Samurai Warriors Chronicles (戦国無双クロニクル, Sengoku Musou Chronicle) is the second title of the Samurai Warriors series to be exclusively made for a hand-held console and Koei-Tecmo's flagship title for the Nintendo 3DS. It was tentatively called Sengoku Musou 3D before its formal announcement at the Nintendo Conference 2010. The entire cast from Sengoku Musou 3 Z appear in this title.
Battles are made to be quick and user friendly with fans who may not be familiar with the Warriors franchise. The goal for this title was to make a complete, portable Warriors title. The producer responded that he thought it would be a tight fit for the Nintendo DS as originally planned. When the development team struggled, they asked Nintendo for help. As thanks for their aid, the producer related that the game was then shifted to become available on the Nintendo 3DS. The specs of the newer system also allowed more content than its earlier counterpart. Though it was a tiring process for the team, the producer hopes fans appreciate the title being available on the portable system's launch date.
The goal of the title is to involve the player as an active observer of the time period with a unique third-person experience. The producer himself considers "you and your friends" as the main protagonists. Therefore, he doesn't consider the two player avatars to be characters who can comfortably join future titles. He gave a similar reasoning for the player avatars who were featured in the first-person Samurai Warriors: Katana.
Gameplay
If the Nintendo 3DS's 3D visuals disturbs the player's eyes, the game has an option to be revert the visuals as a 2D image.
Players are required to create their own personal character to enter the battlefield in this game. Since it is based on the third title, they have Ultimate Musous and Spirit Attacks like the rest of the cast. Unique attributes and equipment can also be decided based on the character's gender. Once created, they can choose to serve any character within the Samurai Warriors series in the main History Mode.
- Within the shop feature in the game, various customizations can be made to the appearances of their male or female characters of choice. Players can change what they wear as well as the base color of their character's clothing. Weapons and equipment have ranks within this title and can be leveled up and customized using the Shop's Blacksmith feature.
- Characters can be moved by directing them via the touch screen. Buttons are reserved for performing attacks and other actions. Touching up on the directional pad allows characters to instantly call their horse to their side.
- It's possible for the player to switch between four characters in battle by touching the respective character's icon on the touch screen. Since characters continue to act individually from one other, this can be done regardless of the character's location on the map. The concept is spiritually closer to the switching methods featured in TRINITY: Souls of Zill O'll (two characters acting on their AI, one character controlled by player) rather than the Warriors Orochi series (three characters moving as one unit, one leads while inactive partners may assist).
- In a matter similar to strategies found within Empires titles, each character is equipped with a unique skill they can use to change the face of the battlefield. Characters may choose to utilize these skills only when they have enough available slots in their Skill gauge located in the skill menu (accessed by pressing R). Players also have the option of performing a "Cooperative Skill" with a character who shares good relations with the player's character.
Like Mission Mode in Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 2, relationships between the player's characters and the Samurai Warriors cast can be formed. Special quotes reflecting the level of trust between them can appear during battle. In a style that closely resembles Neoromance titles, the player may experience a cutaway in times of leisure to chat with a Samurai Warriors character. During these sequences, the player can then choose one of two options that may either boost or drop their friendship rating with them. Including special events spoken amongst the Samurai Warriors cast themselves, there are over 400 different fully voiced conversations in the game.
Similar to the newest Gundam title, strong friendship ratings may grant various bonuses for the player's character. It may enable the option of equipping other characters' weapons for the player's character, ensure a specific character's participation in the player's campaigns, and may unlock new scenarios for the player to play through. Special praise has been made based on the player character's gender; in other words, a Samurai Warriors character will say something different to a female character than a male character.
- Enemy morale is an important factor for determining the difficulty of a stage than before. The idea of decreasing it though specific missions and defeating key officers remains the same as previous titles. Choosing to decrease morale is still completely optional and left to the player's discretion. Players receive special post battle renumeration and bonuses if they choose to keep their ally morale high throughout the battle.
- There are over 120 missions in the game.
- Rare weapons are collected by completing certain missions in a stage on the hard difficulty with that certain character.
- Items are collected as battle spoils, the luck skill improving the chance of better items to fill the item slots.
- Clothes are collected by completing story chapters. First the general clothes set is unlocked then the separate articles later (helmet, hip guards, etc.). These classes are Normal, Light, and Heavy.
Modes
History Mode
Main story mode featuring the player's original character as the protagonist. The main goal of this feature is to let players experience seventy years of history through their own character's perspective, meaning returning characters from the series will not have their own Story Modes within this title. The player is the star and is free to align themselves with whoever they see fit within the game's chapters.
There are five chapters in the game with different years of focus:
- First Chapter - 1546~1564: Kantō Trio, Yoshimoto, and Motonari's era
- Second Chapter - 1570~1580: Nobunaga's time of power
- Third Chapter - 1582~1590: Hideyoshi's conquests
- Final Chapter - 1600~1615: Ieyasu's unification
- Gaiden - assorted years and battles within the period with "what-if?" scenarios
Communication Play
The multiplayer function of the game which uses the Nintendo 3DS's online features. Multiplayer options have been hinted to so far be focused on the battle aspects of the game. When two players stage battles against one another, they can earn weapons or battle history with one another based on their victories or defeats. A weapon may be set as a prize within their battles as well. Each player can set four of their characters to partake in these player made stages. Choosing to participate in the multiplayer mode may grant players more experience and rewards than playing alone.
Extra downloadable scenarios and updates can also be accessed by using the Nintendo 3DS's "Sudden Communication" feature. These scenarios are side stories that are otherwise inaccessible to the player and are generated based on the player's progress throughout the game. It may be wise for the player to frequently check when these scenarios become available. The producer implies that these side stories are added to give an interesting perspective for the forty characters in the game.
Gallery Mode
Lets players review character events, movies, music, equipment, and other assorted goods they have earned.
Related Media
Fans attending the Sengoku Musou Seiyuu Ougi 2011 Aki event were informally asked by event coordinators to bring their Nintendo 3DS and their copy of this game. Over 400 participants agreed and shared information with one another constantly throughout the event. Ryōtarō Okiayu (Motochika) and Eiji Takemoto (Mitsunari) also showcased their protagonists on stage for fans. Shinichi Yamada (Sakon) remarked he traded info with fans whilst attending the Tokyo Game Show event.
Trivia
- Samurai Warriors Chronicles is the first Samurai Warriors game to not have English Audio.
- Samurai Warriors Chronicles marks Aya and Masanori Fukushima debuted in the western released as playable, however they debuted in Sengoku Musou 3: Musouden which has not been localized.
Gallery
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Japanese cover
External Links
- Official North American Website (English)
- Official European Website (English)
- Official Japanese Website (Japanese)
- Nintendo Creators Interview (Japanese)
- Iwata Asks (English)
- StrategyWiki Page (English)