Samurai Warriors: Sanada Maru

[ChupathingyX]

A couple of days ago the newest entry in the Samurai Warriors 4 spinoffs released in Japan, Samurai Warriors: Sanada Maru, which was released to coincide with the Japanese taiga drama Sanada Maru [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanada_Maru_(Taiga_drama)], which closely coincides to the 200th anniversary of the Siege of Osaka [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Osaka].
The main website can be viewed here. [http://www.gamecity.ne.jp/sanadamaru/]

An English release has been announced, however, the actual release date is still simply "2017".


The biggest additions/changes to the gameplay system include the introduction of a day/night cycle which effects the objectives and flow of battles. Some characters now age as they progress through the story and in the case of Yukimura it appears that some may have slight moveset changes to go along with this (Ieyasu has also received a new older model but there is no CG image for it that I know of).

Spoiler: Yukimura and Nobuyuki's new aged models

The game also features a town system where various upgrades can be performed as well as minigames which unlock characters and other benefits.
Despite focusing on the Sanada clan, and the leadup to the Siege of Osaka, the game will still feature all of the other characters.

Now for the fun part: new characters.

First up we have Masayuki Sanada, famous strategist, Takeda retainer and father of Yukimura and Nobuyuki, and one of the first proper Takeda retainer characters to be featured in the series.
He uses a poleaxe as his weapon.

Spoiler: Masayuki, middle aged and old

Next we have Chacha, AKA Lady Yodo, was the daughter of Nagamasa Azai and Oichi, concubine to Hideyoshi, and mother of Hideyori Toyotomi. She supported Hideyori as leader for the 'pro-Toyotomi' forces during the Siege of Osaka.
She uses her hairpin as a weapon.

Spoiler: Chacha, child and adult

Next up we have Sasuke Sarutobi, Sanada ninja and probably the most famous of the Sanada Ten Braves [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanada_Ten_Braves].
He uses arm blades as his weapon.

Spoiler: Sasuke

Next is Katsuyori Takeda, son of Shingen Takeda and successor of the Takeda clan after Shingen's death. Katsuyori achieved a string of successes after Shingen's death but eventually suffered a devastating defeat at Nagashino.
Unlike the other characters, Katsuyori did not receive a new weapon and instead uses the same spear moveset as other generic NPC officers. His design is also a slightly edited version of what he wore in SW4.

Spoiler: Katsuyori Takeda

Next we have Hidetada Tokugawa, son and successor of Ieyasu Tokugawa and 2nd Shogun of Japan. Similarly to Katsuyori, Hidetada does not have a new weapon, instead using the generic sword moveset.

Spoiler: Hidetada young and older

Lastly, while not a playable character, we have Lady Muramatsu, elder sister of Yukimura and Nobuyuki and known for the extended correspondence with Yukimura throughout his life.

Spoiler: Lady Muramatsu child and adult

 

[Saelune]

Yeah, super excited for this game. I hope the age thing becomes a main thing in the main Dynasty and Samurai Warrior games. I wanna see old Zhao Yun.

Also excited that Sasuke and Cha-Cha are characters now. Cha Cha I am most curious of, since well, she ties alot of characters together, ie Hideyoshi, Oichi, Nagamasa and Hideyori. Her sister also ties in the Tokugawa family. Through her all 3 of the "great lords" are legally related. I also wonder how Nene will be portrayed now that her love rival is a character.

This game mostly makes me want Samurai Warriors 5 more than anything.

 

[Hades]

I'm a bit skeptical. The game looks like it has some good things like Masayuki finally being there and characters visually aging in the story but I always think it has one big problem.

Its a Sanada focused game.

I just don't think the Sanada are interesting enough to carry a whole game by themselves. Yukimura has always been a pretty bland character and his brother never really blew my socks off either. The Sanada already had their time to shine, Sw4 already gave them a good amount of focus and they even got their own anime. We already know all there is to know about the Sanada and they actually miss out on most big events in the story. Only in the very last arc of the story could you say the Sanada are important.
Rather then focus on the Sanada they should have taken the formula this game is going with and use it on another clan that needs the extra attention like the Date or Mori, two infinitely bigger fish then the Sanada who also house popular characters like Masamune and Motonari.

 

[Saelune]

I'm a bit skeptical. The game looks like it has some good things like Masayuki finally being there and characters visually aging in the story but I always think it has one big problem.

Its a Sanada focused game.

I just don't think the Sanada are interesting enough to carry a whole game by themselves. Yukimura has always been a pretty bland character and his brother never really blew my socks off either. The Sanada already had their time to shine, Sw4 already gave them a good amount of focus and they even got their own anime. We already know all there is to know about the Sanada and they actually miss out on most big events in the story. Only in the very last arc of the story could you say the Sanada are important.
Rather then focus on the Sanada they should have taken the formula this game is going with and use it on another clan that needs the extra attention like the Date or More, two infinitely bigger fish then the Sanada who also house popular characters like Masamune and Motonari.

Well, its to celebrate actual history AND a tie in to a Japanese historical drama.

Im just taking it as the actual SW4XL. Plus basically every character added is from my list of characters they should add sooner than later list.

Plus they are action games. I dont see how many battles they can make out of Masamune politically undermining the Tokugawa during the start of the Edo period.

 

[Hades]

I'm a bit skeptical. The game looks like it has some good things like Masayuki finally being there and characters visually aging in the story but I always think it has one big problem.

Its a Sanada focused game.

I just don't think the Sanada are interesting enough to carry a whole game by themselves. Yukimura has always been a pretty bland character and his brother never really blew my socks off either. The Sanada already had their time to shine, Sw4 already gave them a good amount of focus and they even got their own anime. We already know all there is to know about the Sanada and they actually miss out on most big events in the story. Only in the very last arc of the story could you say the Sanada are important.
Rather then focus on the Sanada they should have taken the formula this game is going with and use it on another clan that needs the extra attention like the Date or More, two infinitely bigger fish then the Sanada who also house popular characters like Masamune and Motonari.

Well, its to celebrate actual history AND a tie in to a Japanese historical drama.

Im just taking it as the actual SW4XL. Plus basically every character added is from my list of characters they should add sooner than later list.

Plus they are action games. I dont see how many battles they can make out of Masamune politically undermining the Tokugawa during the start of the Edo period.

I know its to tie in with a drama but I think some Sanada bias could be found there as well. When SW4 debuted the Kuroda got their own drama but all Kanbei got was an extra costume.

With Masamune I was talking more about his rise to power in the north. He had plenty of rivals and drama there. His evil mom could make a great villain which would get some interesting development out of Masamune. His status as little brat who seems to gradually age a little more with each game also makes him pretty ideal for the introduction of characters aging in the same game.

 

[Saelune]

I'm a bit skeptical. The game looks like it has some good things like Masayuki finally being there and characters visually aging in the story but I always think it has one big problem.

Its a Sanada focused game.

I just don't think the Sanada are interesting enough to carry a whole game by themselves. Yukimura has always been a pretty bland character and his brother never really blew my socks off either. The Sanada already had their time to shine, Sw4 already gave them a good amount of focus and they even got their own anime. We already know all there is to know about the Sanada and they actually miss out on most big events in the story. Only in the very last arc of the story could you say the Sanada are important.
Rather then focus on the Sanada they should have taken the formula this game is going with and use it on another clan that needs the extra attention like the Date or More, two infinitely bigger fish then the Sanada who also house popular characters like Masamune and Motonari.

Well, its to celebrate actual history AND a tie in to a Japanese historical drama.

Im just taking it as the actual SW4XL. Plus basically every character added is from my list of characters they should add sooner than later list.

Plus they are action games. I dont see how many battles they can make out of Masamune politically undermining the Tokugawa during the start of the Edo period.

I know its to tie in with a drama but I think some Sanada bias could be found there as well. When SW4 debuted the Kuroda got their own drama but all Kanbei got was an extra costume.

With Masamune I was talking more about his rise to power in the north. He had plenty of rivals and drama there. His evil mom could make a great villain which would get some interesting development out of Masamune. His status as little brat who seems to gradually age a little more with each game also makes him pretty ideal for the introduction of characters aging in the same game.

I still think thats too small scale for a whole game. Even if late to the party, the Sanada fight alot of big names.

Though if they perhaps wanted to make a game devoted to smaller side stuff, that would be neat. Expand on the Date, Mori, Shimazu, and a couple others, besides the Oda, Toyotomi, and Tokugawa.

 

[ChupathingyX]

I also wonder how Nene will be portrayed now that her love rival is a character.

From what I've gathered the 'relationship' between Chacha and Hideyoshi is mostly brushed over or outright ignored, with Hideyoshi serving as her 'guardian' and Chacha being treated as just another Toyotomi supporter. In both Dynasty and Samurai Warriors I don't believe Koei have ever depicted a polygamous relationship, and it doesn't look like they intend to start anytime soon.

I still think thats too small scale for a whole game. Even if late to the party, the Sanada fight alot of big names.

Though if they perhaps wanted to make a game devoted to smaller side stuff, that would be neat. Expand on the Date, Mori, Shimazu, and a couple others, besides the Oda, Toyotomi, and Tokugawa.

The Sanada were relatively insignificant to many other clans at the time, especially the Mori and Shimazu. Yes, they did fight against many major figures but that's because they were generally retainers of other large clans. You could very easily make a game out of just the Shimazu, Mori, Date, Hojo, Takeda etc., more so than the Sanada. The problem with many of those clans is the fact that the regions they're in just aren't given enough focus. Tohoku and northern Japan in general is pretty bare outside of the Date (who only have 2 reps), Kyushu has four reps despite there being plenty of major factions there, and the Mori were involved in almost every major and minor clan west/south of the capital to some degree, yet they only have 2 reps, and there isn't a single other Chugoku rep to be seen.

 

[Saelune]

I also wonder how Nene will be portrayed now that her love rival is a character.

From what I've gathered the 'relationship' between Chacha and Hideyoshi is mostly brushed over or outright ignored, with Hideyoshi serving as her 'guardian' and Chacha being treated as just another Toyotomi supporter. In both Dynasty and Samurai Warriors I don't believe Koei have ever depicted a polygamous relationship, and it doesn't look like they intend to start anytime soon.

I still think thats too small scale for a whole game. Even if late to the party, the Sanada fight alot of big names.

Though if they perhaps wanted to make a game devoted to smaller side stuff, that would be neat. Expand on the Date, Mori, Shimazu, and a couple others, besides the Oda, Toyotomi, and Tokugawa.

The Sanada were relatively insignificant to many other clans at the time, especially the Mori and Shimazu. Yes, they did fight against many major figures but that's because they were generally retainers of other large clans. You could very easily make a game out of just the Shimazu, Mori, Date, Hojo, Takeda etc., more so than the Sanada. The problem with many of those clans is the fact that the regions they're in just aren't given enough focus. Tohoku and northern Japan in general is pretty bare outside of the Date (who only have 2 reps), Kyushu has four reps despite there being plenty of major factions there, and the Mori were involved in almost every major and minor clan west/south of the capital to some degree, yet they only have 2 reps, and there isn't a single other Chugoku rep to be seen.

As for the second part, Im just going based on what battles Samurai Warriors already features. Tons of battles are not in the game because they want to use the characters already unique to them. Otherwise they tend to shoe-horn in unique characters that historically were not there, or were dubiously involved at best.

They dont have any Miyoshi members as unique characters yet, and SW4 is the first to do much with them, only by using the newly added Koshosho and Hisahide. And they threw in Goemon into one of the fights just cause.

 

[BrawlMan]

This looks better than the lazy expansion that was Samurai Warriors 4-II. I don't care much for the Empires expansions either. As long as the campaign is actually a decent length, I might consider getting this one.