Samurai Warriors 5 Review (Steam, NSW, PS4)

Written by Anthony L. Cuaycong

Title: Samurai Warriors 5 (Steam/PS4/NSW)
Developer: KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.
Publisher: KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.
Genre: Action
Price: $59.99

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Musou titles have always been big come-ons for gamers out to find adrenaline rushes. Even as the basic foundations of Koei Tecmo’s intellectual properties have largely stayed the same, new releases have invariably been awaited with bated breath. From the first Dynasty Warriors release on the Sony PlayStation way back in 1997 to spin-off titles like Hyrule Warriors and Fire Emblem Warriors, the anticipation with which they are greeted as they hit store shelves reflects their continuing capacity to meet their value proposition.

There are, of course, differences between branches of the Musou franchise. From its release in 2004, Samurai Warriors showed the series’ tendency to be gritty and dark. Even as the tone of the series would lighten up somewhat over time, the first Samurai Warriors title set the stage for what Samurai Warriors would be like in future installments: gripping, intense, and story-driven, filled to the brim with action-packed sequences and emotional moments that would leave you invested in its characters.

Stories from the Samurai Warriors series would be largely similar from game to game, but the dramatic flair and presentation make each memorable. Not surprisingly, Samurai Warriors 5 succeeds in reinforcing the tradition. Changes have come – some good, some bad – but the soul and spirit of Sengoku Musou still beats strong.

In Samurai Warriors 5, you follow the tale of Nobunaga Oda as he rises from his station as an unknown backwater Daimyo to become one of Japan's greatest unifiers. You cleave through hundreds of soldiers via your chosen officer, and improve his skills and prowess in combat to better prepare him for tougher encounter. It's the classic Samurai Warrior experience in a new coat of paint. And despite its modifications, the core design still remains the same.

Each stage you encounter in Samurai Warriors 5 has you reliving key battles from early Sengoku history. With a brand-spanking-new set of active skills to play with, as well as new and expansive battlefields to roam, you may well view Samurai Warriors 5 as a novel experience and appreciate the many liberties it takes vis-à-vis the series. The departure is most felt with the roster cut and character redesign that Samurai Warriors 5 implements. Due to the more limited scope of its story, many officers from the later parts of Sengoku history do not appear. Pominent characters like Mitsunari Ishida and Ginchiyo Tachibana are nowhere to be found even in the game's Free Mode, and in their place come such notables as Dosan Saito and Nobuyuki Oda. The personalities are certainly enjoyable, albeit far from replacing a whole roster that series veterans have grown to love.

This is especially true with the new character redesigns, as they give even the old, prominent officers a new face lift. Make no mistake: Samurai Warriors 5's art style is actually quite good, and it takes pains to incorporate the changes with style and pizzazz. The problem, however, is in the nature of the redesign, as it touches not only on the character's appearance, but also on the way he is controlled. Gone are the unique move sets that used to underscore the uniqueness of each character's fighting style. Instead, new fighting styles boil down to what kind of weapon type is being used, with each character having his own preferred weapon to wield at his leisure. This might not seem so bad until you dive in deep, and realize that when characters wield the same weapon, they likewise share the same move sets – thus greatly limiting the characters’ distinctive traits.

That said, while characters in Samurai Warriors 5 do share cloned move sets, the core gameplay of the Samurai Warriors series has not degraded. At all. You're still put under immense pressure to do well and cut through your enemies. In-game missions are still very fast-paced and rely on speed and precision to complete. This is balanced out by the abilities you're able to use in combat, giving you powerful move sets that let you buff your attack, increase your Musou gauge, or even perform special attacks tied to a cooldown. True, the gameplay is limited by relative homogeneity, but its intensity has not been reduced, and it's still as fun as ever.

Through all these, it bears noting that the story is a standout. Samurai Warriors 5 does a callback to Samurai Warriors: Spirit of Sanada's more intimate, personal storylines. Experiencing Nobunaga's personal journey might not be unique to Samurai Warriors 5, but the way it introduces its characters, events, and relationships helps in contextualizing how they behave the way they do, and even helps in empathizing with them and understanding their thought processes.

Moreover, in true Musou fashion, you are given the opportunity to enjoy Samurai Warriors 5 in Free Mode and Citadel Mode. These add a tremendous amount of extra content to play through, especially in the game's harder-difficulty stages, during which enemies are more aggressive and rewards are enhanced. At times, Samurai Warriors 5 even feels like too much content to pore through, especially given how much grinding is required to fully max out a character, or to create a strong weapon that anyone can use. Then again, it’s all content that you can play at your leisure, and it’s not mandatory to experience the game at its fullest.

All things considered, it's easy to say that Samurai Warriors 5 seems to have changed a lot. The flipside is that the things it changed doesn’t really impact how it plays. Not everything is perfect, but the fact that it holds true to its roots as a Samurai Warriors game ensures its capacity to give you exactly what you expect from the series, if in a more stylized, personal form. It runs smoothly on the PC and the Sony PlayStation 4 Pro, and is perfectly playable on the Nintendo Switch docked or on the go (although with some stuttering). It still promises tens of hours of entertainment, and it's a visual treat. Samurai Warriors: Spirit of Sanada remains the gold standard, but Samurai Warriors 5 is very, very close.

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THE GOOD

• Interesting setup and take on Nobunaga's story
• Still as action-packed and intense as ever
• Beautiful character redesigns art style

THE BAD

• Cloned move sets and smaller roster can put off series veterans, especially if their favorites are cut
• Still requires tons of grinding in order to max out weapons/characters
• Misses some iconic characters

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RATING: 8.5/10

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