Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate

• There's four types of character this time around rather than just three: Power, Technique, Speed, and the new type Wonder. Power type characters still get super armor while attacking, but they can't withstand certain types of attacks at all, such as grab attacks. Technique type characters can now do a sidestep by pressing Jump while strafing and get bonus damage when they hit airborne enemies with Charge attacks. Speed type characters still have the same stuff as always; that is, they can do an air dash and cancel their own attacks by jumping in both situations. Wonder type characters can knock an enemy off-balance by pressing jump after landing an attack (uses Musou) and also gets bonus damage on off-balance enemies.

• Everyone can duck out of being attacked by pressing the Special attack button to counter, whether they're in the air or on the ground. It's the same animation as if they did it normally, but who cares, you're using it as a "get off" attack.

• Instead of completing missions for skills per character like in the previous two games, each one only has one skill to start with and has to be promoted for the first time to get a second one. Having a good team that can complement each other is a good idea if you plan on playing on Hard or Chaos later on, but I wouldn't worry so much since I'm sure you'll know enough about how things work so that skill can compensate for a "poor" team. Just pick whoever you like, really.

• There are bonds in this game. By doing a bunch of various things, you can make fellow officers give more of a damn about each other, which will lead to them coming in the save you with an assist if you're hit while they're on your team, give you a buff after said assist, and hand you a weapon after the battle if they're not on your team for that battle but they're present on the field. You can raise it through parties, but you can't use them to bypass the checks at the first and second section of their meter. For that, you must participate in a fight with them. Keep in mind that one method of bond raising is doing missions. If you succeed, you get 80 points; fail, you lose 40. Yes, you can be booted back down to the previous section if you keep messing up. They get harder as the bond gets stronger, but the difficulty of the mission depends on the active character at the camp, so you can use that to your advantage.

• Some side battles during the story can be locked out unless you raise the appropriate bonds for who they're asking. There's sometimes another requirement, like having a certain person already recruited that may or may not necessarily be part of that battle in person. It's not too big of a deal as long as you use those parties.

• Weapons, instead of you having fuse others into yours to raise their base attack, can now get stronger just from playing as a compatibility bonus. Depending on the star rating, it can go from +7 on a 1-star to +18 on a 4-star. Big star weapons have a rather low base attack, but can have a pretty high compatibility bonus, making them really good if you're willing to put the time into them.

• DW characters have a giant attack as their Musou which only uses a section of their meter. SW characters have the same thing as always; hold the button to do their attack or let go and use the increased attack speed and invincibility until the meter runs dry. This means that DW can still use Special attacks once they use their Musou, but SW can't, so mind when you use it. If they're in the red or next to someone they've got a strong bond with, they hit harder, and the SW characters get a strong finisher instead of the usual shockwave burst with a pose. Guest and original characters follow either of these two types.

• Don't bother with Gauntlet Mode unless you've beaten the main story or have a strong starting team. We're talking making sure the five you're starting with are at least level 50 before starting in earnest. Since the nature of the mode is "find exit that's randomly placed," you can push your luck and try it with a weaker set, but you will be forced into fights at certain points with about five officers on your ass at once, and if you spend too much time, you risk the enemies getting stronger and being able to one-shot you.

• The benefits for promoting a character are better than if you don't because you don't want to start at level 1 again. With the extra stats you'll be pumping in and the extra item slots, you'll be glad you did with your favorite/best character. You can promote up to 9 times and basically be un-killable unless you horrendously mess up or spend too long in a Gauntlet Mode stage.

• With Gauntlet Mode, you'll be able to make Ultimate weapons with the materials you'll find. Get the ones for your best character and you'll be set since they have a ridiculously high compatibility bonus at +99.

• If your commander/person who needs to stay alive is about to die (if the game says they're on the verge of defeat), you better haul ass to go save them. You should already be on your way to help once you see them struggling. Keep in mind that the higher the difficulty, the more HP every AI character gets, so sometimes it might be better to roll with a higher difficulty than a lower one. All depends on circumstance and your own strength/skills.