The World of Ancient China is Open for Dynasty Warriors 9
It was a foregone conclusion that Dynasty Warriors 9 would be announced at any time now, particularly given how long it’s been since its predecessor released. To clarify, it’s been nearly four years since Dynasty Warriors 8 hit Japan, which arrived on February 28th, 2013. By the time 9 releases, this will easily mark longest gap ever between mainline installments, topping the three-and-a-half-year one between Dynasty Warriors 6 and 7 — likely due to refining the formula after 6 disappointed the fanbase. While three to four years between new titles isn’t long for console games these days, it’s quite a length when you consider how busy Koei Tecmo’s schedule is.
That’s not counting the Dynasty Warriors Xtreme Legends and Empires versions, since they’re expansions that use the same assets and fighting system. I’m also not including spinoffs like Dynasty Warriors: Godseekers/Eiketsuden.
Considering the above, it wasn’t a case of “if” Dynasty Warriors 9 would be announced, but “when.” But instead of revealing it during Tokyo Game Show, where all-star title Musou Stars was announced, Koei Tecmo saved it for their own “Best Lineup in History” event in tandem with Jump Festa. TGS seemed like it would have been a better choice ostensibly, but a low-key one was fine given how they had no game footage to show. I hope you’re prepared to wait for this, especially when you also factor in localization time. They also didn’t say what platforms this will come to, though given that the announcement was sponsored by PlayStation, it will at least hit PlayStation 4.
They did, however, provide enough details to get their fanbase interested, and make this post at least somewhat worthwhile. There’s a good chance the gap between installments is this large due to the development team carefully considering which new features will excite fans before implementing them. I’ve made sure to mention in previous Koei Tecmo-related posts that the company’s overall software sales have been slipping lately, which especially applies to their Warriors games and expansions. Recent titles like Samurai Warriors 4: Empires, Berserk and the Band of the Hawk, and Toukiden 2 weren’t high sellers in Japan, so a new spice was needed for the next mainline DW title to catch the eye of potential purchasers. That spice? An open world. It’s true that no matter your gaming genre preferences, open world comes for everyone eventually.
You don’t need me to tell you the software market is populated with open world titles these days, so how Koei Tecmo will implement this will be the key differentiation factor here. Their intentions are rather grandiose for a company that mainly thrives on B-tier and niche titles on the surface, as they’re aiming to recreate nearly all of ancient China here. That includes places like Hulao Pass and Zhongyuan in detail, both of which will be part of a vast land rife with mountains, towns for players to talk to citizens and other warriors while picking up weapons and equipment, and battlefields. This installment will serve as a soft reboot for the franchise’s format in terms of its gameplay approach, though it will maintain the art style and approach to large-scale battles from previous games.
To get a good impression of what they could do with this open world, you’ll have to observe previous software titles which likely served as experiments, like Toukiden 2 and Samurai Warriors: Sanada Maru. Both games contain towns players can visit and rest in, alongside large landscapes to explore — especially the former. But the development team said players shouldn’t expect it to completely resemble those games, as DW9 will contain its own spin. We’ll get a better impression of what they mean when they show it, but some concept art was provided for locations they plan on creating in the incredibly brief teaser.
Since a good deal of their resources are being put into creating the landscape and locations, it’s good that they’re free to reuse character models from the previous installment. It’s why all 83 characters who’ve been part of the mainline franchise up until the most recent Dynasty Warriors 8: Empires will return, though whether they’ll be playable is another question. Some resources, however, are being used to create new ones, though the developers warned that you shouldn’t expect too many.
It would have been a surprise if Zhao Yun didn’t return, as he’s the face of the franchise, but he was the first character shown in the teaser. Zhou Cang will also make his mainline playable DW debut in 9, who uses the Dai Satsu Katana as his main weapon. The developers are aiming to make him fun to play, and give him a comedic personality. Before this game releases, players will be able to use him in Musou Stars, which will arrive on March 2nd for PS4 and Vita in Japan.
It’s evident this event was meant to tease the existence of DW9 and nothing else, given the lack of gameplay. We should get a look at it either shortly before or slightly after Musou Stars releases in Japan. But it’s not as if you won’t have plenty of other titles to bide your time with, if you’re a fan of this action subgenre. In addition to the aforementioned all-star title (which hasn’t been announced for anywhere outside Japan yet), the west has yet to receive Sanada Maru and Dragon Quest Heroes II, due to arrive in early 2017. Both should be enough of a distraction until DW9 ideally arrives by the end of next year, depending on its Japanese release date.
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Geoff
News Editor | Geoff is some nerd who writes for a blog and thinks he's knowledgeable. He write a lot about video games, but is capable of writing about other subjects, too. Twitter
