Dynasty Warriors: Unleashed team doesn’t want to cut corners, despite its release on mobile

‘We want to get to the full set of 81 iconic characters’

Last year, Koei Tecmo joined with Nexon Korea and XPEC Entertainment to create “Project: Dynasty Warriors,” a mobile release of the celebrated franchise. Well it’s finally here, as earlier this month the trio launched Dynasty Warriors: Unleashed, for both Android and iOS (for once, you don’t have to choose a side). I had a chance to speak to some of the heads of each various studio to get a little insight into the production, and so far, so good.

Akihiro Suzuki, executive producer at Koei Tecmo, still wants to retain the same feel of the series regardless of the screen real estate on offer, stating, “Dynasty Warriors: Unleashed succeeded in recreating the world of Dynasty Warriors including its characters as well as the exhilarating battles of “one versus many.” These are the cornerstones of this particular series and have been widely acclaimed by our fans. At the same time, the game was fine-tuned to the smartphone interface so that the action aspect of the game is more accessible, making it very friendly to newcomers.”

Strangely, Unleashed might be more filled out than some recent Musou games, as the team is aiming to constantly add more cast members until they reach the absolute limit. Yongseok Seo at Nexon explains when quizzed about any compromises, “In fact, we are not going to make any cuts for Dynasty Warriors: Unleashed! While the game launched with 48 characters, we will keep updating the roster so that in the end everyone gets to play their favorite officer from the full set of 81 iconic characters. Which officers will be released first was a decision based on the story concept. Players get to play the Shu storyline first, so every officer you encounter during the early Shu chapters had to be prepared for release.”

You may as well give it a shot for yourself and see how long you can last without paying anything. Unleashed‘s IAP ranges from currency to items to level-up packs, so there’s plenty of ways for Nexon to monetize their audience — I just hope they don’t go overboard in the late game and scare people away. I’d love to see the Dynasty Warriors series live on as long as possible.