Dynasty Warriors 3 was the first game in Koei's fairly lengthy series of Slash 'em Ups to hit Microsoft's
Xbox console, and after enjoying the second game on the
PS2, I figured it had to be worth the budget price the game eventually went down to. I don't know why, but Koei's game rarely seem to get reduced, or at least not at the same rate as every other game, trying to find a copy of
Samurai Warriors for less than full price is like trying to find a needle in a France-sized haystack.
For those who haven't played, or are generally unfamiliar with the
Dynasty Warriors games, they started life as a lame 1-on-1 fighter for the original
PlayStation, before the second game appeared with the
PS2 at launch, which looked and played a hell of a lot different. The game was now like a Next Gen spin on the classic Beat or Slash 'em Up, with you taking control of a character and being inserted into various battles from Chinese history, to fight, quite literally, armies of enemies and their more powerful generals. You did have some AI controlled buddies to help you, but on most occasions I ended up running that far ahead of them that it basically was me fighting the entire army anyway. The main thing that
Dynasty Warriors 2 had going for it that it's prequel lacked, was that it was incredibly good fun. The game really captured the spirit of a classic Beat 'em Up, and it was quite an awesome experience slashing your way through an entire army in what was possibley the best
PS2 launch title. The game was successful enough to warrant another sequel,
Dynasty Warriors 3, which first appeared on the
PS2, before making the transition to
Xbox not too long after.
The game retains the same basic gameplay structure as the second game, pick a character, and fight in a battle that he played a role in, your goal being to kill the enemy leader, and as many of his flunkies as possible on the way.
What makes
DW3 so much better than a lot of sequels, is that it actually adds things to the game that are useful. While the game only starts with 9 characters available, it's possible to unlock 40 characters from Chinese history to battle as. While you could say this is mostly a cosmetic addition, you cannot gripe at the fact the game has added a 2-Player mode to the game. You can fight against a human opponent, or play Co-op, even in Musou(which is the game's main single player mode), both options making use of split screen. This adds life, and general enjoyment, to the game immensely, as the battles are so much fun to play if you can send another player on a different route of attack, before meeting up in the middle of a battlefield to whup some rear. Also added, is the ability to mount War Elephants in a similar manner to the way characters can mount horses in mid-battle. The elephants only appear in certain stages, but it's a really cool inclusion.
One thing that has remained consistant, coming with the engine, is how fun the game is. While it may not be big or clever, there can be no denying that swathing through hordes of enemies, especially with the added 2-Player mode, is a really, really fun experience. It's perfect post-pub, or simply time-passing entertainment, with the co-op mode adding at least a few months worth of extended fun to the game.
The game does carry over the same flaw that marred the last game, if you can call it that, where the game isn't really one you can sit down and play for a day, because it can become quite repetitive, however, in the game's defence, if you play, say one mission per session, the game will not only last you a while in terms of actual game length, with there being 3 'plots' for Musou mode, depending on which master your character followed, but it won't become boring quickly when played in moderation.
The game does add a fault of it's own, in that I can't see why Koei removed the ability to save at certain points of a level. This means that if you die, it's right back to the start of the stage. What makes this more frustrating, is that if you die in co-op, the second player isn't allowed to continue, and the game ends. I haven't played any sequels past this game yet, but I really hope this has been sorted out in newer releases, because it's very frustrating, and a bit stupid really.
Controls in the game have made a fairly smooth transition to the
Xbox, with a basic layout being presented below:
X: Attack(multiple presses for combos)
Y: Charged Attack
A: Jump/Mount/Dismount Horse/Elephant
B: Musou(Super) Attack
L: Block
R: Draw Bow
Black: Toggle Maps
White: Display the Name/Life of characters
It's very easy to pick up the controls in the game, and before long it's quite simple to become confident in playing the game smoothly. My only complaints are that when you mount a horse, it's horrendously difficult to control, and that the block doesn't really work very well. However, the controls do respond in good time from the button presses, so I think this is more a gameplay issue.
Graphically, the game, as with it's predecessor, doesn't really bring up many complaints. The only issues are really some with enemies fading in and out too frequently, this being especially prominent in co-op mode, and the movements of the horses. Apart from that, the graphics are mostly pretty good, even if not exactly pushing the
Xbox anywhere near it's limits. To be honest, it doesn't really seem to have been upgraded all that much from the second game, and while this is a bit lazy, the fact that the second game remains one of my best looking
PS2 games means it isn't exactly terrible.
The sound in the game is rather...out of place. The characters voices are pretty silly, but in a fun, dubbed Kung Fu film, type of way, but what really stands out is the bizarre and cheesy 80s style rock music that the game plays. Hey, if you aren't going to give us more fitting music, why not let us burn on our own soundtracks?
I suppose that actually highlights one of the game's biggest problems, it's a simple port of a game made for the
PS2. Maybe if Koei put some work into making the game for the
Xbox, you know, with 4-Player support and the custom soundtrack feature, not to mention taking full advantage of the graphical capabilities, they could easily produce the best
Dynasty Warriors game yet. As it stands,
Dynasty Warriors 3 is a very fun and entertaining game, when played in limited doses, and features a very entertaining 2-Player mode.
While it certainly has it's flaws, on the whole, I've had a mostly positive experience with
Dynasty Warriors 3, and while I wouldn't say I regard it as a classic or anything, it's still a very fun game, and well worthy of 4/5. If you liked the second game, or the prospect of an ancient-war based Slash 'em Up intrigues you, I would easily recommend picking up the game. A further two sequels have been released so far, not to mention a whole load of spin-offs, so this entry shouldn't be too tough to find at a decent price, and is a good introduction to the series, and a good game in general.
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