Quick Look: Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate

Rockin'

Two things I love. The Warriors games and hearing the crew be bored and spew hatred of the Warriors games! Maybe this time they'll call fans of this franchise stupid or something!

None of the above was sarcasm.

Hmm, do I want to listen to Jeff bitch for the next 48 minutes....

Edit - Actually not too bad.

When I opened GB this morning and this big, goofy image greeted me, I got a big, goofy grin on my face.

I usually watch all the Quick Looks, even the sports ones even though I dislike Sports strongly, but I might have to wait for more comments to see if they just crap all over the game without really playing it.

There are few successful game series I despise more than Dynasty Warriors and its many offshoots and there are few quick looks I like more than Giant Bomb quick looks of said series.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I think the difference between these games is:

Dynasty Warriors - China

Sengoku Basara - Japan

Warriors Orochi - China AND Japan

Isn't that custom for all Warriors QL's?

Yup, that's why I'm not going to watch this one. I don't mind if they dislike the game but they keep not really playing it and then just bitching about it. It doesn't make me enjoy the video and doesn't really help show off the game in any way.

Though I have to assume they do it with other series I just don't notice it as much.

These games are so zzzzz. But each to there own I suppose.

Sengoku Basara is a game in the same genre by Capcom set in Japan, your thinking of Samurai Warriors (which also just got a new entry in English).

Though essentially that is the difference in setting and character, though Orochi is also alternate world/extra characters like Ryu from Ninja Gaiden, but there are also some differences in the way the combat works between characters of different series and how the map elements (like bases) function and are laid out.

They are definitely not wholly distinct from each other, even if you like the game its easy to get serious burn out, but Samurai Warriors has a different feel with how the Musou (special moves) works and how the basic Square, Triangle and R1 combo's work though.

Sengoku Basara is an almost wholly different game owing to it being from a different company with a completely different combat system even if its the same genre.

No Lu Bu no deal.

@pazy: Oh right Sengoku Basara is the similar game copied by another developer. Samurai Warriors is the one I should have mentioned.

Thanks for the clarification.

@jeff@danryckert

Destrega!

Hopefully instead of just complaints about being harsh on the game people explain why they enjoy it. I'm honestly interested myself.

To continue to answer the "Why do people like Dynasty Warriors games?" question: as a kid, I always wanted a game that let you fight armies, rather than a few enemies. Dynasty Warriors came a lot closer than most games at that time (I started with DW2). So, as far as I remember, the games were actually quite impressive technically, at first. Beyond that, they're just fun to play, and continue to be, to some extent, for people into the games' simple combat.

As a reference, I've found every beat-em up game I've ever played to be pretty much impossible to enjoy. So I understand the surprise that people like dumb, simple games.

First Sengoku Basara is Capcom's slash a bunch of dudes series, Samurai Warriors is the Koei Warriors series.

As for the Orochi games are supposed to be the big fanservice filled mashup of all the the koei warriors games, the problem being it took them three (major) games to work out how to do fanservice, and even then they don't go far enough for that to be interesting. But then not going far enough to be interesting is kinda the koei warriors way.

For example in 8XL they added Lu Bu's daughter Lu Lingqi, which was potentially an interesting idea when you take the "Hypothetical" stories that the 8 games have added, which essentially means you could throw her into any situation and see how she plays off on almost any character. The problem was that they never used her, she appears in like three stages and never appears in the hypothetical stages, she never appears with Diaochan, her kinda stepmother, she rarely plays off of Lu Bu her own damned father.

It is the never ending problem with these games.

In the words of Vinny "if you're going to play a Dynasty Warriors you may as well get one with a Gundam in it"

LOL @ 21:18

Surprised to hear Dan liked Devil Kings. I wonder if he knows the third game in the series was released in the west as Sengoku Basara: Samurai Heroes on the PS3 and Wii.

Lingqi was an addition the Lu Bu campaign, which itself was novel for telling a completely different take on the Lu Bu story compared to past entries. Now that she is part of the cast, she'll probably be given more to do in a future Dynasty Warriors games.

As for the Orochi series, the first two games weren't meant to be a big Koei All-Stars sort of game. Warriors Orochi 1 was specifically a Dynasty and Samurai Warriors crossover. In Orochi 2, they worked in more new characters into the story that don't appear in either franchise (Kiyomori, Himiko). With Warriors Orochi 3, they not only added in characters up to and including Dynasty Warriors 7 and Samurai Warriors 3, but also added in more characters from other Koei and Tecmo franchises. So Joan of Arc from Bladestorm makes an appearance, as does Ryu, Ayane, and and increasing number of Ninja Gaiden/DOA characters as the WO3 revisions have come. They also doubled down on the new characters specific to the Warriors Orochi story with figures like Kaguya, Abe no Seimei, and in this latest version, Tamamo no Mae and Hundun. The crossovers have also grown to include a figure from the Atelier series, and bizarrely, Sophitia from Soul Calibur.

Anyway, Warriors Orochi evolved into its own story that allows for convenient insertion of figures from other universes. I already put over 130 hours into Warriors Orochi 3 Hyper on the Wii U, and I'm already making good headway in Ultimate. Could the game be more with its roster? Sure, but it's already got 145 characters at this point, and it still accomplishes the core goal, which is a fun DW/SW crossover that's just happened to grow in scope over time.

I've been following the Warriors franchise pretty ardently since it's (re)inception on the PS2. While I can understand that at surface level the gameplay might not seem to engaging, I've always had a lot of fun optimizing my characters, weapons, and strategy to master a given level/campaign. Weapon and character customization can get pretty intricate, specifically in later titles, and finding the correct ways to bring out of the full potential of a given character is quite enjoyable for me given all the variables (attack speed, knock-ups/backs, inherent elements in the character's attack chains, ect.)

Another reason I like Dynasty Warrior's so much is that the Three Kingdoms period of ancient China is pretty fascinating, as are the legends that were born from it. Characters from these games were real, historical personalities, and while it's highly doubtful they were the genocidal death dealers these games depict them as, they had to be at least compelling enough to survive as the legends they became.

To be perfectly honest, though, probably the main reason I like these games so much is that I grew up with them. I played the first game when I was 11, so I was pretty much at prime targeting age to be blown away by warriors who could fight off whole armies. They possess a certain nostalgia for me, and I have a fondness for them in the way people have a fondness for Zelda or other long standing franchises.

"I'll probably never be in a situation like this in real life." I just want to point out that that's probably something 99% of bombcast listeners say when the podcast gets to Dan Ryckert story time.

Dan Ryckert's life is as nonsensical to most people as the story of Warriors Orochi.

"Run over here, jam on square or triangle until a door open or something and then cut to some cutscene to some guy coming on the battlefield, hit square and triangle until he's dead, go get a ricebun or something... and then just go do that forever."

Might as well be talking about Destiny. Space ricebuns.

Well at least in diablo enemies attack you.

This on the other hand:

1. looks like garbage
2. has horrendous pop in issues
3. makes you fight in a clusterfuck of allies and enemies so you can't even know what you're hitting 90% of the time

This must be the feeling all the people who like anime feel when they listen. I will never try to convince other people that these games are worthwhile, I just like how mindless it is. I can see why they still make them, because I'm sure they don't cost a lot to make.

What's Naoto doing in this game?

I can see the comparison to Diablo, except that Diablo, even with its faults, has the best combat in the genre, and the Warriors game definitely do not. But as a past fan of the Warrior games, I do get their appeal.

Guys, remember Ninety-Nine Nights?

Just saying. For no reason at all. Just remembering that that was a game.

Edit: WOW, Dan just talked about the game, after I made this comment.

Sengoku Basara is not a Warriors game, it's just in that style. It's based on an anime. You're thinking of Samurai Warriors. You also forgot to link to the wiki pages in this comment, I'm disappointed.

Also it's hilarious to me how much Jeff hates these, when they're pretty much exactly the same as Diablo: A mindless thing to play while you listen to podcasts. It's how I've always treated them, and it works fine. Except for the actual Dynasty Warriors games, which I have no interest in. The spinoffs are fine, though.

e: Good, at least Jeff acknowledges the similarity, except seems to think there's more to Diablo, even though I'm not sure he's played a DW-like game past the first couple of missions in several years. And they think big enemies are new, when there were giant robutts in the Gundam games. And for the record, I think Pirate Warriors 2 and Sengoku Basara are the best DW-likes.

"You cannot defeat my perfect tactics of having my guys run at you and sort of stand around while you hit them. The glory of victory shall be mine!"

-every single Dynasty Warriors character

I was hoping Jeff would play the Gauntlet Mode since it is new to the WO Series and I wanted to see if it was good enough to get. Since I beat WO3 I was wondering if that content was enough to get this or just pass it by and wait for WO4 :(

Turn up the difficulty.

Basara is the greatest but I'm a sucka for those One Piece games.... Hell yeah I'm excited for Hyrule Warriors!

@21:00 "Look at this! Like, come on. This game is fucked, man."

I basically share Jeff's impression, which he expresses here and elsewhere. There's nothing wrong with the premise. It's the up-front shoddiness of these "Warriors" games that surprise me. I'm no Diablo fan either, but the disparity of Blizzard's polish and Koei's lack of attention to detail is apparent even to an outsider like myself.

To throw another "why do people like this" theory out there, I know a fan of the Dynasty Warriors games, but he's also a massive Romance of the Three Kingdoms otaku, so it has that appeal. I am also vaguely aware of a female/"fujoshi" following to these games (and Capcom's Sengoku Basara as well). So maybe it's an intersection of niches + the larger-than-life action that isn't better represented elsewhere, rather than one particular appeal that the game series has.

EDIT: I wonder if Hyrule Warriors will have more finesse than the usual Warriors game in order to accommodate Nintendo fans. And if it doesn't, what the reaction will be.

@theshrubber: how could i ever forget one million troop

Jeff sounds truly concerned about how people will react to Hyrule Warriors. I think he's afraid that people might like it and what a world where these games are mainstream would be like.

That menu looks like it was made in 1999.

Dan, plz. hate Persona more. I feels the same.

I loved the Endurance Run, but that severely sets the limits of my caring. And Charlie's last name will always be Tuna.

The 'I don't need to fight' demo, wow.........

'So you're just going through this charade to trigger the next thing?'

Yes, Dan. Video games.

I cannot deal with "hammer buttons like life depended on it" QTE but I want to play this because it's satisfying. I read a bunch of Three Kingdoms era fiction and manga so I'm into the stuff, the clichés of the style and the gameplay is like I said, satisfying.

A Hyrule Warriors QL is necessary though.

can we please stop having characters kneel down then lift their arms while they scream at the sky? Holy effing shit man.

I'm with Jeff, I wished Assassin's Creed would go with a modern times/future setting soon, but I can't stand the games now so I don't know if I can get myself into it.

@larrydavis: Yes someone answered that question. I stood corrected. Also I did not bother to include links because these games do not deserve that kind of effort or recognition.

People like different things, there is no point in arguing personal preference.

HOWEVER

These games are lazily made, technically incompetent and shrewdly and disgustingly out to squeeze money out of their fans with minimal effort.

I have no love for the Diablo series but I can see a lot of hard work and thinking went into making them at least.

Do not be mistaken, these games are objectively awful.

Probably could have saved some production time and just re-run the QL from any previous entry in this franchise

Just a question would you play diablo 3 on Normal difficulty?

@renzu: I've long since come to the conclusion that anything Jeff has to say on Warriors games is vapid and void of actual merit. Despite the attempts of others to explain the appeal of the games to him, he always asks the same damn questions, complains about the same damn things, and it never changes from Quick Look to Quick Look. His stubbornness in this regard only creates a weird cycle where his complaining about the franchise appears to be the sole thing some people even get out of these videos.

I know what I like about these games and have reasoned why, in the past. Hyrule Warriors has me more hyped than any other game coming for the rest of the year. I don't need Jeff raining on the parade with the same things he's complained about for years now, evidently with earplugs firmly on place. I won't watch this video simply for that reason.

Jeff doesn't get it, and by all appearances, he doesn't want to. I'd say he actively avoids trying as much as he can.

No Lu Bu?... No thank you

I totally understand Dan when he says "I know people with otherwise good taste in games who love these games" but I think him and some of the GB crew expect way too much out of the series.

It's not really meant to be some ultra-polished action game like DMC, God of War, etc. It's a dumb, mindless action game about real people and real events presented in the most over-the-top way. There's no real drama and no real threat. If it were food it would be popcorn. There's no puzzle to be solved about how people can stand to like these games.

If there's a real complaint to be made about these games, it's that they should be priced lower.

@hassun: Except that they aren't objectively awful. Quit pretending subjective opinion is objective fact.

You know why those guys were bunched around you and not hitting you? You are playing on Easy!! Come on, Son!

At the very least play it on normal.

I know the GB crew hates these games but, for someone who enjoys them, it's annoying when you are not even fully representing what the game is on the default difficulty.

Does anyone remember a game sort of like Dynasty Warriors on the original Xbox but in a western fantasy setting presumably be a western dev? I had a demo of it but don't remember the name.