-
Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!
Best Musou games?
- Thread starter Z..
- Start date
One Piece: Pirate Warriors 2, Fist Of The North Star: Ken's Rage 1 and all the DW: Gundam games get the thumbs up from me, as does Sengoku BASARA: Samurai Heroes (Wii or PS3, doesn't matter, both versions are good).
Back in the day, I had a distinct "thing" for Drakengard, too, but your mileage will vary.
Back in the day, I had a distinct "thing" for Drakengard, too, but your mileage will vary.
Exr
Member
Garbage
CorySchmitz
Junior Member
If I were to get one for PS4, which is best? Dynasty Warriors 8 Xtreme Legends? Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate? Or wait for Samurai Warriors 4?
Hyrule Warriors has rekindled my interested in this series.
Hyrule Warriors has rekindled my interested in this series.
suikodan
Member
The last Musou game I played was Dynasty Warriors... 2 on PS2 back in 2000.
Hyrule Warriors also rekindled my interest in the series, it's a lot of fun especially when played coop.
On PS4, I would wait for BladeStorm Nightmare (is it considered as a Musou game???) although I wish it would come out on PSVita.
I'm playing Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate on Vita and I'm having lots of fun.
For me, it really was about the characters I wanted to play as.
(Link and co. in HW, NG/DOA cast in WO3)
Hyrule Warriors also rekindled my interest in the series, it's a lot of fun especially when played coop.
On PS4, I would wait for BladeStorm Nightmare (is it considered as a Musou game???) although I wish it would come out on PSVita.
I'm playing Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate on Vita and I'm having lots of fun.
For me, it really was about the characters I wanted to play as.
(Link and co. in HW, NG/DOA cast in WO3)
Castef
Banned
Loved the first one, actually. Wonderful music, nice characters.
Second one had a better plot, yet it is very unbalanced in terms of difficulty. Sometimes it can be very frustrating.
Overall two decent games.
Blackstarhat
Member
one piece musou 2 is amazing
MrNyarlathotep
Banned
First one is hugely underrated, and is a weird mix of a musou and an arcade style score attack game, where you are trying to link 'combos' together to reach the highest chain
Most fans, such as myself, would rank it higher in the list. It's a very competent Musou game that has a great set of modes(some of the best in the franchise) and the characters have plenty of unique gimmicks in combat to make the experience playing them feel wholly different.
However the loot and weapon fusion system is not quite as satisfying as other musou games as the progression is a lot slower and far more luck-centric in hopes of earning powerful base weapons with lots of empty slots to customize. This leads to constantly maintaining a string of lackluster gear that you have no real control to improve or optimize outside of very specific weapons often earned late in the game progression. Other musou games are more flexible and even offer more persistent skills and gear rewards that affect your entire army which is entirely missing in Hyrule Warriors. Not a big problem but its a bit less satisfying. No real stat page either to truly infer just how powerful each character is, or what has been gained in leveling.
The maps and battlegrounds in Hyrule are fine, but other Musou games have more intricate layouts and varied progression, more sub-missions to complete or fail which alter the scope of your path or dynamically change the victory requirements. Hyrule is more focused on the tug-of-war approach of capturing nodes and controlling the flow of fodder to keep your armies/base safe(like a MOBA), which just pads out the battle timer a bit too much and is a bit too easy to manage compared to older Musou games that follow a similar design. Too many encounters with generals or boss-types involve window waiting to maximize damage when weak points appear that can get tiring as well, unless powered up some it can get aggravating not feeling capable to just fight them on common terms.
Minor nitpicks though as Hyrule is one of the better games in the catalog for sure.
LonelyGreyWolf
Banned
Pirate Warriors 2 is the best one I've played. Really, really great game. Best combos and characters of the musou-games.
ShockingAlberto
Member
I'd say Hyrule Warriors is probably the best entry-level Musou game on the market.
AlphaTwo00
Member
LOL NO
please buy my game
Serious answer: WO3 is fantastic as a gateway, Hyrule is actually decent (and the item grind process is well paced as an intro to new players)
AdawgDaFAB
Member
There's a lot of good games in the genre. I'd say the best, currently, are the most recent versions of each subseries (for the most part).
- Sengoku BASARA 4 and 3 Utage
My favs in the whole genre, by far. Capcom knows how to make amazing characters and stylish action combat. Heck, some characters, Ii Naotora in particular, have so many nuances to their movesets that they wouldn't feel too out of place in a character action game like DMC. Utage has some fantastic characters that aren't in 4 and a much better weapon system, so both are recommended. Hopefully we get a 4 expansion announced soon, so we can get back the missing characters and fix the annoyances with the weapon / item system.
- Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate
Perfect jumping on point, with how much content and characters it has. Based on DW7 and SW3 era, so the characters and movesets are outdated in comparison (not that they are bad or anything).
- DW8:XL CE
Great game with lots of combat improvements over WO3U (although Ambition mode can get super grindy for sure). Empires is coming out early next year and looks to have a lot of improvements over 7E. If that has a proper free mode, I can see myself sinking an unhealthy amount of hours into it.
- SW4
Looks fantastic and like it will give the main series the biggest shake up in forever, due to the new Triangle attack strings and jumping between two characters on different parts of the battle field.
- One Piece 2
I absolutely love all of the things they did with combat in this game. They have way more variety in moveset options than any other musou game and a large group of characters. 3 looks like it will be even better. Avoid the first game like the plague. It was heavily flawed and was overloaded with bad gameplay designs. 2 improved every single aspect of gameplay.
- Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage
This is the opposite of the One Piece games. 1 is fantastic, while 2 blows. It is slower pacdd than every other Musou game, but there is a lot of depth to movesets and combat mechanics that were completely lost in the sequel.
- Hyrule Warriors
I haven't dug too deep into the game yet, but I love what I've played so far. All of the movesets have fun and unique animations and gameplay tweeks that make them all feel original. The Zelda fanservice shines brightly and makes the whole thing all the more enjoyable. There is a boatload of content, and all of the upcoming DLC looks to add a whole lot more to the game for a surprisingly bargin price. My only issue I have at the moment is the over reliance on weakpoint spam and limitation of the weapon system. Normal attacks seem mostly useless against non-trash enemies. Weapon abilities can be moved between weapons, but only into blank slots and there is no way to add slots to weapons you get.
- Sengoku BASARA 4 and 3 Utage
My favs in the whole genre, by far. Capcom knows how to make amazing characters and stylish action combat. Heck, some characters, Ii Naotora in particular, have so many nuances to their movesets that they wouldn't feel too out of place in a character action game like DMC. Utage has some fantastic characters that aren't in 4 and a much better weapon system, so both are recommended. Hopefully we get a 4 expansion announced soon, so we can get back the missing characters and fix the annoyances with the weapon / item system.
- Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate
Perfect jumping on point, with how much content and characters it has. Based on DW7 and SW3 era, so the characters and movesets are outdated in comparison (not that they are bad or anything).
- DW8:XL CE
Great game with lots of combat improvements over WO3U (although Ambition mode can get super grindy for sure). Empires is coming out early next year and looks to have a lot of improvements over 7E. If that has a proper free mode, I can see myself sinking an unhealthy amount of hours into it.
- SW4
Looks fantastic and like it will give the main series the biggest shake up in forever, due to the new Triangle attack strings and jumping between two characters on different parts of the battle field.
- One Piece 2
I absolutely love all of the things they did with combat in this game. They have way more variety in moveset options than any other musou game and a large group of characters. 3 looks like it will be even better. Avoid the first game like the plague. It was heavily flawed and was overloaded with bad gameplay designs. 2 improved every single aspect of gameplay.
- Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage
This is the opposite of the One Piece games. 1 is fantastic, while 2 blows. It is slower pacdd than every other Musou game, but there is a lot of depth to movesets and combat mechanics that were completely lost in the sequel.
- Hyrule Warriors
I haven't dug too deep into the game yet, but I love what I've played so far. All of the movesets have fun and unique animations and gameplay tweeks that make them all feel original. The Zelda fanservice shines brightly and makes the whole thing all the more enjoyable. There is a boatload of content, and all of the upcoming DLC looks to add a whole lot more to the game for a surprisingly bargin price. My only issue I have at the moment is the over reliance on weakpoint spam and limitation of the weapon system. Normal attacks seem mostly useless against non-trash enemies. Weapon abilities can be moved between weapons, but only into blank slots and there is no way to add slots to weapons you get.
How is it compared to the first? I liked Battride 1 as a fun BASARA-lite, but it had a lot of issues that I probably wouldn't have put up with if I wasn't a huge Rider fan. I remember reading something about there being barely any new characters or stages or improvements in 2 and passed on it. It seemed too little changed for the expensive price tag.
buddha0991
Member
Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate. It is an upgraded version of the normal Warriors Orochi 3, which was already one of the best Musou games. The image above is based on the normal Warriors Orochi 3, the 14 characters added to WO3U aren't here, so the final roster is even bigger.
the WO series is a series in which the Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors games cross over, and it has unique characters only in the WO series too, usually they are Chinese or Japanese mystics and gods, but WO3 has expanded that to guest characters from other Tecmo Koei games, like:
Ryu Hayabusa (Ninja Gaiden/Dead or Alive)
Ayane (Dead or Alive/Ninja Gaiden)
Kasumi (Dead or Alive/Ninja Gaiden)
Momiji (Ninja Gaiden/Dead or Alive)
Rachel (Ninja Gaiden/Dead or Alive)
Joan of Arc (Bladestorm: The Hundred Years War)
Achilles (Warriors: Legends of Troy
Nemea (TRINITY: Souls of Zill O'll)
Sterkenburg Cranach (Atelier Series)
...and for some reason, Sophita Alexandra from Soul Calibur (Shes not even in the latest one so lolwat)
So this game has 145 characters. This game is DW7/SW3 based, so you won't get any of the new characters in Dynasty Warriors 8 or Samurai Warriors 4, but you will get a GIANT chunk of the characters + a ton of characters exclusive to the WO series.
Ultimate adds a TON of new features, so even people who played the original WO3 may want to check it out if they loved WO3 and want more.Gauntlet Mode, Duel Mode, the 4 new chapters of Story mode and redone (actually cool now, now crappy) Musou Battlefields mode make this one have WAY more replayability and postgame content compared to the original WO3. Unlike the Xtreme Legends games on the SW and DW side, getting just the WO3 Ultimate disc gives you the entire game, no disc swapping here.
http://koei.wikia.com/wiki/Warriors_Orochi_3_Ultimate#Changes
and here is trailers of the original game and Ultimate:
Warriors Orochi 3
Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate
Snkfanatic
Banned
Hmm kinda want warriors orochi 3 ultimate on Vita. Need to read impressions now
Dr. Black Jack
Member
Hyrule Warriors is the best that I've played, even apart from the fanservice. Really solid beat-em-up.
WO3U has more content and better stages. DW8XL has better/faster mechanics, but SW4 will probably best it in that department when it comes out.
robotzombie
Member
Can't go wrong following Adawg's list above, pretty much in perfect order. I'd also throw in one of the DW: Gundams
shaowebb
Member
Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate is probably its penultimate version, but it involves using 3 man teams.
Samurai Warriors 4 and Dynasty Warriors 8 Xtreme legends complete are probably the truest versions of it.
I will say this though...Hyrule Warriors is much harder than these games because in Hyrule Warriors they brought back something that hasn't meant much since Dynasty Warriors 2 and that is capturing Keeps. Its a major factor in Hyrule Warriors as it weakens your enemies to take keeps or strengthens them vs you if they capture any. Plus Hyrule Warriors also is probably some of the most challenging "save the base/officer" stuff I've ever seen in Musou...but its a good kind of hard
I say go for Orochi 3 Ultimate and Samurai Warriors 4
Samurai Warriors 4 and Dynasty Warriors 8 Xtreme legends complete are probably the truest versions of it.
I will say this though...Hyrule Warriors is much harder than these games because in Hyrule Warriors they brought back something that hasn't meant much since Dynasty Warriors 2 and that is capturing Keeps. Its a major factor in Hyrule Warriors as it weakens your enemies to take keeps or strengthens them vs you if they capture any. Plus Hyrule Warriors also is probably some of the most challenging "save the base/officer" stuff I've ever seen in Musou...but its a good kind of hard
I say go for Orochi 3 Ultimate and Samurai Warriors 4
Hyrule Warriors
Kingdom Under Fire: Heroes
Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 3
Honestly, I wish KUF:H was more successful so more musou style games pulled realtime strategy into things. I get so annoyed playing Hyrule warriors and seeing Valga just standing in a keep with 60 dudes, just chillin, not really attacking or defending.
Kingdom Under Fire: Heroes
Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 3
Honestly, I wish KUF:H was more successful so more musou style games pulled realtime strategy into things. I get so annoyed playing Hyrule warriors and seeing Valga just standing in a keep with 60 dudes, just chillin, not really attacking or defending.
Theognosis
Member
Sengoku Basara series has better visuals but the combos are quite limited. Gundam is ok if you prefer slicing metal. Samurai Warriors has awesome music but the overweight Ieayasu is no match for Lu Bu.
For pure tension with a mixture of RGreek mythology, my favorite has got to be Spartan Total Warrior for PS2. It's the only game where the gods would say "Kill and kill again!"
For pure tension with a mixture of RGreek mythology, my favorite has got to be Spartan Total Warrior for PS2. It's the only game where the gods would say "Kill and kill again!"
robotzombie
Member
wha...?
SliceSabre
Banned
I've never played a musou game myself but it looks like I'll start with Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate for PS3 based on this thread.
For my money, it's Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage or the Dynasty Warriors: Empires subseries for the objective best, though both are pretty far outside the "standard" Musou series wheelhouse.
For a more standard game, just go with Dynasty Warriors 8: Xtreme Legends. The Musou games are pretty much iterations on one another, so you often won't go wrong by grabbing the latest title in the series.
For a more standard game, just go with Dynasty Warriors 8: Xtreme Legends. The Musou games are pretty much iterations on one another, so you often won't go wrong by grabbing the latest title in the series.
Mockingbird
Member
wouldn't recommend orochi first because it is more of a fan game like hyrule. I think either the latest dynasty or samurai is the best because you get to know the characters and experience the and enjoy the story. if you are a Nintendo fan go for samurai warriors 3 for Wii since it features takamaru. the character stories for it was good as well.
WO3 and Hyrule Warriors are definitely the top 2 for me, I don't know myself which one is number 1.
The approaches are starkingly different.
Warriors Orochi 3: Tons of character, Great Weapons customization, same old gameplay mechanics, they just stuffed lots and lots of characters and customization in there that made you keep on playing.
Hyrule Warriors: Very limited characters, Poor weapons customization, lots of new mechanics introduced. Not as much customization, but the core gameplay are much more fresh with the addition of Zelda's weapons and bosses.
The approaches are starkingly different.
Warriors Orochi 3: Tons of character, Great Weapons customization, same old gameplay mechanics, they just stuffed lots and lots of characters and customization in there that made you keep on playing.
Hyrule Warriors: Very limited characters, Poor weapons customization, lots of new mechanics introduced. Not as much customization, but the core gameplay are much more fresh with the addition of Zelda's weapons and bosses.
Awful. I nearly vomited from playing it for too long.
For those who've played these I'm curious to know how Hyrule Warriors compares?
I hope you are talking about 1-2H, because nothing in the musou genre has better combat than SB3+.
R_thanatos
Member
Warriors orochi 3 ultimate <- can't go wrong with it
One piece musou 2 <- very nice
Sengan kagura shinobi versus <- perfect on the go WITH HEADPHONES
One piece musou 2 <- very nice
Sengan kagura shinobi versus <- perfect on the go WITH HEADPHONES
Out of all the musou games I've played, I think I enjoyed One Piece 2 the most. The zoomed out camera alone made OP2 a much better game, and consequently made going back to WO3 really hard. The camera placement also helped a lot for showing all the enemies getting knocked around by your moves. And of course it helps that the game has some really fun characters to play as.
Judging Hyrule purely as a musou (and the ~15hrs I have on it), it's among the best. I don't see how it could sour you.
edit:
edit:
orly?
The only, and quite literally the ONLY, thing I find wrong with Hyrule Warriors is the fact that since there are no voices, the characters all make these grunts and moans instead of talking. It just gets a little annoying.
Fist of the North Star is post apocalypse, but it's also bad.
Theognosis
Member
Yes, I was. I just learned that the new Basaras have evolved quite a bit so I'm getting SB4* next week and compare it SW4 (US) when it comes out.
Ok, now back to playing HW.
* - Sengoku Basara 4, not Smash Bros 4.
One of the most misleading name of a video game edition ever.
Captain_Spanky
Member
Having only played Hyrule I'd say that's completely fair. I'd love to see more varied missions that affect the flow in DLC or a sequel. But the game itself is addictive as hell. I'd read so much about how mindless the games were that when I played it I was shocked at how intense and strategic it could get with prioritizing missions and targets. Genuinely love it.
DaSorcerer7
Member
Hyrule warriors
DW gundam 1+2+3.
DW gundam 1+2+3.