Dynasty Warriors: Origins makes bold changes, and they’re already paying off

There was one string of moments that left me in awe while playing a demo of Dynasty Warriors: Origins at the Tokyo Game Show. This particular sequence began with enemy forces unleashing a barrage of arrows. My allies weathered the storm, but they were met by an enemy charge that I deftly countered with a tactical maneuver. Then, I was challenged to a duel by a rival general, Hua Xiong, causing numerous soldiers to surround us to form a fighting pit. As these events transpired, numerous notifications popped up telling me how many soldiers I had defeated, as allied officers cheered me onward to victory.

Moments like this are what make developer Omega Force’s upcoming action RPG so exciting. I was surprised by how fluidly these sequences were presented, as though I was adapting to the flow of battle in real time. I audibly gasped and hollered on several occasions, prompting event staff to approach me thinking that something had gone wrong. It’s not just that its story surprised me as a longtime fan of Romance of the Three Kingdoms; Dynasty Warriors: Origins is actually making several changes to the musou formula that may shock series’ fans initially. You can let your guard down for now; Omega Force has a sound plan to boldly reinvent the series, and I can already see it paying off.

The origins of a hero

The campaign ofDynasty Warriors: Origins stars the Wanderer, a mysterious hero who rises through the ranks as tumultuous events lead to a pivotal moment in Chinese history. This change alone should be enough to shock veterans of Koei Tecmo’s long-running hack-and-slash series. After all, it eschews the traditional approach where players select officers that belong to certain factions or kingdoms, often concluding their arcs in an ahistorical manner.

The Wanderer is unlike the create-a-warrior (CAW) feature, too, since he’s a male-only character. Speaking to Tomohiko Sho, the head of Koei Tecmo’s Omega Force division, at the Tokyo Game Show, the developer explains that