is the first title in the series of hack and slash video games created by Koei's

Omega Force (stylised as ''ω-Force'') is a Japanese video game developer and a division of Koei Tecmo, founded in 1996 by Akihiro Suzuki and Kenichi Ogasawara, and is best known for the ''Dynasty Warriors'' video games. History Omega Force was founde ...

team based closely around the

Sengoku The was a period in Japanese history of near-constant civil war and social upheaval from 1467 to 1615. The Sengoku period was initiated by the Ōnin War in 1467 which collapsed the feudal system of Japan under the Ashikaga shogunate. Various ...

("Warring States") period of Japanese history and it is a sister series of the ''

Dynasty Warriors is a series of Japanese hack and slash action video games created by Omega Force and Koei (now is Koei Tecmo). The series is a spin-off of Koei's turn-based strategy '' Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' series, based upon the Chinese novel of ...

'' series, released for the

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...

and

Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the ...

in 2004. A port of this game called '' Samurai Warriors: State of War'' has been released for the

PlayStation Portable The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PAL regions on September 1, 2005, ...

, which includes additional multiplayer features. A sequel, ''

Samurai Warriors 2 is a sequel to the original ''Samurai Warriors'', created by Koei and Omega Force. The game was released in 2006 for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360, and ported to Microsoft Windows in 2008. Like the ''Dynasty Warriors'' series, an ''Empires'' e ...

'', was released in 2006 for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360, then ported to Microsoft Windows in 2008.

Gameplay

In ''Samurai Warriors'', the player takes the role of a single officer in battle and must fend off hordes of enemy soldiers and defeat the enemy commander. The player has at their disposal a range of combo attacks and crowd-clearing special moves known as Musou attacks. The variety of attacks available increase as the player's character gains levels and new weapons. Musou attacks can only be performed when the character's Musou gauge is full. The Musou gauge increases when the character inflicts and receives damage. Additionally, if the character is low on health or possesses a special skill, they can use their True Musou attack, a more powerful version of the regular Musou attack. Each character can equip up to five items before each battle, which will affect their attributes or give them additional abilities. Players can find items which affect their attributes through normal battle by defeating enemy officers or breaking open crates. The items which give characters special abilities are obtained by meeting conditions in specific battles. Like items, weapons can also be found in battle. Each character has four different types of weapons they can find. In addition to their base attributes, weapons will randomly have additional attributes attached to them. The value of these bonuses depends on three things: the

difficulty level Game balance is a branch of game design that is described as a mathematical-algorithmic model of a game’s numbers, game mechanics, and relations between the two. Game balance consists of adjusting values to create a certain user experience. Play ...

, the stage the player is on and the ranks the character has in the 'Discern' skill. In addition to the random weapon drops, each character has a unique fifth weapon. Unlike the other weapons, the fifth weapons have set bonuses and attributes. Fifth weapons are obtained by meeting conditions in specific battles on either the Hard or Chaos difficulty level.

Differences from Dynasty Warriors Series

''Samurai Warriors'' contains a number of changes to Dynasty Warriors' combat system, most notably the ability to perform free-style combo attacks during Musou attack mode, during which the game enters bullet-time; common soldiers move very slowly, however officers are unaffected. Other changes include the ability to perform a roll to dodge attacks, and deflect incoming arrows with their weapon. Additionally, the series has hyper attacks, or the ability to dash while attacking enemy soldiers. The character development system has been overhauled. There is a new ranking system after battles which depends on five categories: *Time in which the battle is won *Amount of experience earned *Missions successfully completed in battle *Number of enemies defeated while using a Musou attack. *Number of enemies killed in total. Each of these categories is given a rank (from lowest to highest: E, D, C, B, A, S) depending on the player's performance, and then the player is given an overall rank. The higher the rank and the harder the difficulty setting of the game, the more the player's character attributes will increase. In addition to the growth of the character's stats, Skill Points are also awarded. Skill Points are used to buy skills through a

skill tree This list includes terms used in video games and the video game industry, as well as slang used by players. 0–9 A ...

that enhance the character's abilities. Samurai Warriors introduces an in-battle mission system. Each stage has a number of missions which become available depending on which character the player is controlling and the success or failure of previous missions. Missions include eliminating specific enemy officers, launching sneak attacks on enemy bases or thwarting the plans of the enemy. Success in these missions can be crucial to the outcome of many battles as failure often results in a massive loss of morale to the player's forces. It will also determine the path that will be carved out for the next stage if there is a split route. However one can choose which path to take if both routes had been opened.

Officer Training Mode

''Samurai Warriors'' gives players the opportunity to create new characters via the officer training mode. In this mode the player creates a new character who trains under a mentor, completing twelve training sessions and a final exam. The player has a variety of tasks available for each training session based on gameplay modes and combat techniques. Each of the different tasks affects different attributes of the character. After the completion of the task the player will be ranked out of a score of 100 points, by getting more points the character's attributes will increase by a greater amount. If the character is defeated during the course of a training session, they will automatically fail and will have to spend one training session resting. After 12 test sessions have passed, the character must take a final exam. This exam consists of two training sessions back to back. The player has to score a total of 100 points between these two tests in order to pass the exam. If the player completes the final exam successfully then they will become available to use in other gameplay modes.

Characters

The game features a total of 15 characters based on historical figures during the Warring States period of Japan, including daimyō Kenshin Uesugi, Shingen Takeda, and

Nobunaga Oda was a Japanese ''daimyō'' and one of the leading figures of the Sengoku period. He is regarded as the first "Great Unifier" of Japan. Nobunaga was head of the very powerful Oda clan, and launched a war against other ''daimyō'' to unify ...

as well as other notable samurai such as

Yukimura Sanada , also known as , was a Japanese samurai warrior of the Sengoku period. He was especially known as the leading general on the defending side of the Siege of Osaka. Yukimura was called "A Hero who may appear once in a hundred years", "Crimson D ...

and Ranmaru Mori. In addition to the figures who were noted to had fought during the period, the game also made playable a handful of female characters that did not fight in any battles, such as

Oichi was a female historical figure in the late Sengoku period. She is known primarily as the mother of three daughters who became prominent figures in their own right – Yodo-dono, Ohatsu Nagamasa had no hope of winning, and chose to commit sepp ...

and

Noh is a major form of classical Japanese dance-drama that has been performed since the 14th century. Developed by Kan'ami and his son Zeami, it is the oldest major theatre art that is still regularly performed today. Although the terms Noh and ' ...

. Only five characters are available from the start; others can be unlocked by fulfilling specific requirements such as clearing other character's story modes. In the English version, character's names are written in western order (first name, followed by family name), whereas the official writing of historical names are in reverse (family name, followed by first name).

Starting characters

* Mitsuhide Akechi * Kenshin Uesugi *

* Hanzo Hattori

Unlockable characters

* Keiji Maeda *

Goemon Ishikawa was a legendary Japanese outlaw hero who stole gold and other valuables to give to the poor. He and his son were boiled alive in public after their failed assassination attempt on the Sengoku period warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi. His legend liv ...

* Okuni *

Kunoichi is a Japanese cant term for . In popular culture, it is often used for female shinobi or practitioner of ninjutsu (''ninpo''). The term was largely popularized by novelist Yamada Futaro in his novel ''Ninpō Hakkenden'' (忍法八犬伝) in 1964 ...

* Magoichi Saika * Shingen Takeda *

Masamune Date was a regional ruler of Japan's Azuchi–Momoyama period through early Edo period. Heir to a long line of powerful ''daimyō'' in the Tōhoku region, he went on to found the modern-day city of Sendai. An outstanding tactician, he was made al ...

* Ranmaru Mori

Unplayable characters

* Kennyo Honganji *

Lu Bu Lu, Lü, or LU may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Lu (music), Tibetan folk music * Lu (duo), a Mexican band ** ''Lu'' (album) * Character from Mike, Lu & Og * Lupe Fiasco or Lu (born 1982), American musician * Lebor na hUidre, a manuscri ...

Only available in Xtreme Legends

* Hideyoshi Hashiba *

Yoshimoto Imagawa was a pre-eminent ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) in the Sengoku period Japan. Based in Suruga Province, he was known as . he was one of the three ''daimyōs'' that dominated the Tōkaidō region. He died in 1560 while marching to Kyoto to become ...

* Tadakatsu Honda * Ina ''Note: Hideyoshi Hashiba and

were unique NPCs in the title game, and were made playable in Samurai Warriors: Xtreme Legends. Tadakatsu Honda and his daughter, Ina were added as playable characters in the same expansion and were not unique NPCs in the game. In fact, Tadakatsu Honda appeared as a generic officer and Ina wasn't in the game at all.''

of ''Dynasty Warriors'' fame, also appears as an unplayable boss of Survival Mode. Officers created from New Officer Mode are also placed together in the character select screen.

Music

Unlike the traditional Chinese music and rock collaborations in the ''

'' series, ''Samurai Warriors'' combines traditional Japanese instrumentals with techno. The sounds of both ''Samurai Warriors'' and ''Dynasty Warriors'' are combined in their crossover game, ''

Warriors Orochi is a hack and slash video game for PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360, developed by Koei and Omega Force. It is a crossover of two of Koei's popular video game series, ''Dynasty Warriors'' and '' Samurai Warriors'' (specifically ''Dynasty Warriors 5'' a ...

''.

Expansions

''Samurai Warriors: Xtreme Legends''

''Samurai Warriors: Xtreme Legends'' (or ''Samurai Warriors XL'' for short) is a PlayStation 2 expansion disc for ''Samurai Warriors''. Just like the ''Dynasty Warriors'' series, the aim of these expansions is solely to add more content to the game. Players can use the "Import" feature (through switching discs with the original game) to use all features of the original game. Without the original game disc, the player will only have access to the ''Xtreme Legends'' content. This offers two new characters ( Tadakatsu Honda and Ina), two unplayable characters ( Hideyoshi Hashiba and

) was made playable rather than cutscenes and a brand new mission and map. This also offers new weapons, items, skills, three new versus modes, a new survival mode, and fixes several problems. A new difficulty level, Novice is also added which is easier than Easy and targeted for beginners. Even after they reached rank 20 characters could still gain skill points and increase their attributes without having to the reset the character to default. ''Samurai Warriors: Xtreme Legends'' extended this further, by adding even more powerful sixth weapons to earn. These can only be discovered by playing on Chaos mode (or Hard mode, if the correct bonus is purchased). Exclusive to ''Samurai Warriors: Xtreme Legends'', through the completion of special tasks, the player can earn Bonus Points in order to purchase special features. These features include additional costumes for characters, voice sound tests, lowering the difficulty required to unlock the fifth and sixth weapons and the ability to break the default limits for character's stats. Methods of earning bonus points include the following: earning all of a character's endings, unlocking rare items and weapons and successfully creating new characters.

''Samurai Warriors: State of War''

A port to the

, called ''Samurai Warriors: State of War'', was released in Japan on December 8, 2005 and March 7, 2006 in North America. It has a number of additional multiplayer features.

''Pachi Slot Sengoku Musou/Sengoku Rush''

This is a slot machine based game featuring

, Hanzo Hattori and Keiji Maeda as playable characters with their own stories using character models from ''Samurai Warriors''.

and Hideyoshi Hashiba are included as normal bosses, while

is a special boss. Other characters who make non-playable appearances are

, Shingen Takeda, Okuni and

Reception

''Samurai Warriors''

The PS2 release of ''Samurai Warriors'' sold a million copies within a month in Japan and reached the Japanese platinum chart with a total of 1.06 million. It was awarded an award of excellence in CESA's 2004 Game Awards and a 34 out of 40 rating from ''

Famitsu formerly ''Famicom Tsūshin'', is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly formats as well as in the f ...

''. The game was met with mixed reviews from Western critics.

GameRankings GameRankings was a video gaming review aggregator that was founded in 1999 and owned by CBS Interactive. It indexed over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 video games. GameRankings was discontinued in December 2019, with its staff bei ...

and

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

gave it a score of 73% and 73 out of 100 for the PS2 version, and 71% and 71 out of 100 for the Xbox version. Most reviewers criticized the game's visual and technical similarities to the ''Dynasty Warriors'' series as the cause. What earned the most praise was the RPG element added into the game as it deviates from its spiritual predecessor by adding a higher replay value for gamers. The Create a Character mode was received with mixed results. Gameplanet commented that it is "well implemented", allowing players to accurately play a character made for them while

GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...

regarded the option as "a nice touch" but "rather tiresome" in the end. The innovations made were still met with criticism for the genre as a whole, with

Eurogamer ''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 and owned by alongside formed company Gamer Network. Its editor-in-chief is Martin Robinson. Since 2008, it is known for the formerly eponymous games trade fair EGX ...

stating, "we’re seriously on the verge of being all warriored out."

''Xtreme Legends''

''Xtreme Legends'' was met with average reception; GameRankings gave it a score of 72%, while Metacritic gave it 72 out of 100.

''State of War''

''State of War'' was met with mixed reception, as GameRankings gave it a score of 65%, while Metacritic gave it 64 out of 100.

Legacy

The game's success led to numerous sequels released under the ''Samurai Warriors'' title. The series has sold 7.7 million units worldwide as of January 22, 2021.