Samurai Warriors: Chronicles (3DS) Review

There always seems to be a “Warriors” title available for any console at launch, or if not soon thereafter. With the series thus far, I’ve always had trouble seeing the appeal in the games and just how the publisher continually churns out sequels that still manage to sell despite no apparent major upgrades. Just as I expected, Tecmo-Koei have released a Warriors title for the 3DS at launch, Samurai Warriors Chronicles is the said title. The biggest question, though, is just how well it plays and if it remedies any of my issues with the series. That being said, I will still keep an open mind about the title and highlight its merits wherever possible.

Samurai Warriors Chronicles lets the player create their own playable character who they can choose to model in similar vein to themselves. This is a nice touch to the series, where the game allows you to make major decisions through a start-up survey in order to determine what kind of person you are and thus shape the responses your character can make. This is quite a shallow implementation though, although it provides a nice backdrop to the story – in which your character is trying to rise up throughout the ranks and become a legend during the ancient Sengoku period.

Samurai Warriors Chronicles is a little bit of a mixed bag when it comes to graphical presentation. I was impressed with how nice the character models look during some of the conversations that took place pre-battle, as they looked very smooth and realistic even when utilising the 3D feature. However, once players jump into battle, there is a significant downgrade in the visuals and drop in framerate. This is probably because there are quite a few people on the screen at any one time, but sometimes it’s very distracting to see such downgraded expressions on the characters soon after seeing them appear so detailed during cutscenes. The draw distance is particularly weak too, with some groups of enemies apparently being in front of the player but seemingly invisible, until they just appear once moving really close. It’s a bit disappointing to see such a graphical downgrade when the models look so nice elsewhere.

The 3D effect is largely used to overlay the menus and the user interface with an additional layer, but outside of this there are hardly any other major uses of the effect. There were times during the more intense battles where the characters and the names above them really stood out which is quite a good accomplishment, as it adds a layer of depth to the battlefield.

The general idea of Samurai Warriors Chronicles is that players are thrown into a battle during the feudal Japan era, where they must complete several main objectives to succeed but at the same time ensure that certain parameters are met. Objectives are constantly updated on the fly with some less urgent objectives also being provided. Completion of these usually increases your teams morale, which means that battles somehow become easier to win, presumably due to an increased efficiency of the AI. During these battles, players can take control of up to four commanders, switching between them on the touchscreen, which also displays the mini-map of the battlefield. The use of the touchscreen to display everything that’s going on is very good use of the hardware, in particular it also allows players to issue commands to the other commanders that they aren’t currently controlling. The controls themselves feel great, with the Circle Pad being used to great effect to move the player throughout the environment.

In terms of actual gameplay, Samurai Warriors Chronicles is a bit of a “Trojan horse”. I use this term because it appears to be a battle game that really takes use of planning and strategy to enhance the player’s experience, but after some time it becomes increasingly apparent that the game is just a hack and slash title, with players running from point A to point B multiple times to kill someone who is “important” for more and more morale. Killing enemies allows players to earn experience, increasing their stats and receiving items that can also be upgraded. The levelling system is extremely streamlined and doesn’t involve much grinding at all, but that’s probably because the whole entire game feels like a huge grind. Combat has a very sluggish feel that just never feels like it flows properly – but there are a few options in combat including magic attacks which mix things up a bit but it always feels like a bit of a chore. Still, there is a little bit of a weird addictive need to continue levelling up and building up your character, but it still feels like a very empty grind.

The game itself is quite lengthy, with quite a few missions to complete as their player travels through the ages. Side conversations allow players to build their relationships with other officers and unlock in-game battle bonuses, which are also a nice but non-compulsory touch. Both SpotPass and StreetPass are utilised quite well, although these extra features do not totally save the title from feeling a little bit mediocre. SpotPass allows the download of “Gaiden” missions to the SD card, which are side stories that take place during similar times but with different events. StreetPass allows players to assemble a group of four and then battle anyone who passes by, with victorious players being awarded an item. The use of both these features are welcome, especially SpotPass which isn’t really utilised that much in current launch titles.

The soundtrack in Samurai Warriors Chronicles is one of the better components of the game, utilising some very traditional sounding wind pipe pieces that really suit the Japanese theme of the game while also bringing the player into the atmosphere of the battles. Unfortunately for some, the voice work is completely in Japanese so there is a lot of reading to do for story lines that aren’t particularly interesting, so this may put off some less tolerant gamers.

Samurai Warriors Chronicles uses the 3DS’s capabilities pretty well, but the game itself is something that will definitely polarise players. There’s a strange allure to constantly levelling up your character and smashing through hoards of enemies, however the repetitive nature of the action and really sluggish combat make the game a bit of a bore. The graphical problems that seem to have existed since earlier titles in the series are also still present, and these do detract from the gameplay but ever so slightly. Overall, the package does feel complete but it definitely won’t win over any new fans.

Samurai Warriors Chronicles is definitely a well optimised console title for a handheld console, but the repetitive nature of the combat will only appeal to fans of the series. The story is long winded and unskippable, which is unfortunate as its not of the best quality and makes the experience feel like a huge chore. Only grab this one if youre a fan, but its still nice to see some substantial launch titles for the Nintendo 3DS this early on. At least this doesnt feel rushed at all.

Graphics 6.5

Definitely above average, with some nice designs for the unique commander players during the cutscenes, but the gameplay itself is rather bland looking and some terrible draw distance really lets the game down.

Gameplay 5.0

While levelling up your character is addictive, the actual gameplay itself is very sluggish and slow. Objectives throughout the matches definitely give a sense of urgency during battles, but they dont really vary that much.

Sound 8.0

A very nice and authentic Japanese sounding soundtrack. Voice work is only in Japanese and commonly unskippable, which is a bit annoying at times.

Tilt 7.0

Theres quite a bit to do here and some good use of both StreetPass and SpotPass. Downloading of the Gaiden stories is a very nice effect that has yet to be mimicked on other launch titles.

Value 5.0

Despite its good points, I just couldnt properly get into this rendition of Samurai Warriors. It was just too repetitive for me.