Samurai Warriors and the main Dynasty Warriors brand may seem like the same games over and over again. That is true at the very core of each experience. However, Koei Tecmo is always trying to change things up for each new title. This is true for the many anime spinoffs in the series.
For example, Dynasty Warriors 9 was an open-world game and the first of its kind. It ended up getting mixed reviews from fans, but at least Koei Tecmo tried. They also tried for this new PS4 and Switch game and to better effect. There are still a few things they could tweak in patches in order to make Samurai Warriors 5 a better experience. Here are just some things they could improve upon.
10 Add English Audio
The Japanese audio in Samurai Warriors 5 is great. Normally games with Japanese audio wouldn’t be a problem like for this game’s cutscenes.
However, there is a lot of dialogue thrown out during combat. It can be hard to concentrate on fighting and reading at the same time. It is seemingly an impossible thing to multitask on the battlefield.
9 Better Partner Commands
These games are meant to be played co-op and so are great online or on the couch. If one doesn’t have a friend or loved one to play with then Samurai Warriors 5 has a solution to that via the partner system. Many maps in the game allow players to choose two characters to fight with.
Players can then order where the AI needs to go while the other character is controlled manually. The command list is not that good and oftentimes partners wander off course even if the Wait command is issued. The AI just needs a few tweaks.
8 Everyone Gets Skill Points
Characters level up individually as is the case in most RPGs. If they participate in battle, they get experience points. There is also a pool of experience points earned from scrolls to then use whenever and on whomever.
This is great. However, skill points are only gained in a pool situation meaning that everyone shares. It would be great if Koei Tecmo added in the idea of characters earning skill points themselves along with gaining the extra points in a pool.
7 Add A Training Mode
This series is well-known for its strong and diverse set of characters to play as. Yasuke, for example, is a new party member who is one of the best fighters in Samurai Warriors 5. Because there are so many it can be hard to decide who to play as.
It would be great if a Koei Tecmo added in a training mode like what most fighting games have. This would allow players to test out every character to see if they are a fit for them without having to waste time on a big map.
6 Add A Dodge
A lot has changed in the series since it debuted in 2004. Despite these changes, there is one thing the series has been missing; a dodge button. Samurai Warriors 5 is behind contemporary action RPGs because it lacks a dodge or roll button.
Players can block and sometimes side dash away from an attack, but they’re not as useful. If this game added a feature like a dodge button, it could become more than a hack and slash game.
5 Fix The Cutscenes
One of the most striking changes in Samurai Warriors 5 is the new cel-shaded art style. It’s going to make the game stand the test of time like the various anime spinoffs in the franchise. Playing the game and going through the text-based dialogue looks great.
However, the cutscenes are not as pretty. The colors look muted and condensed on both the PS4 and Switch versions. There must be some way Koei Tecmo can fix the blurry effect in these cutscenes.
4 Make All Maps Co-Op
It takes a couple of missions before the partner system and co-op system unlock. Even when that happens some maps following this unlock remain gated. Players may be able to get a partner later on in a mission but they can’t choose the character.
As for co-op issues, there are two modes for each mission. Musou Mode is the story and Free Mode allows players to freely choose whomever they want for the mission. These can all be played in co-op. It would be great if every map featured co-op gameplay and on any mode. It would also be great if a partner could be chosen on every map and mode.
3 Pause The Game In The Console Home Menu
This is something most gamers may not either realize or care about. One of the nice things about Samurai Warriors 5 though is that it keeps track of time played. Every game should do this but many don’t, including another recent PS4 and Switch RPG; Neo: The World Ends With You.
If players back out to the home screen on PS4, for example, time will not stop calculating. This can screw up how long one has been playing. So, if one cares about keeping an exact record, don’t do this until Koei Tecmo fixes this minor issue.
2 Use Horses Indoors
Samurai Warriors 5, and overall series, is completely over the top. Nothing makes sense. How could one samurai slay through thousands of enemies in the blink of an eye?
In order to have fun, these questions should be ignored. It is a video game after all. When the game tries to be logical, it makes even less sense such as banning the use of horses indoors. This ability should be added into the game as ridiculous as it sounds.
1 Remove Watermarks
Watermarks are not going to bother a lot of gamers. Presumably, the number of players that even remember their consoles can take screenshots must be relatively low. For those that do care about taking pictures, seeing a watermark in a game isn't a very pleasant sight.
To bring it up again, Neo: The World Ends With You started free but the watermark was patched in which was odd. If watermarks can be patched in then they can certainly be patched out. Both games should get this fixed.