Samurai Warriors: Spirit of Sanada

Samurai Warriors: Spirit of Sanada,[1] known in Japan as Sengoku Musou ~Sanada Maru~ (戦国無双 ～真田丸～) is a hack and slash game by Koei Tecmo through their development subsidiary, Omega Force. It is a spin-off of Samurai Warriors 4, part of the Samurai Warriors series, which in turn is a spin-off of the long-running Dynasty Warriors series, both of which are also hack and slash games. It was released on November 23, 2016 in Japan to coincide with the airing of the climax episode of the ongoing NHK TV taiga drama Sanada Maru.[3] It was released in North America and Europe in 2017.[4]

Not to be confused with Sanada Maru (Taiga drama) or Sanada Maru.
Samurai Warriors: Spirit of Sanada
Japanese cover art
Developer(s)Omega Force
Publisher(s)Koei Tecmo
SeriesSamurai Warriors
Platform(s)PlayStation 3
PlayStation 4
PlayStation Vita
Nintendo Switch
Microsoft Windows
ReleasePlayStation 3,
PlayStation Vita
  • JP: November 23, 2016
PlayStation 4
  • JP: November 23, 2016
  • NA: May 23, 2017
  • EU: May 26, 2017[1]
Microsoft Windows
  • WW: May 23, 2017
Nintendo Switch
Genre(s)Hack and slash, action
Mode(s)Single-player

Development

The game's existence was first revealed in a Dengeki PlayStation release calendar in an issue dated on July 12, 2016.[5] Famitsu later confirmed it on July 14, 2016 along with first details and screenshots, including the nature of its collaboration with the taiga drama Sanada Maru. On August 4, 2016, a livestream was conducted which disclosed more information, including the game's release date;[3] an official trailer was released shortly after in YouTube.[6] The current version of the game is 1.05 which was released in July 2017.[7] On June 6, 2017, various weapons set were released as DLC.[8] PS4 Pro owners have the option to play in 4K.[9]

Gameplay

The game retains the basic hack and slash play of the main series. The player controls a character through a specific battlefield against an army of enemy soldiers with the ultimate objective of killing the enemy's commander, although the player will be encouraged to complete side objectives that will raise the morale of the player's allies or acquiring rewards. Spirit of Sanada reuses the engine of Samurai Warriors 4 and its expansions and retains that game's play style and features.[10][11] New features added include the addition of long-term battles, which are divided into several separate skirmishes affected by a day-and-night cycle that the player need to clear. A mechanic called "Stratagems" is added, which allows the player to use a gimmick midway through the battle to aid the player's cause, such as calling reinforcements or building bridges. Stratagems requires "Sanada Coins", obtained by meeting several conditions throughout the game or collected in the new Castle Town format.

The game also revamps the menu system. Like Dynasty Warriors 7: Xtreme Legends but unlike the main series, the player does not choose a game mode in a separate menu system. Instead, once the player starts a playthrough, they are given immediate control of their chosen character, albeit in a hub area called the "Castle Town". There, the player can access Story Mode, Gallery, and other modes by interacting with the environment, such as talking with the NPCs. The player can also do other activities such as purchasing horses, exploring the outskirts to face enemies and collect items, or go fishing to gather valuable materials or form bonds with other officers.[10][11]

The game uses a Full 3D Map of the Warring States period of Japan for situational explanations. By moving the camera across the map, players are able to view the lands where battles have been held from various angles.

Story

Like the main series, Spirit of Sanada explores and romanticizes the Sengoku period of Japan, a period of political and military conflict involving the daimyōs and their clans raising armies to fight against each other for power. While the main series features multiple viewpoints involving different factions, Spirit of Sanada focuses on one particular clan, the Sanada, who are led by Masayuki and his sons, Nobuyuki and Yukimura during the Sengoku period. The game's timeline is roughly 54 years (from 1561 to 1615) and follows different incarnations of the main characters, who are aged up accordingly.[12]

Characters

The game features the entire cast of Samurai Warriors 4 and its expansions and adds three new playable officers. There are also several different incarnations of the existing ones to fit the game's timeline. Altogether, the cast amounts to 61, not including the different incarnations.[13][14] The new characters are:

Returning characters
SWSW2SW3SW4
Goemon IshikawaGinchiyo TachibanaAyaHisahide Matsunaga
Hanzō HattoriGraciaHanbei TakenakaKagekatsu Uesugi
Hideyoshi ToyotomiIeyasu Tokugawa*KaiKojūrō Katakura
InaKanetsugu NaoeKanbei KurodaKoshōshō
Keiji MaedaKatsuie ShibataKiyomasa KatōLady Hayakawa
Kenshin UesugiKojirō SasakiMasanori FukushimaNaomasa Ii
KunoichiKotarō FūmaMotonari MōriNobuyuki Sanada*
Magoichi SaikaMitsunari IshidaMunenori YagyūTakakage Kobayakawa
Masamune DateMotochika ChōsokabeMuneshige TachibanaToyohisa Shimazu
Mitsuhide AkechiMusashi MiyamotoNaotora IiYoshitsugu Ōtani
Nobunaga OdaNagamasa AzaiTakatora Tōdō
NōNeneUjiyasu Hōjō
OichiSakon Shima
OkuniToshiie Maeda
Ranmaru MoriYoshihiro Shimazu
Shingen Takeda
Tadakatsu Honda
Yoshimoto Imagawa
Yukimura Sanada*

(*) = Available in child, and young and older adult incarnations

Reception
Reception
Aggregate scores
AggregatorScore
GameRankings(PS4) 73.67%[15]
Metacritic(PS4) 74/100[16]
Review scores
PublicationScore
Destructoid8.5/10[17]
Famitsu35/40[18]
Hardcore Gamer4/5[19]

Samurai Warriors: Spirit of Sanada has received positive critical reception, with Famitsu giving a score of 35 out of 40 in all versions of the game.[18] During the first week of release in Japan, the PS4 version of the game sold 26,682 physical retail copies, ranking fourth place amongst all Japanese software sales within that week, whilst the PS Vita version sold 13,049 physical retail copies, and the PS3 version sold 11,040 physical retail copies.[20]

gollark: I *think* the way it manages it is by having items mostly depend on items "below" them somehow, and there mostly being one way to make a thing.
gollark: I wonder how factorio does it. It automatically assembles items from stuff you have.
gollark: In wyvern you can use `c(raft)` to, amazingly, run `turtle.craft`.
gollark: (it was a joke)
gollark: Even better: I've already implemented it.

References
  1. "Samurai Warriors: Spirit of Sanada releases on PS4 in Europe on 26th May". PlayStation Blog. February 16, 2017. Retrieved February 17, 2017.
  2. "DW8: Empires, Samurai Warriors: Spirit of Sanada, And Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate Headed To Switch". Siliconera. 2017-08-25. Retrieved 2017-08-25.
  3. "Samurai Warriors: Sanada Maru To Release In Japan On November 23, 2016". Siliconera. August 4, 2016. Retrieved August 5, 2016.
  4. "Koei Tecmo to Release Toukiden 2, Atelier Firis, Nights of Azure 2, Samurai Warriors: Sanada Maru Games in the West". Anime News Network. September 9, 2016. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
  5. "Samurai Warriors: Sanada Maru announced for PS4, PS3, and PS Vita". Gematsu. July 12, 2016. Retrieved August 5, 2016.
  6. "『戦国無双 ～真田丸～』PV第1弾". YouTube. August 4, 2016. Retrieved August 5, 2016.
  7. "『戦国無双 〜真田丸〜』（PS4/PS3/PS Vita版）". 『戦国無双 〜真田丸〜』公式サイト (in Japanese). Retrieved 2017-05-02.
  8. "SAMURAI WARRIORS: Spirit of Sanada". SAMURAI WARRIORS: Spirit of Sanada Official Site. Retrieved 2017-06-08.
  9. "SAMURAI WARRIORS: Spirit of Sanada Interview - Running @4K on PS4 Pro & PC". Wccftech. 2017-05-04. Retrieved 2017-06-08.
  10. "PS4/PS3/PS Vita Exclusive Samurai Warriors: Sanada Maru Gets First Direct Feed Screenshots and Info". Dual Shockers. July 14, 2016. Retrieved August 5, 2016.
  11. "Samurai Warriors: Sanada Maru Announced For PS4, PS3, PS Vita, Gets Its First Details And Screens". Siliconera. July 14, 2016. Retrieved August 5, 2016.
  12. "SAMURAI WARRIORS: Spirit of Sanada". SAMURAI WARRIORS: Spirit of Sanada Official Site. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  13. "SAMURAI WARRIORS: Spirit of Sanada". SAMURAI WARRIORS: Spirit of Sanada Official Site. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  14. Samurai Warriors: Spirit of Sanada Official Character Gameplay Trailer - IGN Video, retrieved 2017-05-01
  15. "Samurai Warriors: Spirit of Sanada for PlayStation 4". GameRankings. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
  16. "Samurai Warriors: Spirit of Sanada Critic Reviews for PlayStation 4". Metacritic. Retrieved May 23, 2017.
  17. Veron, Red (May 24, 2017). "Review: Samurai Warriors: Spirit of Sanada". Destructoid.
  18. Romano, Sal (November 15, 2016). "Famitsu Review Scores: Issue 1459". Gematsu.
  19. Bohn, Jason (May 23, 2017). "Review: Samurai Warriors: Spirit of Sanada". Hardcore Gamer. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
  20. 2016-11-30, Media Create Sales: 11/21/16 – 11/27/16, Gematsu
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