Side Quests: Dynasty Warriors: Origins Review
After playing 60 hours of Dynasty Warriors: Origins, I had a hankering for even more, and booted up some good old Warriors Orochi 3. Within ten minutes, though, I started to wonder if I’d ever be able to look at past Warriors games the same way – Origins feels like that much of a step forward.
Dynasty Warriors: Origins is a bit of a strange beast. At its core it's the same hack-and-slash massive battles that have defined the series. But layered on top of that is a rich action RPG with an expansive story filled with politics and military tactics – putting you right at the center of everything as a silent protagonist. All of it is tied together with an even bigger emphasis on character storytelling, and tight combat mechanics that shift away from the basic combo system.
It’s a genuine radical shift for the franchise, but so much of what the game does works so well, pushing the franchise to new heights it's never seen. It’s easy to see how the cavalcade of changes might be hard for some fans to swallow, but this is the best Dynasty Warriors has been in over a decade – whether it’s your first game or your 20th.
If you’re unfamiliar with Dynasty Warriors, it’s loosely ( the key word being loosely) based on a famous historical Chinese novel from the 14th century called Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The story takes place at the tail-end of the fall of the Han Dynasty when the country split into three warring kingdoms: Wei, Wu, and Shu.
This time around, however, instead of assuming the role of historically-based characters, you play as a completely fictional protagonist. While you can name this character, they go by the nickname “Ziluan.” To set things up, you’ve lost your memory with the story playing out as you slowly uncover your history as part of a mystical organization known as the Guardians of Peace, who serve as the land’s protectors.
Seeing the story through the eyes of a single character drastically changed how Origins’ narrative plays out in comparison to
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