Summary
Dynasty Warriors: Originsproducer and Omega Force lead Tomohiko Sho has responded to worries about the game’s smaller roster size compared to most mainline entries in the series.
If there’s one thing theDynasty Warriorsseries is known for,it’s cleaving through crowds of peons with ease by using flashy cinematic attacks. If there’sanotherthing the series has made a name for itself with,it’s the near-endless number of spin-offs and side games. Okay, okay, if there’sone morething that Dynasty Warriors has a reputation for,the massive roster is certainly it.
The last mainline game in the series, Dynasty Warriors 9, ended up having a whopping 94 playable characters, which spanned pretty much everyone you could think of. It came as a bit of a shock to fans, then, that the newest entry, Dynasty Warriors: Origins,would be trimming things down considerably and focusing on an original character.
Not counting the main protagonist, Dynasty Warriors: Origins has nine other playable characters, who function as temporary summons that can turn the tide of battle due to how overpowered they are.Fans have been a bit worried about such a big change, but I had the chance to talk to Tomohiko Sho, the producer of Origins and president of Omega Force, at a recent preview event to get an idea of why it was done.
It’s worth remembering thatDynasty Warriors: Origins is notably not a numbered entryand is purposefully doing things a bit differently to take things back to the series' roots.
When asked about the roster size, Sho explained that Omega Force felt like the number of characters in Dynasty Warriors 9 limited what it could do for each of them. This time around, instead of “going broad”, the team decided to focus on one character and make them as enjoyable as possible.
Dynasty Warriors is known for its huge roster but because we have so many characters, we’re sort of limited in what we can do for each character. With Dynasty Warriors 9, we had 94 characters. Instead of going broad, we’re really focusing on this one character and making sure we can make that character enjoyable. - Tomohiko Sho
One of the ways that Sho and the team have done this is by introducing RPG mechanics that let you choose how to level up the protagonist and expand his moves. I saw a brief glimpse at this during my preview, and it seems like there’s a lot of options for players to choose from when it comes to expanding the character.
