Samurai Warriors 4 DX is a PC Steam port of a PlayStation 3 (and later PlayStation 4) console classic. In this PC release players will have access to 150 previously released DLC from the original Samurai Warriors 4 release period which includes costumes, weapons, customization parts, scenarios and music.
So should you pick up this title ? And is it worth checking out even though newer musou titles exist ?
Samurai Warriors 4 DX
In Samurai Warriors 4 DX players will take on the role of a specific character to a scenario. In the story mode for example, you can take on the role of Yukimura Sanada during the invasion of Suruga. You’ll also have access to allies in battle and it’s all very familiar to other titles in the musou genre from Koei Tecmo Games. If you’ve played newer games such as Warrior’s Orochi 4 Ultimate or Samurai Warriors 5, Samurai Warriors 4 DX will feel like an obvious downgrade to you.
However, even with that said, the game still manages to hold its own and is well worth playing through for the story which is voiced by some seasoned veteran Japanese voice actors along with its very fun gameplay. You can’t really go wrong with a musou title and if you’re new to the genre, it’s fairly straightforward. You just have to string together combos and avoid being overwhelmed by enemy forces.
Players will select a character to play as in a story segment divided by clan and will basically button bash their way to victory against hordes and hordes of enemy units while their characters have conversations along the way. You’ll have objectives to complete in levels such as preventing certain enemies from escaping or doing specific things and you’ll be able to pull off some extremely flashy attacks. Attacking is very simple and involves using the controller face buttons to perform light and heavy attacks.
Since this is an older title that’s been ported, some of the newer innovations to the genre are missing here. Warrior’s Orochi 4 Ultimate for example had an all-encompassing special attack which combined the attacks of your entire 3 member party to inflict massive damage. You can’t do that here since you can only control 2 characters in battle but you can still activate your rage mode and pull off musou frenzy attacks which deplete your musou gauge.
You can also swap between the 2 characters on the fly however you will be moved to wherever the other one is on the map unless you’ve commanded them to stick close by to you and lend support.
Each character has their own special attacks and getting to know which ones will cause maximum damage on the battlefield is extremely fun. There’s so many characters available here and you can also create your own from a variety of options for use in the Chronicle Mode. It’s very easy to sink hours and hours into Samurai Warriors 4 because of the sheer amount of content available.
This has also been improved upon with the addition of all the DLC that’s been previously released being included in the package. The additional scenarios and content add a lot of longevity to the game and the more powerful mounts being able available also make things a lot easier.
Graphically, the game varies between dated and perfectly fine for modern day gamers. The character models for example look a tad dated but are still visually pleasing to look at. They aren’t pixelated or devoid of detail and the character portraits still look great given their art style. The fact that the game was already quite heavily stylized with its aesthetic lends a sense of timelessness to the title and it holds up pretty well.
Where it does falter lies with the fact that the environments look extremely bland and devoid of detail in comparison to newer games. However since this is an older title ported, it can be forgiven. This ain’t a remake after all.
The soundtrack of Samurai Warriors 4 DX features some great background music tracks that are enjoyable to listen to while some other tracks are quite forgettable. However given the fact that there’s so much dialogue and sound effects going on in battles, the music takes a bit of a backseat here. The voice acting is excellent throughout with the characters in the game being brought to life by voice actors who clearly have years of experience behind them.
Final Verdict
Overall, Samurai Warriors 4 DX is a great port of an older musou game. It features an immense amount of content and is extremely enjoyable to play through if you’re a fan of the genre. Newcomers will also be able to sink time into this game and might end up really liking it because it’s straightforward and easy to get into. The game runs without any issues except for the fact that there’s no option for borderless windowed mode in the settings. If you enjoy button bashing action games, Samurai Warriors 4 DX gets a solid recommendation.
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