{"id":122058,"date":"2020-12-14T18:30:00","date_gmt":"2020-12-14T18:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/news\/2020\/12\/feature_dynasty_warriors_a_series_thats_remarkably_adept_at_producing_spin-offs"},"modified":"2020-12-14T18:30:00","modified_gmt":"2020-12-14T18:30:00","slug":"feature-dynasty-warriors-a-series-thats-remarkably-adept-at-producing-spin-offs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/2020\/12\/14\/feature-dynasty-warriors-a-series-thats-remarkably-adept-at-producing-spin-offs\/","title":{"rendered":"Feature: Dynasty Warriors: A Series That’s Remarkably Adept At Producing Spin-Offs"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Dynasty<\/a><\/figure>\n

When you consider how few main Dynasty Warriors<\/strong> \/<\/strong> Musou<\/strong> entries have come to Nintendo platforms, it\u2019s almost strange how much influence Koei Tecmo\u2019s hack-and-slash series has upon the Switch library. Developed by Omega Force, their main Nintendo output has mostly been spin-offs outside of 8: Xtreme Legends<\/strong><\/a> and strategy focused Dynasty Warriors 8: Empires<\/strong><\/a> (which remains Japan-exclusive on Switch). With Hyrule Warriors: Age Of Calamity<\/strong><\/a> bringing in 3 million sales<\/a> after a week and Persona 5 Strikers<\/strong><\/a> exceeding sales expectations<\/a> in Japan alone (and finally coming to the West in February), they\u2019ve given us some remarkable games and for this feature, we\u2019re taking a look at how it all began.<\/p>\n

Contextually, this recent reputation is quite fitting when you consider that Dynasty Warriors was a spin-off series too, coming from turn-based strategy series Romance of the Three Kingdoms<\/strong> (for brevity, let\u2019s call it ROTTK).<\/p>\n

Early entries could be found on NES\/SNES, ROTTK IV<\/strong><\/a> being the last one, but like many third-party developers, Koei mostly drifted away from Nintendo during the N64-era. It only truly returned in 2007 with ROTTK<\/strong> XI\u2019s<\/strong> Wii release and even then, support is very sporadic. ROTTK XIII<\/strong><\/a> also arrived on Switch but like 8: Empires, that port remained Japan-exclusive.<\/p>\n

Let’s not forget Samurai Warriors<\/strong> either, which replaces Dynasty Warriors \/ ROTTK\u2019s ancient Chinese setting for Japan\u2019s Sengoku period. Early entries skipped Nintendo consoles but come 2010, Samurai Warriors 3<\/strong><\/a> launched on Nintendo Wii, an entry we quite enjoyed<\/a> back then. 4<\/strong><\/a> and Spirit of Sanada<\/strong><\/a> are also on Switch but, you guessed it, only in Japan. Remarkably, this led to yet another sub-series with three-man teams called Warriors Orochi<\/strong><\/a>, merging Dynasty\/Samurai Warriors into one. We\u2019ve received better Western support for Orochi and they\u2019re fun games but, generally<\/a>, we didn\u2019t think that highly<\/a> of them.<\/p>\n

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\"Dynasty<\/a>\u00a9 Koei Tecmo<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

You could easily get lost in Koei Tecmo\u2019s near-endless entries in the series but ultimately the crossovers are what have held the most mainstream interest, all retaining that core Dynasty Warriors gameplay. For those unfamiliar with that gameplay, it usually sees you controlling one singular (practically superhuman) fighter across a large battlefield, taking over outposts occupied by enemy hordes. Doing this means crushing their commanders and defending these locations once captured. Most games suffer from repetition issues and arguably shallow combat but there lies an undeniable satisfaction in sending countless waves of enemies flying around you.<\/p>\n

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there lies an undeniable satisfaction in sending countless waves of enemies flying around you<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

We\u2019ve seen plenty of less notable crossovers like Fist of the North Star: Ken\u2019s Rage 2<\/strong><\/a> and One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3<\/strong><\/a>, but from a Nintendo fan’s perspective the real fun began in 2014 with Hyrule Warriors<\/a><\/strong> on Wii U. Within this non-canon entry, we found a story that celebrated The Legend of Zelda\u2019s history with high levels of fan service. Thanks to an evil sorceress called Cia who seeks to revive Ganondorf, Hyrule Warriors merged Zelda\u2019s different timelines and let us pick from a wide cast of characters including Link, Zelda, Midna, Darunia and Impa. Showcasing more action-packed gameplay, Hyrule Warriors opened up new possibilities for Zelda fans and remains an entertaining tribute. Despite the window dressing, however, it’s important to remember that it’s a Dynasty Warriors game with Zelda trappings, not the other way round.<\/p>\n

We got two later iterations of it, ported to 3DS<\/a> with Wind Waker<\/strong><\/a> content and a Definitive Edition<\/a> arrived for Switch, but for Nintendo this ride was far from over. Fire Emblem Warriors<\/strong><\/a> arrived a few years later and it built upon the foundations set before. As a series that helped pioneer the tactical RPG genre, seeing this aspect disappear was certainly unusual but Omega Force tried capturing that spirit of Nintendo’s series within a wider action setting, letting you issue orders to allies across the map and incorporating Fire Emblem\u2019s famous weapons triangle.<\/p>\n