The Dynasty Warriors series has always centered on the Three Kingdoms: Shu, Wu, Wei, and, more recently, Jin. However, the “Other” factions have always been my favorite. What would it be like to fight alongside Zhang Jiao, Dong Zhuo, Yuan Shao, or Lu Bu? Unsung heroes who never got to achieve their goals.
With Dynasty Warriors 3 being my first entry into the series, I have eagerly awaited the chance to join these factions since the PlayStation 2 era. Previous entries let you play as these characters in Free Mode, but their stories were never fully fleshed out. Visions of Four Heroes changes that with fully realized campaigns where you alter the fate of these legendary figures. Koei Tecmo calls this a “major DLC” for Dynasty Warriors: Origins, and at $34.99, I will judge it as such.
The Four Heroes Campaigns
Visions of Four Heroes asks the question: What if these legendary figures actually achieved their goals? Every Romance of the Three Kingdoms fan wants to know, and this expansion answers it. What’s interesting is that Lu Bu’s story is possibly the shortest, which is strange considering that he’s the most popular of the four heroes. This could also be due to his end goal lacking complexity; the God of Battle cares not about unifying the land. If you’ve played his Musou Mode in Dynasty Warriors 6, you can predict exactly how things will go down here. It could be a placebo, but the English voice acting is far more digestible here than it was in the base game. Not only that, but each of the stories is fully fleshed out, and the music is still as top-tier as ever.
This DLC is pure fan service. Fighting alongside these major historical heroes and reshaping their destinies feels genuinely epic. After so many years of seeing them portrayed as opposition, experiencing their perspective is satisfying, even if it is somewhat overemphasized. Also, new companions arrive with the expansion: The Mysterious Warrior, an archer whose identity I cannot reveal in this review; Diaochan, Lu Bu’s love interest; and Zhuhe, a Guardian of Peace like the protagonist, who finally becomes a playable companion after her supporting role in the base game. While it is great to have Diaochan fighting alongside me, I haven’t been able to gauge her effectiveness in combat. Zhuhe, having already proven herself in the base game, feels like a natural fit as a full companion; she has Devil May Cry Vergil-type attacks and is very quick on her feet.
The Mysterious Warrior and Diaochan’s signature weapons, the Bow and Rope Dart, respectively, join the arsenal, bringing the total weapon count to twelve. Both are fun additions to the combat system, and because each weapon has a ton of unique battle arts, the two weapons add a lot more than you’d assume. The Bow functions as a melee weapon with sweeping slashes, but holding the block button lets you aim and fire arrows, offering a hybrid playstyle that is unlike any other weapon in the base game. The Rope Dart is incredibly fun to use, offering both precision and crowd control; it’s probably the most satisfying weapon to watch in action, with animations that feel like Omega Force spent considerable time perfecting them.
The DLC also introduces Visionary Skills, a new skill tree specifically designed for this expansion. You can upgrade the Visionary Skill tree using Visionary Skill Points, which you get from doing passive missions for Zhuhe and other characters during the Four Heroes stories. You’ll need every upgrade you can get, because the campaign can be extremely challenging. Even on Wanderer difficulty, I found myself dying and rewinding battles frequently. If you’re a Dynasty Warriors veteran looking for a challenge, there is plenty here.
The Training Ground
The Training Ground is a massive addition that was sorely missing from the base game. Having a practice mode or an arena to test your strength in is a must for action RPGs. Sparring sessions with Zhuhe let you practice fundamentals, while Battle Tournaments pit you against waves of bandits, warriors, and officers. Weapon Training has you wield wooden versions of each weapon type to achieve Martial Mastery, with defeated officers dropping random rolls of that specific weapon. This is a great way to farm for the best traits of your favorite weapons. These Martial Mastery tests have a strict time limit of three minutes and thirty seconds, but luckily, Battle Arts slow the in-game clock, which rewards you for weaving them into your combos strategically.
Those seeking even greater tests, Trials offer large-scale military drills and challenging battles against your companions. The rewards are substantial, so I’d recommend diving into this content as early as possible to power up Ziluan for the campaign ahead. With this in mind, the campaign length is astounding. Four full storylines exploring the perspectives of Zhang Jiao, Dong Zhuo, Yuan Shao, and Lu Bu, each with proper narrative weight and satisfying conclusions to their “what if” scenarios. These are the stories fans like myself have wanted for over two decades, and I am happy to say that they’ve finally delivered.
A Vision Worth Seeing
At $34.99, I believe that Visions of Four Heroes justifies its “Major DLC” label. Visions of Four Heroes offers long-awaited campaign content, three new companions, two new weapons, an entirely new skill tree, and a Training Ground that adds even more content to the experience. These campaigns are quite difficult, and I believe even experienced players will struggle to complete them easily. The rewards system between Training Ground and story missions provided a compelling reason to engage with everything the game has to offer. This DLC was so much fun that I couldn’t resist playing it all, even beyond my obligation to review it.
If you’re on the fence about this DLC and you already love the base game, I wholeheartedly recommend picking it up. This is essential content for Dynasty Warriors fans and a love letter to everyone who ever wanted to see the other side of the Three Kingdoms conflict.
For more on Dynasty Warriors: Origins, be sure to check out our Nintendo Switch 2 review.
Disclaimer: Koei Tecmo provided a PC (Steam) copy of Visions of Four Heroes for review purposes.
