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Dynasty Warriors has been around so long that many players have forgotten its origin as a fighting game for the original PlayStation in 1997. Most don’t know that its parent series, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, is based on a novel of the same name that predated the printing press. Koei Tecmo’s franchise has since morphed into the hack and slash Musou titles people love today. Here are some games that are similar to Dynasty Warriors.
Warriors Orochi 4 (2018)
With over 170 characters to choose from, Warriors Orochi 4 brings characters from Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors into one game for the fifth installment of the Dynasty Warriors spin-off. Switch between a three-player squad as you mow down hordes of enemies in classic Musou fashion.
Purchasing Warriors Orochi 4 Ultimate grants access to more stories in addition to seven more characters. One of those characters is Koei Tecmo’s own Ryu Hayabusa from the Dead or Alive and Ninja Gaiden series.
One Piece Pirate Warriors 4 (2020)
Released on March 26, 2020, One Piece Pirate Warriors 4 takes Omega Force’s bombastic gameplay and layers it with a One Piece skin. Battle hordes of marines as your favorite Straw Hat crew, or relive story arcs from the anime. If playing as Luffy and the Straw Hats doesn’t satisfy you, others from the One Piece universe are playable as well.
Bandai Namco introduced Gear 5 Luffy as DLC on September 14, 2023, as part of a new character pass. The pass also included other playable characters, such as Kaido. This game is perfect for One Piece and Musou fans.
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity (2020)
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity blends The Legend of Zelda with the hack and slash gameplay of Dynasty Warriors. It was released for the Nintendo Switch on November 20, 2020, with an average Metacritic score of 78. Here is our review to see what we said about the follow-up to the 2014 Wii U title. Choose between 18 playable characters in this 100-year prequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
Persona 5 Strikers (2020)
Persona 5 has had the pleasure of receiving many sequels and spin-offs ranging from tactics games to a rhythm game. Persona 5 Strikers adds to that list a Musou game. Reunite with the Phantom Thieves in a story that takes place three months after the original Persona 5. Since this is a sequel, playing through Persona 5 or Persona 5 Royal first would be best as to avoid any spoilers for those games.
Fire Emblem Warriors (2017)
Fire Emblems Warriors is one of two Fire Emblem Warriors (the other being Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes) released for the Nintendo Switch. The ever-present Omega Force hack and slash gameplay carries over to Fire Emblem Warriors along with other mechanics.
Classic Mode makes the jump to Fire Emblem Warriors with permadeath. With an original story, fans of Fire Emblem can enjoy some callbacks from other games. New players can enjoy it without necessarily knowing much about Fire Emblem.
Fist of the North Star: Ken’s Rage (2010)
Fist of the North Star: Ken’s Rage debuted in Japan on March 24, 2010, with a western release following in November 2010. Though this game plays like other Musou games by Omega Force, characters’ play styles are split three ways in Hokuto style, Nanto, and Special Type. These three styles follow the lore of Fist of the North Star, as the game is based on the manga of the same name. With the Xbox 360 store closing on July 29, 2024, pick this title up for $29.99 if you like Fist of the North Star.
Samurai Warriors 5 (2021)
If you like the hack and slash gameplay of Dynasty Warriors and Samurai, Samurai Warriors 5 will be for you. Follow Nobunaga Oda and Mitsuhide Akechi during the Sengoku period in Musou Mode, Samurai Warriors 5’s story mode.
Omega Force revitalizes the series with reworks of returning Samurai Warriors 4 characters and a new mechanic called Ultimate Skills. New characters like Yasuke (who is one of the protagonists of the new Assassin’s Creed game, Assassin’s Creed: Shadows) make their debut as playable characters.
Attack On Titan (2016)
Instead of blasting through hundreds of enemies, put on ODM gear (omni-directional mobility gear) to slay Titans. Eren, Mikasa, and others from each Regiment are playable characters as you play through the season 1 events of the anime. What makes this game unique from other games made by Omega Force is not only the movement but also the way gameplay is approached.
Target specific weak points on a Titan’s body to take them down like they do in the anime. Managing the amount of gas your ODM has is a mechanic that comes into play as you don’t want to get caught by a Titan. Since Eren is playable, becoming a Titan is available as well. While in terms of gameplay, Attack on Titan is different from other Musou games, it still operates like an Omega Force Musou game.
Fighting multiple enemies, different character selections, and the mini-map layout all resemble the roots of an Omega Force game. Play Attack on Titan if you want something that is familiar enough with a Musou game but different enough to feel fresh. Musou games’ hack and slash gameplay seems to carry over to different properties well. If Dynasty Warriors: Origins’ announcement at Sony’s State of Play interested you, any of these titles on this list will hold you over until its release.
