[dogbert]

People won't pay for a game with LESS content than it has on the other platforms.

Tell that to Tiger Woods fans, which has noticably less content than the PS2/Xbox versions.

[Dirt]

I'd love to see them give King Arther and his knights a good treatment.

[Demon G Sides]

Samurai would own Knights... Hands down. Knights are heavy and slow. Samurai were generally lightly armored, and their blades never broke :P

[Robert Sharp]

Knights have lances...tough ones. Besides, heavy armor is not always a bad thing, ya know?

[Demon G Sides]

Yeah... Lances... SURE... Samurai have Yari, that can range from 8-20 Feet... Pretty sure that just 'Poned' (To quote from the gaming slang misuse thread) the Knight....

Of course, the Samurai sword can cleave through metal... Hence why, you know, Samurai rock....

[Fugitive]

It's getting murdered in the reviews. Word of mouth on forums doesn't seem that bad though, so there's probably just a big disconnect between series fanboys and reviewers tired of seeing roughly the same game over and over again.

I'll probably just keep plugging away on the DW5 series and maybe get this one from the bargain bin.

[Rob Beschizza]

I thought for a moment this was a sequel to the 8-bit game "Samurai Warrior," which was about Usagi Yojimbo, rabbit samurai.

I love that game. Also, when I was a child, I read "Dynasty Warriors" as "Dysentry warriors," which, even now, would be a fantastic game.

[BobJustBob]

It's amazing how the first Samurai Warriors scored so highly and the second one scores so poorly. And by amazing I mean stupid. By all accounts it's very similar to the first game, with some improvements and additions. But anyone new to the series would read the reviews and look at the scores and decide the first game is far superior.

[Jarrodhk]

I picked it up for the 360. The graphics aren't spectaular, but they do a good job. I'm really looking forward to the first edition of the DW/SW series that doesn't have as much focus on the ps2 for graphics.

Gameplay-wise it is very enjoyable. The special moves that each character have add a bit of variety to the fights. Also, each character has a particular emphasis when they level. Some characters get more normal attacks (up to 12), others get more 'charge' attacks. Still others get upgraded versions of their special moves.

The characters feel more unique this time around to me. While I still wish for a Japanese voice option, the american voices are acceptable for the most part.

For anyone curious, yes you do unlock Matsukaze (best horse) through playing, so you don't Have to purchase it through the downloads. I'm guessing the downloadables are just there as a quick way for people to get their favorite horse/guard/etc.

If anyone has specific questions, I'm more than willing to answer them to the best of my ability.

[Dirt]

The only game that can be "more of the same" and still get a good score is Madden Football. Personally, I don't get it.

[SqueakyFoo]

As a newcomer to the genre. How does Dynasty Warriors compare to N3 and how does N3 compare to SW?

N3 doesn't compare at all to SW. Samurai Warriors is just so, so, so much better than N3. N3 is more of a game of 2 armies clashing, while SW is you against an army, but that's not why SW is better. SW wins for having mid-mission saves, and if you fail a level, you keep all your gold and xp that you earned so you can try again. Whereas in N3, if you fail a level, you get to play the whole damned thing over again as if you'd never played it. So far, I'm really enjoying it, I picked it up on Friday and have been playing through one characters' story every day. And for those of you that are obsessed with gamerscore, this one is an easy 1000 points.

It's amazing how the first Samurai Warriors scored so highly and the second one scores so poorly. And by amazing I mean stupid. By all accounts it's very similar to the first game, with some improvements and additions. But anyone new to the series would read the reviews and look at the scores and decide the first game is far superior.

One review I read slammed it for having 'Madden-like incremental upgrades' and gave it a score of 50-ish%. I didn't check, but I wouldn't be surprised if that same site gave madden 80+%.

[BDGE]

I'm finding it to be a 'step-forward, two-steps backwards' kind of thing so far.

The engine, visuals, and skillsets are nicely updated from SW1, but the junkie in me is vastly dissapointed in the changes to loot and progression. Campaigns are less engaging and don't extend their reach to benefit the potential of maxing a character(You'll clear everything LONG before your character can feel the taste of being fully leveled, or even earning a 3-musou bar, WTF?).

Sub-missions are given less focus and lack the dynamic nature of the first game. No more branching paths, no more logbook collection. Part of the replay appeal of SW1 was taking on battles completely differently failing or succeeding at certain missions to ultimately alter the scope of a map(which the game even tracked for completists), now failure just means protecting your dense commander more than you'd like to.

The removal of items pretty much does away with the appeal of loot grinding. The new shop pretty much offers all the same encruchments in 'skill' form, but they don't carry over to each character like items used to, and with no pickups other than weapons, that require gold to dump randomized bonuses into(a waste given how quickly you can just earn an ultimate weapon) hitting up the harder difficulties for the promise of better rewards is gone entirely. There is just little incentive to drive replay, where is that dangling carrot?

As a straight battlefield beat-em-up, it works. The maps are well devised and usually have enough obstacles and scripted events to keep the repetition somewhat at bay. Compared to its brethren, it's confusing to think just how Omega Force wants us to commit to this game. It's gone too casual for my obsessive tastes I suppose.

The first game(with expansion) is far superior.

[Doug Erickson]

Man, the "Protect all Officers" missions SUCK to the point that I'm considering this game as trade-in fodder. I saved Naomasa Ii on the 5th Kotaro Fuma map only to have him die later at the hands of TWO PEASANTS despite him being at full health. I prefer the ebb and flow of DW combat over the binary pass-fail mission scripting of SW, as well. Escort missions SUCK!