Every Dynasty Warriors Game Ranked

No matter where you go or where you look, everyone within the “Dynasty Warriors” fanbase shares the same sentiment about “Dynasty Warriors 9”. And they are completely right - “Dynasty Warriors 9” is the worst game in the entire franchise for two very big reasons. First, it was the first in the franchise that went open world (when it didn’t need to) and forgot to fill its massive open world with things to do. You can be exploring for several minutes only to find nothing or, at the very least, one of the few mundane side quests in the game. But what really makes the whole situation with DW9 worse is the monetization. There are so many characters, costumes, and weapons locked behind a paywall that you can’t help wondering what in the hell the base game is offering that is even mildly worth your time.

Had “Dynasty Warriors 9” never happened, “Dynasty Warriors 6” would still be regarded as the worst in the franchise. The only reason it trumps DW9 is because A) DW6 isn’t loaded with absurd DLC and microtransactions, and B) DW6 has actual gameplay behind it. The reason DW6 is often regarded as the second-worst game in the series is mostly because of the technical performance. If you played on Xbox 360, maybe you didn’t suffer as heavily as PS3 users did. Even so, the bugs and glitches were too frequent to tolerate, and it didn’t help that the game simply didn’t look great with its washed out colors. Ah, the good old days of “the piss filter”. Had it come out today, maybe Omega Force would have been able to fix things up.

Unlike the previous two entries, “Dynasty Warriors 7” does offer a fun time with its attempt in bringing the franchise to a more grounded, back to basics level. There was much more focus here with the campaign being centered on four specific characters and a much more refined art style than DW6. The problem is that DW7 reeled in the focus way too much to where the game gets boring quickly. Sure, you can carry plenty of weapons and customize them to your heart’s content, and the introduction of Conquest Mode was kind of neat (depending on who you ask) along with some of the other little bells and whistles like EX weapons. But when you have features like these and don’t really do anything interesting with them, well, it’s like eating a sandwich with no sauces, seasoning, or any other condiment. You gave us just the meat and bread and called it a day. Its solid meat and bread, but a little more flavor could have taken this a long way. Also, what kind of “Dynasty Warriors” game doesn’t include Free Mode? Huh? What’s up with that?

Back when it first came out, “Dynasty Warriors 2” was one of the coolest video games you could play. Never before had a game managed to cram so many characters on screen reacting to the player’s actions. Honestly, we thought that our PlayStation 2’s were going to break from all the crazy nonsense happening on screen! This was the game that would set the course for what future “Dynasty Warriors” games would become. The only reason it falls on the bottom half of the list is because players today may not be fully onboard with the basic hack-&-slash gameplay, at least when compared to other gaming franchises that would shape the genre later on.

While “Dynasty Warriors 2” built the foundation for the franchise’s identity, “Dynasty Warriors 3” took that and ran with it, and this is where the IP was truly born. See, what DW3 brought into the mix were RPG mechanics. It wasn’t enough to just destroy hordes with a couple of broken combos. Now, you had to level up at a rate consistent with the battle’s gradual rise in difficulty. In other words, you had to be vicious while also managing your time and attention at a reasonable rate to stay powerful. This alone is what makes DW3 still hold up today despite the abysmal English voice acting (which is amazing in its own special way). “Feel the power of my magic!!”

In all honesty, “Dynasty Warriors 5” does not hold up well in visuals at all. The same could be said for the other games, of course, but the reason DW5 gets this high of a spot is for the way it further expanded on the formula. DW5 took the base aspect of “Dynasty Warriors 4: Empires” and managed to incorporate it into the main series. So, on top of defeating enemies and getting properly leveled up before the big boss showed their ugly mug, now you had to traverse between your bases to aid your troops in battle before they were overtaken. You could even lead your troops to neutral bases to gain advantages over the enemy faction. This borrowed concept created a beautiful blend between action RPGs and strategy games in a way no games were doing at the time.

This is the first “Dynasty Warriors” game we’ve had since the disastrous “Dynasty Warriors 9”, and there was quite a bit riding against it. How does it hold up compared to other hack-&-slash games? Did Omega Force and Koei Tecmo learn their lessons from DW9? Does this IP have a future in the ninth console generation? Yes, yes, and absolutely YES! “Dynasty Warriors: Origins” is the evolved installment in the franchise we’ve been hoping for with its superb technical performance. And while it looks spick and span like a new action RPG, it still retains some of the cheesy, localized voice acting we’ve come to expect from Western releases of the series. Here’s hoping the series makes its presence more known moving forward!

DW2 was about laying down the groundwork for future games. DW3 incorporated ideas to give the combat more depth. What was DW4 bringing to the table? Fun and creative ways to kick ass! Not only did every character get their own identity through a weapon made specifically for them, they were also given incredible powers that made you feel absolutely unstoppable. In addition to an already stellar combat system and Musou Mode, DW4 also gave players the ability to create up to four custom characters for use in the campaign as well as other modes. For a time, this was often regarded as the very best “Dynasty Warriors” game ever…until our final entry made its debut.

Perfection. Sheer perfection. That is the only way to describe “Dynasty Warriors 8”. For starters, you had an insanely meaty roster of playable characters, a whopping eighty-two characters to choose from! That’s not all; each character would be given their own mission objectives even if you already played the level with another character. Free Mode makes a return and lets you play as the enemy faction for a change, so DW7’s sin has been alleviated. Then, you have all the different weapons with different affinities, the new Rage mechanic, Challenge Mode, Ambition Mode, so many different game modes with hundreds of hours of replay value just waiting for you. “Dynasty Warriors 8” was truly ambitious for its time, and we may never get another game in the franchise quite like it.

Which “Dynasty Warriors” game is your favorite? Don’t have to be mainline - feel free to tell us if it’s an Empires or licensed spin-off if you like, but let us know in the comments and be sure to subscribe to MojoPlays for more great videos everyday!