What is Musou Game Meaning?
Musou game is sub-genre of hack-n-slash, which players fight large waves of enemies on screen. Koei Tecmo is what started the term Musou with their popular franchise Dynasty Warriors. Dynasty Warriors is based off Chinese novel “Ronamce of the Three Kingdom” which historical figures battle for territory. It’s a retelling of the novel and become Omega Force and Koei prized titles. While first Dynasty Warrior (1997) on PS1 was a fighting game afterwards sequel released in 2000 turn into a hack n slash. Core concept of Musou is defeating enemies with different sets of characters based on classes like Commander and more. Musou games are free-roam and have built-in mechanics like riding horse along with perks as well. Fun part is learning each character’s playstyle and abilities to utilize in battle.
You can say that beat’em up is part of Musou games as well. Each mode game has a story mode like One Piece Pirate Warrior series. There is also free mode which you can select different characters but there is a limit in some games. Online multiplayer is apart of Musou games which are co-op but probably fight each other as well (let me know in comments). I have recently played Dynasty Warriors 8 Free Alliances, which is a free-to- play version of the game. My first impression of the game is average, it’s nothing great-breaking but what can you expect from Musou game. My favorite character is Dong Zhuo who uses bombs in battle and reminds me of Blackbeard from One Piece. There were some game modes like Invaders, Raid and Defenders.
Other Musou Titles
Don’t play with chaos difficulty because you will lose quickly. Anyways, feel free to play Alliance or buy the game on PlayStation 4, PC and Xbox One along with Nintendo Switch. There are other titles included incensed from different anime or video games from Musou franchise. Let’s start off with Samurai Warriors and Warriors Orochi franchises, personally I haven’t played either of these. There is an anime based on Samurai Warriors released in 2015 and loosely adaptation 4-11. I have seen this anime based wasn’t fan of it but you can watch it or buy on Dvd. Just like One Piece, where there is Gundam, Fist of the North Star, Arslan, Berserk and Attack on Titan. Video game franchises goes, there is Hyrule Warriors based on Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda.
Square Enix’s Dragon Quest Heroes along with Atlus’s Persona 5 Strikers are apart of the Musou franchise. How can I forget another Nintendo IP Fire Emblem Warriors. There is a crossover called Warriors All-Stars that features characters from Dead or Alive, Nioh, Beyond the Stream of Time and Atelier series. Koei Temco collaborated with different companies to bring musou experience to fans of these franchises. Capcom has their own musou game called Sengoku Basara which features two protagonists Date Masamune and Sanada Yukimura. Also Oda Nobunaga is the main antagonist of the series. Tamsoft sort of have a musou like game called Senran Kagura. Senran Kagura is very popular franchise in Japan which is known for its fanservice and all-female cast.
Is Musou Game Boring?
Basely, it’s based on female ninja that faces off against one another and etc. The question is that musou games are boring, well I have to admit that combat can be repetitive and jarring at times. Facing off 100 enemies on screen is wild and filling your musou gauge to unleash power attacks which blow your opponents away. Yes, you have to fight numbers of foes to capture turf and have the game tell you that your teammates are in trouble. Sometimes AI didn’t listen to your commands during battle and act on their own. Sometimes I feel certain characters are overpowered than others because stats or weapons they use. I do agree that Musou games never going to change but that’s how they function. What can you expect from a franchise that wants to keep things grounded instead of making changes
I didn’t see Musou game genre even changing but keep things same as always. If you don’t like overall genre then go play something else. Did you know that Dynasty Warriors Origins has been praised for a much-needed overhaul and improved on different things. I would say that’s a big step for Musou series. The game added new strategic and combat to help players in battle along with customization. Origins make people want to get back on the franchise just like Digimon Story Time Stranger which is huge improvement over Hacker’s Memory. Dynasty Warriors: Origins are available now on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Pc and Nintendo Switch 2 (2026). I understand felt that Musou type video games can turn off people and offer nothing new for newcomers or veterans.
Closing
Musou games can be still enjoyable to play offline or with a friend. Look at Origins, that’s perfect example of a video game genre that was stagnated but change overtime. I have played some Musou titles in my time but had no problem with them. Attack on Titan was great and wished to play the sequel. What is your thoughts on Musou game in general? Let me know in the comment section and thank you reading this blogpost. Tune into the next one from your truly.
- Act fast as the unprecedented size and scale of enemy armies overwhelm the battlefield.
- Coordinate with allied armies and deploy battle tactics in real time while slicing through waves of soldiers in the most tension-filled fights in DYNASTY WARRIORS history!
- For the first time in a DYNASTY WARRIORS title, the storyline will be told through the eyes of a “nameless hero”
