Dynasty Warriors 3 Complete Edition Remastered
Developer: Omega Force
Publisher: Koei Tecmo
Platforms: Xbox Series X (Reviewed), PlayStation 5, PC, Switch 2
Release Date: Available Now
Price: $39.99 USD – Available Here
Overview
When it comes to Koei Tecmo and Omega Force, there is one thing that the pair know how to do and do fairly well, and that is to set up a battlefield for players to take their single soldier and throw themselves against a field of more than a thousand enemies in all different types of franchises over the years, be it numerous anime franchises, properties owned by other publishers, or even their own original take on things, but one title helped start it all, Dynasty Warriors.
Well, Dynasty Warriors 2, since the original is actually a fighting game, but what truly made the greatest impact worldwide was Dynasty Warriors 3 and now, surprisingly, Koei Tecmo has chosen to revisit this title after twenty five years. While not a remake and instead a “remaster” into Unreal Engine 5 and other quality of life elements were added, they have brought Dynasty Warriors 3 Complete Edition Remastered out for fans of the classics or those who wish to delve into the franchise’s past after rebooting it with Origins.
Story
As per usual for the Dynasty Warriors franchise, the title pulls heavily from The Romance of the Three Kingdoms to establish most of its narrative but unlike recent games, rather than having player go through the entire campaign from the start of the Yellow Turban Rebellion like usual all the way until their chosen kingdom or character manages to defeat everyone throughout modified battles to fit the scenario, it now varies heavily all depending on who the player has selected for “Musou Mode” as every single character has a unique storyline in the roster. One bonus is that thanks to this title featuring the included content that was released later, it features a wide-range of characters’ story modes to experience and offer different takes on things.
That being said, some of the storylines won’t vary heavily if characters are in the same faction and fighting the same battles that other characters were, but they almost all have unique elements and encounters as well to try and spice things up, while others will vary not only wildly from the established narrative but become complete fiction, especially if it happens to be an “Other” character like Zhurong who goes on a sight seeing tour only to conquer the capital and slay every other famous husband and wife duo along the way, or even the main character from Origins who has been worked in as a bonus.
One thing that is worth noting is that the game really doesn’t do much in the way of actual storytelling unless players read the loading screens before the battle, look at the mission summary that explains why the fight is happening and what the player will need to do, and then occasionally there will be actual scenes before the battle and during it. Though most of the time it just happens to be the various officers introducing themselves and issuing corny challenges to the player and then either running away with their tails tucked between their legs or dying right there on the battlefield, muttering their last words in just as corny of a fashion.
Gameplay
In many ways Dynasty Warriors 3 Complete Edition Remastered still plays the exact same way as most fans of the original will remember, with each character, or more precisely their weapon type, having a certain combo string and heavy finishing strike or charge attack. The higher level the weapon the player has, the more attacks their combo can string together with higher leveled weaponry being locked behind certain unlock conditions, including Chaos difficulty in some stages. Players can also utilize their bow and arrow but this time the bow has been made far stronger compared to the original game and is actually useful for not only stunning an enemy releasing their own charge attack but knocking them down from their horse or elephant.
There have been some revisions to the game’s combat system to bring it a bit more in line to modern day action games as players can not only block but also have a dedicated dodge button now, including the ability to pull off a perfect dodge and allow for an immediate counter attack to the officer. These dodges can also be used to cancel out of attacks and close-gaps on foes to keep them juggled into a combo for longer or dash into a foe about to unleash their own Musou attack and trigger the player’s, cancelling out the foe’s and, if it happens to be a True Musou attack, still unleash their own. Another revision is the ability to “upgrade” weaponry. This system is fairly simple and doesn’t actually craft a new weapon but it does allow players to transfer traits from dropped weaponry to their strongest one, such as increased running speed, health, attack range, etc.
Alongside the game’s Musou mode players will be able to take part in Free battle that allows them to use any fighter they have unlocked inside of a stage and potentially unlock limited items that are rare or difficult to obtain in the campaign normally, Challenge Mode that features a number of trials for players to try and conquer, and of course a Versus mode for players to challenge one another. Similarly, it is great to note that the free mode missions can be played in couch co-op making it a blast for anyone looking to slay a thousand soldiers and become “A True Hero of the Three Kingdoms” alongside a friend.
There are still various warts and issues that remain in the game even with the revisions that have been made and these issues mostly revolve around the game’s age and strange balancing around enemy forces with ranged weapons. As per usual, the game’s combat can grow repetitive if players spend too long with it at one time and there are far too many instances that players can find themselves running through a stage to complete one objective or save a vital ally from dying only for them to have to run across nearly an entire empty stage back to the other side where the rest of the soldiers are at, and considering the limited speed of the initial horse, it’s quite a run.
As for the balance, players will desperately want to eliminate any enemy squads they see nearby a larger fight that have crossbows or bows as they can and will pick away at the player’s health aggressively, especially if players get tossed into the air as they will find themselves being juggled into oblivion. Thankfully one other improvement that has been made to the game is the addition of “checkpoints” so players do not need to start an entire stage over if they die late into a fight or lose an important ally. Instead players can select from a limited number of checkpoints throughout the fight, usually made when named officers are slain or kill count hits a certain number, and start from there.
Audio & Visuals
Considering Dynasty Warriors 3 Complete Edition Remastered is a remaster of a twenty five year old PlayStation 2 game it is a rather impressive jump in graphics for many of the game’s elements, though it still has some of that janky polygonal charm here and there, usually in the terrain or on the horses that players will ride. The character models for all of the main officers are as detailed as can be for the era and have seen a solid improvement while the action packed combat flows flawlessly no matter what type of action is happening on screen, never experiencing a slowdown even while unleashing True Musou attacks inside a hoard of enemies and officers trapped within a fort or bridge. The generic enemy designs can leave a little to be desired but it is nice to note that the bodyguard customization is rather decent, with players being able to unlock different looking bodyguards depending on whose Musou modes they complete.
Back when Dynasty Warriors 3 was released in the West Koei Tecmo was giving the title English voice work and that remains true here, and it has not been replaced, only cleaned up a bit and presented in all of its corny glory. While some may find this a bit lackluster, the charm of the series originally was that it’s hack and slash gameplay was accompanied by corny dialogue, infamous quotes such as “Do not pursue Lu Bu.” and a fittingly action packed soundtrack to back it up and all of that has been retained perfectly in this remaster.
Overall
Dynasty Warriors 3 Complete Edition Remastered may seem like a strange direction for Koei Tecmo to go after releasing Origins but it is a successful way to test the waters into potentially remastering other later titles in the franchise, delivering the same classic hack and slash action with some revamped features and plenty of campy English voice acting to fit against the backdrop of semi-historical fiction. With plenty of characters offering a solid amount of combat variation helping to alleviate the repetitiveness of battles and other quality of life improvements, players will either find themselves loving this remaster as much as they did the classic games or find it a bit too dated, though for many that will also be part of the appeal.
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