Dynasty Warriors 4: Empires is a spinoff of Dynasty Warriors 4 that places more emphasis on kingdom building and tactical warfare. As the first of its kind within the Dynasty Warriors series, it gives players the freedom to unify the land however they want at their own pace. The game's catchphrase in Japan is "This continent is in your hands."
The Empires installments generally utilize gameplay elements found in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms series while reusing the same battle mechanics the Warriors games are known for.
EVER FREE is the game's image song and had been performed by 2HEARTS.
Gameplay
While Empires retains much of the base title's fighting system and officer development options, the gameplay itself has been revamped to include strategic aspects like territory management, political alliances, and battle tactics.
Political Phase
Taking place between battles, the player is given an overview of China divided into twenty-four different regions. Their goal is to conquer every region while managing it efficiently to build up a strong army. If the player loses all of their regions or expends one hundred turns, the game will end in failure for them. Each faction is assigned a particular color on the map and given a chance to make their move per turn. For the first time in the series, it is now possible to control generic officers.
The political phase gives players the opportunity to form their own armies. Up to ten generals and lieutenants can be recruited the more territories are conquered, but only three of each are allowed to participate in battle every time. Relevant information concerning the player's own army may also be glimpsed to gain an understanding of what needs improving first and foremost.
Regions accumulate revenue needed to enact policies. The more regions a faction has, the more gold they have at their disposal. Policies provide players the means to manage conquered lands and strengthen their forces. Depending on the types of policies chosen, the player may be seen as a hero or tyrant by their people. Should they be considered a hero, local troops will sometime arrive as reinforcements during defensive battles. If labeled a tyrant, allied generals may declare their independence and rebel. The outline color of each policy indicates how it will impact a leader's alignment. White policies involve giving away resources to make the people content. Black policies, on the other hand, do the opposite.
A maximum of four random officers under the player's command will each present two different policies to choose from. One set can be selected at a time, though rejecting all of them outright is also an option. Their effects are categorized under different classifications.
- Officer Affairs - Provides pathways for officers to self-improve or receive promotions. Also includes policies for recruiting new talent.
- Product Development - Oversees the development of products for controlled regions. Each one has its own manufactured item.
- Diplomacy - Decides momentary alliances with other armies. Also has policies that improve the local region's commerce.
- Battle Tactics - Contains policies that directly affect battle, whether it be hampering enemy forces in some way or bolstering allied troops. Only lasts for one turn.
- Rest - Allows officers and troops to rest and recover their health. Works effectively after going through prolonged battles.
- Military - Improves an army's strength in various ways. Paves the way for research on warfare inventions like Juggernauts or Fire Arrows.
- Government - Enacts policies that flex a sovereign's power. These range from fulfilling the desires of the people or forcing tax hikes or conscription on them.
Officers who are generally favored or have accomplished much may be appointed specific ranks within the player's empire. For instance, choosing to accept an officer's own policies fifteen times may lead to their promotion as the army's strategist. A strategist's recommended policies will always be 15% less expensive. Another way of favoring an officer is promoting them as grand general. Those with this title can elevate the weapon levels of every officer fighting alongside them by one.
Those who advance further in ranks will usually enjoy greater perks in battle. This is done by helping them achieve their given goals. It should be noted that the types of goals a character has varies greatly based on their personality traits and history.
Replacing the weapon level system is a proficiency rank that determines how powerful an officer's weapon is. Weapon types are divided into swords, spears, and clubs. If the player's region has access to a blacksmith, they can temper their weapons to become even stronger.
Battle Phase
While the battle system remains the same as Dynasty Warriors 4: Xtreme Legends, there are notable differences this time around. For one, objectives have been simplified to focus more on territory control with one side invading and another side defending. If the invading side triumphs, they end up taking over the region. Players may also opt to assist allied armies in exchange for rewards.
During offensive fights, the goal is to capture the enemy camp or defeat the leader. These tend to last for 30 minutes. Defensive fights, on the other hand, are won by repelling the enemy grand general or waiting things out until 15 minutes have expired. It is possible to prolong a battle by enacting time-extending policies beforehand.
Battlefield are now separated into colored zones on the mini map with blue zones representing the player's area of control and the red zones belonging to the opposing army. Essentially, the overall goal is to both expand the number of zones while defending existing ones. They are conquered by subjugating the surrounding bases and the enemy officers guarding them. Bases regularly send out more troops to provide assistance and produce recovery items like meat buns, making them invaluable in harder battles. Players can also isolate enemy bases by cutting off their connection to the opposing army's main camp.
The morale gauge has been replaced with a situation report bar that indicates the amount of troops both sides have. Below it is another gauge revealing how many squads are within a base. If an enemy base's unit count has been reduced to zero, it is ripe for capture.
Officers controlled by the AI have become more resilient, often returning to the field twice after being defeated once. The final encounter has them challenge the player to a duel. Like in the base game, this can be accepted or declined. They can also trigger skills once per battle to gain an advantage if assigned as a general. All unique characters are considered generals by default while generic officers can either take those roles as well or serve as lieutenants.
When an officer is defeated within their opponent's zone, there is a chance they may be captured. Players have the option of either recruiting these officers or letting them go. If a region's leader is defeated, their subordinates can also be recruited. Note that these rules also apply to the player if they end up losing a battle.
The game introduces new battlefield maps not seen in the base game and its expansion: Bei Hai, Chang Sha, Jiao Zhi, Xi Liang, and Yong An.
Other changes include the removal of the auto-lock feature, archer towers being made indestructible, and weapons receiving less base attack power.
Modes
Empire Mode
A one-player mode that serves as the game's main focus. Players can either play as rulers in their historical locations or opt for those within a fictional setting instead. If an edit character has been created, they may start their own faction in one of the empty regions during historical scenarios. Difficulty settings include Easy, Normal, and Hard.
Versus Mode
Multiplayer mode that pits two players against one another like in the base game. There are four different modes of competition. With the exception of Endurance, players are immediately revived as many times as needed. New power-up items have been added exclusively in this mode to help or hinder both competitors.
- Vanquish (撃破; Obliterate) - The objective of this challenge is to generate the most amount of KOs. Statuettes will occasionally spawn and increase the players' summon points if picked up. Once enough summon points have been accumulated, tap R3 to summon powerful enemy units to assail the opposing side. More summon points means stronger units to distract competitors. It is highly recommended to use a character who excels at crowd clearing.
- Pilfer (奪取; Seize) - Find as many treasures as possible and sell them to the merchant. Those with the most points win. The more treasures players pick up, the slower they become. Each treasure has its own point value and weight. Getting knocked over results in the player dropping any treasure they may have. Officers will also appear and attack both the player's character and the merchant. Using a fast character means carrying less items, so players may opt to pick an officer with less speed and more power.
- Melee (彗星; Comet) - Standing on top of a tall platform with an opening in the center, both players are tasked with knocking off as many enemies as possible. The player with the most points becomes the victor. During the challenge, characters are more prone to getting blown away by attacks than ever. While felling minor foes yields one point, the amount of points gained from knocking over enemy officers depends on the distance between the platform and their landing point. The less amount of health the player has, the further they can knock enemies away; this adds an element of risk that could prove to be advantageous depending on the situation. Characters that have numerous ways of blowing foes away from them have the edge in this challenge.
- Endurance (耐久; Durability) - For this challenge, the goal is to survive the enemy onslaught the longest. Enemy officers will constantly spawn and attack both players, becoming stronger each time they reappear. Forming a strong defense through proper blocking and parrying is the key to winning.
Edit Mode
Functions the same like in the base game only with more additions. Players may import any edit characters they made in Dynasty Warriors 4 and its Xtreme Legends expansion to this title as well. New customization options include new costumes, officer skills, voice samples, more weapon choices, and stat growth variations. Body shapes and preset models can also be adjusted according to the player's own preferences.
Archives
View officer biographies, weapons, troop types, voice lines, and items. Also features a gallery section with official artwork from past Dynasty Warriors 4 titles as well as a model viewer with weapon model toggling included. Part of the features are automatically unlocked if players import data from Dynasty Warriors 4.
Options
- Settings - Modifies various options to accommodate the player.
- Help Message - Turns on help message display.
- Vocals - Switches between English and Japanese voice languages like in Dynasty Warriors 3.
- Controls - Changes button configuration according to the player's needs.
- Vibration - Turns on analog controller vibration.
- Bow Control - Sets targeting method of bow aiming to either normal or reverse.
- Setup - Reassigns buttons on the game controller.
- Sound - Adjusts music and sound effects.
- Speaker - Sets the speaker output through four different settings: Dolby Pro Logic II, Dolby Surround Pro Logic II, Stereo, and Mono.
- BGM Volume - Adjusts music volume level from 1 to 16.
- SE Volume - Adjusts sound volume level from 1 to 16.
- Sound Test - Allows the player to play different music tracks.
- Screen Adjust - Adjusts the screen position using the directional buttons. Can be reverted back to its original state by tapping the Start button.
- Save/Load - Allows the player to save their progress or load an old saved file.
- Game Previews - Lets the player watch preview videos of Crimson Sea 2 and Samurai Warriors.
Items
Gameplay
Miscellaneous
Development
According to an interview, Empires had been sought after by fans who also enjoyed the company's Romance of the Three Kingdoms titles. They came up with the title by formulating a revamped battle system that would make use of actual logistics while preventing the gameplay itself from being too monotonous.
Related Media
A strategy guide for the game had been released.
Trivia
- If players switch to the Japanese vocal track in the game's Western port, only the player's character will speak that language while those controlled by the AI in battle retain their English voices.
Gallery
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Japanese cover
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Weekly Famitsu April 9 and 16, 2004 merger issue cover
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Japanese ad flyer
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Japanese ad flyer 2
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Japanese ad flyer 3
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English ad flyer
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Wallpaper
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External Links
- Official North American Website (English)
- Official Japanese Website (Japanese)
- Official Korean Page (Korean)
- Official Taiwanese Website (Traditional Chinese)
- Official PlayStation Page (Japanese)
- Official Game Manual (English)
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