While I may have ever so slightly dipped my feet in the world of otome games, novels and anime adaptations in the past, that is still a far cry to the things I would’ve normally enjoyed on a lazy Sunday morning. And Touken Ranbu Warriors was just another one of those random moments of trying something new yet also familiar. I am clearly out of my league here when I decided to tackle this adventure as the only ever idea I have about Touken Ranbu Warriors is it’s another one of those musou games out of so many versions and iterations I have tried in the past and as to how it’ll keep my Sunday entertained, I’ll leave that out for you to read on some more.
I am no stranger to musou games and the general thought of how it’s played but I am completely clueless as to what Touken Ranbu is or what it’s all about so if ever there’s anything that I missed out or misunderstood, please be a little gentle with my fragile heart in the comment section below. As Mr. Google had led me to believe, Touken Ranbu was originally an online web browser game that lets you assume the role of a Saniwa who travels back into the past to defeat evil forces that hopes to disrupt how historical events originally played out. With that said, famous swords take on the form of warriors also known as Touken Danshi which you’ll be controlling hack n’ slash style as you weave your way into the battlefield and correct the past from diverting into a different outcome. It’s a core story that has the same general idea of let’s say Dynasty Warriors, Samurai Warriors or even a bit more similar to Warriors Orochi so in a sense, adapting it into a full-fledge musou game doesn’t seem particularly out-of-place considering its setting and overall vibe.
Koei Tecmo is no stranger to romanticizing historical figures and their rich history and Touken Ranbu is no different. With gorgeous visuals and a pretty stylized set of wardrobe, characters in the game deliver an appealing touch that makes even the burliest of men squeal on sight not to mention some top-tier voice acting from the cast which you might even recognize on other games they’ve worked on. There’s no shortage of gorgeous men despite them just being legendary swords in the first place but what makes them even more enticing is how these characters are showing off each of their unique styles in combat paired up with their even flashier killing blows and special attacks.
Gameplay is definitely a major factor when it comes to a musou title and as I just mentioned, we have no shortage of that here. In your typical musou game, you fight hundreds of enemies like you’re just sweeping up dust in the battlefield. You’ve got your general attack button to initiate a series of combo attacks along with a secondary button that unleashes a different move in your combo chain and as you progress throughout the campaign, you’ll also be able to unlock even more moves that’ll help you spice things up. You also have access to special moves like Hissatsu attacks which also initiates a short cutscene to capture a character’s trademark move into one flashy and stylish ending. But what’s better than having one character doing an extremely elegant and flashy move? Two of course. Aside from being able to fight alongside a partner, you also have access to a joint attack between them which is definitely beats a normal Hissatsu by one… quite literally.
However unlike the vast battlefields of the more prominent musou titles like Dynasty Warriors or Samurai Warriors, Touken Ranbu takes a step back from that and starts off in small bite-sized chunks as to not scare off the casual enjoyers too much. This makes sortie missions quick aside from being a bit more centralized into one general type whether it be going loud and proud as you sweep through hordes or sneaking your way into the enemy territory without being seen or maybe, just maybe, trying to get through the dreaded escort missions that everybody hates no matter what genre of game it might take.
And while you’re not out and about cleaning the battlefield off from various monsters, the Honmaru which is your base of operations pretty much acts what it’s intended to have and do. You can place various characters into different areas such as the kitchen or the garden which would allow you to gain experience and level them up while you’re not allowed to sortie them on the current objective. Although there’s also an option to replay previous missions which does remove those limitations should you want to try other characters right away. Upgrading a Touken Danshi through unlocking abilities or changing their preset of special attacks is also an option in the Honmaru. Now those are all mostly a feature that comes from most musou titles but what really makes Touken Ranbu Warriors a bit more unique is the inclusion of mini-games. They’re no game changer to the genre but it does come with its fun moments and a way to get away from all that mindless button-mashing. A Photo Mode is also a thing which in a way does make sense for the type of audience it originally had. I’m not a really huge fan of Photo Mode for any game in general but it doesn’t hurt to have one which is a positive thing at least.
In conclusion, Touken Ranbu Warriors does bring two separate audiences together, otome game enthusiasts with the musou enjoyers. But the biggest question here is “how did it worked out for both of them?” I can’t say there’s a right or wrong answer here but if you’re looking for a musou title, this doesn’t particularly give you that genuine experience for its more casual approach to its difficulty curve and having the smaller scale battles doesn’t help in that regard either but at times, just being able to pick up and run through a quick mission does bring with its own merits. If you’re a fan of historical fantasies though then this is still an amazing experience to have despite mostly focusing more on its core story and leaving more of the otome experience in other aspects of the game.
Publisher: KOEI TECMO AMERICA Corporation
Developers: Ruby Party, Omega Force
Platforms: Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch
Reviewed on the Nintendo Switch
Grab your copy here https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Games/Nintendo-Switch-download-software/Touken-Ranbu-Warriors-2204543.html
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