Dynasty Warriors: Origins Review (XSX)
Summary: You may still find there's something big enough in Origins to help you fall back in love with the series if you've been away from it for a while, but...
3.4
Back again
As inconsistent as the way you’re meant to pronounce the ‘Dynasty’ in Dynasty Warriors, the Dynasty Warriors series has been trundling on now since 1997, and in that time the series has seen many ups and downs thanks to its unique Musou-style gameplay. As much a technical showcase as a highly repetitive one, Mousou has endured over the years to satiate the gamers who want to pick up a controller and thrash hordes of armoured soldiers, sending them flying everywhere like rampant confetti as you furiously swing various bladed weapons by stabbing face buttons repeatedly until the swarm are scattered about in agony, and clutching to the remaining slithers of their rapidly diminishing health bars. Now, Dynasty Warriors: Origins has burst onto the scene to revitalize Musou gameplay and to rejuvenate the Dynasty Warriors series, but can Origins overcome the icky habits of the series, or is the ‘Origins’ namesake a misnomer?
The ‘Origins’ part of this latest Dynasty Warriors tale signifies a renewed focus towards adapting the first part of the ‘Romancing The Three Kingdoms‘ novels, taking the Dynasty Warriors series in a new story-driven direction as you see the three kingdoms in their rise to glory and prominence, as opposed to the established forces they become later on in the series.
The way you’re sprung into the fray is cliche because we take on the role of a blank-slate protagonist pretty boy known as “the wanderer”, who we name and select dialogue options for because otherwise the poor chap won’t be able to contribute anything meaningful during cutscenes. Furthermore this impressionable young buck has experienced amnesia, adding a sense of mystery to Origins that may seem intriguing, but this disposition seems like a laughably cliched excuse to bring a new personality into the fold. The set-up for an amnesia-based protagonist doesn’t feel authentic, rather it seems tacked on to put the central focus on fighting, and appears to be harnessed as an excuse to offer up a bevy of trite dialogue options.
Another area that blunts Origins’ storytelling spear is how much waffling that goes on. The momentum of the story is undercut sometimes by cutscenes that meander in a similar fashion to a science nerd spewing physics jargon at a disinterested and desperately bored 8 year-old. Early on, you chat with series’ legend and military general of the Shu army Guan Yu, and as he chatters away at you by the campfire, your character ingests it all, but as the player you know too much talking is happening, and you might just wish the natter concerning intricacies of the Dynasty Warriors legendarium was dialed down a tad. All the pre-war planning is tepid as well, but if you’re a strategist and enjoy the tactical aspects of preparing your battlefield invasion, then you’ll likely embrace all sides of Dynasty Warriors warfare.
If you’ve been following the Dynasty Warriors series over the years, your knowledge of the Wei, Wu and Shu armies and their key generals and soldiers will help you to navigate the game’s themes of politics and diplomacy. Newcomers may not feel as comfortable jumping into Origins and attempting to understand all the strategic warfare and quarreling as the well-seasoned veterans, but considering Origins (as the name suggests) is telling a beginners story, they shouldn’t feel too lost in all the goings on, but even if they did find themselves submerged by it all, it’s the awesome screen-clearing combat that’ll plant them right back in and keep them invested.
The campaign includes an overarching map you can walk through like you were playing a fancy JRPG, only in Origins you won’t be pinched on the bum by a cheeky critter en route to a turn-based tussle. Rather, this map provides you with opportunities to participate in skirmishes, purchase supplies, and collect precious pyroxine crystals (nothing to do with hydrogen peroxide!) and old coins you can trade for rewards. Skirmishes are a great way to level up your character and improve your weapons. Venturing across this map is leisurely and is a nice way for you to drop into any battles you want to participate in, though the amount of activities is sparse.
On the battlefield, Dynasty Warriors: Origins balances comforting familiarity with fresh new flourishes that bring an extra zing to the thunderous guard-thrashing gameplay. Jousts against commanders and generals are more epic now, as they require precise flurries and careful parries to deal the significant damage that’ll leave them vulnerable to getting themselves vanquished. Whacking and walloping area commandants haphazardly won’t get you far now, as they’ll ferociously smack you back with vengeance if you aren’t careful. To remedy this, you’ll need to time your parries, and if done correctly you can unleash a thunderous barrage of weaponized blunt force trauma that feels awesome to experience through feedback from the controller. Hammering the Y button as you hold a general aloft in the air with a deluge of brutal swipes is definitely awesome and empowering to feel.
There’s no underselling how impressive it is to see hundreds of hapless guards sprawled out in front of you ready to be sliced and diced with your bespoke spear or sword; seeing them getting hurled across the landscape after feeling the rage-tipped ferocity of your almighty thrusts is an empowering treat that still hasn’t lost its allure after all these years. Dynasty Warriors continues to make players feel like badasses of the battlefield, which has been amplified meaningfully due to the fluttering of new wrinkles, such as the ferocious parry counters and the scintillating combo swipes when a pack leader becomes stunned, allowing you to unleash bedlam on their vulnerable bodies.
Trouncing human enemies and commanders aren’t your only concerns in Origins. Sometimes curses spill over and corrupt your enemies to that they can become ghostly silhouettes, forcing you to destroy stone pots in order to rid the curse. The combat zone can also be tormented by tornadoes that can pose a significant challenge as they can wreak havoc on your army and impede your progress. Gates need to be manually opened or otherwise knocked down too, which can slow progress down until you’ve eradicated surrounding forces who may interrupt your ambition to break through and topple further opposition.
While there are some good rejuvenating touches that make Dynasty Warriors: Origins feel renewed, it also feels painfully familiar as well, and that can be a big turnoff if you’re expecting something truly evolutionary out of it. Musou isn’t everyone’s preferred gameplay style, and hacking away at guards over and over can still get quite boring and tedious, even with the marked improvements to battles. Most of the commanders and army generals don’t stand out either, often carrying the same kinds of weapons and posing similar kinds of threats. There’s also a lack of charisma and vitality to it all as well, which you’ll notice especially if you loved the older Dynasty Warriors games from twenty-plus years ago.
Admittedly, the musou sensibilities of Dynasty Warriors can drag Origins down somewhat. When you’re plonked onto the proving grounds, you’re in charge of turning the tide of battle, which does put you at the front and center of each encounter. Like a busy mother doing the grocery shopping and remembering every individual thing her husband and children want on the list, in Origins you’re running around figuratively throwing water on fires when your allies are in dire straits and need back-up. Sometimes if you aren’t quick enough, the enemy commander might flee, meaning you fail and need to restart from a preferred point on the map.
Babysitting your allies isn’t ideal either. You shouldn’t be responsible if your brothers in arms don’t have an army strong enough to blitz through enemy strongholds. Failing missions because you failed to protect them is annoying and is an example of archaic design that shouldn’t exist in a modern Dynasty Warriors title. Protecting and ensuring the health of any A.I in games can be grossly unfair and can keep you from completing the task at hand, and sometimes Origins has you concerning about too much besides the main objective-which can ultimately mean there’s too much busywork for you to contend with on the side.
Final Thoughts?
Even with its rechristening, Dynasty Warriors: Origins brings to the war table, it’s hard to shake off the feeling that this latest entry in the long-running franchise isn’t doing enough differently to truly distinguish itself from its predecessors, despite the sense the series is starting afresh by calling itself Origins. The story in Origins does give you the chance to rub elbows with series’ stalwarts, but your amnesiac non-speaking protagonist is one big ol cliche, and the colour and spirit of past DW titles is missing. Then there’s the combat, which is rife with a seismic and satisfying heft that’s made even more commendable due to devastating counters and parries which can send swarms of foes flying, yet by the same token Origins still encourages you to repetitively wipe out ceaseless droves of enemies without little to differentiate itself or any way to break up the sense of monotony.
You may still find there’s something big enough in Origins to help you fall back in love with the series if you’ve been away from it for a while, but be aware that although there are some good additions and a sense of newness, it’s still lugging about undesirable old habits that need to be upgraded and amended so that the series can remain fresh. Don’t refrain from this entry if you want to dive right on in, there is definitely some gratifying skirmishes and wars to embroil yourself in, but this isn’t quite the refresh for the series you might expect.
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