Samurai Warriors 3

Samurai Warriors 3 marks the third title in the main series (not counting Samurai Warriors: Katana) and the first published by Nintendo, thus making the title an exclusive to the Wii.

Samurai Warriors 3 puts players in control of a historical Japanese figure during Japan's Sengoku, or "Warring States," period. Several characters are selectable, and once selected, the player runs through the fairly typical Samurai Warriors formula. Essentially, players drop into levels and cut through massive swaths of enemies working towards a boss, or "Hero," character. Aside from the general hack-n-slash gameplay, players can also level-up characters, and unlock new armor and weapons.

There are several game modes in the game, but they mostly cover two main styles: Players either traverse the game world following a story of Japanese unification, or plow through a different story to help a lost Samurai escape from a haunted house and demons. This latter mode is the Murasame Castle mode, and is intended to be based on The Mysterious Murasame Castle, which was an old Famicom Disk system title. Completed levels can be played at any time on their own.

There are over 35 playable characters and the vast majority of returning characters have new models. There are seven characters new to the series. Each character has different styles, skills, and motives where the story is concerned. Motives such as family, honor, or Japanese unification drive individual characters.

The game is playable with the Wii Remote and Nunchuck, the Classic Controller (or the Pro), or a GameCube controller.