Tecmo Koei has taken the wraps off Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate, but they’ve done so in a surprisingly big way before E3 even gets underway. The company announced that Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate PS4 and Xbox One versions are in the works in addition to iterations for the “last-gen” PS3 console and PS Vita handheld.
The Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate PS4 and Xbox One versions mark the first time the tactical action series will have appeared on a next-gen system. There are no current plans to bring Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate to the Wii U or Xbox 360.
Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate across all systems will include special cross over characters and new battle stages. The legion of warriors in Orochi 3 Ultimate will span a full 145 playable characters, including nine all-new ones. Two of the new characters are Abe Seimei and Shennong, who will join Sophitia from the Soul Calibur series, Xu Shu from the Dynasty Warriors franchise and Rachel from Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2.
In terms of battle stages, the Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate PS4, Xbox One, PS3 and PS Vita versions will all have 51 distinct stages. There will also be cross-over stages that meld the universes of Atelier, Dynasty Warrors, Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 and Samurai Warriors.
An additional feature is Musuo Battlefields, which allow for customization of character models and battle cries.
The Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate PS4 and Xbox One versions will have a few bells and whistles on top of that.
Tecmo Koei said the battlefields will be “densely populated” with up to 100 enemies on screen at once, each with progressive AI, a feat that’s only possible due to the advanced PS4 and Xbox One systems. In addition, the battles will be “amplified by new moves including Aerial Special attacks, Triple Rush (a system which allows the player the ability to switch between individual characters or unleash attacks as a party of 3), and True Musou Burst, the powerful finishing move executable by up to 6 characters.”
Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate PS4 owners will also be able to capture screenshots and live stream, share and see live comments which can impact either players’ games or co-op in Story mode, Free Mode and the new Gauntlet Mode. That functionality hasn’t yet been announced for Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate on Xbox One.
In addition to the new Gauntlet Mode, Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate PS4 (and all other versions) will also get a new Duel Mode, a fusion of team battles (up to 3-vs-3) and card battles, a “Craft Weapons” function to alchemy even more powerful weapons, Officer Requesting and Summoning, Formation Skills and Dragon Portals that can be used to escape the battlefields, weaken enemies or recover party members Life Gauge.
Specific to the Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate PS4 version is the ability to play co-op modes, share data and save data between the PS4, PS3 and PS Vita versions. The game will also let players import their save data from the original Warriors Orochi 3 on PS3.
The Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate PS4 and Xbox One versions will see a retail release this fall. Both iterations will cost $59.99. The PS3 and PS Vita versions, which will sell for $49.99, will be available exclusively via the PlayStation Store.