Product Description: A great showcase for the PlayStation2 platform, Dynasty Warriors 3 is both a terrific hole-up-for-the-weekend title and a good multiplayer party game. The developers must have been busy with many a user test and feedback survey form: most of the features people complained about in DW2 have been overhauled or tweaked. These improvements mixed with the addition of the two-player option make this a truly great PS2 title. If you liked the last version, you'll be enthralled with this combination of compelling story and complex martial arts action.
Parents--and anyone else interested in a game that's a little more socially redeeming than some of the current fare--take note: Dynasty Warriors 3 is loosely based on remarkable Chinese legends. The violence is well-done and subtle, and playing this game could actually cause your kid to pick up a book (something other than a strategy guide).
Here's what's different:
New characters--and more characters--all with unique personality traits.
Great new cinematics (they're better visually, and provide a more compelling story line).
RPG-style weapons management and "found items."
Two-player games, including cooperative musou and free mode, and combative single games.
Fewer life buns, which means players must be more judicious within big battles (and you can no longer think of officers as food sources).
Important updates are now spoken aloud instead of flashing by as screen text.
More balance in the powers given to each character.
Characters have been recalibrated so that individuals other than the big bruisers--including women characters--have their own advantages. (Zhang He may even be the first gay character in one of these games, based on his killer figure-skating attack.)
Archers are now even mo
Amazon.com Review: A great showcase for the PlayStation2 platform, Dynasty Warriors 3 is both a terrific hole-up-for-the-weekend title and a good multiplayer party game. The developers must have been busy with many a user test and feedback survey form: most of the features people complained about in DW2 have been overhauled or tweaked. These improvements mixed with the addition of the two-player option make this a truly great PS2 title. If you liked the last version, you'll be enthralled with this combination of compelling story and complex martial arts action.
Parents--and anyone else interested in a game that's a little more socially redeeming than some of the current fare--take note: Dynasty Warriors 3 is loosely based on remarkable Chinese legends. The violence is well-done and subtle, and playing this game could actually cause your kid to pick up a book (something other than a strategy guide).
Here's what's different:
New characters--and more characters--all with unique personality traits.
Great new cinematics (they're better visually, and provide a more compelling story line).
RPG-style weapons management and "found items."
Two-player games, including cooperative musou and free mode, and combative single games.
Fewer life buns, which means players must be more judicious within big battles (and you can no longer think of officers as food sources).
Important updates are now spoken aloud instead of flashing by as screen text.
More balance in the powers given to each character.
Characters have been recalibrated so that individuals other than the big bruisers--including women characters--have their own advantages. (Zhang He may even be the first gay character in one of these games, based on his killer figure-skating attack.)
Archers are now even more of a threat, and are reasonably indestructible.
For many maps, you now have to be a general before even thinking of climbing on a horse.
One word: elephants
Here's what stayed the same (some of which probably should have changed):
Sparse maps that cause you to retrace your steps frequently.
The stupid Limp Bizkit-meets-Yes soundtrack.
The controls, which is only nice for those of us who built up calluses on the last version.
--Jennifer Hauseman
Amazon.com Product Description: The popular Dynasty Warriors tactical action series is back. Dynasty Warriors 3 has tons of new features and environments, adding 10 levels to the original eight and new troop types, including the terrifying elephant cavalry. You can command your bodyguards with squad-level commands, and take advantage of the improved Musou attacks. The game also features brand-new two-player cooperative and versus modes, along with endurance and time attack modes. And now, if players are caught in a combo, they can evade attacks midair. The greater variety of play modes amd moves means this version moves past the kill-or-be-killed approach of past incarnations, giving you more freedom to explore and pursue a wide variety of goals. And where in the past many scenes were available only with subtitles, the entire dramatic content of Dyanasty Warriors 3 has been dubbed in English, with an ear to psychological realism.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - Probably the best in the series, along with DW4.
Basically, this is'nt as much a review as a comparison, but here goes..
How It All Started-------------------------------------------------------
I got my start on the DW series over 5 years ago, when a family friend of ours brought over a brand new copy of DW4 for PS2...and I've been hooked on these games since. Since then I have also gotten into DW3 (rented it a long time ago).
I have tried out most others in the series from DW5 to Samurai Warriors 1 and 2 to Warriors Orochi. After trying out many of the newer titles, it becomes very clear to me that the most enjoyable and best DW games are DW3 and DW4.
Why?
One word: Simplicity (another could be Nostalgia)
The Newer Games--------------------------------------------------------
While the newer games pack in around 60-80 characters, hugely customizable weapons, and new modes of gameplay, it just really comes down to quantity over quality.
As time went on, graphics quality began to suffer in favor of reduced fog (Warriors Orochi). Awesome things like Create an Officer were removed and Musou Mode was severely limited (DW6). Enemy A.I. has been dumbed-down in favor of higher difficulty (more damage from enemies) to make up the difference (DW5).
Dynasty Warriors 3 probably has the best items selection (many of the items have good tactical value). The Weapons system involves finding weapons in crates or pots or from officers(you are rewarded for exploration instead of kill count). You are rewarded for killing Gate Captains with Stat Upgrades instead of health, which in itself is more rewarding.
One more thing that makes DW3 one of the best is the high versatility of your bow. There is no bow lock-on(which i found irritating in DW4 and beyond). The bow also does a lot of damage and you are able to control it better during Musou attack.
These are small things that, for me, make DW3 the best in the series.
I also have (and recommend):
DW3:XL
DW4
DW4:XL
DW4:Empires
Rating: - It Beats the Newer Ones
Alright first off the series is worth a shot. There's up to 6 but out of the ones I've played (3-6) Dynasty Warriors 3 and 4 are must buys. The game is simple to play yet fun in my opinion. Me and my brother have had a few shares of laughs over Lu Bu, we took a run for our money. (He's the most powerful character in the game and is murder! He'd chase us over the level long after our health was in red...Stay away from him if your character isn't strong/just started with them) Now it doesn't have all those fancy smancy graphics 6 does nor can you climb latters or go into water but its not really important.(Because there's no need to) The game can be challenging, frustrating, but still fun. Highly addictive.
All you need to know is that its worth the buy, seriously.
Besides its somewhat educating because these battles actually took place in History, the people in the game existed.
Rating: - Must have, I love this game!!
I love this game! I got Dynasty Warriors 3 about four years ago and I still play it sometimes, not because I have no life, but because it's that good! I have all the dynasty warrior games up to 5, and I have to say that this is the best so far!
Rating: - The addiction is unbeatable.
This was the first PS2 game I ever bought back in June, 2002. I had played a 10 minute session of Dynasty Warriors 3 on an Official U.S. Playstation Magazine demo disc, and loved it. It was so addictive; it was a pure adrenaline rush of video game excitement that you usually only find in 2D action games. The actual game proved to best just as intoxicating. I still play it to this day, even though the game is 3½ years old. I'm not the slightest bit tired of it.
In DW3, you take control of a warrior from one of three warring factions in ancient China, and fight in battles with the other factions in a quest to unite China under your rule (and yeah, this actually happened in real life 1800 years ago). The battles take place on HUGE maps with hundreds upon hundreds of soliders in which your goal is to generally kick the crap out of anything that comes near you with your weapon of choice, and lead your army to victory. It's like a RTS game, except you're actually controlling an individual fighter instead of watching from some sort of "Godchair". It's not as depthless as it sounds, either. The combat has a large variety of normal and special attacks, as well as bow & arrow, and horse combat. There's also some 2 player modes (co-op and versus), and Endurance and Time Attack minigames.
And with 41 (!!!) memorable characters to play as, each with different fighting styles and hilarious quotes, as well as 20 levels (with different sides for each), the replay value is nearly unparalleled. IGN couldn't have said it better when they told us "years from now, you'll still be popping this game in regularly".
There are several technical problems that hold this back from a perfect score, though: There's a high amount of fog and slowdown (I suppose this is because of how many units are on screen at once), the cooperative mode (which is fun as well) makes the aforementioned problems even worse, and the procees you have to go through to find your character's 4th (ultimate) weapon is so ridiculously specific, that it's literally impossible to do without looking at an FAQ or a list of cheat codes.
I don't think that detracts from the fact that the game is BEYOND 5 stars in terms of fun. If you've ever been curious about this series, buy DW3 first. DW4 and DW5 may be more impressive in terms of presentation and graphics, but none of them have that magical, nostalgic that you get after playing 3.
"I defeated an officer."
Rating: - Dynasty Warriors 3
Ah yes, Dynasty Warriors 3. Now, before I go on I shall tell you that I am a huge fan of these hack and slash games. I had Dynasty Warriors 2 and 4 before I got 3, but what the heck, I don't care.
This game is rather interesting. Particularly seeing how high a K.O count you can get (personal record: 2218). The one problem is it is really hard to get the final weapons for final characters, and say you wanted to act a specific character (I wanted Liu Bei) I had to clear the game twice in Shu Musou mode before I could earn him. It took a while.
I like the horses in this series of games, but here, in Dynasty Warriors 3 the quality of the horses didn't seem as realistic as in the other games. They moved oddly, were too thin and looked rather like foals, not warhorses. The manes of the horses stick up in the movies, like they've been gelled.
All in all (apart from the horses) I adore the game and I recommend buying it if you are into this sort of thing!
- Probably the best in the series, along with DW4.
- The addiction is unbeatable.
