Create your dream team of heroes from across all the Warriors games.
Between each battle you navigate a hub world where a number of activities can be performed. The formula I found to work was to make friends with other heroes by throwing parties. Once you have established a relationship with certain characters you can chat with them to unlock more missions. Finally, the blacksmith is always ready to help you craft new weapons. WO3 uses a fusion system to upgrade weapons where you can merge two items into one, selecting which attributes go into the progeny. It is an easy system to follow and I was able to create some very powerful weapons with attributes like elemental damage, speed increases, or higher item drop rates on the battlefield. The currency used to buy weapons and also level up characters is in the form of gems that are earned in each fight.
One of the most impressive aspects of Warriors Orochi 3 is the sheer amount of content that comes in the form of the unlockable characters. Boasting over 130 playable heroes, WO3 does not make it easy to select a consistent team. I was always trying out one of the six new characters I had rescued in the previous mission. Each of the characters has a weapon specific to them, as well as their own unique moveset. The majority of the characters come from the Dynasty and Samurai Warriors games, but there are a number of cameos from other franchises (Ryu from Ninja Gaiden) and Omega Force’s original created characters. The characters also come packed with a couple different costumes, adding to the variety. Needless to say, I never played with the same team twice unless I was forced to in order to complete a story mission.
Team up with a co-op partner to unleash fantastical attacks on the battlefield.
The co-op in Warriors Orochi 3 allows you and a friend to pair up and fight in a battle that the host player has previously completed. It is a little confusing at first, as you have to talk to a specific NPC in the hub world to invite a friend into your battle, but totally worth it. What is better than decimating whole armies with your favorite hero? Doing it with a friend! There are no major changes to the gameplay, other than the fact that you both get to share the satisfaction of killing double the amount of enemies per level. Omega Force has included another mode called the ‘Musou Battlefield’ that is a user generated content system. In this mode, you are able to create your own battles and share them with others. A cool addition, but something I foresee being used only by the most dedicated Orochi fans.
For fans of the series this will do nothing more than validate your purchase that you have already made. The amount of characters, stages, and unlockables will keep the hardcore fan engaged for months. The soundtrack is verbose and features both classic and original tracks, which fit so well with the fast paced nature of the game. This is the ultimate crossover of the Warriors franchises and it is truly amazing to see all the different heroes coming together across time to save the world. For those of you who wrote off the series a while ago, don’t fall into the same trap as I did and write off Warriors Orochi 3 because it is an excellent game that is full of content that any gamer can appreciate.
This review of Warriors of Orachi 3 is based on the PlayStation 3 version which was provided by the publisher.
Verdict
Co-Op Score
Overall
The Co-Op Experience: Team up with a friend either locally or online to battle hordes of enemies in huge epic battles across the story mode and custom levels.
Co-Optimus game reviews focus on the cooperative experience of a game, our final score graphic represents this experience along with an average score for the game overall. For an explanation of our scores please check our Review Score Explanation Guide.