Team Ninja is famous for its Ninja Gaiden trilogy, and more recently the highly acclaimed Soulslike Nioh series. Both of these games are incredibly tough, with an emphasis on patience and determination. Koei Tecmo, on the other hand, has years of experience with its hack-and-slash Dynasty Warriors franchise, a series that has drawn criticism for its perceived repetitive nature and the lack of depth to its combat. Despite the criticism though, it has a loyal fan base and has well over 10 titles in its catalog. The series focuses on the Three Kingdoms era of China, and the fierce warlords that did battle with each throughout that period of history. This same historical period provides the backdrop for Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, with the story focusing specifically on the early part of the Three Kingdoms era, before its generals and warlords became famous names.
So far, only one teaser trailer has been shown alongside an interview with the developers. Eagle-eyed fans will have spotted the legendary Chinese warlord Lu Bu at the end of the trailer, and his inclusion throws up some interesting possibilities. Fans of the Dynasty Warriors franchise will instantly recognize Lu Bu as the most fearsome and lethal warlord in all the Three Kingdoms. His entrance onto the battlefield, on his crimson red horse known as Red Hare, usually signaled fear, panic, and absolute chaos among enemy soldiers. However, despite coming face-to-face with him many times throughout the Warriors series, hack-and-slash combat meant a lot of these confrontations ended with the player either button-mashing their way to victory or just running away. The prospect of fighting Lu Bu with a more responsive, complex, and nuanced combat system is a mouth-watering one.
Fighting Lu Bu Could be Special
So far, very little is known about Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty's combat. The developer has confirmed that the emphasis will be on fast, intense fights that will leave the player with an overwhelming sense of accomplishment. Masaaki Yamagiwa, the development producer who also worked on Bloodborne, has stated that the combat will have 'a feeling of life or death.' For Soulslike fans, this will sound awfully familiar.
Given Team Ninja's history, it's probably a safe bet to assume players will be getting a familiar combat system that comes with several stances, and some kind of stamina management system. If a boss encounter with Lu Bu is done correctly, with emphasis placed on his moveset and speed, as well as getting the arena and score right, the battle could prove to be right up there with some of FromSoftware's best boss battles.
As well as having to contend with some highly skilled generals from the Three Kingdoms era, the game will also include supernatural enemies too, known as 'fiends'. Their inclusion is intended to 'increase the scale' of the combat. This again throws up some interesting options in terms of enemy design, especially if the developer decides to mix the two enemy types together. A supernatural version of Lu Bu, Guan Yu, or any of the other Warriors generals facing down the player would be quite the spectacle. The developer has also stated that there will not be such an abundance of loot as in some other Soulslike games. This will be music to the ears of many gamers who spent hours upon hours navigating Nioh's convoluted loot system. In terms of weapon and armor types, less is often more in games such as this one.
The game is also confirmed to include a character creator, as well as multiplayer options similar to those found in Nioh 2, in a bid to allow gamers to seek help from more skilled players should they get stuck. Those who have foreseen this game becoming another classic, tough-as-nails Team Ninja game to join Nioh and Ninja Gaiden may well point toward this as proof that they will be correct. Thankfully, players shouldn't have to wait long before they find out, with a free game trial for Wo Long coming in the near future. The blend of Koei Tecmo's Warriors, with Team Ninja-style challenging combat, is an intriguing mixture which could yield some spectacular results. A showdown with Lu Bu could be on the horizon, and gamers will be hoping it's one to remember.
Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is currently in development.