Samurai Warriors 4 II Reviews
Samurai Warriors 4-II is neither sequel nor expansion but sit's somewhere neatly in the middle. Reusing environments, characters and combat mechanics from the original the narrative has a nice rewrite to make a more engaging character focused story and upgrade mechanics have been revamped to make them easier and more enjoyable to navigate. Fans of the series and even the 4th instalment will still enjoy this, there's enough of a change to make it stand out and it's also a great place to start for those new to the franchise.
If you've yet to buy Samurai Warriors 4, we'd strongly recommend grabbing an earlier version of the game – whether that be the original or Samurai Warriors Chronicles 3. Although 4-II certainly has its perks, it fails to push the series in a new, more innovative direction as a whole. Thankfully, with Samurai Warriors 4 Empires already in the pipeline, it looks as though our favourite historical brawler may very quickly get back on track.
Although it's hard to pinpoint Samurai Warriors 4-II's true purpose, it's still a great musou title that carries on the spirit of the fantastic Samurai Warriors 4. Fans of the series who are up for more of the same can't go wrong, while newcomers will be safe in the knowledge that, in terms of gameplay, this is the best that the franchise has to offer. Rather than a reforged sword, 4-II is more of a secondary blade – and its edge is just as sharp.
Samurai Warriors 4-II is a fun game for those who skipped out on the previous entry, as well as for those who can't get enough Musou-fueled carnage. With an emphasis on more characters and an intuitive new upgrade system, alongside the robust Free mode and Endless Castle mode, and there is a lot of new content to go around multiple times.
Samurai Warriors 4-II should appeal to fans of the original title and will certainly appeal to Warriors fans that missed the predecessor. While I was disappointed to see the excellent Chronicle Mode of Samurai Warriors 4 sacrificed for a more throwaway Survival one, this new mode is still quite entertaining. However, the real strength in this one is the way the various fascinating stories of fascinating heroes is retold, and as a result of that Samurai Warriors 4-II is one of the best games in the series for some time.