Why Dynasty Warriors 9 Is Depressingly Awful

Dynasty Warriors...oh boy, Dynasty Warriors 9.
It has ruined my life, and I'll explain to you why.
Twitter: / lhudsonx

[@ScrubTheNub]

Played 3,4, and 8. If they wanted to venture out a bit why not just do something similar to Shadow of War where you make your army and fight alongside them. (While also making the AI actually do something instead of standing there waiting to be hit).

[@billyshorts371]

You know, the nemesis system in a dynasty warriors game would be absolutely insane. Sucks they are gatekeeping that system

[@Kropolis]

@@billyshorts371 I'm not exactly sure how well it would translate to DW. I mean the gameplay for DW isn't at all similar to the Middle-Earth games gameplay, no special weaknesses to exploit with your environment and not much to do trait-wise besides deal/take more damage and such. If they wanted a good nemesis system I'm not sure they could stick with the tried and true Dynasty Warriors type combat that people love. I'm all for trying new things if they come out good but I'm not sure how many fans of the genre would appreciate a drastic change like that.

[@Exodus_44]

dw 6 had the best AI

[@darthzackariusnickthenamethede]

@@billyshorts371Samurai Warriors 4: Empires had something like that, actually.

[@MrLordvoid]

Oh man the nemesis system would've been so fucking good in dynasty warriors

[@KassFireborn]

I actually let a burst of semi-hysterical laughter out when I saw Lu Bu shamble awkwardly into the scene. If the "arrow to the knee" bit is exemplary of the philosophy that ruined this game, then that scene is exemplary of the way the game felt to the community: a thing you expected was going to be awesome, but instead it just awkwardly turned up and deflated the hype like a collapsing souffle.

[@LHudson]

.....dammit why didn't I think of that!??

[@ReMeDy_TV]

It's almost as though the developers didn't play the past games, which I don't understand how.

[@TheThugnificant]

That was so Shocking Lu Bu without an entrance doesn't even make sense

[@GundamAngelicDevil]

"Either you die a hero, or live long enough to turn into the villain." I feel Dynasty Warriors 9 have fulfilled this role very well.

[@picklepum_the_crow5001]

The voice acting is indeed.... Lifeless.

[@YuutoHiroshige]

picklepum_the_crow you talking English dub; absolutely. Japanese Dub, that’s the one thing I can always depend on japan not to fuck up

[@Weskalia]

Be careful, Kendall Fields might find and attack you.

[@hazamahojo7230]

Takatora Toudou lmfao I want to have what he/she is having. I’m curious as to why 9’s acting is better than 6-8 according to him/her

[@Weskalia]

Heh so you seem to know who I was talking about. If you do, take my advice don't get yourself into an argument with that Koei slave. Yeah I used the term Koei slave (or DW9 slave) because that idiot loves to think that everything in DW9 is more perfect than 8: better dub, no more stupid fantasy weapons, Koei did DLCs/clones before so it's not okay to criticize DW9, etc. He also has the tendency to ask "what's wrong with X?" every time and always thinks any critic's legit opinion is highschool childish, yet he has several accounts on several sites (KZbin, Koei forum, Siliconera). Just ignore this clown and let him dies in his own fantasy. Oh and you wanna know why he thinks DW9 is more successful than 8, because he thinks DW9 sales is better lol.

[@hazamahojo7230]

Takatora Toudou yeah I’ve seen him around a lot of times on every DW9 video giving shit arguments as to why DW9 is better in every category. And sales? Sales is the reason why 9 is better? Give me a break 😆 does he ever listen to people’s arguments? I’ll be sure to take your advice though, I love watching him justify himself

[@zakuhtet3775]

Dynasty Warriors 9 - Open-world - Crafting - Fishing - Resource Gathering - Climb tower to reveal parts of the map That's all I need to know to realize that Dynasty Warriors 9 is not a Dynasty Warriors game.

[@sorryyourenotawinner2506]

You want the repetitive DW?

[@zakuhtet3775]

Both are repetitive just in different ways I play DW because I want to play DW, not Far Cry

[@relixa1560]

I don't like dynasty warriors nejn either, but i do remember "crafting" elements when building weapons with stats and/or traits in warriors 3 orochi, dynasty warriors 8, and their hd rereleases.

[@zakuhtet3775]

I'm fine with crafting by itself. But it's when it's compounded with all the other elements I've described, it becomes a problem.

[@ArlanKels]

It also got rid of multiplayer.. Multiplayer Dynasty Warriors is why I had so much fun with it on the PS2. I literally only played it multiplayer when possible.

[@TheRealGuywithoutaMustache]

"The fact that something as mundane as a rake was turned into a deadly weapon outside of The Simpsons" Ha ha, that was hilarious

[@GiordanDiodato]

I now question whether the guy has played any DW game.

[@99Livesx]

dynasty warriors has always been niche and this is what happens when you have an unsuccessful venture trying to experiment

[@dragongrandmaster]

truth

[@damonyoungblood5488]

I’m still waiting for Koei to put as much work they put into dynasty warriors into Romance of the Three Kingdoms...😑. Now that’s depressing...

[@HenriqueRJchiki]

+Damon Youngblood Lol dude forget about that shit and get hyped for a real game: store.steampowered.com/app/779340/Total_War_THREE_KINGDOMS/

[@damonyoungblood5488]

HenriqueRJchiki I never played total war before. I usually play the PUK Romance of the three kingdoms preferably 7, 8, and 10. I like these ones for the rpg factor that’s also added in and how you can play as only one officer and not have to play as ruler. Looks good though but is the game similar to romance of the three kingdoms 8 and 10 or similar to 9, 11, and 12? Also which total war would you recommend as the best?

[@HenriqueRJchiki]

+Damon Youngblood My favorite is Shogun 2, but everything else is good it just depends on what timeframe you want to play on, the only one i don't really like is Attila. If you're looking for something less RTS and more grand strategy just play europa universalis IV lol these Koei games have been sucking hard lately. store.steampowered.com/app/201270/Total_War_SHOGUN_2/

[@jackstoutamore8541]

16:24 This voice acting had me rolling on the floor clutching my sides in laughter :D 9's just had me groaning and muting the game. A real testament to the lack of personality in the newest entry.

[@GiordanDiodato]

didn't most of the cast go union?

[@MrBlackboy21ful]

The dlc old weapon is a slap to the face and a kick to the balls

[@nocap7885]

A kick in the face and slap in the balls.

[@YTDeepshock]

That would probably be a Musou they put in this game.

[@drakeford3238]

Hud, I think you've accurately summed up the feelings of an entire fandom. It's almost funny that a game most people expected less than nothing from could somehow manage to so massively let down its few patrons. Be it through faith, stupidity, or some combination of the two, I still have hope for the future of the series- maybe with Empires 9, maybe not until 10, but sometime down the road we'll see the upswing. That said, calling this a disappointment would be among the gravest of understatements that one could make.

[@jamie7880]

Drake Ford but other games that Koei make are still good

[@adventuretimez69]

Drake Ford they need to being the strikeforce series back.

[@TheRPGentleman]

9 needs to vanish. 9 empires shouldn't happen. They should just make 10 and make it good. Like, really good.

[@liesandy291]

@@TheRPGentleman The open world aspect can really bring empires version to life unlike the fuckin lifeless dw8e.

[@GiordanDiodato]

or the fact you hate change yet also asked for something different.

[@DrPepperNOW]

You forgot, they decided to add back unique weapons despite their claim for realism... as piecemeal DLC :p

[@LHudson]

I thought about it, but saw that the video was already long enough :p

[@ssjMaximum22Goku]

That DLC should be free as compensation.

[@Seraphil1]

"For realism" is a false narrative made up by fans who mistranslated a producer interview.

[@WynterRayn19]

Suzuki lied about it and he was the one who said that he want to "make the game as realistic as possible" hence the removal of the unique weapons.

[@Uknown291]

a dike? oh no! lmao

[@omnipersistence]

Why isn't this a meme?

[@kaiquerodrigues7511]

For the record i always thought Sima Yi was gay until i saw his wife in the game xD

[@AdventurerOfOblivion]

omnipersistence It's been a meme for the longest time for those who have played DW3 and were aware of how comedic the voice acting was.

[@Marcell2aG]

Great Kiiinnggg! FLEEEEE!!!

[@Marcell2aG]

@Tong Yoon "Ugh....sorry."

[@MsPoliteRants]

Played DW5 literally all weekend this week. My hand actually hurts.

[@sk3t714]

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[@sk3t714]

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[@sk3t714]

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[@sk3t714]

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[@sk3t714]

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[@leejoyner4532]

I've loved this series so much that I almost got a Shu flag tattooed on my arm (I have a cactuar on my other arm, so that's not shocking) but I couldn't even bring myself into playing 9 after seeing some of the reviews. I've always been aware that the worst part of DW was having to go from one place to another without massive amounts of enemies to slaughter. I assumed it would be terrible due to open world, just seemed like it was making it's worst element even worse. Good video however.

[@obitoxshinobi8978]

if i live in Dynasty Warriors era i would join LuiBei bc LuiBei is poor so was i. i wanna be like loyal to him like Lord ZhaoYun

[@azurlune1877]

Well nier makes you sad in a different way. The characters get fucked over so hard that u feel bad for them. The game play and music are all great tho. It's depressingly great!

[@HawkOfGP]

Obviously a game can be "depressing" in a way where inducing sadness is an intended function of the story. Depression from utter disappointment in the experience provided is very different.

[@szymonroganowski7803]

The wierdest thing about this game failing utterly at open world, is that koei and omega force were experimenting, and succesfully even, with open world before Toukiden 2's open world adds alot to that series and the open world map in Dragon Quest Heroes 2 works really well and then dw 9 feels like they never seen a functioning open world ever and only heard stories about it

[@sorrowfulrayven939]

I agree wholeheartedly with everything that you said about the voice actors. I loved these games and when I found out that there was going to be a continuation I was so eager to hear my favorite corny voice acting from 8 but what I got was zombies who haven't had enough coffee. I quite literally quit the game after beating Liu Bei's route because I was soo disappointed with what they made me shell out sixty dollars for.

[@Ludwig_Perpenhente]

DW8's English VAs were alright, granted there are some line issues, but other than that, thier sheer corny acting kind of blends well with DW8, considering Lu Su has a GARDEN RAKE as a weapon. In DW9, I couldn't even bear it, it's like if you put the actors from SW2 and beat them to death with a Gold Trophy.

[@SaltyCalhoun]

Dude, the UI in DW9 looks way too similar to the UI in FF15. Is that some sorta weird coincidence?

[@ChronosNotashi]

Nope. It's just the direction that video games are going these days. Apparently, you can make your game look as barebones and Unity asset flip-like as possible, and it will still sell.

[@Oblait]

Chronos Notashi it's elegant and simple, ui design in square enix games is always great so i imagine they took inspiration from them.

[@ToddyMichael]

its because so easy to make and not time consuming with illusion of these 'elegant form', its shit.

[@Vrobrolf]

You nailed it in ways I couldnt capture before. To me, DW9 feels like the first alpha version of a bland action-MMORPG. From the dull, formulaic quests to the deserted open world, coupled with bland gathering and crafting and the lack of variety in enemies. God, I am so disappointed with this game.

[@lol80626]

Asia doesn't like this game lol it has the worst first week sales in the series in Japan and Asian players as a whole hates it.

[@ShadowWolfRising]

Orochi 4 is going back to how DW8 worked. Whether they had that planned before hand or it was the result of the backlash I do not know.

[@lol80626]

It's pretty clear it's planned, it's using all the assets from DW8 and SM4 which are games running the old engine.

[@ShadowWolfRising]

Either that was amazing foresight or sheer luck.

[@aramondehasashi3324]

Thats good news because i think Koei doesn't care as much about western feedback since most people think the series is dumb so they wouldn't see legit criticism from actual western fans.

[@chenxiongxiong6778]

Wo4 is a goddamn damage control. I still remember how koei said they won't make another orochi when all stars came out. But apparently, wo4 n all stars development start at the same time. Talk about disgusting developer here balantly lied to the fans.

[@viperman240]

As a huge fan of the DW series, I'm glad you covered DW9. I was so disappointed in the direction this series has went. Hopefully for the next installment they go back to their roots and ditch the open world aspect. Conversely, I may be in the minority with this sentiment, but I don't like how the series went from a semi realistic 1 v 1000 from DW2-5 (3 and 4 being my favorite) to this over the top, everyone flying everywhere animesque kind of feel.

[@jinon2667]

agreed, DW2 got me hooked xD felt like a general fighting with his men in the battlefield, the newer ones make me feel like im in a cartoon lol xD

[@midorifox]

DW was pretty much always Open World. The developers even said that they were aiming for the OW aspects since DW2. the open world is probably the only thing that saves the game. But they should've used it better. And with all the problems this game have you pick the only one that is a subjective matter, kek. The AI is terrible, there are tons of glitches, they removed stuff from the previous games... and the gems\crafting is a bitch.

[@australiannathan6300]

You're definitely not alone. 4 and 5 were me and my brothers favorites, and 5 Empires and Xtreme Legends were my favorite. I liked playing the Xtreme mode in which you can actually lose. Shocking, these days.

[@KaiserMattTygore927]

Yeah I liked the old ones where you have to play it almost like an RTS where its a slower battle, where every mission is like a campaign of itself. Hope they go back to that.

[@midorifox]

and where the game is short as fuck. hell no. Samurai warriors is already there for a reason, having two of the same game without experimenting is an horrible idea.

[@tstrick777]

They should go back to the DW4 system, I still play it!

[@tslighttbx2955]

Pls don’t go back to DW4 bc I hate the auto lock

[@TheKingofAndrosica]

I cried after the end of this video because he is telling you the truth!

[@wolfwyvern5334]

I know Right!?

[@Valukaris]

Yeah I know exactly how he feels. I am actually glad I did not buy DW9 and stopped at DW8. Honestly I don't think we'll ever see another DW game after this disaster.

[@commissargab6181]

My man i play the trial and the game is good in my opinion yes only good because it has splitscreen and the world is too big which awesome to explore

[@RiolNeo963]

I wish they brought back bodyguard system. If they did open world they should of made it smaller. Or add more interactive places in the said open world. Building wise such as enemy troop camps/tents or you find random traveling merchants. Randomly get attacked by Bandit and pirate ambushes on players. It would of been better if you found ore and gems in caves or mines. Etc. it would also be great if you can actually take care of your mounts. That and if they add a few more animals to nature such as types of birds for one Cranes etc. they also need to focus on the emotions of characters during in game scenes. The faces seem bland sometimes.

[@Delimon007]

Man I toooottaaallllyy forgot about that, the bodyguard system was great

[@ToddyMichael]

i like the idea of DW 4 extreme legend , that have armies system where bunch of people protecting you and you rise thru ranks.

[@jassemalsuwaidi7559]

The bodyguard system is back a new patch even Splitscreen

[@shogun2heroicvictories15]

@@Delimon007 Spend hours, in the first few games, leveling my bodyguard from peasant to full armoured general so OP by the end it could kill bosses.

[@commissargab6181]

@@jassemalsuwaidi7559 there is? Because i really want this game sine i finished dw8 empires

[@BJTangerine]

My entry into the series was Dynasty Warriors 8. Fell in love, continued on with DW 8 Empires, lost count of many fun hours in that too. Sad to see DW9 fall short, especially because when a game studio does something relatively well or good, like I felt they did with DW8, its like how can you make it worse; at minimum all you have to do is take what you did well in the last game and do those things you've already done even better. But in the circumstances we find ourselves now, its a classic 'oo lets try something cool or trendy' and it flops.

[@tasoganedude]

I play DW to feel like a powerful general. But I can't feel like a general if my soldiers fight like dumbasses. What I like is that DW has lots of heroes with slightly different playstyles. Why can't my soldiers be like the minions in MOBA games? They have a clear goal; march and attack the enemy's core, destroying anything that gets in the way. Why can't I call them to join me in my fights like a commander? I don't mind the same story, but they should improve the aesthetics...

[@Vulgarth1]

You're not talking about aesthetics if you're talking about the soldiers.

[@KassFireborn]

I've actually had this discussion with people before, but to me, the uselessness of the average soldier is actually a feature, not a bug. I want to be the one mowing down all the generals. I want to be the one-woman death-dealing wave across the battlefield. It's depressing when the peons are so useless they can't even keep my own side alive, but I generally get *vexed* when I discover someone else on my side has taken out an enemy general. That's my job!

[@Vulgarth1]

Oh wait, I totally misread your post. You were talking about the aesthetics as a seperate point. My bad. Still, though, the entire point of having useless mooks on both sides is to enhance the feeling of being "one warrior worth a thousand" as the tagline used to go.

[@tasoganedude]

Oh right, there's one more point that I forgot to include; When they announced that the game is open-world, I already thought that it was gonna fail. We play DW for the battles, the glory, and not goddamn FISHING.

[@KaiserMattTygore927]

+Kass nah, I'd love for my troops to be competent (just fragile) That's why I always play chaos mode nowadays because its as close to that as possible in these games.

[@Tewthpaste]

*No split screen = automatic awful. Split screen was the selling point of these games.*

[@jetsettech8804]

Tewthpaste it was not

[@sachi629]

Lerone McKenzie it actually did make a huge impact on why they still make these games most people buy when they hear split screen

[@st8lion]

dw5 empires split screen was great

[@TheFlameSlayer]

lack of split screen only helped me not buy the game. even with games like DW6 with splitscreen it makes the game more fun.

[@myspace4408]

Feel the power of my Magic... (bleating like Goat)... 😂😂😂 28:45

[@tiffanyh629]

As much as I love the DW series, I have NEVER had a game where I got tired of playing my absolute favorite character until DW9. I love the idea of the whole open world and didn't mind the crafting system as much since things like blacksmithing has been in the game for a while now [whether I actually grind is another question lmao] I was actually super excited for the new things in DW9. I'm not a game critic whatsoever so I was sure I was going to enjoy the game 10 min. in the game and all I got was a let down.

[@firerocket7343]

Hey, the new Orchi may be good, right? I have faith on that. One of the reason that I love Orchi is that there is a crafting system. It required you to do extra stuff and beat the level with extra conditions/missions. It increase the replayability of the game. Also, DW9 took away that stupid claw was the only thing that they did right.

[@KabutoZombie]

turns out they didnt aim for realism, what happened was they run out of budget and had to cut corners.

[@takarifan]

They all put their money on their supposed money making game, the upcoming Warriors Orochi 4.

[@KaitoLKun]

They never put money in WO series. WO series has always been reused asset with weak story plot.

[@KabutoZombie]

I don't think it was intended as weak though. The cutscenes for warriors orochi 3 ultimate were very impressive compared to samurai warriors 3 and dynasty warriors 7, but everything else was no doubt reused assets.

[@LOOMING_WRAITH_OF_BAD_OMEN]

@2D神 Warriors Orochi 2 is very fun. I always play the shit out of it.

[@KaitoLKun]

WRAITH yeah I played it a lot on the psp.

[@revfromlvd]

Dead or Alive 6 might turn out like Dynasty Warriors 9. Its making it more realistic, copying popular game designs (adding auto combos, supers, meter bars, slow down mechanics), pursuing esports, etc. I think koei tecmo is too influence by western game design and the western market.

[@tropixx_xlr1549]

Not really, DOA6 looks fucking awesome!

[@SpawnOfJenova]

God the ending is so real. I completely feel you. I used to use the DW series as a break. They were always enjoyable and most importantly FUN! Seeing all the call backs to the older games in this video, reminded me of how much fun I had with them...

[@RiolNeo963]

I think the open world could of been left out. The unique weapons kept. The only cut scene I found amusing was the arrival of Lu Bu. Lu Bu most devastating skill was Flash: instant kill low level officers. It also be good if you found plants to pick up in the in farming fields besides randomly. That and wood near houses due to chopped wood for fires. That or if they are used in construction sites to pick up. It would be more interesting to actually see damage to bases after fires etc and being able to rebuild bases. I.e gathering materials to reinforce the said base for the battle. There would have to be animation clips of it being rebuilt. Towns would function the same and castles etc.

[@Gobidragon]

I've gone from loving to HATING Koei Tecmo in just a few months. I absolutely despise that company now.

[@MichaelMusou]

I disliked Koei since DW6

[@WarCollider]

For me, the part that disappointed me the most was how nothing you did mattered at all. In DW8 they introduced the alternate timelines where your actions could actually change what really happened and you could get a better outcome. I thought DW9 might do something like that because you could attack and capture major cities and castles, and missions had secondary objectives. Instead nothing I did mattered, because the moment I completed that chapter, everything on the map reset. It didn't matter that I'd went through taking down all major holds before completing the chapter, because the game just ignored it.

[@wardruchii]

Aye, I lost an hour on the third or fourth Wu chapter taking over every Bandit base to the east.. when the next chapter started we where attacking just north of the area.. and to rub salt in the wounds all the bases where still flagged green as if I still owned them, but where full of bandits.

[@Aelvir114]

10:44 Actual being a Dynasty Warriors game doesn’t necessarily entail bad voice acting. Sure DW2 and DW3 have infamously bad voice acting, but 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 (what little English voices 8 even gets) all have are stellar. They’re not even nobody VAs either. You got the likes of Kirk Thornton, Yuri Lowenthal, Michael McConnohie, Roger Craig Smith, Dan Woren, Steve Blum, Jamieson Price, Crispin Freeman, Lex Lang, Richard Cansino, Bryce Papenbrook, the list goes on. However, what made DW9’s dub so bad, was that it was outsourced to this new voice studio that CLEARLY had no idea what they’re doing. Many voices sound like they’re half-awake, drunk, or just flat-out don’t care. Xiahou Dun himself sounds like a teenager. The past voice actors laid down the ground work for how they should sound and they flat-out ignored that. In fact 16:12 is the perfect analogy. I personally prefer DW5 Sun Jian the most because he actually wears the headgear he wore that was a huge plot point in ROTK and was actually what was used to lure away Hua Xiong by Zu Mao for his sacrifice. Huang Zhong’s bow being swapped for a sword isn’t something new as in previous games he did actually swap between sword and bow in his movesets. What kills the game for me is: 1. The voice acting. 2. Removing the charge attacks. I like having a variety in my attacks and having my own options. The way they did it with the new system removed both of those to the point you have less moves than even DW6. And I know people say DW is mindless. But I think that only happened with DW6 or DW7. Prior to that, troops actually had HP and weren’t made out of paper and actually were a threat, dealing a good amount of damage to you and constantly cancelling your attacks when you try to attack enemy generals. For me, DW5 was the last perfect DW game and DW8 Empires was the last good one.

[@JohnSmith-op3qj]

"A dike?! OH NO!"

[@theenthusiast2984]

Dynasty Warriors 10 WHERE ARE YOU!?

[@outlander632]

Now you understand the people burned by Metroid: Other M and No Man's Sky

[@infinightmoon6268]

At least NMS can fall back on the excuse of being an indie game, and suffering from monetary issues. (The developers had to release early because they ran out of funds. If they didn't release then, it would be delayed indefinitely.) They've also made an effort of improving the game through FREE updates, as opposed to paid DLC shit.

[@A_Simple_Neurose]

Fuck off, they lied about the final product. don't even attempt to make an excuse for that con

[@outlander632]

EDIT: Nevermind the original comment. KZbin was great and only notified me of the second reply, so I thought you were telling me to fuck off, A simple neurose :V

[@MGrey-qb5xz]

Michael Lauer metroid?people still care about that medicore shit,maybe you should move on from that arcade game

[@outlander632]

M.Grey Arcade game is a compliment. New games often pretend that a player not being in control of their character is good design, and the masses praise the obvious dialogue and boring cinema-style motivations of the characters. Games will always be better the more they play to their strengths of interactivity, dynamic systems, unique experiences of each individual player, etc... than they will ever accomplish pretending to be "deep" movies. Games can reach a better depth of understanding with people than passive entertainment ever could.

[@PrussianWarfare]

I think you took way too long on your introduction before getting into the actual argument of your video essay. I felt like you didn't move on from your introduction until 10 minutes in. Otherwise I appreciated the video. It's a shame that the studio decided to really cheap out on the game development and presentation. I wonder what caught those Eastern critics eyes compared to Western critics.

[@LHudson]

Don't take my word for it, but apparently the east like grinding esque games, it's the reason why terrible grind in games is normally called a "Korean Grinder" in MMO circles.. See Ragnarok Online. As for the intro, the purpose was to familiarise people with the series, since one of my stated goals was to talk ensure non-fans in general, whether or not they have heard or seen anything from the series. Might've been a bit bloated, but this was one of those videos that comes from the heart... ...and now I am really sad again :(

[@PrussianWarfare]

LHudson I can definitely tell you were a passionate fan of the series and are sad what they've done for Dynasty Warriors 9. The Dead Space clip hit me because I was saddened at what Dead Space 3 became, and now since Visceral Games is gone, I don't know if I'll see another Dead Space game in the future. I think your introduction was good in trying to familiarize spectators of the series, but some of the ideas you touched on in the beginning I felt weren't reinforced. For example, you reference to Battlefront 2 in how it's a depressing game and showed clips of the lootbox system. I just found out that DW9 went away from over the top weapons in the name of realism, and then sold them as DLC post release. I think pointing this out would have bolstered your argument, as well as making more parallels to other depressing games you've categorised, like comparisons to Order 1066. I came away from this video knowing why Dynasty Warriors 9 is a terrible Dynasty Warriors game, but not why it's a depressing game in general.

[@LHudson]

Understandable. Will need to play with my objectives more. Thanks! :)

[@PrussianWarfare]

LHudson no problem! I think I'll check out that video on Order 1886 you did, since that game was booty.

[@LHudson]

....but I didn't do a video on the Battle of Hastings! o.o

[@simsdas4]

I still gotta say that 7 had moments where the voice acting got really good and made the scenes more impactful to (Liu Bei during that one scene where he's informed of Zhang Feis and Guan Yus deaths for example). Hell the main death scenes in general were done with so much care.

[@jackdavidson5191]

how did you spend ten minutes telling us "the game is bad" without telling us one reason why

[@christendombaffler]

Biggest thing about the old voice acting is that it wasn't even universally bad. Xiahou Dun's VA was, by non-Japanese voice acting standards (as they put far more money into it than the western world ever will), absolutely great, and he was especially good in some of the previous games where the cheap delays in between lines didn't exist and the delivery was intended to be more serious. He showed that he could adapt to the requirements of the role while still staying true to the character. And then they went and replaced him with a joke. That in itself sums up just how much of a sad waste DW9 is overall. It's living, breathing proof that blindly trying something new just for its own sake is not a good idea.

[@adelin081]

A DIKE! OH NO! Lmfao, that cracked me up! :)) "I was dangerous in the past, but then I took an arrow in the knee." funniest bit in the video

[@cheekykiwi628]

I personally would love it if the next Dynasty Warriors game was like more of a hypothetical game where all the series characters were there, and at the start the romance of the three kingdoms story was there but instead of playing as the original cast of characters you would instead make a unique character and start from a mere peon and work your way up to unifying the realm. You get to choose whether you want to be good or evil etc, and most of all your decisions come with certain consequences ( ally with one person will make you someones enemy , executing someone will incur a revenge encounter ). I know its been kinda done but i guess what i'm saying is to have the game designed around your unique character, with random difficulties on encounters, lots of mass effect styled dialogue and really shape how the whole thing goes down.

[@gregwolking]

13:10 FYI, "hyperbole" (I assume that's the word you meant to use, it makes sense) is pronounced "high-PURR-bow-lee", not "hyper-bowl". ;)

[@endwrx5121]

Thank you for saving my $60 on this game. This was my childhood game on the PSP and I wanted to finish the series no matter what, but I guess Dynasty Warriors 8 would be the end. Time to move on...

[@jordanmayfield9357]

I think that even if the original voice actors had return, the voice acting would've still been off since I think they would've have been told to follow how the Chinese spoke their lines... who were told to follow how the Japanese spoke their lines, in order to match the lip movements of the characters on screen, similar to how the new voice actors were told to do it.

[@user-ez05ob0WqQ]

the lip movement is simply ****ed, I tried using Chinese/Japanese/English dub at a same scene and it still not matching...

[@epicgamer2727]

I love your work keep it up. Also I enjoy Ni No Kuni 2 in short bursts, because even though the game is sadly too easy, with a bad story, it is still a joy to look and play around with. Also in terms of DW9, I enjoy dabbling in the games and I was hoping this was one that would bring me back to them, but it was not to be.

[@kawrght]

i enjoyed ni no kun 2 as well but the game has a tonne of flaws, forced skirmishes, only 4 or 5 general monster types(the lowest variety i have ever seen in an rpg)and a bad, misleading world map. but everything else like battles and kingdom building i found fun.

[@travisjones5576]

Malazan27 the story is fine (because it is the same story for the last 17+ years) but the presentation and the execution of the story was so unsatisfying and dreadful and maybe even pointless.

[@pazcal3k162]

Wow and now i already asked my dad to get it on christmas... a question : is there splitscreen mode so i can play with friends and is there a mode with quests like in dw 7 where i can choose missions or something?

[@TobiasMoholdt]

I miss Zhenji's flute

[@wardruchii]

I've been playing DW games since DW2 and although I'm sort of enjoying it, I think I am starting to agree, for one thing the time sink difference is insane.. in the same period where I complete almost an entire story with a character, I've done one to two chapters in 9... I think my longest for one chapter so far was five hours when I got distracted killing folks I wasn't meant to be, which feels way too long for a multiple chapter game that needs to be completed hundreds of times over all the characters. Part of the joy of previous DW games was throwing it on for half an hour and completing a couple of levels.. that's just not possible with this one.. and once so far, a mid save game has thrown me right back to the start of the level with progress lost.. so that might be problematic on larger battles. It means I feel the need to finish them in one go to be safe and sometimes I don't have a couple hours to spare. To be fair on the game, I like the combat system if I'm honest, but I don't use the flick up attack much, so it felt similar to previous games.. crafting seems interesting, but I am not sure it was needed, and getting the rarer weapons looks like it might be a bit grindy. I am also guessing by the twentieth character I'll be looking at the rest and pondering if I can do them all, where with earlier games I just loved running the battles and leveled up folks easily.. free mode Yellow Turbans in a couple of the games saw more play than anything else. :) Voice acting I agree is generally terrible and the cut scenes are robotic, the side quests are repetitive and often dull, also the game doesn't even bother as the maps progress, often you get four or five quests in the later towns you liberate and by magic all their foes are in the same spot, so you go over and take on four groups of apparently separate issues plaguing the town just chilling out together. It's painfully obvious they are taking short cuts at this point. However there are some other nice bits in the game, the rain effects are amazing on the Xbox X, some of the landscape shots are breath taking, I have no issues with the correct pronunciations for the Chinese names, as with Tsao Tsao I will adjust and part of me likes the idea of travelling across the map.. but on the other hand, that time sink comes in again like a sledgehammer. I think DW9 is a game marred down by 'good intentions' that just don't come together well, I fear they were rushing once again to appease gamers who have already long decided DW is not for them and never will be, almost like a meme, its DW its always bad. Oddly I do think Empires mode will work really well on this open world style, if you just keep going around it conquering it constantly with no 'chapters' to hinder or reset the bases you have taken, just a solid constant battle until you claim all of China. The saddest part is, I got this on release day and played for two hours without finishing the level, I then got distracted by work and throw on and play games in between that work schedule. It's only now weeks later when things have calmed down I finally started playing it again two weeks ago. Switching from a Wei campaign still on the first level to Wu, and now playing through these chapters weeks after release I realize that fact I couldn't finish that first level I played in two hours was almost prophetic to the issues this game has, its a shame really. I will attempt to continue to see if jumping to other characters helps, I still haven't played my favourites yet, like Zhang Liao, Guan Yu and Lian Shi, but I am starting to think Koei made a mistake.

[@poopghat]

Thank you for this, mate. The Dynasty Warriors series has also been a mainstay in my life since I was quite young, and it helps to know that I'm not the only one who's contemplated his own mortality after major changes were made to a beloved and reliable source of happiness. ...At least we'll always have Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate. Thank goodness for that!

[@Tyrik73]

Wo3 ultimate also has Dlc stages in it as well.

[@ItsStridinTime]

I loved and grew up on Dynasty Warriors 4 & 5 as my entry into hardcore gaming, grinding and playing endlessly for days trying to complete every single aspect. One of the major aspects was due to being Chinese myself, I loved getting to know and play something from my culture (or at least representing the culture, since it was made by Japanese people.) I was hoping to try to get back into the series after about a decade away from the series. The last Dynasty Warriors game I had bought was DW6 Empires and was shocked by how different it was from 5, which was my favorite. I didn't buy any of the later games because I had become invested in other games and genres of entertainment, but was looking forward toward's 9's open world and new system. I had thought that I could try a new DW game to match the new point I was in life, to see how the game has changed since I have changed as a kid. To see this and to hear this audio-essay, hurts. I'm glad I was able to find your incredibly well-done and well written video before I bought DW9 and became personally hurt by it. As an old fan, rather than a long time fan, this video is a much watch and a wonderful service to the community!

[@natehood6644]

Well unfortunately morons like this are the reason nobody's played it 9 was and is an amazing game just because this entitled crybaby didn't get absolutely everything he wanted doesnt mean it's bad

[@lubu4u312]

I like how they added a "Hey this is no laughing matter!" like they genuinely thought the arrow2knee would be that hysterical for people.

[@TwoFist]

Actually I loved the old design for Sun Jian! I actually liked a lot of the character models, but damn everything else was on point.

[@antshield]

Dynasty Warriors tried to pull a Breath of the Wild.

[@MrJinglejanglejingle]

Yeah... But BoTW has only a single character to play as... And he has no voice lines. Just noises. Which leaves TONS of leftover cash for the others. DW has always had... So much in the way of characters, and some just get left behind... But yeah... It just doesn't work without a massive budget. I mean, over 130 characters? All playable? With a massive open world? Yeah... No.

[@ImmaLittlePip]

Thank god the next hyrule warriors isn't open world

[@Ramsesamonra]

*NO KINGS RULES FOR EVER, MY SON* _R.I.P Dynasty Warriors saga_

[@emailforpapers]

As someone who's played on and off since DW4, I think you summed up the issues with this game quite nicely. For a game that was advertised as "revolutionizing" the series, it felt like far too much of it was just grasping at popular trends that didn't really allow the better aspects of the series to shine through. That said, I do think the game could provide an incredible base for the "Empires" games. I hope they don't ditch those games like they did with the Samurai Warriors games.

[@TankorSmash]

Good video, but I think it was a little too verbose. A lot of the time the thoughts could have been reduced to a single sentence. Not trying to hate, and I love long form videos, just think that there's an opportunity for using less words to say the exact same thing. Just subscribed!

[@aoihana1032]

TankorSmash agreeable but sometimes it just doesn't deliver, you got me?

[@ultimaT]

Great video! I might watch some more of your content now. My reaction to 9's development: Friend: "The developers are making an open-world game!" Me: "An open-world game? Oh no!"

[@Daniboy049]

As soon as you described depressing games "Leaving Earth" played in my head and I had ptsd of mass effect andromeda. I shed many tears

[@daegograndynte2771]

DW9E actually repair a lot of the bad element in DW9. While its not perfect, at lease its a better overall game.

[@miguelmota5980]

The thing with DW9 was that DW8 was excellent. We were all excited towards what else they could do... and then DW9 happened and we got sad and looked at DW8 as the game they can't take away from us anymore. :( Honestly, i would've been happier with a DW8XL2. Add the new officers and call it a day! Actually... they should totally do that as an apology now. I also agree. Leave the open world for an empires game. This is not what DW is about. DW is about fast mindless and amusing fun. It's immediacy does not gel with the expanse of an open world, difficult to travel and where side activities detract from the enjoyment of the game. This is really annoying aswell because i dodged a bullet with DW9. I knew the open world would mess up the formula, and when the clone weapons started showing up... yeah it was in the wall. But, i just played Arslan warriors and that game made me fall in love for musou games again. I don't enjoy all of them, but when done right they are damn enjoyable. DW8, Arslan are deluxe product on what they offer. But then there's all these others ones that are just boring and boring to smithereens. Omega Force is very inconsistent.That is the main problem.

[@in3vitableTIMING]

Samurai Warriors one had the best eng VA out of the warriors franchise. Why have they not hired the same studio I have no idea... Dw9 was shockingly bad. I think the Dw team need a break.

[@nikkishu2412]

Sometimes it isn't they wouldn't want to hired the same studio. It might be due to business difficulties: licensing issue (Koei is from Japan after-all, when brought over to other continents it's never easy), contracts (with the studios, and the VAs), or government might too interfere (culture values, taxation, etc)

[@TryHardSasquatch]

Remember DW6? DW10 will come out in a few years, probably with the next console gen, with an apology and back to form. I think 6 is the reason why I loved 7 so much. It brought me right back to what I loved.

[@LuminesBreezer--]

I'm surprised you didn't mention Wang Yi's Trishulas that were taken away from her in 8 and with 9 to be given something completely polarizing. But either way, this video was absolutely amazing. Though seeing the release am I to this day still waiting and hoping for *Jiang Wei's* one bladed Trident back, although how slim this is can be, well. Y'know. Slim.

[@theruder9]

There's a few VA's who understand what they're expected to deliver. And I'm constantly surprised by people using Cao Cao's new voice as an example, I thought he did a great job bringing back the cartoonish villain of the older entries. Douglas Rye is amazing, but I can't imagine him performing well with lines like, "I will enjoy watching the light seep from his eyes." (Probably misquoting slightly) Cao Cao, Huang Gai, Zhang Jiao, The Qiao's, Cao Ren, Sun Jian, and a fair few others, even if I didn't think they were better, I definitely found them entertaining. Not trying to dispute the 'overall' quality of the voice acting, I just hate how the few good/fun ones are getting the same treatment that the worst of the cast is, simply by association.

[@Ducaso]

I still can't believe what they DID to ZHANG HE!

[@crackersdrake8448]

The sad thing is that I completely agree with you... The only thing I ever asked for and expect with each new one is some better (but not amazing) graphics, a few new weapons and characters, and maybe sprinkle a few new uses for elements and such. This game...so disappointing

[@wesleyleigh4063]

Dude the guy with the claws was my favourite character! no way they canned his claws

[@XD3unit]

Zhange He is his name.

[@cypher_30]

I'm not mad Dynasty Warriors I'm just disappointed.unless your talking about the voices weapons characters gameplay levels etc. and what they DID to ZHANG HE in that case yes I am mad and disappointed.

[@TuxKamen]

They DID bring back his claws... as DLC

[@Juunsuke]

I think it is a good design and also DLC remember DW9 is not a bad game just could've done better in my opinion its not terrible in fact I like the game but all his statements are true I still like this better than DW6. Also anyone realize any 6th version of a game is always bad or changed.

[@arceerosetv]

the voice acting make me dying to hear it's look like they read word script one by one 🙄

[@ddhb223sfyn]

I hope you see this, what is the background music at 3:00-3:20? It sounds so nice I’d love to find the original track

[@LHudson]

End of Small Sanctuary from Silent Hill 3. kzbin.info/www/bejne/mXKneWNsobCJhKM

[@astrocat2008]

Great video and great insight. I've bought and played 17 games from the franchise, starting with Dynasty Warriors 3 and i didn't buy DW 9 because the first tests i had seen gave me a strange feeling... And you perfectly summed up and answered here all the questions and doubts i had. Hopefully, i enjoyed SW 4 and i'm looking forward playing Orochi 4 next month (now that i've spent 280 hours on Dragon Quest 11 :-D doing the game twice at platinum level...)...

[@CoolTom1337]

Good video, explained your points perfectly, and well edited too. I've only looked at the Musou series through Hyrule and FE Warriors (because I like Zelda and FE), but even I can say that if you showed me gameplay of DW9 and told me that it was an asset flip knock-off some schmuck was selling on the Google Play store called "Hero Warriors of Three Kingdoms' Dynasty" or some other Engrish shit, I'd believe you. This game is every bit of the word lifeless. And you know what the worst part is? Zhang He's claws are paid DLC. So are Huang Zhong and Cao Ren's old weapons, I believe. They didn't take out those weapons because "muh realism", they took them out so they could rip us off even further than they already were.

[@jordanmayfield9357]

Actually, the other weapons that were re-released was Xu Shu and Wang Yi's old weapons. Hook and Sword and the Emei Piercers respectively.

[@TuxKamen]

I've actually enjoyed the game, myself. I felt the same way about the voice acting that you mentioned, but I've gotten a bit used to it in my playing, and some of the VAs sound similar (Cao Cao's sounded pretty close, if not quite as forceful, but why they decided to make Lu Meng sound like he was gargling gravel, I don't know). The weapon argument I've seen before, but there have been a few times where they decided to change weapon sets up: DW6 had a LOT of weapon changes, with Zhang He getting a spear at the time, I believe (claws returned in the PS2 edition), Zhou Yu switching from sword to spear (which he still has to this day), Dian Wei getting a ball and chain weapon. Plus DW7 had both Cao Ren and Dong Zhuo using the flail that they have in this one. I love the open world aspect, one session I played, I located the part of the Great Wall and spent a good fifteen minutes running from one end to the other. I love the amount of characters in the game, though I thought that unlocking every character in a chapter after finishing said chapter was a bit easy (call me crazy, but I sometimes like having to jump through certain hoops to unlock specific characters, instead of just having them handed to me after passing a benchmark... when I unlocked every Shu officer with Guan Yu after a certain part, I was like "Wow, jackpot" but wasn't as happy about it). The crafting and gathering stuff I can take or leave. In my game, I've picked up a large amount of materials just riding through different areas, sometimes stopping for clusters but just picking them up as I go for the most part. The only difficult part of crafting weapons is picking up the scrolls for them, but I've built up enough hunting points that I've managed to purchase the "recipes" I need for some of the bigger weapons. I've had better luck with some weapons over others (when I was playing Sun Jian, I managed to pick up one of the higher level Han Dang weapons, so started using that and had some real good battles with it starting out).

[@SOMEGUY7893]

"I love the open world aspect" I think it's actually a good idea for the series but they just horribly handled it and how the armies are placed in the world. All the side missions for example should have taken place in bigger sections of the map and emulate the battles of the older games.

[@djblue056]

I think you and I are the only ones that like the game as a whole. The VA are awful and I don’t like that 2-4 characters have the same weapon but as a whole I play the game all the time. It’s hard to hate a dw game for me. I’ve always been in love with the franchise. I just hope that 10 either builds upon this and makes it even better with VA’s form dw8, different weapons and building a better open world.

[@zclementsgod3087]

6:01 „Continuation of a series“. What do you expect. It‘s literally about history.what just add history or continue to later dynasties? I mean, I‘m not saying it‘s all historically accurate, which it partly isn‘t, but you get the point.

[@hurricane7727]

Dynasty Warriors 3 Xtreme Legends had Other Characters Story Modes

[@adventuretimez69]

How likely do you think that A Dynasty Warriors Strikeforce 3 will be in the works for next gen?

[@XxLew]

Definitely the worse one. I think dynasty warriors 5 is the best in the series. I do prefer samurai warriors to dynasty warriors though

[@sorryyourenotawinner2506]

dw6 is the worst. Dw9 is great DW is more than spam 2 buttons lmao open world is great

[@MichaelMusou]

Dw9 sucks

[@LuminesBreezer--]

Dude I couldn't stand 6 myself. When I saw that a huge amount of the cast was gone, including my main Jiang Wei, I was fine with waiting for the next one.

[@Okuni_]

@@LuminesBreezer-- the cutscenes were nice though in 6

[@TheDrD]

It took you till 10:35 for you to start telling me why you think this game is bad. The Wadsworth Constant in action.

[@Aussie_Tom]

I was so hype leading up to the release of DW9... it's been a while since I played a game in the series (Last I played was Warriors Orochi), and the open world setting was something I really wanted to see implemented in a Musuo game. But yeah.... so sad how it turned out.... On the bright side I did pick up Hyrule Warriors for Switch last week and I'm loving it :D

[@obitoxshinobi8978]

is this game good? i feel like i wanna buuy this bc i never had empires before lol or should i wait for dw10?

[@nickwms]

Been a fan of the Dynasty Warriors series since DW5, yeah I was late to the party, but the games were enjoyable. But seeing some game play and the clone characters, and the terrible voice acting can honestly say I'm disappointed.

[@KaiserMattTygore927]

Yeah, somehow the Voice-work returned to DW3's level but the gameplay didn't follow.

[@ohnonotjo]

Hey at least you got to start with one of the best titles IMO. Only reason I don't think 5 is best is because 4 was basically its template. And I played the absolute shit out of 4 haha

[@Zhou_Yu]

Noobs a really fan has 2,3,4,5 and 8

[@DickTrickleqt]

24:50 LMFAOOOOOOOOOO

[@tomKATT92]

I haven't played DW9 yet, even still, but I only just seen this video. I love the way that DW8 would transition cutscenes into gameplay sometimes, most of them were seamlessly done IMO.

[@tommynguyen8559]

Honestly, i still remember a memorable moment in dynasty warrior 5 which was that split moment where I get some underling to follow me. Making it feel like I’m the shit. If they would’ve added an army mechanic, where you recruit general to follow you who brings along 30 soldier each. Traveling around the map will be epic with a large army of Calvary or infantry behind your back. Hopefully they add something like that in the future.

[@TheBikeOnTheMoon]

Is it me the graphic looks like PS2 era? I mean...just look at it. I swear DW4 looks better than this.

[@lcross796]

You are not alone on this one. I played SW when I was younger. Now as an adult, I have been playing Warriors Orochi 3. I don't think the graphics have ever evolved

[@st8lion]

graphics look better, 7 and 8 look the best

[@floridafan561]

Sun Jian’s DW3 outfit is my favorite of his. Probably because of the nostalgia

[@greenbyob503]

Whoever is in charge of the direction of Dynasty Warriors and ROTK, seriously needs to take a few years off from working.

[@KoongYe]

Agreed. As an asian, Dynasty Warrior series has a special place in my heart. It was fun and over-the-top and enjoyable. I consider DW3 to be one of the best in the series. It had a decent story mod, a perfect empire mod, 4 mini-games, and a freaking ending song sequence (where it showed every character that you recruited in your kingdom). All that was in ONE game. It was a blast to play. Not anymore. They print out more of the same game every 2-3years, with forgettable new characters. Whenever they try to innovate, its not something new but borrowed from other successful titles. DW used to be a trendsetter.

[@AmanojakuPenguin]

I could tell just from the gameplay how garbage DW9 was doomed to be. Compared to Hyrule Warriors, a game I have spent a ridiculous amount of time on, it looks like a bad school project got published by Tecmo Koei

[@tricksalot2]

The Insane Penguin you better not be proclaiming hyrule warriors as law dude cause I'm not having any of it.

[@AmanojakuPenguin]

Pete HrapStick Hyrule Warriors is law dude and you're having it :3

[@callinater6133]

The Insane Penguin Pete seems to have a grudge against HW for some reason. Seen him in another thread say that it ‘ain’t the musou game to play.’

[@tricksalot2]

Callinater sorry man I love me some musou games but I ain't having this hate train just because dw9 is a flop but y'all never played dw6.

[@tricksalot2]

Callinater also cause if y'all say that hyrule warriors game is the only musou game you guys played y'all should broaden those horizons then.

[@Senayoshy]

17:19 I know you aren't familiar with Chinese but it is pronounced "t'sao t'sao". It ends up sounding something like "Chao Chao", great video overall.

[@MrJinglejanglejingle]

Kinda... Most people, including Chinese-Americans and fluent-in-English Chinese agree that more recent games like the TW game and DW8 have it just about right. Sow-Sow. Some even call him So-So. So, yeah.

[@humbletreestump8134]

What I loved about dynasty warriors: fighting, story, and the characters. What I don't love: having to ride everywhere, crafting, and the characters sounding bored.

[@Dingudongo]

Been playing since DW6. I was curious what you would cover in 30 minutes. This was essay beautifully crafted and hits all of the feels. Sighhhhhh let's not lose hope for the next DW

[@DecemberMan]

4 minutes to get to the subject matter. Holy shit.

[@shayoko6]

10:40 in and still waiting to hear why the the game the video is suppose to be about is bad.... this could have been a much better video if it was more focused on the topic.

[@grimey217]

Bought this yesterday, googled "how to get a refund on Dynasty Warriors 9", today. Found this video. Playing 8 instead. Been a long time fan since #1. This one was in fact depressing.

[@gideonzz]

Great video and good insight for someone who's been getting back into the series lately. Tho I am curious to know why DW8 Empires is the worst one in your opinion