Dynasty Warriors 9 Review - Was Open-World the Right Step?

Dynasty Warriors is a long-standing series that has offered a stunning fighting experience for 21 outstanding years. Throughout that time, the series has mostly stayed loyal to their usual game style but Dynasty Warriors 9 went completely out of the box when Koei Tecmo decided now was the time to take those familiar characters into an open-world setting. Though players have been begging for something new, the dive into a more massive environment came with more than a few hiccups.

As a veteran of the franchise, I found that starting out the game was a little unsettling. I'm used to years of a certain direction in game and have come to expect that when Dynasty Warriors is fired up. The lack of clear direction at first took a little getting used to, but eventually evened out once I got the hang of it and the progression started out at an even pace.

The combat was thoroughly enjoyable, the classic style with a brand-new twist. The usual button-smashing was prevalent throughout the progression but the addition of the Trigger Attacks is what made combat exciting again. Slamming into the enemy with a powerful stun was gratifying, throwing them down, spearing them up – there was a lot mechanically that kept me engaged during the numerous battles.

Combos were also easy to do. Stacking the Trigger Attacks to make a special Musou move kept me on the edge of my seat more than once. It's definitely high intensity and your thumbs will feel like they had the workout of a life time once you set the controller down. With such a combat heavy game, smooth mechanics are vital and in this aspect the game soared.

What's interesting about this open world setting is that there are over 80 playable characters, meaning there are tons of different perspectives players must see the events through. Though the beginning provides a simple choice between three officers, the rest of the game unfolds to many different leaders that at times was almost too much.

Playing through each chapter was exciting at first. Being able to see the battle through different eyes and adapt to each perspective was thrilling but because of the scale, it quickly turned from enjoyment to a chore. Because of the overwhelming nature, it was too convoluted making it difficult to fully embrace the narrative. Pair that with the same missions over and over, the same crafting, the same battles – it got boring very quickly.

Where I feel Koei Tecmo made a critical misstep is that they tried something new without clear direction. Instead of taking one strong focal point and growing that, they went a little too deep into trying to please an array of gamers and gaming styles. Because of that, the flow from start to finish became jilty, inconsistent, and at times - nonsensical. A lot of the quest givers had zero personality, a large portion of missions had no viable meaning - it was a whole lot of nothing in vast quantities.

It was difficult to keep up momentum, making it very easy to put the game down and walk away. As a long-time fan of the series, I've never had that problem before. And I'm no stranger to open-world games either, it's not a matter of the open-world being the issue – it's the fact that there was no clear vision for the execution of this huge change that hindered this leap into a new style and its probability for success.

Each chapter must be completed to progress through the main story surrounding the five different Kingdom storylines, each chapter revolving around a character. Again, at first it was fun. Different recollections of events, different strategies, but as mentioned before – it became stale very quickly. Not even the different play styles could save the monotony from setting in.

Should the Dynasty Warriors franchise dip their toes into open-world once more in future titles, I would suggest depth. With all of those characters, it's no excuse to have zero personality showing through. Tailor missions, tailor outcomes more to not appear so random. Even the addition of different modes would have helped the dreaded repetition.

No co-op, no additional challenges, no variety. The only thing that made this bearable was the map traversion mechanics. The no loading screens were an effective touch, it kept the game going, helped when trudging through each chapter. The auto travel feature was also incredibly handy, especially for those that might be easily overwhelmed by large open-world games, the fast travel makes it easy to get from one place to another quickly.

Overall, the game was decent with a side of mediocre. It wasn't terrible and it was a treat to see the familiar clans through more intense in-game interaction. The idea was brilliant but needs a lot work and most of all, it needs variety. It's an interesting experience for those familiar with the franchise, but unfortunately doesn't have much to offer newcomers picking up Dynasty Warriors for the first time.

Our score: 2.5 out of 5