Samurai Warriors 2 Review

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Samurai Warriors 2 Review; Score: 8/10
Topic Started: Aug 19 2007, 09:55 AM (706 Views)
Fayt	Aug 19 2007, 09:55 AM Post #1
Sakon, has left the topic. Posts: 3,638 Group: Members Member #9,265 Joined: August 19, 2007 Gender Male	Genre: Third Person Action/Fighting Available on: PS2 & Xbox 360 US Release Date: 19 September 2006 Description: The second instalment of the Samurai Warriors series is a welcome addition and revival to the 1st poor instalment. For those unaware the Samurai Warriors series retells the historical story of the “Warring States” in Japan from the late 1,500s to the early 1,600s starting with the dream of unification from Oda Nobunaga, to Toyotomi Hideyoshi to Tokugawa Ieyasu the ‘ultimate’ unifier of Japan; in its own brilliant dramatically action fashion. Returned are a majority of the Samurai from the 1st and Xtreme legend forms of the game, as well as some new massively influential warriors of the ‘Warring States’ period such as the one time unifier of Japan Tokugawa Ieyasu & Asai Nagamasa, the husband of Oda Nobunaga’s own sister Oichi. Story Review: The story while still shows of strong historical traits a majority of the time, it also has had a fair amount of drama and fiction added in; it’s a game after all. More emphasis on the relationships of officers has being added, in both a historical and hard hitting way. Unlike the first Samurai Warriors you do appreciate the story which it offers, and those that have also played Kessen & Kessen III can get a very different perspective on the Warring States story. 8/10 Graphics/Sound: Well without a doubt things have grown from the first in the series. The characters now move much smoother then previously and all look quite unique. The voiceovers are of a decent standard, some better, some not from SW1. The sound affects are decent enough, and suit the needs of the game well. The background music is fantastic, and is very suitable to the Sengoku Era. Some will miss the higher action music feel from Dynasty Warriors; but it suits the theme of the game extremely well. 8.5/10 Battle System: First things first, immediately cast your disdain away from the woeful battle system witnessed in Samurai Warriors two, which was simply clunky, slow and quite boring. This time the quality & speed of the battle system, is on par; if not better then that witnessed in Dynasty Warriors 5. Also, another belief that must be cast away is the “Battle System is old and nothing new”. Well, sure that’s somewhat true, although Samurai Warriors has helped resolve this problem with new factors in battle. Firstly the horribly acclaimed bow is gone! And has being replaced by new unique special moves, where you can pull off even more unique attacks and miscellaneous abilities. Abilities such as Sanada Yukimura having the power call (whistle) his horse from anywhere in the battle field to his side in an instant; while Fuma Kotaro can pick up any opponent and throw them into the opposition army; with force! One potentially off-putting factor however is the fact you will witness unique character models & voiceovers for both Shibata Katsuie & Kojiro Sasaki during your battles; although at no stage can you potentially unlock them as playable characters. You can however unlock them as special bodyguards, although you can’t help but to feel that is not enough for such unique characters. Samurai Warriors 2 has also slightly adjusted, although mostly have maintained the gradual requirements to reach throughout the missions, your goal may be to secure a castle, defend an ally etc as steps to help progress to your overall requirement. This helps break the battle up into segments, while still ultimately lead to your overall goal. Samurai Warriors 2 offers a great combination of both old and new traits. 8/10 Replay Value: Being a warriors title with far more Samurai to choose from then previously you will be able to play this game time and time again, the one thing that has always being a strength to the series. Completing every characters Story mode will take some time, and as with all the newer Warriors series (well since DW3) games you can also play them with a friend. You really can never get sick of the hack n’ slash enjoyment the Warriors series has, and quite possibly the best in the series so far you will easily find yourself playing this time and time again. 8/10 Final Thoughts: Fans of the Warriors series should not allow the poor success of the 1st Samurai Warriors deter you from this massively improved instalment. With the shop feature, missions within missions and with a few additions to the criticized ‘repetitive’ battle system are definitely worth seeing. Also offered is a much improved story on the Sengoku Era as previously witnessed in Samurai Warriors 2; of course aided by the addition of many more playable & unique characters. While not perfect it is without a shadow of doubt a massive improvement on the first version of SW, and right up there with the standards of Dynasty Warriors 5, just with different characters, story and some new ideas. An absolute must get for fans of the Warriors series, as well as a great title to start with for those new to the series. Rating: 8/10 ----------- As always, this is based on my own beliefs of the game from my own experiences; I don't expect everyone too agree with it; also any comments are welcome.
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PotatoSamurai	Sep 5 2007, 09:17 PM Post #2
First Lieutenant Posts: 155 Group: Members Member #9,477 Joined: September 2, 2007	Nice review I think I might get this game now.
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hellisky	Sep 5 2007, 09:27 PM Post #3
墮落、破壞、創造、再生。 Posts: 1,082 Group: Members Member #6,902 Joined: April 19, 2007 Gender Female	Actually you can't say the 1st game as "poor", it worths it existence and there are still some Taiwanese players like the 1st game.
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Fayt	Sep 5 2007, 09:49 PM Post #4
Sakon, has left the topic. Posts: 3,638 Group: Members Member #9,265 Joined: August 19, 2007 Gender Male	In comparison of SW1 to SW2 it's poor in my opinion; the engine and speed of the game pales in comparison in Samurai Warriors 2; the range of characters is low and compared to the Dynasty Warriors series at the time it's rather clear it's more of an imitation job - it even maintained the usage of the pointless bow & re-used many of the voice actors from Dynasty Warriors. Only since Samurai Warriors 2 has it really become a distinctive game in its own right, casting away many of the Dynasty Warriors traits to become something unique; while maintaining the base of great hack n' slash fun. Besides, it's my personal review; you don't have to agree with it. Also, thanks for the comment Potato Samurai; if you get it I hope you like it. It's rather different to Kessen of course, but it's so great to see many of the same characters in a different manner; while maintaining many of their historical traits.
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LittleDragonZ	Oct 12 2007, 03:22 PM Post #5
Behold the spear of Baby Dragon! Posts: 6,806 Group: Admins Member #3,636 Joined: October 5, 2006 Gender Male	Sakon Shima Sep 5 2007, 08:49 PM In comparison of SW1 to SW2 it's poor in my opinion; the engine and speed of the game pales in comparison in Samurai Warriors 2; the range of characters is low and compared to the Dynasty Warriors series at the time it's rather clear it's more of an imitation job - it even maintained the usage of the pointless bow & re-used many of the voice actors from Dynasty Warriors. Only since Samurai Warriors 2 has it really become a distinctive game in its own right, casting away many of the Dynasty Warriors traits to become something unique; while maintaining the base of great hack n' slash fun. Besides, it's my personal review; you don't have to agree with it. Also, thanks for the comment Potato Samurai; if you get it I hope you like it. It's rather different to Kessen of course, but it's so great to see many of the same characters in a different manner; while maintaining many of their historical traits. You must remember though that the stories were different, so in a way, you will struggle somewhat comparing them. SW2 was just basically the build up to Sekigahara. Also, the voice acting in SW1 was far superior, IMO. Not forgetting to mention that many characters stories were altered to a high degree; like Yukimura's. Missions you also had to fulfill in SW1:XL if you wanted to clear the game 100%. There were alternate outfits which is always a plus, especially over the palette swaps. And many other fun bonuses to unlock. Though, obviously, the game modes being improved later on and them getting rid of the pointless bow, which you stated, plus the shiny new graphics. You can say it improved in aspects. Though, the bow wasn't useless in regards to DW2-3 because you needed it much of the time, especially against Lu Bu and when low on health, etc.



Foolish_Fool	Oct 12 2007, 08:39 PM Post #6
Sergeant Posts: 16 Group: Members Member #10,283 Joined: October 11, 2007	Quote: SW2 was just basically the build up to Sekigahara. Also the voice acting in SW1 was far superior IMO. Not forgetting to mention that many characters stories were altered to a high degree, like Yukimura's. Ah the voice acting. Why couldn´t they keep the same voice actors? Nobunaga sounded like a real man, and had such great lines. He also sounded very sarcastic, while the new voice seems...Bored. The only thing good about it is the tone of sarcarsm. Hanzo had a great voice before, and the new one was just as good, if not better. The one who suffered more transition from SW1 to SW2 was Shigen Takeda. Poor Shigen. He was one of the main stars from SW1, had a GREAT voice actor, and had fun and interesting lines. His character was one of the few who developedt along the game. But in 2, he is just "there". Also, Ranmaru Mori. The poor boy had a great voice actor, but he didn´t "get" that Ranmaru was supposed to sound like a boy, not a girl trying to sound like a feminine man.(Confusing? If you played the game, you will understand.) he also was one of the main character, and him + Akechi + Nobunaga were my favorite storyline ever in a Koei game. So many twists and drama. Them enter SW2. We get a bored Oda, an English Accent Ops Akechi and Ranmaru, who doesn´t exists in a storyline perpesctive. Boy was I angry! Still, I hada blast playing SW2. Even more than SW1, and I spent mounths playing SW1! I just HOPE they make Ranmaru relevant again.
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LittleDragonZ	Feb 17 2008, 12:51 PM Post #7
Behold the spear of Baby Dragon! Posts: 6,806 Group: Admins Member #3,636 Joined: October 5, 2006 Gender Male	Great review. Note that you can get Katsuie and Kojiro in the game, but as special bodyguards. You seemed to of announced that there was no way you could use them in any way. This is minor maybe; it would be better for you in the description section to mention a more recognizable warrior instead of Nagamasa. I know that you did mention Nobunaga, but it would of been better to mention him first, if you know what I mean? To promote a game better, at least in my opinion. Otherwise, go for the likes of Musashi Miyamoto or Yukimura Sanada. Yukimura being someone they could probably picture or refer to.



Fayt	Feb 17 2008, 10:02 PM Post #8
Sakon, has left the topic. Posts: 3,638 Group: Members Member #9,265 Joined: August 19, 2007 Gender Male	LittleDragonZ Feb 17 2008, 09:51 PM Great review. Note that you can get Katsuie and Kojiro in the game, but as special bodyguards. You seemed to of announced that there was no way you could use them in any way. Thanks and yeah good point. Clearly I was referring to playable but I edited a little more to that part to clarify it further. As for the other part, Yukimura got a mention in there for his new horse call ability; I don’t want to talk about him anymore then that.
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Saurolisk	Feb 20 2008, 06:59 AM Post #9
Commander Posts: 958 Group: Members Member #243 Joined: January 2, 2006 Gender Undisclosed	SW still has advantages over SW2, namely: Character Progression, and the heavy emphasis on displaying the power and strength of your character (ex: In SW1, Tadakatu Honda's musou attack was slow, showing the amount of effort he put into each of his swings). These are just a few examples.



crazyboyz	Apr 30 2009, 11:12 AM Post #10
Elite Soldier Posts: 34 Group: Members Member #11,253 Joined: November 19, 2007	I couldnt agree more.



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