During training exercises and battles alike, there is a tendency to hear your character say the same things over and over again. As such, they provide an important sense of direction amidst a battlefield of flying bodies and shouting soldiers. Sometimes the voice overs are incredibly helpful, alerting you to problems or changes of tactics on the field of battle. Even how the voice acting is presented is somewhat erratic. Some of it is actually very well done, while others had a tendency to come across as a bit cheesy. I suppose there are only a handful of ways to portray thirty people getting torn apart by a flashy super attack using my halberd, but I found myself appreciating the music a lot more then the effect design. The sound effects have a tendency to get used and reused a lot. It fit the time period and the action in a way that just felt pleasing during all of the combat. The rich history here serves as more of a backdrop to the game's events, with references to political intrigue made, but allowing the game itself to play out in very action-heavy sequences. Lu Bu may have been an amazing warrior (I particularly enjoyed the scene where two of his attendants struggled to hand him his weapon due to its weight, yet Lu Bu picked it up with one hand and no effort), but I am fairly confident he never killed 2,200 soldiers the way I did on my second map of his story campaign. I actually read Three Kingdoms back in college largely as a result of these games and my desire to learn more about the time period.Ĭlearly Dynasty Warriors is a fantastical version of these events. Destiny of an Emperor was also set during this time period, and ranks among my more memorable NES RPG experiences. Among my earliest and still more cherished strategy title are Nobunaga's Ambition and Romance of the Three Kingdoms on the NES. The setting of Dynasty Warriors has long been a favorite of mine. I did walk through the tutorial, which did a good job of teaching me the basics and then getting out of my way. I may have picked up a controller over at a buddy's house now and then as the title felt slightly familiar, but perhaps that is simply good design in that it was easily accessible to me right off of the bat.

In retrospect, it is somewhat amazing I have not played the games in this series before.

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