where to start with dynasty/samurai warriors?

[geozeldadude]

so i was thinking about starting in on this series. any game in particular i should jump in on/steer clear of? i'm thinking about starting with the first main PS2 game (dynasty warriors 2).

[Gamerforlife]

I'd say skip DW 2 and just go straight to 3. It improved on DW 2's gameplay in many ways. After that, I'd say play DW 5. DW 4 isn't horrible, but I think DW 5 is better and one of the best overall DW games. DW 4 has some really silly stuff like the stupid duel system, where Dynasty Warriors suddenly becomes a really crappy 1 on 1 fighting game. DW 3 and 5 were my faves. Of the two, DW 5 is a bit easier and more polished. DW 3 has cool ultimate weapons though for some characters that can kill enemies in one hit and it has some of the more intense battles in the series

I heard Warriors Orochi is pretty good, but I never played it. It's basically a DW/SW crossover game.

Some other games to check out if you like Dynasty Warriors would be:

Capcom's Sengoku Basara series, which is basically a really well done Dynasty Warriors rip off

Kingdom Under Fire Crusaders

The Ninety-Nine Nights series

Koei has a bunch of Dynasty Warrior spinoff games too, but I don't know much about them

[TornadoCreator]

One thing to remember. The Dynasty Warriors games follow the Star Trek rule in opposite... the odd numbered games are far superior to the even numbered games. That said, you shouldn't really get them all unless you want to collect them all.

Dynasty Warriors 2 is rather dated by todays standards and probably not worth your time.
Dynasty Warriors 3 is a very good game and a good one to cut your teeth on if you think this is a series you'll likely enjoy.
Dynasty Warriors 4 isn't as good as 3 and the duel system breaks the gameplay flow considerably, but it's not a bad game.
Dynasty Warriors 5 is by far the best, (especially on the PS2) and you should start here.
Dynasty Warriors 6 is the worst, it's hard to control and the characters seem too bland.
Dynasty Warriors 7 is still very new, but it feels like someone took 5 and made it HD, I'm very pleased so far.

The thing with the Dynasty Warriors games is that they're not so much continuations as they are re-tellings of the same story with better graphics and tweeked gameplay. Once you've got one of them you've pretty much got them all.

I would personally suggest that you get Dynasty Warriors 5, but also get Dynasty Warriors 5: Xtreme Legends and Dynasty Warriors 5: Empires. These expansions add additional game modes which improve the game significantly, you need to swap discs to play the modes with your original save data so make sure you have the base game first... oh and as a warning, if you're a purist, unlock all the characters in Dynasty Warriors 5 before you import the data into the expansions, as doing so automatically unlocks all characters and it kinda steals your thunder (if you go back to the original game the characters are still locked but that's not the point).

If you find you like DW5, consider getting Dynasty Warriors 7 for one of the current consoles, it's a new release though so it'll still be full price.

[Betamax001]

I've been interested in the DW Gundam games. I heard the main criticism was that well its Dynasty Warriors. Again. But I haven't played any DW games, and I love Gundam so I think it might be kinda fun.

[TornadoCreator]

I've been interested in the DW Gundam games. I heard the main criticism was that well its Dynasty Warriors. Again. But I haven't played any DW games, and I love Gundam so I think it might be kinda fun.

Avoid at all costs, the games are slow, clunky and lack any resemblence to gameplay. The Dynasty Warriors games are often criticised for being button mashers, but the Gundam spin offs have turned the button mashing up to 11. Seriously, there's no combos, no strategy and no flavour to the game anymore. You'd be better off watching the Gundam animé and then playing the Dynasty Warriors (preferably 5) games as neither a Gundam fan nor a Dynasty Warriors fan will get any enjoyment out of the crossover games. I was exceptionally dissapointed.

Ninety-Nine Nights is harder than Dynasty Warriors, feels a little less smooth and lacks some of the character than Dynasty Warriors has. It's possible I just prefer three-kingdoms china to generic fictional fantasy as a setting... but all in all it's a decent game, I own it and had fun with it, it's considerably better than the Gundam crossover game.

[geozeldadude]

thanks for the help. any comments on the samurai warriors games?

[neilencio]

I highly recommend the Empires ones than the Xtreme Legends. Managing cities and armies (in Empires' case) and making your way from a nameless grunt to a general/warlord (in Xtreme Legends') can be very addictive.

I never did like Warriors Orochi (1 and 2). It's a matter of personal preference, but the way you change characters in-game and the reliance on superhuman plot devices tend to take me out of the game.

As for Samurai Warriors and Dynasty Warriors, there's not a lot of difference other than the setting and the characters. (There are minor gameplay differences, though - like fighting on horseback.)

[Gamerforlife]

I highly recommend the Empires ones than the Xtreme Legends. Managing cities and armies (in Empires' case) and making your way from a nameless grunt to a general/warlord (in Xtreme Legends') can be very addictive.

I never did like Warriors Orochi (1 and 2). It's a matter of personal preference, but the way you change characters in-game and the reliance on superhuman plot devices tend to take me out of the game.

As for Samurai Warriors and Dynasty Warriors, there's not a lot of difference other than the setting and the characters. (There are minor gameplay differences, though - like fighting on horseback.)

I've played the first Samurai Warriors. It's not as good as the DW games overall. The upgrade system was flawed, the castle areas were annoying and the game rushed you from objective to objective too much rather than just letting you roam the battlefield as you please. It's not a terrible game though and it has some nice cosmetic and stylistic differences from the Dynasty Warriors games. If you do it play it, you should get the Xtreme Legends expansion, which I think addressed a few of the game's issues like the limited upgrade system. I know nothing about the Samurai Warrior sequels