Back in 2006, I broughtDynasty Warriors Vol.
2for the PSP to Show and Tell at school.
Yes, I was that kid.
It was a simple enough pitch.
19 years on,Dynasty Warriors: Originsis a tougher pitch.
While that horde-cleaving, guitar-shredding DNA still shines, Origins feels like a quarter-life crisis.
For a good while, Dynasty Warriors coasted on its charm with a string of samey but endearing games.
But there’s an essential distinction between change and growth.
In combat, Originsisbetter.
In Origins, though, even common foot soldiers fight viciously, coordinating attacks in formations.
you might still slaughter them in droves like the old days, but they’re no longer entirely toothless.
Duels against officers meanwhile feel much closer to recent action RPGs than any other Dynasty Warriors game.
Juggling a battalion of blokes with dash-canceled flurries is still on the menu, and I love it.
Battle itself is an all-time spectacular high for Dynasty Warriors.
But more than just looks, Origins does a great job of making battles mechanically dynamic and involving.
When Origins refines Dynasty Warriors, it shines.
But when it chooses change over growth, it often forgets what it’s good at.
That mislaid focus comes at a cost.
Series mainstays like Musou Mode, Free Mode, and co-op have all gotten the chop.
Instead, Origins goes all-in on a single story mode with missions spread across an overworld.
It’s a ballsy gambit but it doesn’t pay off.
The playable character is a nondescript and emotionless vessel for a hackneyed amnesia story.
Yet there’s no way to personalise him at all other than naming him.
Naturally, I named him Barry Dynasty.
But even then, Origins goes on to name him Ziluan anyway - so Ziluan it is.
Never mind that Ziluan fights for aristocrats who yell ‘show no mercy’ while he slaughters surrendering conscripts.
The nonsense and hypocrisy don’t compare to the painful exposition.
This is a story allergic to subtext.
Building the game around Ziluan nonetheless presents some fresh game design opportunities.
Most of the unlocks consist of, well, shallow stat boosts.
+5 bonuses to attack/defence/health and so on, with the occasional lacklustre special move here and there.
The focus on Ziluan, however, blights the Three Kingdoms narrative.
But here’s the deal.
By the way, this was only alevel 2 bond.
But by that point, the story’s dreadful execution has already starved the choice of its power.
Origins just can’t help itself.
Would it still be cheesy and extra and waxing pseudo-philosophical?
But at least it wouldn’t be getting in its own way.
The more I look at Ziluan, the more I see the nucleus of Origins' problems.
Barry Dynasty is no Dynasty Warrior at all.
It’s almost poetic how Origins severs its roots for a character whose sole characteristic is identity loss.
Dynasty Warriors: Origins accessibility options
Three colour-blindness modes.
Three subtitle text size options.
Text-only or windowed subtitle options.
Horizontal and vertical camera inversion configs.
Battle camera auto-centre option.
Transparency options for soldiers.
Highlight option for officers.
Origins is a curious case.
It’s a baffling mishmash of welcome growth and unwelcome change.
Beneath this messy buffet of undercooked ideas lies the best version of the Dynasty Warriors I know and love.
It’s a good game, but only when I recognize it.
I just needed you to shower more and wash your dishes.
Dynasty Warriors: Origins review code was provided by the publisher.
