Dynasty Warriors: Origins Review – Dynasty Warriors is finally back!

The Dynasty Warriors franchise was been in a weird spot over the last 10 years. While developer Omega Force’s work on multiple licenced spin-offs like Fate/Samurai Remnant and Persona 5 Strikers has been excellent, their main franchise has languished in the background.

Dynasty Warriors: Origins is an attempt to bring the series back to the forefront, taking things back to the beginning with a reworked structure. It’s a soft reboot that absolutely works in revitalising the Dynasty Warriors franchise, even if some parts still need a little more work.

Back to the Beginning

Previously, Omega Force tried to cram more and more of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms novel into each subsequent Dynasty Warriors entry. With Dynasty Warriors: Origins, things have been scaled back quite a bit.

Now, only around half of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms is covered in some form. Rather than making for a shorter story in game, however, this now means that each arc can be given more time. The Yellow Turban Rebellion, which has generally been a footnote for the plots of previous games, now plays a much more important role.

This applies to later arcs too, with the story generally avoiding large timeskips (though these are still present at times.) A lot of this is due to the change in perspective on the player’s side. Rather than picking a side and going through their story as a historical figure, you instead now play as an original character.

Said character is an amnesiac warrior who starts the story helping out wherever it’s needed. While you can name this character, there’s no other customisation outside of switching between various weapons. As you progress through a story based on the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, the main character’s original story runs parallel in the background as he learns more about his past.

I’m in two minds about this change. On the one hand, it does lend itself well to the reworked method of storytelling. You’re able to be there for all key moments of the early story, without switching perspectives constantly.

However, the main character is essentially mute outside of some lines during battle, and has no real charisma to speak of. You get to pick dialogue choices at times, but none have any impact on the story.

This would have at least been alright if character customisation was a thing — previous games have included this, along with a number of titles from Koei Tecmo’s Team Ninja. But if you’re going to make the main character have a set appearance, you have to at least give them something interesting.

In fact, I’d argue that the original story content is by far the worst part of Dynasty Warriors: Origins. It’s spread incredibly thin, and the twists are predictable after a few hours in. This isn’t helped by how everyone fawns over the main character, even after only talking to them one-sidedly for a few minutes.
At the very least, it doesn’t take away from having a more detailed storyline. Outside of the iffy English voice acting — the Japanese and Chinese voiceovers are definitely a better choice in this case — I liked that you’re not just kicked to the next battle without much fanfare.

Choices are present in some form too, despite the lack of them during cutscenes. Midway through Dynasty Warriors: Origins, you’re able to choose which missions you do. Depending on which you do, you’re taken down one of three story paths. While there’s naturally some overlap in the missions, most are unique to each path.

There’s even a chance for your to make different choices in certain missions after this point too, leading to different endings. This, on top of optional challenges tied to a post-game difficulty settings, give Origins some extra replayability despite its focus on a relatively small part of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

A reworked structure

Rather than something menu-based (or the rough open world of Dynasty Warriors 9), Dynasty Warriors: Origins makes use of an overworld map similar to some JRPGs. You can walk around taking on requests from characters, or completing smaller skirmishes that use maps from the main missions.

It’s not a big map, and most of the time you’re just riding to the next objective marker, though it does a decent job at breaking up the main gameplay and showing how things are progressing in the world.

As for the actual missions, this is the aspect of Dynasty Warriors: Origins that’s arguably still the closest to the classic games (perhaps more so than something like Dynasty Warriors 8.)

You run around the battlefield, taking down enemy commanders and capturing bases. Each of the 10 weapon types you can use are fun, giving you a bit of variety as you mow through thousands of enemies. You’re also incentivised to use all weapons, with unlocks for each weapon going towards your overall level.

Most strategy in battle comes from deciding where you’re needed. From enemy reinforcements to multiple allies being in danger, there’s always something to do. It’s an aspect of the games that’s been somewhat lost in recent entries, and it’s nice that this sense of urgency has been returned.

Some modern aspects of the greater Warriors franchise have made their way here. The main of these is the arts system, which give you access to a number of extra special attacks (separate from the classic musou gauge.) These are balanced fairly well, requiring points earned from regular combos or dodging attacks.

Speaking of dodging, it’s an actual thing now. While dodges aren’t exactly new to the series, here they’re given much more importance. You’re able to avoid all attack types this way, including unblockables, while also filling the resource needed to perform arts. Blocking has also seen an overhaul, as you can now parry attacks if your timing is good enough. This opens up officers to damage, giving you an opportunity to break their guard.

Everything works together to make combat with both regular enemies and commanders enjoyable. Room has even been made for a few proper boss fights, including a particularly tough encounter against Lu Bu.

If there’s one aspect that I would have liked to see adjusted, it’s the fact that you’re extremely limited on playing anyone outside of the main character. Some battles let you take companions with you, but you can only play as them directly for around a minute or two (and only once they fill their musou gauge.)
Again, I don’t think this would have been as bad if you could actually create your own character. I just never connected with the blank protagonist, though they do at least have a few flashy attack animations to make up for it.

Dynasty Warriors: Origins Review – Final Thoughts

Despite a weak original story, Dynasty Warriors: Origins still manages to breath new life into the franchise. The main battles are better than ever, and I love the idea of giving more time to parts of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms that Dynasty Warriors usually glossed over. Origins is a good base for future entries, and hopefully the start of a strong return for mainline Warriors games.

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Dynasty Warriors: Origins was reviewed on PC via Steam using a code provided by the publisher.

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