SAMURAI WARRIORS: Spirit of Sanada Reviews
Samurai Warriors: Spirit of Sanada works best as a companion piece to the main game that released a few years ago. The focus on one family of fighters is perfect, since it gives the team time to develop a real story instead of using a larger cast for broader tales. The core action remains just as good as before, but the new minigames and exploration sections fail to elicit the same type of excitement, especially with some of the caveats in play for the secondary characters you pick up along the way. For fans of the series looking for more story, Spirit of Sanada works, but only if you play it after an entry in the main series.
'Samurai Warriors: Spirit of Sanada' is frustrating due to its total lack of challenging gameplay. The game makes several mistakes that diminish from the potential this title could have met, making the whole thing feel like a waste.
If you can overlook the repetition and poor optimisation in favour of mowing down countless soldiers in increasingly spectacular fashion, you'll find one of the more entertaining history lessons in recent times.
For those who might be tired of the traditional Musou hack and slash format, Spirit of Sanada offers up enough changes to make the series feel fresh while retaining the traditional 1 vs. 1000 hack and slash gameplay that the series is known and loved for.
Kermath received a digital copy of Samurai Warriors: Spirit of Sanada from Koei Tecmo for review.
Samurai Warriors: Spirit of Sanada is a fun and heavy slasher game, where you'll mow down thousands of enemies in the spirit of war and blood letting. The game captures so much of what makes the Samurai Warriors series well loved, while bringing in a few new features and environmental adaptations that allow the game to stand on its own. Several issues with balance and presentation betray an otherwise solid game.
Samurai Warriors: Spirit of Sanada is an excellent game that expands on the Samurai Warriors formula by introducing interesting elements such as friendship building and exploration. It feels a bit more personal than previous Samurai Warriors releases, making it a must-play for fans of the franchise.
As someone thoroughly tired and uninterested in anything Musou, I can say without hesitation that Spirit of Sanada did very little in changing my opinion on the genre. Having said that, the focus on telling a tighter, more involved story along with the addition of a variety of RPG elements is a step in the right direction and deserves praise- hopefully pointing towards a renaissance for the genre.
Button-mashing is rarely this fun.
Come for the historical Japanese setting and story, stay for the pleasing, fast-paced combat. Spirit of Sanada puts combat, its best asset, front-and-centre, and it pays off.
Samurai Warriors: Spirit of Sanada is a compelling historical tale of love, betrayal and trust featuring the Sanada clan.
For any Samurai Warriors veteran, Samurai Warriors: Spirit of Sanada will feel like a pair of comfy old slippers – easy to slide into, and once you're in their warm embrace you won't want to part company with them until they've become a little too sweaty and overbearing.
It has its flaws, but still proves to be a very enjoyable game that I had trouble putting down (as the sparse nature of this review can testify.) If you’re a fan of the series or picking up a Dynasty Warriors game for the first time, I highly recommend this.
There are some faults which prevent it from becoming a truly standout title, but it’s a no-brainer for fans and those who are interested the Sengoku era of Japan.
Whilst Samurai Warriors: Spirit of Sanada doesn’t really do enough to completely reinvigorate the series, the focus on providing a more story-driven experience along with the introduction of the hub town and smaller side-missions is certainly a step in the right direction. Musou titles are known for being pretty repetitive, but the implementation of these RPG style ideas ensured I had more of a personal investment in the game and kept me hooked in for longer. I didn’t see Samurai Warriors: Spirit of Sanada as something I’d play for a bit of mindless fun, but instead as game that I actually wanted to see through to completion. Whilst I’m sure some of the changes won’t be for everyone, it made Samurai Warriors: Spirit of Sanada a much more unique experience. Not only has it proven that Koei Tecmo have got plenty of neat ideas as far as innovating the musou genre goes, but it’s got me excited to see what they do with the ‘Warriors’ series next.
Feudal fragmentation through eyes of one of the most important samurai. Gameplay is mainly focused on killing hordes of enemies, but there is also complex plot and many RPG elements. Not only for the fans of the genre.
Review in Polish | Read full review
Any Samurai Warriors or Dynasty Warriors fan will get exactly what they are looking for in Spirit of Sanada. If you find the formula a bit stale, this might be enough of a change to get you back into the series. This title is a welcome addition to the Samurai Warriors series, and I'm looking forward to the next iteration.
Spirit of Sanada breathes some new life into a series showing its age
If you are fans of the musou genre you will probably enjoy this title, but if you already dislike them it won't change your mind.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Omega Force‘s Samurai Warriors: Spirit of Sanada mixes tried and true gameplay elements with a number of noticeable improvements and an excellent story, creating a title that may very well be the developers’ finest yet.