Warrior Touken Ranbu is a strange kind of Musou game. It’s a single-player experience entirely for one person. Its cast is small, which is surprising given that there are more than 200 characters in Touken Ranbu suitable. While it focuses on historical battles, it cuts things up to focus on parts of the whole. It’s a very niche entry in a series that is itself at the edge of the trend. Not to mention it is one that simplifies the situation. Maybe it’s too much! The result is an okay game, but designed for a very specific audience that may not exist outside of Japan.
In Japan, there are several series that involve humanoid versions of famous items. Eg, Azur Alley related to the girls on the ship, who were the women who lived on the ship. Touken Ranbu related to sword-based guys. Get the boys, if you want. In 2205, the Time Government has the Saniwa, who can master these Touken Danshi, to maintain the timeline. Except for one Honmaru center, there were 15 people whose homes were attacked. The forces of historical revisionism have attacked this place. Their saniwa disappeared in the process. The Army Against History (HRA) is back to attack again, and this time a mysterious fox from the government named Konnosuke has revealed himself. Konnosuke applies sealing to the warriors to strengthen them and divides them into five teams. Now, they are tasked with investigating five past incidents that were altered by the HRA. If they can prevent history from being changed, they might find answers about what happened and their Saniwa.
It’s a lot! Especially if you are not familiar with Touken Ranbu. That is very possible! While Token Ranbu Online To be available in English through John, it’s not a famous property. The concept is an interesting one! An alternate history is beginning to creep in, due to unknown forces. When you are even preparing for a Sortie, you can see what the new “false” history and the “true” history look like. Since the general idea is to struggle to maintain the timeline, it’s okay if you don’t know about those external details. A general understanding of Sengoku-era conflicts will help.
What could be wrong is not being aware of the characters in Warrior Touken Ranbu. This is because, well, it is a fanservice game. I mean, if they do a little damage, their clothes will be ripped off! Not to mention focusing on watching conversations between people as their relationship grows. It expects you to know who these people are. Like why does Mikazuki Munechika consider himself an old man? (Because he’s Tenka-Goken and Mikazuki is really a national treasure of Japan.) Why did Yamanbagiri Chougi call Yamanbagiri Kunihiro “Fake-kun?” (Because the real “Kunihiro” is a replica of the real Yamanbagiri sword.) Why is Sengo Muramasa joking about being naked? (It’s a callback of his description in musicals and other shows based on the game.)
The fact that most of the characters in Warrior Touken Ranbu sword-based means some of them can feel very similar in-game. For example, your first few battles are with Yamanbagiri Kunihiro and Yamanbagiri Chougi. Both are uchigatana swords. Other characters with the same “type” of weapons in the game are Heshikiri Hasebe, Kasen Kanesada, Okurikara, and Sengo Muramasa. We have four types of tachi, namely Ichigo Hitofuri, Mikazuki Munechika, Shokudaikiri Mitsutada and Tsurumaru Kuninaga. The exceptions are Hyuga Masamune (a tanto), Namazuo Toushirou (a wakizashi), Tonbokiri (a pole gun), Tomoegata Naginata (a naginata), and Yagen Toushiro (a tanto).
There’s a bit of variety here, and some people may feel differently. For example, uchigatana will have a different feel than tachi or tanto. Especially Tomoegata Naginata and Tonbokiri can feel like a change of pace. However, there are a large number of swords! Not to mention some of the special attacks you unlock that can work the same for different characters. One of the earliest examples you’ll see is a comparison between Kunihiro and Chougi’s Straight Attack Special Attack. However, it’s not like the others Musou games with smaller casts, like Fire icon warrior or Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, where you get a lot of variety even in smaller amounts. This can also make it difficult to distinguish between people, especially if you’re not familiar with the series.
Although we are limited in the number of characters in Warrior Touken Ranbu, the missions can be quite different! Build relevant HRA plots. For example, early quests might involve exploring every nook and cranny of the map to find the HRA “champion”, destroying all visible and hidden supplies to prevent enemies from withstanding the attack. siege, defend walls from enemy attacks, find your way to enemy commander, get to a location within three minutes or help an army hold out and not lose 100 soldiers within five minute. You may even fail in the survey metric areas if you hit the “end” before reaching 100% and achieving all the “goals”. I never felt like I was playing strategically. However, I really felt like I needed to do more than cut through the enemy lines.
The point is, all of these stages feel pretty easy and short. Maps are mostly uncomplicated and simple in Warrior Touken Ranbu. The “secrets” you need to uncover are pretty obvious. Especially since Konnosuke will lead you where you need to go and provide suggestions. Timed tasks tend to last around or under five minutes. Sometimes, a seemingly “untimed” task will suddenly develop a timer and countdown if you spend too much time finding the right path. Of course, it feels easy to use in general. At the start of the game, you can choose between an easy mode that will essentially let you chain combos together automatically, use Special attacks, and dodge them all by repeatedly touch Y.
When there is no quest, you will be at the center of Honmaru. This is a space where you can go to new story missions or replay old ones, shop for gear, upgrade your character’s abilities and stats, view memoirs, and place characters in zones. Honmaru’s domain to help them level up, get items, or build relationships. Upgrading is an important factor, as there are six “levels” to upgrade. They can unlock new special attacks, improve stats, and increase normal attack length. While the equipment is quite expensive and limited, the upgrades are affordable and can feel quite necessary.
The only downside of this part is that its minigames are not very entertaining. Some barely have anything to them, such as when you try to guess when a certain amount of time has passed when pouring tea, or rotate similar sticks at the same time to form onigiri. Harvesting sparkling items in the garden isn’t exactly fun, although its rewards are useful. They only last a few seconds, so it tends to be worth the effort if it’s an activity you know you’re good at. (Says making mochi.) But if you don’t get anything from it, you can skip it.
Warrior Touken Ranbu created for a very specific audience. It makes sense for those unfamiliar with Musou the game, what with its easy control options, small levels and focused missions. The grinding elements seem even less taxing, with simple minigames and Honmaru area locations to gain experience and the like while you’re doing other things. (Just like in Token Ranbu Online browser game!) Warrior Touken Ranbu It also focuses heavily on its characters, showing them interacting with each other and pointing out traits embodied in the original game, anime, and other spin-offs. This means while Touken Warrior Ranbu Is one Musou game with traps that we know, it may not be the best choice for someone looking for a new item to play.
Warrior Touken Ranbu available for Nintendo Switch and computer. A demo is available.
