Touken Ranbu Warriors

No doubt this will be a fringe Warriors title. Especially with a new Fire Emblem Warriors right around the corner. Touken Ranbu doesn’t have the pull in the rest of the world that it has in Japan and I’m not 100 per cent sure where the audience is for this game. However, if you go in with an open mind, you’ll find an excellent and surprisingly relevant Ruby Party narrative, backed up with some very confident action brawler design. Basically, any day there’s a new Warriors game to play is a good day, and today’s a very good day indeed.

Touken Ranbu Warriors shows once again that Koei-Tecmo does a much better job in the Warriors series spin-offs than in the main Dynasty series, delivering a delicious Musou to be played, in every single aspect of the game, from deep characters to perfect environments. With missions that are shorter than usual, it is the perfect game for beginners in the genre.

Touken Ranbu Warriors features a combat system which virtually would allow to complete all missions just using, in addition to the directional stick, a single button. Acting this way, however, you would miss the soul of the entire musou and its myriad of lethal and spectacular attacks performed by charismatic characters. Although the official plan is restoring the normal course of history, the real one is to unlock all the combos to try them out on the field and slaughter the poor, unfortunate enemies. Thanks to its breathtaking onslaughts at the price of a simple gameplay, fans of this kind of products will love it.

While it may not feel like a traditional entry into the Warriors style of spinoff games that most are used to, there is a unique feel to be found in Touken Ranbu Warriors. With an interesting setting that has both characters that are engaging and a unique play on its historical situations, there’s a lot to enjoy for anyone.

Touken Ranbu Warriors is the most accessible musou on Nintendo Switch, and one with great visuals, solid performance, and a lot of content for fans of Touken Ranbu. It will not satiate those looking for a very deep Warriors game, but is a solid entry for newcomers and one of the better Warriors games on Switch.

Touken Ranbu Warriors is a very good option to enter the musou genre thanks to its good level of accessibility. However, it is a game recommended mostly for the fans of the series. Although its gameplay may be repetitive and does not innovate, its graphics and soundtrack are really nice.

Touken Ranbu Warriors is a wonderful entry point for anyone new to the musou genre, with stripped back but enjoyable combat, flashy animations, and a host of stunning maps to explore. While it may have its imperfections, its aesthetics are spot on, its sound design is lovely, and the Touken Danshi are each as charming as the last.

The balance between fun interactions with the Touken Danshi combined with the easy-to-understand Musou combat all adds up to a really nice experience, if you were looking to immerse yourself into this Sengoku Period history from an interesting perspective. If you’re a Japanese history nerd who also enjoys Musou games that definitely have you think outside the box, definitely give this one a try!

Touken Ranbu Warriors manages to find its little niche. There’s abundant appeal in Touken Ranbu’s premise of swords turned into beautiful men, and that translates well into a 3D action game, despite the lack of any sword-collecting aspect. Somewhat simplified musou action is balanced out by the variety of missions and a quicker pace of play. But most of all, it’s the fascination with history that both Warriors and Touken Ranbu share, and the latter’s unique premise of protecting the past from those who would try to alter it, that lends this game a fresh perspective on a well-trod slice of history.

Samurai, time travel, demons: the niche anime now has its first, good 3D video game.

Touken Ranbu Warriors looks good, runs well, and its core gameplay offers the solid action the Warriors franchise is well-known for. Care has been taken to ensure the game can by enjoyed by as many fans of the Touken Ranbu franchise as possible, and that makes it a great fit for anyone with an interest in the IP. It’s also not a bad choice for those who want to get into a Warriors game but have found previous releases to be a little too complicated. Aiming for that target may cost the interest of more experienced fans of this style of game, but it’s not like there aren’t plenty of options for them already.

Touken Ranbu Warriors has some great new ideas for the genre, but its lack of any challenge really lets it down.

Touken Ranbu Warriors could have been way better and with some good ideas poorly executed it fails to actually give something fresh and captivating to Warriors' fans.

Touken Ranbu Warriors is a purposeful regression of the Warriors franchise, focusing on the characters and story instead of the Musou-style combat. It works as a lark, especially for fans of the Touken Ranbu franchise. But at the asking price, there are much better options available (and forthcoming) for those who enjoy the 1 vs. 1,000 gameplay mechanics and strategies.

It’s hard to imagine Touken Ranbu Warriors having strong appeal to anyone that’s not a die-hard Musou fan itching for a new Warriors-like. Those that played the original Touken Ranbu will surely get a kick out of seeing those characters come to life in a new way, but there isn’t much to write home about beyond that novelty. Touken Ranbu Warriors feels like just enough to maybe hold you over until the next mainline Dynasty Warriorsentry comes around.

An elegant but histrionic musou, far too simplistic and bland to appeal to those who are not fans of the original card game.

Touken Ranbu Warriors is made for a very specific audience. It feels meant for people unaccustomed to Musou games, what with its easy control option, small levels, and focused tasks. The grinding elements even seem to be less taxing, with simple minigames and Honmaru area placement to garner experience and such while you’re doing other things. (Just like in the Touken Ranbu Online browser game!) Touken Ranbu Warriors also very much focuses on its characters, showing them interact with one another and pointing out characteristics showcased in the original game, anime, and other spin-offs. This means that while Touken Ranbu Warriors is a Musou game with the trappings we know, it might not be the best choice for someone looking for a new entry to play.

Touken Ranbu Warriors isn’t a game for traditional Musou/Warriors fans. This one’s aimed directly at the crowd that didn’t have to Google the term “Saniwa” when reading this review.

Fans of Touken Ranbu will likely enjoy Touken Ranbu Warriors, but those who are also keen gamers will see its obvious flaws. This is a cut-down Warriors experience, for better and for worse. Newcomers may appreciate the more bite-sized maps that you move through in a linear fashion, but others will find them suffocating. And ultimately, the gameplay just feels more repetitive than ever. Still, if you want to follow the story of Touken Ranbu and feel like you’re part of the action, it might be worth a look.

Giving up the winning features boasted by licensed musou launched between 2020 and 2021, Touken Ranbu Warriors was lacking in every respect. The reduced longevity of the bone, the absence of secondary modes and mechanics capable of differentiating the offer to a minimum, without forgetting a non-existent level of difficulty, make it a product that is absolutely not up to the current Omega Force standards. Therefore, for the most hardcore fans of the genre, we suggest that you be patient and jump straight into Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes, which will take us back to the unforgettable continent of Fódlan in just a month.

Touken Ranbu Warriors doesn’t feel like a great showcase for either property. The characters are engaging enough, but it fails to make a case for diving deeper into the fight against a faceless HRA that seems to be causing havoc just because. Meanwhile, the simplified variation of Warriors gameplay doesn’t have enough depth or challenge to be at all compelling. The idea of getting the series together appeared to be a good one, but the execution simply cuts too much away.

I was hoping for something unique in the pantheon of Koei Tecmo’s long-lived franchise, but it’s a step backwards. Fans of the Touken Ranbu franchise may get a kick out of seeing their beloved swords in 3D, but for the rest of the world you have to hope that it isn’t indicative of where Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes is heading.

Touken Ranbu Warriors is a game best suited for players with little experience with the Dynasty Warriors series in general. If this is meant to appeal primarily to fans of the free-to-play games – with far lower expectations when it comes to action games – as a great big slice of Touken Danshi fan service, this will be a great addition to their collection. For players less versed in the world of Touken Ranbu, this is a much harder sell, offering a rote, repetitive game loop that does little to slake your thirst for a more meaningful, evolving game experience. This criticism could arguably apply to all of the Warriors games, but where the bigger license-based games add to the formula, Touken Ranbu Warriors feels like a distillation. In a lot of ways and for certain audiences this is perfectly fine. By this point in time, the Dynasty Warriors machine is a well-oiled, refined and polite product; the video game equivalent of a Honda Civic. But even with a well-loved product as reliable as that, there comes a point when it's just time to get with the times.