Dynasty Warriors for PSP

Koei has been shoving the same 3 kingdoms down our throats since Romancing the Three Kingdoms first appeared. Moreover, Dynasty Warriors started out as a fighting game and lead to a strategic war simulation. Koei has taken many steps to advance their Dynasty Warriors series, but for once, it s been moved to a portable system.

Well, I can t say specifically what the story is with Dynasty Warriors because the game seems like a chain of battles strung together for your amusement. This history of Dynasty Warriors is very similar to Romancing the Three Kingdoms. There are 3 kingdoms: Wei, Wu, & Shu. These are vying for power against the others. In this game, it is a time of war (unlike the Romancing series which shoves diplomacy so far down your throat, it tickles your colon.) You choose from six generals offered from the camp of your choice (18 generals in all). You begin a campaign to take occupy land for your kingdom, and secure the future of your people.

The game commences much like a brawler. You enter battle and slash your way to victory. During combat, you can jump, slash, charge(d) attack, or Musou. Your Musou are similar to the special strikes given in most brawlers in two ways: 1) they consume an energy gauge to execute & 2) they are charged up by your attacking opponents. As such, you kill, run, kill, run, Musou, then repeat. It s fairly repetitive. The beauty of the combat system is its ease of entry. Because there are 4 basic functions, you can just slide right into a fight and figure it out. Added is the ability to guard, but because of the game s play, chances are you ll get knocked down from an enemy behind you before you can turn to face them. You can also use the Aim function to fire a bow at a select target (if using an archer-type general).

The game uses the analog stick very well. Push in a direction to run that way. The further you push, the faster you run. The problem is momentum. You need to recenter the stick before attacking; otherwise you ll find yourself executing a flying kick past a group of enemies. What s nice about the analog stick is that it allows you to change targets at will. You can tap an enemy in front of your, then switch to one flanking you if needed. This allows for some very nice combat. Despite this, you must beware of the general s limitations. Each general has his/her limit of attacks before he/she must stop to take a breath. Most generals average about 3-4 attacks before they pause. During the pause, you are very vulnerable to being hit. Combining your basic attacks with your Musou can yield stronger combos and allow for better coverage.

Besides the generals having different attack numbers, each general has his/her own attributes. Some generals are stronger, faster, level more quickly, or have mounts. Choosing a general should be based on your manner of play. Although riding a horse into battle may make you seem untouchable, you do take extra damage for getting knocked off of your steed. Caution is always necessary when selecting your character.

In addition to the generals, you can capture officers from opposing forces. Each captain empowers the general with some special skill. These can range from restoring HP to the general, filling Musou, or providing them with a special attack or effect. When choosing your officers, you are given either 4 slots to fill or a quota of points. You can recruit fewer uber-officers (having stronger attacks or special skills) alternatively you can the full four of lesser officers (with basic skills and attacks). The choice is yours, since fewer officers means you have less at your disposal for skills, but your main fighting force will be stronger. Just remember that strength does not win the battle.

The game steps beyond the combat system by limiting you play to a time based battle. You can only fight as long as you have enough supplies for your troops. Supplies are found at depots or certain locations on the map. You must raid enemy supplies to extend your campaign. As such, victory becomes not just a matter of killing your enemy quickly, but also a call for strategy. As you select your next destination, you must balance how closely it brings you to victory or defeat. Taking a detour can often mean a waste of supplies. To conserve supplies, you must deplete enemy moral as quickly as possible. As in war, you do not win by killing your enemy, but rather depleting their will to fight. Killing enemy officers and generals is a great way to win campaigns quickly. The faster you reduce enemy moral to zero, the more supplies you ll have for the next battle.

Dynasty Warriors offers only 1 mode for PSP to PSP. In Officers Mode, you can trade officers you have collected or unlocked with a friend. It s really sad because there is no player versus player mode, only this lackluster trade. In addition to this, the game only supports Ad Hoc, which means you can t trade over the internet with anyone else. To be honest, I would ve liked to be able to play Dynasty Warriors online, but sadly, neither Sony nor Koei will support it. It s up to you to either be struck by lightning or win the lottery. If your luck is that good, you might find another PSP owner (as the systems are quite an expense).

The presentation on Dynasty Warriors is pretty good. The graphics do look a little pixilated at times, but overall, it appears to be a slightly downgraded version of its PS2 counterparts. The wide screen of the PSP does help provide a greater field of vision than what I ve played of the PS2 versions. The problem is that unlike the PS2, you no longer see health bars above your adversaries. Instead, their remaining health appears in the bottom right of the screen. I can t say I like or dislike this. To me, it s just a change. The problem I do have is that they flash the health bars at some of the worst times. Characters that have just died sometimes have their health bars flashed while some do not. This didn t make much sense to me at all, since it seemed random. The only major issue I ve found with this game is that it does have a tendency to slow down. While raiding the enemy encampment, you will see the game s frames per second drop significantly. At points, it s almost unplayable. Thankfully, this only lasts a few seconds if you have a Musou attack stored up. Just clear a few of those unwanted characters from the screen, and the game will resume its normal frame rate.

A few random complaints I d like to offer on this game. First off, your horse is difficult to control. In order to turn around, you either need to run in a wide circle or return the analog stick to center. The animation on the horse stopping is nice enough, but it s a pain when you re galloping at full speed to have to remember to do this. After you have been dismounted by an enemy, you must get close to your horse and press the jump button to remount. The problem is that you have to be in a specific portion of the side to mount your horse once knocked off. This can be a pain since you re getting attacked from all directions. Although they seem like a good idea, charge(d) attacks are almost worthless. I find that using your standard string of 3 attacks works much better than charging for an attack that may or may not hit the opponents. The lack of a multiplayer mode is definitely a disappointment. This is especially so since the PS2 versions almost all had a player versus player option. I also dislike the locking of swords. When you and your opponent lock weapons during battle, you must repeatedly tap the square button to break out of it. This is a very antiquated practice and really has no purpose on a portable system.

All together, Dynasty Warriors is a good game for your PSP. It s really nothing special overall, but it s fun enough to keep you on the occupied when on the go. With the ability to save your progress, the game is easy to play and putdown whenever you need to. Loading times aren t that bad compared to other PSP titles I ve played. I do RECOMMEND Dynasty Warriors. It s worth the time and investment for a PSP owner.