Dynasty Warriors 2
North American cover art
Developer(s)Omega Force
Publisher(s)
  • WW: Koei
  • EU: Midas Interactive Entertainment[2]
Director(s)Akihiro Suzuki
Designer(s)Kenichi Ogasawara
SeriesDynasty Warriors
Platform(s)PlayStation 2, PlayStation Network
ReleasePlayStation 2
  • JP: August 3, 2000
  • NA: October 26, 2000
  • EU: November 24, 2000
PlayStation Network
Genre(s)Hack and slash
Tactical action[3]
Mode(s)Single-player

Dynasty Warriors 2, known in Japan as Shin Sangokumusō (真・三國無双), is a crowd-combat sequel to the fighting game Dynasty Warriors. It is the second game in the Dynasty Warriors series, but the first in the Shin Sangokumusō series. The game was released in other countries as Dynasty Warriors 2, leading to the discrepancy in title numbers. In North America and Europe, it was released as a launch title for the PS2.

Gameplay

From this game onward, the player chooses a playable character general, and plays through a number of levels representing particular conflicts in the time of the three kingdoms, eventually defeating both of the other kingdoms and becoming the ruler of a unified China. However, this game isn't a one-on-one fighting game like the original Dynasty Warriors, but a beat 'em up hack and slash fighting game in full 3D, similar in genre to Fighting Force. Unlike previous games in the beat 'em up genre, Dynasty Warriors 2 allowed players the freedom to roam to any point within the limits of the current stage being played.

This game was the first to introduce Free Mode and Musou Mode to the series. The Free Mode allowed the player to replay any missions that they have already completed in Musou Mode. The Musou Mode is the character's main story, where you play as the officer until the kingdom you are fighting for has unified China. However, due to the small scale of the game at the time, many important battles were missing. This was fixed in Dynasty Warriors 3, as many of the missing battles were added there.

Characters

There are a total of 28 characters.

Shu Wei Wu Other
Guan Yu Cao Cao Gan Ning* Diao Chan
Huang Zhong* Zhang Liao* Lu Meng* Dong Zhuo*
Jiang Wei* Dian Wei Lu Xun Lu Bu
Liu Bei* Sima Yi* Sun Jian* Yuan Shao*
Ma Chao* Xiahou Dun Sun Quan* Zhang Jiao*
Zhang Fei Xiahou Yuan* Sun Shang Xiang
Zhao Yun Xu Zhu Taishi Ci
Zhuge Liang Zhou Yu

* Denotes new characters to the series
Bold denotes default characters

Stages

Many of the stages are recreations of notable battles present historically or from the novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, while original creations became more common with the newer installments. This is a list of stages in Dynasty Warriors 2.

Reception

The game received "generally favorable reviews" according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[4] Daniel Erickson of NextGen said of the game, "While it is the first third-person, 3D action game to feature a real-time battlefield, the gameplay is strictly old-school. Fun but not terribly deep."[18] In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of 31 out of 40.[9]

The game sold 300,000 units in its first six weeks of release in Japan.[20]

Notes

  1. ^ Three critics of Electronic Gaming Monthly gave the game each a score of 7.5/10, 6.5/10, and 6/10.
  2. ^ In GameFan's viewpoint of the game, three critics gave it each a score of 70, 72, and 83.

References

  1. ^ Spencer (November 28, 2012). "The Game That Started The Dynasty Warriors Empire Is Now A PS2 Classic". Siliconera. Enthusiast Gaming. Archived from the original on December 1, 2012. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
  2. ^ Bye, John "Gestalt" (October 18, 2000). "Dynasty Warriors 2 (Preview)". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on January 22, 2001. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
  3. ^ "EA Signs North American Distribution Agreement with Koei Corporation for Upcoming Tactical Action Game Samurai Warriors". GameZone. February 24, 2004.
  4. ^ a b "Dynasty Warriors 2 for PlayStation 2 Reviews". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Retrieved July 15, 2014.
  5. ^ Marriott, Scott Alan. "Dynasty Warriors 2 - Review". AllGame. All Media Network. Archived from the original on November 16, 2014. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
  6. ^ Torres, Ricardo (November 17, 2000). "Dynasty Warriors 2". Gamecenter. CNET. Archived from the original on January 27, 2001. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
  7. ^ Dudlak, Jonathan; Johnston, Chris; Hager, Dean (November 2000). "Dynasty Warriors 2" (PDF). Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 136. Ziff Davis. p. 264. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
  8. ^ Bramwell, Tom (December 29, 2000). "Dynasty Warriors II". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Retrieved July 15, 2014.
  9. ^ a b "プレイステーション2 - 真・三國無双". Famitsu (in Japanese). Vol. 915. Enterbrain. June 30, 2006. p. 86.
  10. ^ Fitzloff, Jay (November 2000). "Dynasty Warriors 2". Game Informer. No. 91. FuncoLand. Archived from the original on August 2, 2009. Retrieved July 15, 2014.
  11. ^ Weitzner, Jason "Fury" (November 2000). "Dynasty Warriors 2". GameFan. Vol. 8, no. 11. BPA International. pp. 88–89. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
  12. ^ Mylonas, Eric "ECM"; Van Stone, Matt "Kodomo"; Ngo, George "Eggo" (November 2000). "Dynasty Warriors 2". GameFan. Vol. 8, no. 11. BPA International. p. 23. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
  13. ^ The Freshman (October 19, 2000). "Dynasty Warriors 2 Review for PS2 on GamePro.com". GamePro. IDG Entertainment. Archived from the original on February 12, 2005. Retrieved July 15, 2014.
  14. ^ Dr. Moo (January 2001). "Dynasty Warriors 2 Review". GameRevolution. CraveOnline. Archived from the original on July 20, 2014. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
  15. ^ Sato, Yoshiyuki Ike (August 16, 2000). "Dynasty Warriors 2 Review [JP Import]". GameSpot. Red Ventures. Archived from the original on November 9, 2000. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
  16. ^ Garbutt, Russell (February 2, 2001). "Dynasty Warriors 2". PlanetPS2. IGN Entertainment. Archived from the original on February 15, 2001. Retrieved July 15, 2014.
  17. ^ Perry, Douglass C. (October 23, 2000). "Dynasty Warriors 2". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved July 15, 2014.
  18. ^ a b Erickson, Daniel (November 2000). "Dynasty Warriors 2". NextGen. No. 71. Imagine Media. p. 117. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
  19. ^ "Dynasty Warriors 2". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine. No. 38. Ziff Davis. November 2000.
  20. ^ "Dynasty Warriors 2 signed by Midas". midasinteractive.co.uk. August 24, 2000. Archived from the original on April 18, 2001. Retrieved June 14, 2023.

External links

Omega Force
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