Ever since debuting with 1997's Dynasty Warriors, Omega Force and Koei's franchise has amassed a dedicated fanbase who appreciate the license's often simplistic but cathartic gameplay. There is just something satisfying about blowing away dozens of enemies with a single hit.
While the main series definitely has its fans, the Warriors formula tends to work better when someone already has an attachment to the characters. For those who are not particularly interested in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, the spin-off games are a solid alternative. In celebration of One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4's release, here are the franchise's best spin-off titles.
Note: Samurai Warriors and Empire games will not be considered for this list. Also, while quite similar, Dragon Quest Heroes is its own thing.
10 Fist Of The North Star: Ken's Rage 2
Prior to the vastly superior Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise, the Ken's Rage games offered fans of the iconic anime a relatively modern opportunity to step into Ken's shoes for some good old fashioned brawling. Neither game is particularly excellent, but Ken's Rage 2 is a serviceable experience for those already enamored with the license.
In terms of single-player content, Ken's Rage 2 does a great job of retelling the anime's story, even if the game could have used a bit more visual flair to make up for the repetitive gameplay. The soundtrack is also fantastic.
9 One Piece: Pirate Warriors
This list will generally stick to one entry per series, however, One Piece: Pirate Warriors is an exception as its one of the more unique spin-off titles. Adding elements of platforming and boss battles that do not feel like slightly harder versions of normal fights, 2012's title was a solid first entry in the pretty popular series.
Now, to be fair, the platforming is generally trash and the later entries have far better gameplay, but Pirate Warriors earns points for standing out from the crowd.
8 Warriors All-Stars
Similar to the Warriors Orochi series, Warriors All-Stars brings together famous Koei Tecmo characters for a massive crossover. It is basically fan-service in video game form, albeit one that does the basics well enough to be worth recommending for those who want to see Nioh's William share a screen with Ninja Gaiden's Ryu.
Hero cards serve as a poor alternative to the standard weapons upgrade system, and the story is structured in a way that multiple playthroughs are required to see all the endings. Ultimately, Warriors All-Stars is fine but should have been much better.
7 Dynasty Warriors: Gundam Reborn
The Dynasty Warriors: Gundam series has always struggled to impress critics, even when compared to the hardly loved mainline entries. Nevertheless, the games are intended to please fans of the iconic anime property, and Gundam Reborn does the best job of scratching that itch.
A robust campaign with branching paths and a decent customization system makes Gundam Reborn one of the most complete Warriors games on the market.
6 Arslan: The Warriors Of Legend
One of the lesser-known spin-offs, Arslan: The Warriors of Legend has a fantastic story mode packed with well-made cutscenes, so even those not all that familiar with the (great) anime should be able to follow along.
The playable roster is relatively small compared to many other Warriors titles, but Arslan does allow each character to feel quite unique, even if their command inputs do not really change. Another awesome feature is the Rush attacks, which puts players in charge of a battalion to really score those huge combo chains.
5 Berserk And The Band Of The Hawk
Fittingly, the game based on Berserk is the most violent of the bunch, even if depicting Guts as a force of nature who can mow down hundreds of enemies without breaking a sweat is not exactly the most accurate representation of the character.
Featuring some of the better boss battles in any Warriors game and, naturally, a fantastic story, Berserk and the Band of the Hawk's story mode is worth the price of admission. The secondary modes are hampered by a puny roster and little incentive to play through them.
4 Fire Emblem Warriors
While still fundamentally Warriors games, Nintendo's spin-off titles do attempt to incorporate elements from their respective series. Fire Emblem Warriors' nods to the Nintendo franchise's tactical roots add some extra depth to the standard Dynasty Warriors formula, with the Weapons Triangle system being one of the better additions.
That said, Fire Emblem Warriors brings together two properties that have virtually nothing in command outside of large-scale battles, and it is rather difficult to recommend for fans of Fire Emblem who are not familiar with the Warriors formula.
3 One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4
Any of the three Pirate Warriors sequels could have earned a spot on this list, but it is difficult to look past this year's most recent entry. Expanding the roster to 43 playable characters and boasting a colorful aesthetic that allows the locations and characters to pop out of the screen, One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 is not only a great Warriors spin-off but perhaps the anime's best game.
The story mode is not great and requires prior knowledge of the franchise to have any idea what is going on, but the gameplay is perfect (for the series) and there is a ton of content to keep players entertained.
2 Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition
As Hyrule Warriors was one of the few memorable titles on the Wii U, it naturally found its way to the Nintendo Switch. The Definitive Edition comes with all the DLC, which further adds to an already quite sizable package.
Hyrule Warriors is fundamentally just another Warriors game, but staples from The Legend of Zelda such as context-based weapons and light RPG mechanics do make an appearance. Legend Mode, which serves as Hyrule Warriors' main campaign, focuses more on completing objectives rather than solely dominating the battlefield.
1 Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate
Just beating Warriors Orochi 4 to the top spot, Warriors Orochi 3: Ultimate brings together characters from Dynasty Warriors, Samurai Warriors, and various other Koei Tecmo properties. While the base game is fine, Ultimate offers heightened replayability through a Gauntlet Mode that - while not as good as Warriors Orochi 2's Dream Mode - offers a welcome change of pace to the main story mode.
The gameplay and roster compare favorably opposite any other Warriors title, and the story mode's individual storylines do a respectable job of highlighting different characters and giving something for all sorts of fans to enjoy.