by Omar (@siegarettes) 

• Samurai Warriors 4-II
  
• Developer - Omega Force
  
• Publisher - Tecmo Koei
  
• PC, PS4, PS3, PS Vita
• Rating - T

The critical consensus on Tecmo Koei’s Musuo series seems to be stuck forever at the, “all Dynasty Warriors games are the same” stage. With that prevailing sentiment it seems to be easy to dismiss each entry at a glance as another throwaway game. Regardless of that, even after playing Gundam Reborn, Pirate Warriors and Hyrule Warriors I still find myself returning for more Musou with Omega Force’s Japanese history themed Samurai Warriors. 

As far as entry points into the Musou games, Samurai Warriors 4-II is probably one of the less accessible ones. A spin-off/reworking of Samurai Warriors 4, this addition includes a lot of dense layers it assumes you are already familiar with, and a story comprised of scenarios focusing on the comparatively minor characters. You better already know which officers give you control over areas, know how to crush enemy morale, use mounts, know what combos to use for a situation, and know how you want to build character skills before you even step foot into it.

Samurai Warriors 4-II doesn’t hold back either. Two hours in I started losing battles because I lost track of players or my own health in the chaos. The final scenarios of each story campaign can also be rough without properly leveled characters. Failure is ROUGH here as well, with 20-40 minutes tanked with each loss. If you want to avoid that, you’ll want to know everything mentioned previously, and probably get a good hold on the Spirit Charge. (A technique that burns energy to cancel a current attack into an extended combo and breaks the guard of enemy generals.)

Finding new opportunities to set this up, learning the strengths and weaknesses of each character, and following what story there is, was enough to hook me. In particular, the starting scenario that follows Hisahide Matsunaga’s rebellion amused me. Even with a knowledge of Japanese history that’s basically “I know who Ieyasu Tokugawa and Oda Nobunaga are”, I enjoyed Matsunaga’s characterization as a scheming villain of villains. Continually pulling off Starscream style betrayals and constantly being forgiven by Nobunaga. The scenarios may be told minimally, but the delivery of the voice acting really sells it.

With that said, if you have an opinion on the Musou franchise, this isn’t the entry that will change it. The story and systems are dense. If the theme doesn’t do anything for you, it’ll be difficult to see what sets it apart from the other entries in the series. Sengoku Basara one ups it in terms of joyful absurdity, and Hyrule Warriors or Dragon Quest Heroes will provide you more color and bursting charm. Still, Samurai Warriors 4-II is a game that plays well to its strengths even while it falters, and it’s a good time when you just need a videogame-ass videogame.