Koei's flower has finally blossomed.
The only reason I took off a point on gameplay is because of... well... pains me to say it, but... it's still the same kind of hack and slash game much like the previous 'Warriors' games. Although it scored high because there's still much to do. The majority of the characters have 5 different stages to start with, while other warlords may have 6, new skills are introduced leading you to an advantage in battle, Enemy A.I. has improved like mad due to all the blocking and evading which makes them harder to take down on occasions, Multiple missions have you running around on the battle trying to accomplish tasks like a difficult challenge, storylines are well-placed according to each character, and best of all... There are 10 new samurais for you to take control of, yet sadly, some characters were replaced. There's also a lot to unlock too; Cinemas, Weapons & 19/26 characters. 7 of which are unlocked by default at the beginning. One last thing I'd like to discuss in this section is the Sudoroku. This little mini-game plays very much like monoplay or so they say... It's kind of fun to duel against the other opponents when you land on their territory as some of the challenges seem near impossible for the player to beat. Then once you collect three randomly placed flags around the board, you take them back to the home base to obtain gold. You repeat until you've won, though the dice rolls can be a little cheap when you keep rolling 1 like 5 times in a row before making it back. The entire board game itself is not a bad addition at all to the game. I actually find it worthy.
GRAPHICS: 10/10
I have never seen a game from Koei as flawless as this. When I first saw the cinema graphics, even for Oichi's tale, I drew a breathless breath. Now all I thought was... how realistic and gorgeous! The end of Oichi's tale, when Nagamasa Azai dies, you can see how realistic the characters can be. Oichi, crying over her husband's death as she remembers the flower given to her, she takes it from his hand and places it in her hair, then suddenly Nagamasa poofs into a million little sparkles/petals creating a beautiful site, with Oichi's hair and clothes swaying in the wind watching her husband's fragments disappear into the air . The character designs on the in-game seems to have improved a little too. I didn't think that mattered too much even on the framerate, since the cinemas are what really grabbed me. SOUND 10/10:
I enjoy the music very much in this game, from tranquil scenes to action on the battlefield. Voice-acting is definitely better in this one than our last Samurai Warriors, luckily.
REVIEWER'S OPINION:
Like I said, a worthy addition to the Koei franchise of hack and slash games, even for a price that doesn't fetch as high as Final Fantasy, it's still addictive as ever. Although, some people may find this one a little confusing at first, but after a few hours, you'll get the hang of it.