What do you need to know about Warriors Orochi?

What is old will become new again! Warriors Orochi 4 is coming back in 2020 as Warriors Orochi 4 Ultimate. You know that “second verse, same as the first” from “I’m Henry VIII, I am?” Well, I suppose you could say this is something like that. But why would it be so similar? And what sets Warriors Orochi apart from all of the other Omega Force Musou games out there? Michibiku is here to help with that.

What makes Warriors Orochi different from normal Musou games?

Think of Warriors Orochi as a greatest hits sort of compilation. People love Dynasty Warriors. People love Samurai Warriors. This spin-off allows everyone from not only those two lines, but other Koei Tecmo games to all fight together. Orochi, a legendary evil dragon, and a whole bunch of supernatural mumbo jumbo brings everyone together to a shared time and place to fight evil.

Initially, this meant only Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors participated, letting people have dream teams and see fan favorite characters interact. Once Warriors Orochi 3 arrived, though, Omega Force got crazy. Ninja Gaiden characters like Ryu Hayabusa and Ayane showed up. So did SoulCalibur’s Sophitia and Atelier Rorona’s Sterk. Dead or Alive’s Kasumi showed up. So did the mythological Achilles and the historical Joan of Arc. Warriors Orochi 4 crosses another line by adding actual gods, like Odin and Zeus. It’s a lot.

Why are there so many different versions of these games?

Saying “to make money” would probably be one accurate and easy answer. When subsequent versions of Warriors Orochi games are released, they tend to bring the game to new systems. Extra characters and modes are typically offered as an excuse to  get some people to opt in again or make the new port a little more enticing.

For example, Warriors Orochi 3 first appeared on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Its first port brought it to the PlayStation Portable and added two more characters and a Battle Royale mode. Its second took it to the Wii U with a competitive Duel Mode and another two characters. The final version, Warriors Orochi 3: Ultimate, eventually brought it to the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita and Xbox One. When it did, it brought two new side-stories, eight more characters and more stages.

How many Warriors Orochi games are there?

If you don’t count all of the extra releases, there are five Warriors Orochi games. But, since we obviously will, that number goes up to nine.

Warriors Orochi (PS2 and Xbox 360, 2007)

The first Warriors Orochi kicked things off by having 79 Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors coming together to fight Orochi and his army after all supernaturally being pulled out of their own proper times and places and dropped into an entirely new one. People get to hack-and-slash their way through four storylines.

While Warriors Orochi was originally only on consoles, two ports appeared in 2008 worldwide. People could then find it on the PlayStation Portable and PC. However, these didn’t include any extra content.

Warriors Orochi 2 (PS2 and Xbox 360, 2008)

Guess who’s back? Back again? Orochi’s back! Even though he died, his armies are reviving him, and 92 characters from Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors have come together to fight back in five storylines.

Just like the original game, a rerelease a year later added another platform to the mix. A PlayStation Portable version was released worldwide.

Musou Orochi Z (PS3 and PC, 2009)

What’s with that title? Oh, that’s because this is the Japan-exclusive compilation of Warriors Orochi and the sequel. It had 96 characters total, more costumes and extra stages. Think of it as a means of providing a foundation for people to turn to now that future games would be on a new generation of systems.

Warriors Orochi 3 (PS3 and Xbox 360, 2011)

Even more eight-headed dragons have arrived. Except this time, Hydra is our new foe. (Don’t exactly rule Orochi out either, though!) Once all of the different versions come and go, 145 characters from Koei Tecmo, other games and mythology show up to fight against evil.

Now is when the tomfoolery begins. Warriors Orochi 3 is when Koei Tecmo decided to go overboard with rereleases. The first was the Japan-exclusive Musou Orochi 2: Special, for the PlayStation Portable. It added Battle Royale and two characters. Don’t worry about missing it, because all of its contents showed up in Warriors Orochi 3: Hyper. That’s the Wii U release that added two more characters and Duel Mode. After that, Warriors Orochi 3: Ultimate came to the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. Everything from the previous games carries over, with the additional characters, side-stories, and stages we went over earlier.

Warriors Orochi 4 (PS4, Switch, Xbox One and PC, 2018)

Just when the various Dynasty Warriors, Samurai Warriors, gods and other video game characters thought they were out, Zeus pulls them back in. Perseus is attempting to use the eight Ouroboros bracelets Zeus had to have the newly arrived heroes fight back. I think you can see where this is going. 170 showed up in the first version, while 177 appeared for the updated version.

Ah, yes, the updated version of Warriors Orochi 4. That’s the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC new version with extra characters, modes and stories.