Warriors Orochi 2

Warriors Orochi 2
Warriors Orochi 2 North American box art
Developer(s)	Koei, Omega Force
Publisher(s)	Koei
Series	Dynasty Warriors, Samurai Warriors, Warriors Orochi
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2, Xbox 360, PlayStation Portable
Release date(s)	PlayStation 2 JP April 3, 2008[1] EU September 19, 2008[2] NA September 23, 2008[3] Xbox 360 JP September 4, 2008 EU September 19, 2008 NA September 23, 2008[3] PlayStation Portable JP November 27, 2008 NA August 28, 2009 EU September 4, 2009
Genre(s)	Hack and slash
Rating(s)	CERO: B ESRB: T PEGI: 12+
Media/distribution	1 DVD-ROM (PlayStation 2, Xbox 360) 1 UMD, Digital Download (PlayStation Portable)

Warriors Orochi 2^[4] (無双OROCHI魔王再臨, Musō Orochi Maō Sairin^?, lit. Unmatched Orochi: Rebirth of the Demon Lord) is a 2008 video game developed by Koei (now Koei-Tecmo) and Omega Force for the Sony PlayStation 2. It is the sequel to Warriors Orochi, a crossover video game of the Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors series. The game was released on September 23 in North America and September 19 in Europe. A version for the Xbox 360 was released on September 4, 2008 in Japan, and alongside the PS2 releases in North America and Europe. A PSP version has been released in Japan, North America and Europe.

Characters

See also: List of Dynasty Warriors characters, List of Samurai Warriors characters, and List of Warriors Orochi characters

This game starts with the defeat of Orochi at the end of the first game, the new land consisting of the warriors from the Three Kingdoms Era of China and the Warring States period of Japan found peace. It was, however, not destined to last. Former officers under the Orochi army broke away and formed their own armies, while others not affiliated with Orochi began to create armies of their own as well. All the while, an evil plot is in motion behind the scenes, to revive the greatest evil the world has ever known: Orochi himself.

The first Warriors Orochi boasts a roster of 79 playable characters spanning both the Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors series. This game introduces a total of 13 new characters, including characters new to the Warriors franchise. Along with all the characters from the first game returning, 92 characters encompass the roster of Warriors Orochi 2.

Several existing characters from the Warriors games that did not appear in Warriors Orochi make their debut in the sequel. For the first time since Dynasty Warriors 3, Fu Xi and Nu Wa^[1] are playable, complete with updated character models. Additionally, because this game is released after Samurai Warriors 2: Xtreme Legends, Yoshimoto Imagawa's updated character model, Kojiro Sasaki, Katsuie Shibata, Toshiie Maeda , Motochika Chōsokabe and Gracia^[1] are included.

In addition, there are other characters, new to the Warriors franchise, that appear as well:

• Taigong Wang^[1], also known as Jiang Ziya, was a legendary military strategist and the most famous Prime Minister from the Zhou Dynasty of China. He is the one who can easily outmatch Da Ji's strategic thinking and ordered her execution personally in their own world. He has a rather cocky and egotistic personality. He uses a fishing rod as a weapon.
• Kiyomori Taira^[1] was a military general from the Heian Period of Japan. He is allied with Orochi and is part of his resurrection. He uses a set of gigantic prayer beads as a weapon.
• Yoshitsune Minamoto^[1] was another military general from the Heian Period, opposing Kiyomori. He can fight Lu Bu in an even match and even unscathed, which surprised Wu. He wields a lightsaber-like gauntlet that is attached to his arm and can fire energy projectiles with it. He is a rather typical samurai.
• Sun Wukong^[1], also known as The "Monkey King", is the main character from Journey to the West, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature (which includes Romance of the Three Kingdoms). As in every incarnation of him, he utilizes his famous Jingu Staff as his weapon. In order to be released from confinement by Kiyomori, Sun Wukong fights for the Orochi army.
• Himiko^[1] was the ancient Japanese shaman queen known for her relationship with the Kingdom of Wei of China. She utilizes a set of energy-firing Dogu dolls. She has a sister-like relationship with Da Ji and both are very protective of each other.
• Orochi X (Shin Orochi in Japanese version) is the revived form of Orochi. Having been revived by Kiyomori Taira and Da Ji, this new form of Orochi is more powerful and evil than before. He utilizes his same scythe as his first form, but has a more powerful moveset.

There are also two characters, Dodomeki and Gyuki, that are playable only in Survival and VS modes only. They are modeled after two new classes of Orochi generic generals. Dodomeki is a speed-type character that shares a similar moveset to Kotaro Fuma, while Gyuki is a power-type character that possess a unique moveset.

New Game modes

In addition to the Story, Free and Gallery Modes from the first game, there are other new modes of gameplay:

New Weapon Upgrades and Fusions

A feature introduced in the first Warriors Orochi, upgrading and modifying weapons has been given a new twist by fulfilling the requirement for a much better skill imbued on a weapon.

Treasure Hunt Side Quests

In addition to normal game objectives and missions on each map, hidden Treasures are placed on each map. Each map has different hidden Treasures.

Versus mode

A feature from Dynasty Warriors 4 and the original Samurai Warriors, Versus Mode pits two players against each other in four separate modes. Players can select teams of three characters different from each other.

Tag Team and Elimination

This mode pits two players against each other in a traditional fighting game (which the very first Dynasty Warriors is). Tag Team gives each player three characters as a team, while Elimination gives players one character each.

Tower

The objective of this game mode is to knock out more enemies than the opponent.

Steeple Chase

Steeple Chase resembles a traditional arcade style racing game. Two players ride horses and race to the finish line. Items are available in-game to give players added abilities.

Survival mode

Survival mode follows the same concepts of Tag Team. The difference is the number of computer opponents is infinite.

Dream Mode

In the all-new Dream Mode, players can select three of the available 92 characters in this game and play through a special scenario tailored to the chosen team. None of the characters that appear outside the Three Kingdoms and Sengoku periods are part of any teams. There are 28 stages total.

Stages

Twenty new stages are included in the sequel. Most of the stages were brought over from Dynasty Warriors 5: Xtreme Legends and Samurai Warriors 2 Xtreme Legends. Most, if not all, stages from the first Warriors Orochi return in the stories, while others are used in Dream Mode stages.

Costumes

Unlike the first game's character palette swaps, Warriors Orochi 2 features different costumes for each character. Each character has three costumes; the same 2 palette swap costumes as in the first game return, and a different costume that is either their Dynasty Warriors 4 costume or their Samurai Warriors costume (with the exceptions of Oichi and Masamune Date). Characters that debuted after Dynasty Warriors 4 or the original Samurai Warriors have new alternate costumes entirely. To unlock these 3rd costumes, the characters must have their proficiency at level 10.

To promote Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce, the PSP version. Warriors Orochi 2 features the Musou Awakening forms of Zhao Yun, Xiahou Dun and Sun Shang Xiang as usable costumes, unlocked by completing the story modes.

U.S. & European & Taiwan Versions

The U.S. & European & Taiwan releases have additional features exclusively to the PSP version of the game. These features include the addition of the Japanese voices, an installation to the Memory Stick Duo to decrease load times, and additional characters, such as Benkei and Sanzang Fashi, and contents from the unreleased Warriors Orochi Z which KOEI announced that it will not be released outside Japan. ^[5]

Reception

Reception
Review scores
Publication	Score
Official Xbox Magazine	5.5/10

As of July 9, 2008, the game has sold 946,131 copies in Japan, according to Famitsu.^[6][7]

See also

• List of Warriors Orochi characters

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h} Official Musou Orochi Maou Sairin Website
2. ^ Official English Website
3. ^ ^{a b} KOEI Warriors Fansite
4. ^ "Koei Co. Ltd - Warriors Orochi 2". 2008-05-21. http://www.koei.com/company/pressitem.cfm?id=083ABFA6-3048-7B3D-C5FF57653D75F7DD. 
5. ^ Spencer, "Koei Cancels Warriors Orochi Z For North America", Siliconera. 2009-06-09.
6. ^ Weekly Famitsu, issue 1020
7. ^ "Sony PS2 Japanese Ranking". Japan Game Charts. 2008-07-30. http://www.japan-gamecharts.com/ps2.php. Retrieved 2008-08-03. 

External links

• Official Warriors Orochi 2 website (English)
• Official Musou Orochi - Maou Sairin website (Japanese)
• KOEI Warriors - Musou Orochi - Maou Sairin section (English)