Gave this a quick re-evaluation before I started my new musou marathon in earnest.
My existing feelings haven't really changed, so here's some new ones bullet-pointed:
- Story mode is alright but it suffers from an issue most modern musous have wherein it's so highly scripted that you can very easily outpace it. Especially notable on boss-only levels, where it's pathetically easy to beat the fight before the exchanges end.
- So much content has been grandfathered in from older games that in terms of consistency this game is a fucking mess. Music from all 3 previous games shows up and leavers this game with 3 types of song: Penis music, elevator music, and Dynasty Warriors buttrock. Story arcs that were covered in PW3 often reuse that game's cutscenes wholesale, and many NPCs just use their portraits and even moveset from that game. It's especially notable with Tashigi, who has been almost entirely untouched since PW3 and is now bottom-tier because of it.
- Difficulty is whack. GirlNamedYou said it on my last review, but in the postgame Omega Force simply give up and stat-bloat everyone. Unlike many other musous, simply styling on enemies to prevent them attacking isn't an option; you need to bloat your own stats. Why? Because someone apparently thought it was a good idea to give enemies the ability to cancel out of combos whenever they wanted, getting temporary (or for Logias, permanent) super armor and a resistance to being launched or staggered. I hope whoever designed the armor mechanic sleeps on the warm side of the pillow for the rest of their life.
- Character balance is also whack. Power types pretty universally dominate since the above-mentioned difficulty issues result in a need for damage above all else. There are some good speed types, but those're typically the ones that can dish out as much damage as power types (So, Kiku, Carrot and Katakuri). Sky and Tech types feel superfluous, and indeed some characters are so OOC for their type that it makes the system feel even more meaningless than in WO4.
- The coin system for unlocks is just... Awful. Many characters don't get to reach their full potential until the game is functionally over, as the coins for their skills are locked behind late-game Treasure Log stages. Here's hoping that datamined TL expansion is real and not just a red herring or leftover cut content.
My existing feelings haven't really changed, so here's some new ones bullet-pointed:
- Story mode is alright but it suffers from an issue most modern musous have wherein it's so highly scripted that you can very easily outpace it. Especially notable on boss-only levels, where it's pathetically easy to beat the fight before the exchanges end.
- So much content has been grandfathered in from older games that in terms of consistency this game is a fucking mess. Music from all 3 previous games shows up and leavers this game with 3 types of song: Penis music, elevator music, and Dynasty Warriors buttrock. Story arcs that were covered in PW3 often reuse that game's cutscenes wholesale, and many NPCs just use their portraits and even moveset from that game. It's especially notable with Tashigi, who has been almost entirely untouched since PW3 and is now bottom-tier because of it.
- Difficulty is whack. GirlNamedYou said it on my last review, but in the postgame Omega Force simply give up and stat-bloat everyone. Unlike many other musous, simply styling on enemies to prevent them attacking isn't an option; you need to bloat your own stats. Why? Because someone apparently thought it was a good idea to give enemies the ability to cancel out of combos whenever they wanted, getting temporary (or for Logias, permanent) super armor and a resistance to being launched or staggered. I hope whoever designed the armor mechanic sleeps on the warm side of the pillow for the rest of their life.
- Character balance is also whack. Power types pretty universally dominate since the above-mentioned difficulty issues result in a need for damage above all else. There are some good speed types, but those're typically the ones that can dish out as much damage as power types (So, Kiku, Carrot and Katakuri). Sky and Tech types feel superfluous, and indeed some characters are so OOC for their type that it makes the system feel even more meaningless than in WO4.
- The coin system for unlocks is just... Awful. Many characters don't get to reach their full potential until the game is functionally over, as the coins for their skills are locked behind late-game Treasure Log stages. Here's hoping that datamined TL expansion is real and not just a red herring or leftover cut content.