Ever since the release ofDynasty Warriors 2,Omega Force and Koei Tecmo have been milking the musou formula in countless games. Each title brings something new to the table, whether it’s a new game mechanic or different emphasis points in the story, but even with these tweaks, the basic gameplay formula remains the same. The player picks a warrior and charges into battle, single-handedly slaughtering hundreds or even thousands of enemies. After Dynasty Warriors,Samurai Warriorsis their second-biggest franchise that utilizes this formula.Samurai Warriors 4was originally released back in 2014, and much like withWarriors Orochi 3 Ultimate,an enhanced version was dropped without warning onto the PC market, retitledSamurai Warriors 4 DX,which was originally released in Japan in 2019.
Review: Warriors Orochi 3: Ultimate Definitive Edition
Warriors Orochi 3: Ultimate Definitive Edition is a game that lives up to its definitive edition claim.
Sengoku Warriors
Samurai Warriors 4 DXfollows the same general story of pretty much all Samurai Warriorsgames. It’s set in the Sengoku period of Japan, with the earliest battle occurring in 1555 and the final battle taking place in 1615. The events depicted in the game are historical fiction with an emphasis on fiction. Many notable generals and events are based on history and legend, though many creative liberties have been taken. Some events may not have ever happened, and the roles individuals played in relation to each other may not line up with historical records. In any event, should someone have a test on the Sengoku period looming in the future, it’s not advisable to use this game as a study reference.
Samurai Warriors 4 DXis at its core aWarriorsgame, so the bulk of gameplay involves charging into battle and mindlessly hacking away hordes of enemies. It’s a simple formula, but it’s what fans of the genre want. There are a few differences that help differentiate this title from the many other games like it. Instead of one character, the player selects two characters that are taken into battle, which can be freely switched when desired. Hyper Attacks are a new attack available to all characters that allow them to sweep through crowds of enemies. This new attack is a great way to plow through crowds of enemies, but is useless against high-ranking officers. Rage Mode grants the character temporary invincibility and enhances their attacks while draining the Spirit Gauge.
There are a few different game modes inSamurai Warriors 4 DX.Due to the large number of playable characters, 55, Story Mode no longer features one story per character. Each of the scenarios available in Story Mode focuses on a handful of playable characters across several battles. The story scenarios can lead to two different story outcomes: the Unification, which tells the conquest of Japan by Hideyoshi Toyotomi, and the parallel Sanada story, which focuses on the Sanada Clan. Not all playable characters will appear in Story Mode, but they do appear in Chronicle Mode and Free Mode. Chronicle Mode allows the player to create a custom character to play through the various battles. Free Mode allows the player to take any unlocked character and play them in any available battle.
What Puts the DX in Samurai Warriors 4 DX
Samurai Warriors 4 DXis an odd game. It’s not bad, but even during its original release it didn’t stand out that much from other Omega Force games. It’s still modern enough that fans of the genre weren’t loudly clamoring for a remastering like they did with some of the older entries, such as the ones before HD was standard. But regardless of the unusual decision to bringSamurai Warriors 4with all its DLC content to PC a decade after the fact, this is a good way to experience this game. The gameplay holds up well enough for fans of the genre, and the inclusion of all extra content can bring some new elements to the experience for players who have already played the original version. This is the best version ofSamurai Warriors 4, but aside from the inclusion of all DLC content, it doesn’t bring any significant upgrades to the original, making it a difficult sell for any but the most die-hard Samurai Warriorsfans.
Given the age ofSamurai Warriors 4,it can be surprising that it has a price tag of $49.99, especially compared to what a physical copy of the PlayStation 4 version costs at a well-known chain store which specializes in pre-owned games. In order to make sense of the fifty dollar price tag, we compared the cost of the vanilla version ofSamuarai Warriors 4on a different platform’s digital storefront and perused all the DLC. The cost of these items greatly exceeded the price tag forSamurai Warrior 4 DX, so if someone wants the game and all additional content, this isn’t a bad price. The question then becomes that, given the DLC is mostly cosmetic, is it something the player would wish to purchase?
The included content, which is advertised as over 150 pieces of DLC, appears to be every piece of DLC that was made available forSamurai Warriors 4.This includes many costumes, additional horses, a few extra scenarios, many parts for editing custom characters and additional pieces of music. As stated above, the cost forSamurai Warriors 4 DXis a good deal compared to the regular price for all the DLC. But like all deals, it’s only a good deal if it’s something the player already wants to acquire.
When porting a ten-year-old game to a PC, one would assume that there would be no technical hiccups. There have been plenty of bad PC ports through the years, but fortunatelySamurai Warriors 4 DXis not one of them. The frame rate remains consistent no matter how many enemies and their particle effects flood the screen. The character models and environments show their age as this was originally a PlayStation 4 game early in the console’s life cycle, but despite looking dated, the aesthetic value of them has held up. One reason to consider this particular game now is the portability given to many PC games by the Steam Deck, and the performance on that handheld device matches that of a regular PC.
Closing Comments:
Samurai Warriors 4 DXis the best version of the ten-year-old game. The performance is smooth with a stable framerate on both PC and Steam Deck. The large amount of included DLC is a nice incentive for those who are only familiar with the vanilla version or simply missed out on theoriginalwhen it arrived. Most of the DLC consists of cosmetic items such as new costumes or custom character creation parts, though. Overall, this is a great port ofSamurai Warriors 4,but unless the inclusion of all the DLC is a major point of interest, there isn’t much reason to revisit this game for those who already have the original.
