WotS 3 or WotS 4

[leMarinn]

Which one is the better game?

[Eyelsi]

I recently went back to this series after a long time. I'm going to skip listing what is listed here but just adding my opinion on the matter.

WoTS 3 has more impact on what you do in the world. WoTS 4 limits this in a funny way. You can't randomly kill special NPCs (the ones who aren't regular spawning ones in the street), instead they will act hurt and leave the scene - AND after you reenter the area, half the time they seem to forget you just attacked them unless at specific events. In Wots 3, if you can meet them, you can kill them and it does have an affect to the narrative.

In both cases, acting rashly usually just leads you to the ending that treats you like a lone wolf, but this is much easier to achieve in WoTS 3 which gives heavier weight to what you actually do, whether or not you draw your sword in front of them, if you use blunt attacks (knocking them out instead of killing) instead of regular ones etc....

Although the combat in WoTS 4 is slightly better, the pattern / mechanic is WoTS 3 is cleaner and more crisp.

Feel free to message me if you'd like to know more about these 2 that I'm getting back into. I love these series and wish that they'd port the first and second one as well.

[CatEatingMushrooms]

Way of the Samurai 3

Story
-Feels more like a sandbox; less sense of direction
-Serious tone; not much humor
-Fewer story events
-Actions outside of story events can alter story path (ie, killing certain characters)
-Sleeping won't skip story events
-More endings, but many are just minor variations
-Some endings make huge leaps in story; sometimes feels like you were cut off

Gameplay
-A couple side activities, like repeatable faction quests and small mini-games
-Combat mechanics are less ambiguous, with clear indicators
-Fighting styles are tied to individual weapons
-Overall much less challenging; improving weapons is less important
-1 hit kill mechanic when you perfect parry (exploitable by just spamming parry; doesn't work on story characters)
-Many unique partners to follow you around or live in your house
-You likely won't find half of the partners without a guide; they have some insanely specific requirements to trigger

Way of the Samurai 4

Story
-Lighthearted and humorous
-Feels like you're directing a play
-Story events are more cinematic
-There are more story events than in 3
-There are time constraints in the first half-ish of the story (time of day, not a timer)
-Sleeping can skip story events
-Actions outside of story events generally don't affect story path
-Fewer, but more satisfying endings
-There's a story diagram that shows what you have/haven't done

Gameplay
-There are more side activities (fishing, sleeping around, running a dojo, mini questlines)
-There are more fighting styles, and they aren't tied to individual weapons
-Improving weapon strength is very important
-Combat mechanics are more ambiguous; push/pull attacks no longer give indicators
-Health regen is now tied to a stamina mechanic
-You get a "rage mode" type mechanic that requires you to fill a gauge in combat to execute
-Nobody to move in with you, because you don't have a home :(



Summary

Way of the Samurai 3 is more of a sandbox where you're dropped into the map and given a basic rundown of what to do (go to one of the factions, do story events that pop up) but you're able to alter which story path you're on outside of the story events; ie by killing certain people or perhaps letting others live.

There are less side activities, different swords come with different fighting styles, combat is easier overall, and you can recruit partners (though many are difficult to find). The only thing that persists between playthroughs is the partner living in your house.

Way of the Samurai 4 plays out more like a stage show. It's a more condensed story, where you're kind of thrown into a wacky situation, and given opportunities to side with one of the factions as the story plays out. The biggest difference here is that your playthroughs will be much more structured and deliberate, with basically everything story-related being handled through clearly laid out story events.

There are a few more side activities to do, fighting styles are no longer attached to specific swords, combat is more challenging, some grinding is necessary, instead of unique partner characters you recruit generic NPCs to join your dojo, and there are time constraints in the first half or so of the story (you can miss events by sleeping through them). There are a number of things that persist across playthroughs, and these will also affect which story events you can access in later playthroughs.

*Also, just to add. They are both very good, but I personally prefer most things about 4 :)

[leMarinn]

Thanks for the rundowns ended up getting Way of the Samurai 3, Ill get 4 next sale.

[lPaladinl]

I prefer 4. Especially since the optimal way to play WotS3 is to spam the counter move, which while effective, makes combat really boring.

WotS3 has more depth but with it comes more jank as well.

I like both, though.