Dynasty Warriors has a long-held reputation for being a series where you ‘press square to win’. Effortlessly cleaving through thousands of hapless soldiers on the battlefields of ancient China is the first thing that comes to mind when someone brings up the franchise, but anyone who’s played them knows that the real challenge comes from clashing with the other legendary heroes of the Three Kingdoms Period.
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Origins, the newest title in the series (and something of a reboot), is no different. Individual enemy soldiers and nameless officers are mere speed bumps on your path to glory, but encountering an elite character like Gan Ning or Guan Yu can end your rampage right away if you’re not careful. Outside of a few select fights, though, your newcomer protagonist Ziluan usually has the advantage, even on Hero Difficulty.
Upon finishing the game, you’re given the option to change to a new difficulty level, Ultimate Warrior. The final battle at Chibi had been challenging on Hero, but I was ready to tackle some of the earlier missions and start earning postgame rewards, so I immediately went into the options menu and took the plunge.
I was not ready.
Let me be perfectly clear. I went into Ultimate Warrior with all of my weapon proficiencies and skills at the maximum (not including postgame extras), and had what I thought was top-tier gear, fresh off a victory for the Wu Kingdom at the Red Cliffs. Wielding my trusty Sky Splitter greatsword, I proceeded to get absolutely battered by a bunch of nobodies. In the tutorial level.
Ultimate Warrior clearly wants you to get some postgame progression in before you even think about attempting real battles, but even then, fights against officers require laser focus. Dodges and parries have to be perfectly timed, your loadout needs an answer for every possible threat, and you’d better be able to recognize and respond to the enemy animations for every single weapon type if you don’t want to see a big chunk of your health bar fall off. In short, the game turns into a soulslike.
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Characters that were just ‘pretty tough’ on Hero, like the dual-axe-wielding Zhang Liao, become proper boss fights. Not only that, but they still have their armies of regular soldiers getting hits in while you desperately try to weather their storm of attacks, and the troops can actually do some real damage now. To top it all off, all of your allies have seemingly forgotten the right way to hold a sword, and constantly need to be bailed out of their own battles. Nearly every map forces you to make a decision; stay and finish your current objective, or go save Cao Cao again.
Leveling up and obtaining epic-tier weapons did even the odds, and soon enough I was back on pace to play through the story branches I’d skipped on my first playthrough. Once again, though, I wasn’t ready for what Ultimate Warrior had in store; the time came to face Lu Bu in his final battle at Xiapi Castle.
You face Lu Bu before the climactic encounter, and in those battles he’s a deadly obstacle to be avoided rather than an enemy you’re meant to fight. Just like his original appearance in Dynasty Warriors 2, the game is clear; do not attempt to pursue Lu Bu. You’ll just be wasting your time and energy, and you’ll most likely end up dead.
If you follow Cao Cao or Liu Bei’s path, the story puts you on course to a showdown with Lu Bu, and at Xiapi the game turns him into an actual, honest-to-goodness boss fight. No bases to capture and no objectives; just kill Lu Bu before he kills you. And on Ultimate Warrior, he may as well be Malenia.
Lu Bu checks all the boxes of a true soulslike boss; multiple phases, a seemingly endless health bar, and a varied suite of attacks that can all knock you straight to the restart screen if you miss a dodge. There’s even an optional challenge to beat him without using items or picking up any of the limited heals in the corner of the arena. It’s not technically a no-hit run, but it may as well be considering how much damage the Flying Warrior can do. Pulling it off is the only way to unlock Red Hare, Lu Bu’s famous steed.
I’m certainly glad that Ultimate Warrior exists, as it’s about the level of challenge that I want from a Dynasty Warriors game. I could do without the Lu Bu fight, but I’ll overcome it eventually; a more focused build will definitely help, and a few extra proficiency ranks couldn’t hurt, but even with all that beating him will be a test of skill. There’s nothing for it; pressing square to win doesn’t cut it anymore, so I’ll just have to get good.
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- Released
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January 17, 2025
- Developer(s)
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Omega Force
- ESRB
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Teen // Violence, Mild Language, Use of Alcohol
- OpenCritic Rating
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Strong