Kirby
By this point, Nintendo is no stranger to the Musou games, with both Zelda and Fire Emblem being adapted by Koei Tecmo and Omega Force. There’s plenty of other Nintendo franchises that could use the Warriors formula as well, and none may be better fitted than Kirby.
With a host of cute characters and tons of different abilities, a Kirby Warriors game would definitely be unique. Kirby himself would be a big focus of the title, and his copy ability would allow for an incredibly unique warriors experience. You could suck up everything from Wheelies to Sword Knights, and use their powers to cut through hordes of Dreamland inspired enemies. The setting would also be perfect, as each Kirby game usually introduces some new threat trying to take over the various planets in Kirby, easily allowing for an original Musou storyline.
Besides Kirby himself, you have a handful of other characters that could be playable like Meta Knight, Waddle Dee, King Dedede, and Ado.
Star Ocean
There are quite a few JRPG series that would be perfect for a Musou game, but Star Ocean would definitely introduce a unique style we haven’t seen from Koei Tecmo. The action-focused combat system already gives characters a slew of different special moves and combos, easily adaptable into a Warriors combo system.
Every party character in each Star Ocean game also has a unique fighting style, meaning tons of variation. The series’ mix of fantasy and sci-fi has always been one of the main draws, and a Musou game could feature a story that has a party of characters planet-hopping, maybe after some catastrophic space-time event has pulled everyone together. Considering where the stories of some Star Ocean games have gone, this wouldn’t feel out of place.
Starcraft
Starcraft wouldn’t fit into the typical kind of Musou adaption we see, but would be interesting nonetheless. The highly futuristic sci-fi setting is something virtually unseen in the Warriors games, and Starcraft has enough units focused on close-quarters combat to make it work.
The three different factions of Terrans, Zerg, and Protess could definitely make for some dynamic and massive battles. Powerful heroes and villains like Jack Reynor, Zeratul, and Tychus Findlay could each come with unique move sets, support bonuses, and special abilities. There are some easy ways to put an emphasis on things like capturing bases or holding points on a giant Musou style battlefield. Plus, there’d be few experiences better than mowing down hordes of soldiers as the Queen of Blades.
Mega Man
Mega Man is an obvious fit for the Musou games, just considering the sheer amount of characters it has. Zero, Bass, Axl, Sigma, and of course Mega Man himself are all great candidates for wildly different playable characters. This isn’t even to mention the number of Robot Masters that you could make playable, or just turn into bosses once again.
The setup of the Mega Man series also works well for a Warriors game, and could introduce a whole new set of Robot Masters created by Dr. Wily. Mega Man Warriors could be a fun and fast-paced title, with tons of variation between a sizable cast of characters.
Tales of
Technically the Tales series has already had a Musou-style title, with a game called the Tales of the Heroes: Twin Braves on the PSP. The title was developed by Bandai Namco, but was definitely a little scaled back. A proper Musou title seems pretty much perfect for Tales, as it’s a series with a long legacy and tons of memorable characters.
Much like Star Ocean, the action-based combat systems in Tales games give each character a number of special Artes and attacks to use, already setting up a large amount of gameplay in a Warriors game. Characters from across the series have already met each other through various other spin-offs, so it’s not unreasonable to see them meeting up in a Musou game. With a vibrant anime art style and over the top action, Tales is just the kind of property to adapt into a Dynasty Warriors type of game.
Castlevania
The Castlevania series is best known for its challenging combat and dark gothic storylines, both things that could be adapted into a Musou game. With the more recent titles like Attack on Titan and Berserk, we’ve seen Koei Tecmo brilliantly adapt more bloody, intense properties.
There’s no doubt a Castlevania Musou game would be dark, but the unique campiness of Warriors games could also help the title have a classic feel. Dracula would, of course, be the big imposing enemy, cutting down enemy after enemy similarly to Lu Bu in Dynasty Warriors or Tadakatsu Honda in Samurai Warriors. On the other hand, seeing heroes from across the series like Alucard, Gabriel Belmont, and Soma Cruz interact would be fascinating to see unfold.
Final Fantasy
We’ve already seen the Dragon Quest series get the Musou treatment, but there may be no series better fitted for the formula than Final Fantasy. Square Enix’s flagship series is absolutely packed with beloved heroes and villains alike, perfectly setting the stage for spinoffs that bring them together. We’ve already seen characters come together in a fighting game with the Dissidia series, and the same formula with a war between Chaos and Cosmos could easily work again.
Advent Children showed us how well ridiculous action works for the series, and a Musou title could definitely do that as well. Taking to the battlefield as Cloud, Cecil, Zidane and other famous characters across the series would be fun, with each character having moves from each of their representative games. There’s a huge amount of variation, character choices, and story options that could be included in Final Fantasy Musou, making this a prime target for Omega Force to work on.
Blazblue
Fighting games are another viable option for the Musou formula, but a title needs to have wildly varied characters, something that Blazblue definitely has in droves. As the Blazblue series has gone on they’ve added even more characters, some of which have incredibly unique fighting styles. Whether it’s Carl Clover who fights with a giant mannequin-like doll, or Hazama who fights with a combination of knives and other close-quarters weapons.
The focus of Blazblue is, of course, on these powerful fighters squaring off, but it’s easy enough to add in some hordes of soldiers or anything else based on the chosen setting. The intense battles and gorgeous visual style of the series could make for a ridiculously fun Musou experience.
Street Fighter
Street Fighter may not seem like the obvious choice, as most Musou games have characters that wield weapons, but it could definitely work. It’d be something similar to the Fist of the North Star Musou game we saw on the Xbox 360 and PS3. Battlefields wouldn’t be quite as large as something like Dynasty Warriors, but there’d be a much higher emphasis on executing combos to destroy small groups of enemies.
There’s a ton of characters from Street Fighter to choose from, including the obvious choices like Ryu and Chun-Li. A worldwide martial arts tournament could still be the setting for a Street Fighter Musou, but this time the emphasis would be on larger scale combat ant team-based battling.
Devil May Cry
Devil May Cry and Musou games are a perfect match, each bearing intricate combo-focused battle systems. There’s a relatively small but highly varied cast of characters that could be used including Vergil, Nero, Trish, and of course Dante. Just like the main series, a spin-off title could make use of different weapons, allowing you to equip one before battle or swap them on the fly. It could also be interesting to see some crossover of characters from the original games and Ninja Theory’s DmC.
Much like Castlevania, the setting of Devil May Cry would make this Musou game a brutal and violent one. We know that Koei Tecmo can handle absurd action with great style, which is exactly what Devil May Cry is all about. Any chance to mow down more hordes of demons as Dante is always welcome.
About the author
