Dynasty Warriors 3 is a step in the right direction, but it still has too many issues for me to recommend it. While I acknowledge that it's a vast improvement from the previous game, the gameplay loop is just not good enough for me.

The graphics and music are way better than those of Dynasty Warriors 2. The music from 2 is reused sometimes and so are some of the levels, but Dynasty Warriors 3 has a new layout for all recurring levels, and it also includes completely new stages like the Nanman campaign, plus some new, exciting music tracks.

The combat is also improved. The combo system has more options now, and new attacks are unlocked as you play. You can also ride elephants now. But my favorite addition is that commanders no longer heal when you know them down!

That said, the storytelling is still not compelling. I feel like the game is definitely made first and foremost for fans of Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The cutscenes are better than in the previous game, and there are also more of them, but I still felt lost when trying to piece together the story. The game would greatly benefit from a better storytelling, explaining who the characters are and the relationships between them.

The most annoying thing in this game is that archers are too powerful. Sometimes they overpower you and kill you very quickly, without giving you a chance to defend yourself. It feels unfair. While you can now save anywhere in a stage, I feel like I should be able to overpower enemies with my skills. Instead it feels like, at certain points in the game, if I'm low on health, then I'm dead.

Without a compelling story or a more interesting gameplay loop, I can't really recommend this game. It's a step in the right direction for sure, and the franchise has potential, but there is still some way to go before the games in this franchise can be called "good".