REVIEW: SAMURAI WARRIORS 4 DX


Title	SAMURAI WARRIORS 4 DX
Developer	Omega Force
Publisher	KOEI TECMO America
Release Date	May 14th, 2024
Genre	Musou
Platform	PC via Steam
Age Rating	Teen
Official Website

I decided to take a look at the PC port of SAMURAI WARRIORS 4 DX. This is a very unexpected release from Koei Tecmo seeing how old this game is at this point, but I’m never one to shy away from a good Musou title, so I put about 10 hours into it just to see how this release plays. Let’s dig in and see what I discovered.

Like other Musou style games, there is a Story Mode featuring many different campaigns highlighting various battles in historic Japan. While I don’t know if I would use this game as a history lesson, some of the events are actually pretty accurate. I love seeing how all the different officers interact with each other and discovering their personalities. In addition to the robust story mode, there is a Chronicle Mode that allows you to create your own character and journey through Japan, fighting many battles until they achieve their lifelong dreams.

Graphically, the game still holds up pretty well. The models and environments aren’t as detailed as they are in newer Musou titles, but they still look good. Character models have a decent amount of details and each area has its own unique look and feel. The game features all of the DLC from the original release. This includes some of the series’ more risqué costumes, which I think is a huge plus, since we don’t get costumes like these currently. This PC release supports resolutions up to 4K at 60 FPS, and the buttons can be remapped. I never had any hitches or crashes during my playtime.

The music here is fantastic! I always loved the soundtracks to all the Warriors series titles, and this one is no exception. Plenty of upbeat rock tunes with an Eastern flair to lay waste to the 1000’s of foes that stand in your way. You can enjoy this soundtrack anytime in the archives once you have beaten a stage playing it so it unlocks. The voice acting is top tier as well, it is all done in Japanese with no English dub option. Sound effects are pretty much what you would expect. The normal hits, special move sounds and such fill the air as the battles rage on.

The gameplay in SAMURAI WARRIORS 4 DX is exactly what you would expect from a classic Musou title. Players will complete objectives on each map to clear the stage and proceed to the next story stage. Some stages will have hidden objectives that may even give you access to alternate story paths. Completing the entire story of one faction will open up more for you to choose from. There are two buttons for attacks that you can use in tandem to create combos. You will unlock more moves for the over 55 unique officers you can play as. Each one has a couple of special moves as well that will clear a whole screen in spectacular fashion. There are plenty of new weapons to unlock and customize as well, so this really is a complete package.

SAMURAI WARRIORS 4 DX doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it didn’t need to. This a classic style Musou game with a ton of content. I barely scratched the surface of what is here. You could easily put 60 or more hours in this one unlocking everything in Chronicle Mode and doing all of the storylines in Story Mode. If you have never played SAMURAI WARRIORS 4 or are looking for a complete edition, this is a great way to go. Fans looking for a good Musou title to kill some time with can’t go wrong with this one either at the $49.99 price tag.