Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate Definitive Edition (PC) review

Gamers like to collect things; there’s a subtle sense of fulfilment in owning an inclusive set of items. Beyond amassing libraries of games and related merchandise, there’s often a yearning to accumulate the downloadable content offered inside the games themselves. But comprehensive collections of DLC can be unreasonably expensive, sporadically exceeding hundreds and even thousands of dollars.

Occasionally, a more financially prudent solution is found in waiting for a package that gathers the base game and all associated downloadable items in a single, reasonably priced compilation. And that’s the case with Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate Definitive Edition which arrived on Steam with little fanfare.

Although the base game is over a decade old, it’s one of the largest collections of musou material around, rivaled only by Warriors Orochi 4’s own compendium. Although Orochi 3 Ultimate Definitive Edition boasts nearly 150 playable characters culled from multiple properties, let’s explore if the package is worthy of your hard-earned cash!

Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate Definitive Edition is an odd title.  Can you explain?

Sure. Some confusion stems from the Western naming conventions used for series. The original Musō Orochi was released in 2007. It offered a crossover between Omega Force’s Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors series. The following year, Musō Orochi: Rebirth of the Demon Lord debuted. Essentially, it was an expansion of the original game. But when it came stateside it was re-titled Warriors Orochi 2.

The base game that Westerners know as Warriors Orochi 3 is referred to as Musō Orochi 2 in Japan. Two years after that game’s arrival, Omega Force released yet another expanded version. Instead of following convention and calling it Orochi 4, Koei Tecmo dubbed the new version Warriors Orochi 3: Ultimate. Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate Definitive Edition bundles that game with all of the previous released DLC.

How much DLC is included?

There are over 500 pieces all together. The dominant content is character costumes. There’s everything from baseball uniforms, school attire, and eccentric outfits than turn Sima Zhao into Aladdin, Deng Ai into the Genie, and even Zhang Jiao into the Scarecrow from The Wizard of Oz. Fans of Koei Tecmo’s other franchises might appreciate clothing that references the Atelier Rorona: The Alchemist of Arland, Dead or Alive 5, and Toukiden: The Age of Demons. Sophitia Alexandra from Soul Calibur II made the cut.

If you’re looking for something beside the cosmetic offerings, Ultimate Definitive Edition adds six new dungeons for Gauntlet Mode, 54 new stages, and at least sixteen new tracks for background music. As with most of Koei Tecmo’s downloadable content, it’s hardly essential. But the items that are incorporated will undoubtedly please franchise fans, especially those who might delight in seeing Da Ji strut around in a skimpy santa outfit.

Is anything missing for this collection?

Keeping track of every piece of downloadable content is a tough task since items can appear as in-game unlocks. So far, it looks like some of the collaborative content from the Japanese version is missing. Which means you won’t find the Famitsu pre-order bonus for Gracia and Lu Xun, Da Ji’s Dengeki-branded attire, and Lu Xun’s Sandaime J Soul Brothers crossover clothing. Instead, it looked like the publisher bundled the content that was included in the Western release.

But there might be an exception. I haven’t found the Soul Harvester that’s purportedly unlocked for completing the Domestic Disputes map in the Stage 3 Pack. At the time of this writing, it’s also missing from the Steam Page that provides a listing of all bundled material. If any additional DLC is found to be missing or this is an oversight, this information will be updated.

So, what’s the story?

To explain the convergence of combatants separated by over a millennium of history, the game employs time travel as a plot device. It’s a bit hokey at first, until you realize the set-up provides for a wealth of substance, with 145 different playable characters, 131 story missions, and 54 DLC stages. Amazingly, most of the characters have distinct movesets.

The opening stage follows Warriors’ last three fighters- Hanbei Takenaka, Ma Chao, and Sima Zhao, who valiantly confront a Hydra despite the loss of their comrades. As defeat becomes increasingly evident, a mystic appears and chaperones the combatants to safety, before sending them back in time to re-experience the battles that killed their brethren. Like most crossovers, the delight in seeing characters from different franchises come together outweighs the incredulousness of the plot device that unites.

I’m used to playing more recent musou games. Will I like this?

I thoroughly enjoyed Samurai Warriors 4’s hyper attacks, which increased the speed of moving through crowds of opponents. But Warriors Orochi 3 replicates the older control schemes of Dynasty Warriors 7 and Samurai Warriors 3, making gameplay a bit antiquated. It’s not a dealbreaker, but movesets don’t feel as robust and you won’t be able to lock onto elevated enemies. As such, it’s quite button mashy, as you power through hordes of foes, hoping to also strike the leader.

But that’s not to say that you won’t feel godlike. Whereas later iterations in the Dynasty Warriors franchise allowed players to switch weapons on the fly, here a trigger press instantly swaps between your three soldiers, opening up the possibility for expanded combos that send entire battalions billowing in the air. Infantrymen in older games might have taken a strike or two to incapacitate. Now, even inexperienced characters can swat away peons like piles of paper dolls. Pressing down on the direction-pad puts the whole trio on-screen, with AI assistance taking sporadic potshots at opponents. Largely, it’s your controlled characters that will be winning the war.

But what’s the PC port like?

Largely, it’s competent although there are a couple of oversights that snuck past the quality assurance team. The default settings for the accept/decline button are reversed. The game will feel like you are playing an import game until you adjust the menu setting. A product of its time, Warriors Orochi 3 cutscenes don’t exhibit the details found in more modern cinematics and display at 30 frames per second.

If you can overlook this blemish on refresh rates, you should enjoy the game’s stability, where an aging GTX 1060 was able to produce solid 60fps performance. Meanwhile, owners of more modern rigs can expect resolutions that scale all the way up to 4K. That said, some owners have documented visual flaws during musou attacks. Another indicator of the game’s age is its untouched localization, which remains exactly the same as previous versions. If you’re expecting an option for dubbed voice work, know that Warriors Orochi 3 came out after Koei Tecmo dropped the practice. Across two test systems, the port demonstrated stability, with no crashes or any other evident glitches.

Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate Definitive Edition was played
on PC with review code provided by the publisher.