Dynasty Warriors 4
| Dynasty Warriors 4 | |
|---|---|
North America PlayStation 2 cover art depicting Lu Bu's main weapon, a Chinese polearm called Sky Scorcher. | |
| Developer(s) | Omega Force |
| Publisher(s) | Koei |
| Director(s) | Akihiro Suzuki |
| Series | Dynasty Warriors |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation 2, Xbox, Microsoft Windows |
| Release | PlayStation 2 Xbox Microsoft Windows
|
| Genre(s) | Hack and slash |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, Multiplayer |
Dynasty Warriors 4 is a 2003 hack and slash video game developed by Omega Force and published by Koei for the PlayStation 2. It is the fourth installment in the Dynasty Warriors series. An Xbox port followed later in the year as well as an enhanced port to personal computers in 2005 named Dynasty Warriors 4 Hyper. Similar to other titles in the series, Dynasty Warriors 4 is based on the historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms written by Luo Guanzhong. Set in the Three Kingdoms era of ancient China, the game depicts characters that are based on real-life figures as well as fictionalized versions of historical battles.
The gameplay features hundreds of soldiers fighting on battlefields of varying sizes. The player controls a single officer and can engage multiple enemies at once, with the aim to defeat the enemy's general in order to win the battle. The main gameplay mode depicts the events of the historical novel with branching story paths that include alternate history scenarios for the available characters. Only nine characters are available at the start; playing through the story grants access to more characters. Additional modes include an edit mode to create unique characters, a versus mode for duels, and a challenge mode.
Dynasty Warriors 4 was commercially successful. The game shipped 1 million copies within 9 days of its initial release in Japan and eventually sold 2.2 million copies to become one of the best selling titles in Koei's series of Warrior games. Critically Dynasty Warriors 4 was well received; it has an average of 78 out of 100 on Metacritics reviews and 79% on Game Rankings. Reviews noted the similarity to previous games in the series and complimented the enjoyable gameplay. Critics were divided on whether the improvements from the previous title were sufficient, while the game's English voice acting was universally panned. Two expansions, Dynasty Warriors 4: Xtreme Legends and Dynasty Warriors 4: Empires, were released for the PlayStation 2 that provided additional gameplay options and features.