As of late, Tecmo-Koei has made a habit of not implementing English voice work in their recent entries in the Warriors franchise in an effort to cut localization costs. However, a tweet spotted on Monday may be evidence that the latest entry in the series, Dynasty Warriors 8, may not only be headed to western territories, but will also include English voice work.
The tweet comes from voice actor Richard Epcar, who states rather clearly that he will voice the tyrannical Dong Zhuo (how the character’s name is spelled in-game). The character has appeared in previous Dynasty Warriors entries as a playable character, and voiced by Epcar, no less. This seems like solid evidence that he will be voicing the character once again in Dynasty Warriors 8, which has not been announced for western territories. This would also confirm, if true, that it will be getting English voice work, meaning that the title would receive a physical retail release on the PlayStation 3. Previous entries in the Warriors franchise, such as Dynasty Warriors 7: Empires and One Piece: Pirate Warriors, were restricted to digital release only on the PlayStation 3 due to Sony Computer Entertainment America’s policy against having physical retail copies of Japanese audio-only titles.
Again, this is only a rumor, and it could be something else entirely, such as an English voice patch for Dynasty Warriors 7: Empires. But signs seem to point to a western release of Dynasty Warriors 8, complete with English dubs, as the logical reason for Epcar voicing the character once again. This will no doubt satisfy Warriors fans who have been wanting not only English voice work, but physical releases, to return to the franchise.
