More KOEI Chat

Obviously, with Dynasty Warriors 7 Xtreme Legends being the only thing I'm playing lately I'm thinking a lot about it and the other KOEI games out there that I just can't wait to get.  Like Dynasty Warriors Gundam 3 which I will hopefully be getting for Christmas and Dynasty Warriors NEXT for the Playstation Vita which I will definitely be getting for sure.  And of course, there's the above-pictured Warriors Orochi 3 that I have already talked about but I still want a whole lot.  And of course there's the never-coming-to-America Samurai Warriors 3Z along with Warriors Orochi Z that I can always pine for vainly on top of the hopes of ever playing a Romance of the Three Kingdoms game ever again, especially on a handheld where it would be a perfect friggin' fit.  Basically, what I'm saying is that I really, really enjoy the KOEI games that come out, no matter how often and how varied (which they really are, despite what reviewers tell you.) they are.

Warriors Orochi 3 is the thing that's highest on my list, however, as more and more reasons keep getting added to it as enticement for buying.  Even more cameo characters have been announced to join Ryu Hayabusa, Jeanne D'Arc and Achilles to the tune of Ayane from the Dead or Alive series (also from Ninja Gaiden, and she's no real stranger to DW games after being present in Strikeforce) and Nemea from Trinity:  Souls of Zill O'll.  Much like the previous three mentioned, they will have stages crafted specifically around the games from which they hail, so their inclusion is more than a token effort and it lends credence to the idea that even -more- could be on the way, as there still are franchises under the Tecmo-KOEI umbrella as well as their friends over at Bandai-Namco that are as of yet untapped.  Is it too much to hope for Ken from Fist of the North Star to find his way into Orochi's realm?  I think not.

Moving on, I am really looking forward to Dynasty Warriors NEXT as I said before for quite a few reasons.  Sure, it's looking like it's basically Dynasty Warriors 7 in your pocket which is fine enough right there, but there's quite a few improvements going on with it from what I can see.  For starters, every character that is in the roster from the latest release, Xtreme Legends, will be in NEXT, meaning you have the full list right at the start without having to wait for some sort of expansion pack game or anything else of the sort.  The next reason would be that some characters might just be 'decloned' or, in better terms, given new weapons so that they're not just randomly carrying around the same weapon as someone completely different from them.  No longer will Cao Ren and Dong Zhuo be walking around with the same flail, nor will Pang De and Zhang Liao thankfully.

But really, the top reason here is the return of CAW or Create a Warrior for those not in-the-know.  Create a Warrior is exactly what it sounds like, in that you have a character editor and can make your very own Chinese Warrior to run about the battlefield wielding whatever you choose and doing whatever you wish.  Or, just make a Time Traveler who dresses up like the rest of the people back then to fit in.  It more or less just depends on what you name your character and whatever you hope to have going through your head while playing your character out.  For instance, "Dian Shan" would likely find himself comfortable back then whereas, er, someone named "Alexander" might....not.  Just saying, it all kind of depends on what you want out of the experience; if you just want to make a dude to join the roster of 65 other characters and kick ass alongside them and don't care much beyond that?  More power to you.

Still, with KOEI games, you more or less have to take what you get which is a shame as there really is way more material out there that would be fantastic if we could get our hands on them.  The entire Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Nobunaga's Ambition series has basically been scrapped outside of Japan and while I understand it, I don't like it as I have lamented in the past, because that breed of game just...doesn't see enough usage.  I have heard whispers of Romance of the Three Kingdoms 12 (which is PC-Only for now) being compatible with some sort of touch screen support which gives me hope for a Vita release, but only just so, especially because Romance of the Three Kingdoms 12 puts you directly into the Rulers shoes rather than letting you decide just what you want to do.  Still, if it would come out, I'd buy it if just to encourage them to do better.  Also because it might be enjoyable still.  But mostly the 'do better next time' reason.