Samurai Warriors 5 review for Xbox Series X
Another week I bring you a new analysis. On this occasion, I am dressed in my shogunate clothes to tell you about my experiences in the unification of Japan in the Sengoku era. In a bloody moment for the land of the rising sun, Oda Nobunaga decides to launch a unification of the different houses, and those who do not want to unite … they must disappear. Since Koei Tecmo comes the latest interpretation, full of license and fantasy, of the Shogun’s war, Samurai Warriors 5. Big armies, a little paddle AI and a lot of shonen action on the screen.
Come to me, but with your face uncovered
Let’s get it straight from the start: Samurai Warriors 5 is a musou, and as such he behaves. It involves massive wimp battles, lots of special effects on characters with first and last names, and a war that seems to have no end. All of this takes us through scenarios, quite large and varied, wielding all kinds of weapons while we decide on great hosts. At the combat level we have what is expected in the genre, two button combos where the combination of that leads to some attacks or others. In addition, each weapon offers its own moves and stats. In this way, the agility of the double sword differs from the versatility of the spear, as well as it differs from the power of the hammer. There is a good distribution of weapons to try.
Yes OK each character has a default weapon style, or favorite, it is possible to equip any other. In addition, the more weapons we use, the more proficient the character is; leading to unlock stat boosts, as well as new combos to try out. Destruction is at an “S”. All of this, Although the protagonist is Oda Nobunaga, we also have a wide range of characters of all kinds to play with.
Although the fights It’s all a pushbutton and enemies are always wimps who are there to take hits, we also meet enemy heroes and heroines. These offer something more of a challenge, and more when they come in small groups. However, it’s also not a particularly difficult challenge, and just practice defending yourself and attacking when the enemy has finished their combo. To complete the system combat by combinations of X and Y, we have a series of final attacks when you fill the bar with musou. As well as an additional bar that allows you to enter “saiyan mode” considerably increasing attack and speed, in addition to allowing you to use a special musou attack per character. To complete the system, each character can equip four special moves related to the weapon used. These movements require a waiting time between use and use which varies according to the power of each.
Samurai Warriors 5 can be played alone or with someone. From local co-op multiplayer to an online matchmaking option, the title offers several possibilities for enjoying the art of war. If we decide to play alone, we can alternate between our main character and the partner we have chosen. It is useful for moving quickly in the cartography, since the one that you do not control manually knows how to find the objectives by itself. This runs up against the clumsiness of the AI, clearly our partner is smarter than the enemies.
Personal growth and empire development
As I have commented before, Characters level up and improve their affinity for the weapons they use, as well as upgrades to their skill tree. However, that’s not the only thing that gets better in this game, nor the only way to get better. Characters can use the experience gained after battles to level up even without a fight. Also, in exchange for mastery of weapons, it is possible to increase the affinity with the chosen weapon in the desired character. There are several systems for improving characters that we don’t use a lot. As for the Nobunaga Empire, we have “My castle”, which is a kind of building where you can perform actions.
As you can see, not everything is fighting, there is also a series of steps we can take in Samurai Warriors 5. Buying horses and combining them to get better ones, selling or buying weapons, applying bonuses and upgrades to those weapons or training the characters in the dojo are just some of the possibilities. At this point, it is interesting to note that the game offers the campaign to use, but also a My Castle mode. In this alternate mode, we are involved in additional battles to defend our territories. The objective of My Castle is to obtain materials, useful items and money for the empire to grow. Additionally, playing here allows us to improve the relationship between the heroes we use, which in turn leads to unlocking exclusive cinematic conversations between them.
The campaign also offers alternatives. In Samurai Warriors 5, we’ll unlock alternate lines featuring other characters. These will allow us to see the war from other points of view, as well as to get to know the other protagonists better. It is completely optional to play these chapters, but they will only be unlocked without advancing the story of Nobunaga and, in our turn, we play the middle chapters.
The glow is shining and what does not shine so much
Samurai Warriors 5 is visually rewarding. We can find a large number of enemies per screenas well as visual details throughout. It is true that there are graphic cuts here and there in the form of poor textures and simple objects in the decor, but the finishing of the characters is very competent. Each protagonist enjoys a broad smile, a totally unique outfit and a differentiated personality. It’s not Scarlet Nexus, but visually I liked the designs and the overall finish. In terms of performance, on Xbox Series X I had a smooth, sawtooth-free experience, as well as very low, if not instant, load times.
Sadly, Samurai Warriors 5 is still a musou. Fighting is fun and stressful, but it’s like beating lifeless dolls most of the time. The story makes sense when working on a prequel to the saga, but I don’t think it has too much historical rigor and it gets lost in the Shonen youth at many points. In addition, the combat interface can be somewhat chaotic and cumbersome. Each new objective or action is notified to us by pausing the game and opening the map, which I find a bit heavy because it constantly interrupts the action. Especially the game only offers English as a written language, while the Japanese take care of the dubbing. It is therefore necessary to master one of these two languages to be aware of everything that is happening.
Conclusion
Samurai Warriors 5 is an interesting action-and-debauchery title. The musou genre is kept alive by adding interaction, kill options, and dynamism to battles. Without a doubt, it is a game that knows how to dispel stress thanks to its colorful graphics and simple but colorful battles. It may not be enough that the game is not repetitive after a few fights. However, if we are looking for the genre of musou, this game will surely satisfy the need to feel like a god among mere mortals.
Samurai warriors 5
$ 69.99
Benefits
- Stressful
- Dynamic
- Many management options
The inconvenients
- it can be repetitive
- Has visual cutouts that stain the artwork
- Only in English
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