Game Reviews

Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Tokugawa Ieyasu: these are the names of some of the greatest figures of the Sengoku, or "Warring States," period in Japanese history, a time of civil war in which rival daimyo struggled for positions of dominance as they attempted to re-unite Japan. Though Koei has produced many games set during this rich period of larger-than-life figures and epic battles, they've primarily been strategy games like Nobunaga's Ambition, so the Samurai Warriors series ("Sengoku Musō" in Japan) is a bit of an anomaly, but a welcome one, placing players in direct control of these historic personages as active participants in their battles.

Aside from the genre, what makes this game special is that previous entries in the series appeared on the PlayStation and Xbox, so Nintendo has definitely scored a coup in getting any kind of exclusivity for this third game on the Wii. It clearly believes in the title because it's not only being published worldwide, but Nintendo is handling the publishing duties itself, even contributing to the inclusion of a mode based upon a Famicom Disk System game never seen outside of Japan.

As with Capcom's eminent monster-hunting game, the Classic Controller is strongly supported and Nintendo even went so far as to bundle a special version of the CC Pro with the game's title emblazoned on it when it was released in Japan. The Remote and Nunchuk can be used as a viable alternative and even the GameCube controller is supported, though we preferred the button layout of the Classic Controller Pro, which is also indicated as the preferred method of control in the manual. Whichever control option you opt for you can freely remap the majority of actions across all available buttons via settings in the "Dojo" menu. Though the controls at first appear to be some of the most complex seen on the system, in fact the majority of gameplay will only see players using a handful of buttons regularly. Learning the controls is aided by on-screen prompts, and menu options change depending on which controller you're using as does the presence of a control reference in the in-game pause menu.On the surface, Samurai Warriors 3 appears to be a 3D beat-'em-up with players controlling a single character and fighting all comers, but this isn't really the case. Though it's true that players control a single character imbued with super-human combat abilities who can cast multiple opponents aside with ease, the strong strategic elements and explanation of the historic setting clearly mark this out as a Koei game. The main mode of play is Story, in which players choose one of dozens of characters and play through a short series of battles interconnected with animated cut scenes that serve to explain their place in history. Each of the five battles takes place along a time line which brings the character closer to his (or her) destiny. You're shown a map and given a battle plan, including major objectives and conditions for winning or losing. There are also several side objectives which will give players bonuses such as special weapons or armor, extra currency for buying unlockables or gems for upgrading weapons and other equipment at the blacksmith between battles.