This week, Japanese gaming mag Famitsu has uneviled four new playable combatants in KOEI’s seventh mainstream instalment of the Dynasty Warriors series (know in Japan as Shin Sangokumusou.) Since it’s second incarnation which launched during the early days of the PlayStation 2, the series has changed little, recycling the exact same story torn from the pages of Ancient Chinese history, only adding new characters and mechanical tweaks along the way. Though the gameplay in Dynasty Warriors 7 looks identical to its predecessors, this time KOEI have gone the extra mile, extending the narrative timeline from 234AD to 280AD. History lessons aside, an extra 46 years for the game to explore inevitably means an extended roster of characters, which is said to be more than any other Dynasty Warriors game to date.
The first of the four new warriors is Ma Dai of Shu, cousin of Ma Chao and executioner of the rebellious Wei Yan. His primary weapon is a “magic brush.” The three other fighters, Deng Ai, Guo Huai, and Zhong Hui are all aligned to the Wei faction which then becomes the Jin faction, an era untouched by previous games. Deng Ai is best known for seizing Cheng Du during the final conflict between Wei and Shu, his weapon of choice being a “drill spear.” Zhong Hui conspired with Jiang Wei to overthrow the Jin dynasty but failed, he is equipped with floating swords. Lastly, the hand cannon-wielding Wei general, Guo Huai is making his debut in the popular series.
Dynasty Warriors 7 will be launching in Europe on March 25th, 2011. Be sure to keep an eye out for more character reveals.
Source: Koei Warriors
Sympozium
I’ll take Gundam over this unless its an improvement over the last game I might try it at a low price.
Jim H [Teabags]
I’m a long-time fan of the series, so after waiting several years to get my hands on Dynasty Warriors 6 I was very disappointed. However, from what I have seen so far, KOEI are making steps in the right directions with no. 7.
Grey_Ghost13
“drill spear” for the win! :)
Jim H [Teabags]
Sounds better than “magic brush.” However, with so many characters, there was always bound to be a shortage of decent weapons.
nemesisND1derboy
Class, I love Dynasty Warriors :D Had every one of the main numbered series and all the Empires and Xtreme Legends games for 1 to 5.
nemesisND1derboy
3 to 5 sorry!
Jim H [Teabags]
Same here, and I also picked up DW6 and DW6E too. Not nearly as good as say, DW5, but they are still good games.
nemesisND1derboy
I know what you mean. It seems that Dynasty Warriors has had the same problems as PES since moving to the next gen. 6 and the Orochi series haven’t been very good at all really.
tantalus_blank
I actually quite liked 6 – the combo fluidity was a massive step up for the series, though a lot of the gameplay elements did still feel very PS2
Jim H [Teabags]
I’m still on the fence about the “Renbu” system. It was pretty neat, but if you had to get from one side of the map to the other, your combo meter would drain by the time you reached your destination. Having something which sits between Renbu and classic DW would be great.
tantalus_blank
Yeah, it did kinda force you to choose a horse with renbu spirit. The way Empires handled it was a little more balanced with the weapons having a level of combo available, but it was a little dull to max every character’s weapons out in exactly the same way
DrNate86
I used to quite enjoy these on the ps2 but they are just so samey that I haven’t gotten any of the new ones.
Shakugan
DW5 was the best in the series, i hope DW7 top notch it :D
Jim H [Teabags]
Good call, and I would have to agree with you fully. DW5 had the biggest roster of characters and weapons, and though there could have been a better-structured campaign mode, it’s still the highlight of the series.
YOURMUMANDME
These characters are in the older Dynasty games but they aren’t as playable ones, only as officers on the field and part of the information timeline/history.
RadicalMave07
why is this xbox news as well,in a previous post it stated that dynasty warriors 7 was ps3 exclusive.
Jim H [Teabags]
The game is only exclusive to the PS3 in Japan. Here in the UK and in the States, it will multi-platform.
RadicalMave07
oh,ok,i was a little confused there for a second,thanks.