The established Musou genre is almost exclusively in the hands of Koei Tecmo, and has been seeking versatility and expansion for several years in order not to end up surviving in repetition of the same series (like those of Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors) in order to reach a new audience that perhaps out of simple prejudice, has not been encouraged to venture into these complex and dizzying action games. Many of these attempts can be found in forms such as Dragon Quest Heroes, The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Warriors, and even some modes in the One Piece series.
On this occasion, Koei points to one of the most effective marketing formulas in the video game world: the franchise mashup. And not just any franchise, but they cover many classics dating back to the golden age of video game consoles, even reaching the most recent and acclaimed Nioh (which unfortunately didn’t hit PC).
Game Story
The story of Warriors All-Stars is based on the usual crossover of sagas. On this occasion, a fantasy world begins to agonize due to the loss of magical power.
To save these lands, the help of legendary heroes who will be able to restore the energy is requested, but the invocation does not go well and these warriors are scattered throughout the land, thus creating several campaigns that focus on groups of characters. That is, initially we choose a protagonist, and depending on the chosen one, we will begin to see some or other companions, collaborating with the faction aspiring to succeed in the throne.
The background of this mashup tells that there is an invasion of the magic kingdom which only heroes from other universes can eliminate, and that is why several characters from different titles are summoned. Ryu Hayabusa from Ninja Gaiden, William from Nioh, Ayane and Kasumi from Dead or Alive, and an infinite number of characters from the Warriors series and branded RPGs come together to form teams and end the threat of the tower.
Gameplay
Like any game of its kind, in Warriors All-Stars we will move around the cases of a larger map, where we must achieve different objectives and defeat service leaders to weaken forces and conquer each territory. These sections are presented in the form of mazes of different paths, something like the lanes of a MOBA, so, in addition to mastering the combos and special moves of each character, we must act strategically, and on some occasions, plant defenses to avoid the enemy’s flank.
By bringing together these special characters, who also bring their personalities to the story, at Warriors All-Stars we will be able to combine their skills in different ways to gain specific attack, resistance, and speed advantages in certain aspects of battle. This prevents us from having to consider each hero as definitive, since we can alternate them in the middle of the battle or use them as assistance with special moves to generate more damage and speed up each obstacle.
Between each fight scene, the game offers us the possibility to configure the team (once we save heroes on the general map) and to apply a card system that gives temporary advantages to each character. These modifications can be modified and upgraded in one of the many game stores, so resource management is essential to achieving an efficient team, one that will ultimately withstand the attacks of the heaviest and toughest bosses. There are nearly three dozen heroes to integrate and manage, so the variability and replayability of this ambitious title are truly insurmountable.
Its gameplay doesn’t hold too many surprises: once again, we face waves of enemies that jump through the air with every attack we execute. Although we will not be alone on the battlefield, up to four support characters accompany us in this war. The squad is controlled similarly to other Omega Force musou, such as Dynasty Warriors 8: Empires: simple strikes to create powerful combos that sweep away the hundreds of clone opponents.
There are also a number of special and even joint attacks, where our allies participate on our side. Likewise, you can make use of their support, offensive or defensive abilities, and healing, for example, that are recharged by time. Taking advantage of these advantages not only serves to facilitate the game but also helps to break the repetitiveness that tends to haunt every musou after a certain time.
Gameplay Mechanics
As this is a generic mashup, without the historical gifts of the Dynasty Warriors series, for example, the campaign narrative matters but it is not essential when it comes to leveraging the attractiveness of the gameplay.
As in the last iterations of this formula, in Warriors All-Stars, we will see countless random missions that will not be linked to a story, but are part of the general plan, and although they do not benefit the advancement of the plot, they do count for the evolution of the heroes we use, so that we finally have warriors who are up to each new challenge.
One of the innovations of this episode is the inclusion of “contemplation” (gaze) meters among the associated heroes, which allows better skills and items with heroes who have an affinity for each other and belong to the same attack group.
In a way, it doesn’t make you feel too much on the battlefield and doesn’t imply anything more than an extra sum of points in the statistics at the end of each mission, but it is the first step in a formula that constantly adds what each game is proposed to invent.
But sadly, Warriors All-Stars came as a sure thing, relegating the biggest selling point to its list of recognized characters and not going beyond what the concept dictates.
In some respects, it’s not something so relatable for genre followers, as it is undoubtedly fun, tells an interesting story that takes its own levity in a fun way, and finally presents a depth in gameplay structure that can be squeezed in for long hours but it’s not the way to reach a new audience that has always stayed away from this type of dizzying action.
Characters
By the selection of characters, about thirty, far from the numbers of a Warriors Orochi, but much more charismatic, Warriors All-Stars is more enjoyable when you have knowledge of all the games represented, or at least most of them. It is curious to see the dry Ryu Hayabusa collaborating with Sophie from Atelier, or the DOA fighters side by side with the girls from Deception. It has glossaries with character information, in case you need help with some terms or do not recognize a warrior.
Since some of the characters do not usually use weapons and focus on magic or physical blows, Warriors All-Stars is more varied than Omega Force’s historical action games. Each protagonist maintains their personality in the type of moves, so Laegrinna won’t get her hands too dirty and instead materializes traps on the battlefield, while Arnice from Nights of Azure maintains her transformation into demonic form.
One of the most unknown characters to Western audiences will be Rio, from Rio: Rainbow Gate!, who belongs to a series of pachinko games -a pinball-like machine very popular in Asia-. Her attacks are related to casino effects, cards, and roulette. In the game, you will be able to consult brief information about each guest, which will be useful if you have not tried any of the games yet.
In-Game Development
A card system is used as a solution to customize the heroes. Getting new weapons and armor would make sense for certain action heroes, but not for Sophie, Opoona, and some of the guests with origins in not-too-warlike sagas. The solution: equip some cards that provide improvements of some kind. When we have a surplus, or cards with low values, we can also get rid of them and obtain materials that will help us to enhance the good cards.
The development takes place on a map in which different types of missions are unlocked. We have the main ones, which advance the story, and others to obtain resources, new characters, or confront heroes. Some are active for a limited time and can be lost. In this way, the story is not linear and we can choose when it is convenient to take a break to regain strength or accelerate the main progress. You can even interact with the warriors unlocked in your base, there is a friendship system that also influences the combats, with taverns, inns, hot springs, or areas to hone our skills.
Choose your mission. You will be able to improve the level of your characters, get new allies, and more resources, or advance in the story. This cocktail of sagas positively influences the musou formula. The enemies again demonstrate completely null intelligence, except for the generals or sub-bosses, and the scenarios are nothing more than labyrinthine areas prepared for the fight and the conquest of bases.
The objective of the mission will be accompanied by secondary tasks: defeat a specific character or a specific number of enemies. In short, a combination of classic ideas common to other Omega Force titles with a few new features to make up the result, and this is not necessarily a bad thing.
The advantage of bringing together a dream team is that it collects scenarios and enemies inspired by the sagas of their heroes, not just boring soldiers, there are also some, and furry-looking ones, whether they are demons from Nioh or funny monsters from Atelier. It does not reach the colorful explosion of One Piece: Pirate Warriors, but it certainly transmits less general monotony than Dynasty Warriors. In technical matters, simply correct: not much detail that is compensated with huge amounts of characters on screen. It looks better in motion than in screenshots.
Graphics
Graphically, it’s worth noting that it looks really good, and the graphics engine that Omega Force keeps pressing from cover to cover is consistent with optimization and huge amounts of on-screen characters and effects.
Thankfully, it hasn’t gone the wrong way with Attack on Titan, offering in that case very complex character models, very good resolution textures, and lighting effects that just dazzle. Since this is a game model that aims to represent large battlefields, it’s understandable that it doesn’t point to an exceptional level of graphics, but that they’ve found an excellent balance between aesthetics and optimization so that even at high resolution, with everything configured at maximum, it keeps solid 60 frames per second.
Sounds
As it could not be otherwise, the music makes revisions of themes of the games represented, in orchestral or more rock versions. The voices are mainly in Japanese, although in the case of William the English language has been maintained for consistency with his story in NiOh -an Irish sailor who arrives in Japan-.
Warriors All-Stars: What to expect from the game?
As an option for fans of the genre, Warriors All-Stars is a nice breath of fresh air that doesn’t offer too much outside the formula but if you execute the Musou structures to a more fantastical side and full of recognizable faces.
For those trying to get in to see what it’s all about, it’s a bit of a half-hearted attempt and we’ll have to wait for the next mashup or crossover where adjustments are made to the pursuit of accessibility and aesthetic arrangements in favor of falling in love with an audience that generally points to others.
Inevitably, this is another new series that will surely receive future continuations, just like Dragon Quest, so you don’t have to rush to fall in love with the series to stop being encouraged.
Warriors All-Stars does not deceive with its proposal. You expect a musou with Koei Tecmo characters and that’s exactly what it offers. Omega Force has the template of these games so mastered that it doesn’t need to make more than a few small changes in mechanics or characters to make something entertaining.
Admittedly though, it’s not as ambitious as Dragon Quest Heroes, and there’s a lack of a multiplayer mode or other extras that tend to appear in the developer’s own games. There are multiple endings and, although seeing one of them can take 10 hours, mastering the entire squad multiplies that figure to almost a hundred.
On the one hand, we must be grateful that the characters are not blurred with their jump to the massive action -in terms of charisma, not control. There are many nods to the different sagas and each protagonist maintains his or her personality, regardless of whether they belong to violent or more familiar games.
However, we must accept that it doesn’t present anything extraordinary capable of changing the opinion of the genre’s detractors: the musou fan will enjoy it more than Ninja Gaiden or Dead or Alive players. However, if you are lucky enough to love Dynasty Warriors and Koei Tecmo’s catalog, this game is a must-have.
