Warriors Orochi 3, originally released as in Japan, is a 2011 hack and slash video game developed by Tecmo Koei and Omega Force for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It is the fourth installment of the crossover series Warriors Orochi, a combination of the Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors series, and a sequel to Warriors Orochi 2. The game was released in Japan in 2011, and in Europe and North America in 2012 (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360).
There are two ports of the game: Musou Orochi 2 Special (), released in 2012 for PlayStation Portable exclusively in Japan, and Warriors Orochi 3 Hyper (), which was released as a launch title for the Wii U for Japan, North America, and Europe. An updated version, Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate (), was released for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita in Japan in 2013 with PlayStation 4 and Xbox One ports released in 2014. The four versions were also released in North America and Europe in 2014. An additional port for the Nintendo Switch was released exclusively in Japan in 2017. A definitive edition of the game Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate Definitive Edition was released worldwide for Microsoft Windows via Steam in July 2022. Unlike previous titles, Warriors Orochi 3 only features Japanese voices.
Gameplay The gameplay of Warriors Orochi 3 is similar to that of the two titles that the Warriors Orochi 3 takes its characters from: namely Dynasty Warriors 7 (specifically, Dynasty Warriors Next) and Samurai Warriors 3. Characters from either of these series play similar to how they play in their respective source games, but with a number of changes to unify the two different games together, including: Dynasty Warriors characters are solely armed with one weapon, and cannot switch to another one, but the weapon given to each character is their EX weapon from the series. Characters who have changed their EX weapons in Dynasty Warriors 7: Empires (which was released after Warriors Orochi 3, but before Ultimate) retain their older EX weapons in Ultimate instead of changing to their new EX weapons. Dynasty Warriors characters are restricted to one Musou attack. Characters with a ground and aerial Musou attack in Dynasty Warriors 7 retain their ground Musou attack, while characters having two ground Musou attacks may retain either of theirs as their Musou attack. As movesets are determined by weapon in Dynasty Warriors 7 rather than by character, characters sharing the same weapon in Dynasty Warriors 7 have altered charge attacks to differentiate them from each other. Samurai Warriors characters perform their Ultimate Musou attack in situations where the True Musou attack is available, to compensate for the lack of the Spirit Gauge. Samurai Warriors characters gain new Switch attacks, akin to weapon switching in Dynasty Warriors 7, for their use in Switch Combos.
For characters who are from neither of the two series, whether or not the character is of Japanese origin determines whether their Musou attack corresponds to that of the Dynasty Warriors or the Samurai Warriors cast. Characters new to Warriors Orochi also have movesets based on their overall character type in this regard: for example, some of non-Japanese origin characters like Nemea, whose moveset is based on a Dynasty Warriors 7 weapon unused by anyone in that roster, have an EX attack like Dynasty Warriors characters, while some of Japanese-origin characters like Kaguya has the longer, standard attack chain reminiscent of a character from the Samurai Warriors roster.
Gameplay takes place on modified versions of stages taken primarily from Dynasty Warriors 7 or Samurai Warriors 3 (in addition, some downloadable content and story elements in Ultimate take place in stages taken from Warriors Orochi 2); a select number of stages relevant to the story are new stages. Each of the new "collaboration characters" (Ryu Hayabusa, Ayane, Joan of Arc, Nemea, Achilles, Rachel, Momiji, Kasumi, Sterkenburg, and Sophitia) is also associated with a stage taken from either Dynasty Warriors 7 or Samurai Warriors 3, with graphical modifications made to resemble their game of origin. Much of the stage music is taken from earlier Dynasty Warriors, Samurai Warriors, or Warriors Orochi games; each of the collaboration characters is also associated with a unique theme.
New mechanics for the Warriors Orochi series include: In addition to Power, Speed, and Technique, a new character attack type, "Wonder", is available. Like Dynasty Warriors 7, there is a central base from which characters organize their missions. The base initially contains a weapons dealer and a network assistant for multiplayer play, but can be expanded to include a teahouse. A modified version of the Bond system from Dynasty Warriors 7 is introduced. Bonds between two characters are formed through being allied in battle, being opponents in battle, being teammates in battle, or by completing a mission set forth by an ally in battle (failure to complete a mission weakens the bond between two characters). As new chapters are unlocked, bonds between characters may be raised by paying gems at the teahouse. Each character is associated with a number of other characters considered to be "special relationships"; as the bond between the two characters increase, new support conversations may appear whenever the player controls either character in the central base. Special relationships span many different types, including family, adversarial, based on earlier Warriors Orochi series titles, or based on events in Story Mode. As with Dynasty Warriors 7, the morale gauge is no longer present. As with Samurai Warriors 3, each character is associated with four levels of weapons; a fifth level of weapon is available in Ultimate by fulfilling certain stage conditions on hard, as with past Warriors games. Players may switch characters as they are attacking. This technique, known as a "Switch Combo", allows the combo counter of the outgoing character to be transferred to the incoming character, who performs a special switch attack when they are switched in. This, however, consumes a portion of the incoming character's Musou gauge. There is also a variation called the "Triple Rush" attack which is only available in the Ultimate update. A team of 3 specific characters will also result in creating a unique attack within the "Triple Rush" feature. Characters may perform new attacks such as "Break Guard" and "Dash Chain". A new gauge has been introduced, the True Triple Attack gauge, which fills as a player deals damage to enemies. For a short period of time after the True Triple Attack is initiated, all enemies will move in slow motion. The strength of the True Triple Attack is determined by the overall bond between the three characters. Two-player co-op is available with both players permitted to use different teams. For Warriors Orochi 3 Hyper, the Wii U Gamepad may be used for one of the players, allowing the other player to play in full-screen. A new mode, "Musou Battlefield", allows the modification of existing stages and sharing of modifications online. Players have a limited number of "edit points", where they may replace characters, add more aggressive enemy behaviour, and alter game audio. Ultimate removes the need for edit points to alter the changes and the players can also customize the battle quotes and combat notifications in-game. Hyper has a new Duel Mode, allowing players to battle each other in three-on-three battles. Players must choose in addition four Strategy Cards, which may be activated over the course of a duel: each Strategy Card costs a number of Battle Points (gained over time during a battle) per use. Each character has two Strategy Cards available for use; one is made available by unlocking the character, while the second is made available through other means. Ultimate adds a new Gauntlet Mode, where players can set a party of five characters instead of three. Downloadable content, allowing for new character costumes, scenarios, weapons, and music, is available for all platforms. Downloadable content from Dynasty Warriors 7 and Samurai Warriors 3 cannot be used in Warriors Orochi 3; the same content must be repurchased for specific use by this game.
Characters
All characters from Warriors Orochi 2 and Musou Orochi Z return in this game. Unlike the first two games (which the costumes for the characters from Dynasty Warriors 5 and Samurai Warriors 2 are used), the costumes for the characters are taken from Dynasty Warriors 7: Xtreme Legends and Sengoku Musou 3 Z. Characters not present in either game use visuals from the last game in which they appeared.
Four new characters were initially available in the original PlayStation 3 version. An additional seven were added through various expansions of the game: Kaguya (かぐや) (Technique): A graceful and elegant young mystic who descends to the dimensional world following the chaos wrought upon by the Hydra. Armed with the miraculous ability to traverse time, she helps the three remaining heroes to save their comrades from certain death and to fight back against the bewitched serpent beast. Throughout the game, she begins to develop a sense of friendship with humanity, which helps against her initially repressive side. She wields sakaki and mirrors. Shuten Dōji (酒呑童子) (Wonder): A mighty warrior of strength and intimidating presence. The two horns extending from the top of his head suggest something superhuman about him, but he himself knows nothing of his own identity, save for his name. Driven by the desire to understand who he is, he takes to the battlefield. Eventually, it is revealed that he is actually a part of Orochi's soul, separated from him when he was reborn as the Hydra, and thus is vital for the Coalition to fight back the serpent beast. He wields a giant gourd. Nezha (哪咤) (Speed): A young mystic born between the human and mystic realms. After initially being killed in an earlier battle, he is resurrected by the high mystic Susano'o as his aide, helping him to capture Da Ji, although his ways of finding becomes some sort of terror against humanity. The prequel chapter reveals that he was actually killed by Orochi. He wields four discs known as Elephant Rings (bladed rings attached to the wrists and ankles). In his human form, only available in the Ultimate update, he wields the Fire Tip Lance. Susano'o (素戔嗚) (Power): The leader of the Mystic Army who has finally deigned to make an appearance in this land of turmoil. He has unwavering confidence in his own strength, and the complete trust of his subordinates. This leads, however, to a contemptuous attitude towards human beings. He is pursuing Da Ji in order to thwart her plans to resurrect Orochi, although his apathetic and militaristic attitude to find her becomes a sort of amusement to the mystics. He wields the Ama-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi. Seimei Abe (安倍清明) (Wonder): A member of the aristocratic Abe clan, a clan which has ties to the Japanese imperial throne. Disgusted by humanity and their vanity, he willingly entered the dimensional realm through time distortion. He wields a wood folding fan and a white fox spirit (available in Special, Hyper, and Ultimate only). Shennong (神農) (Wonder): One of the Three Sovereigns who is renowned for having taught China not only the practice of agriculture, but also the use of herbal drugs. He was content to stay in the mystic realm until he notices the humanity's struggle in the dimensional realm. He decides to descend with the other mystics to provide help for humanity. He wields Zhebian (Red Whip) (available in Hyper and Ultimate only).