Samurai Warriors 4: Empires

In the end, Samurai Warriors 4 Empires is basically the same as Samurai Warriors 4-II, but with a heavy emphasis on pre-combat strategy and no interesting storylines for the characters. Fans of the series will appreciate the variation on gameplay, but there's nothing to draw new players to the franchise.

Samurai Warriors 4 Empires is definitely an entry for hardcore Empires fans — with the same repetitive combat, and even reused graphics and audio assets, this release will not do much to convert anyone who isn’t already heavily invested in the series.

Samurai Warriors 4: Empires is not a flawless experience. The explanations of its myriad systems really needed another pass for clarity and this could frustrate that casual fan of these titles. On the other hand, this is also the deepest Empires title to come out of the Musou series. There are so many options and so many ways to experience each scenario that the gameplay offered here is near limitless.