The Dynasty Warriors veteran feels the series is "much weaker" without him

Tomohiko Sho has been a face of the Dynasty Warriors franchise since its inception 25 years ago in its current form. The veteran developer began working as a designer on Dynasty Warriors 2, before becoming a director on Dynasty Warriors 6. After the release of 6, however, Sho left the series to focus on new challenges, returning for Dynasty Warriors: Origins, which was released earlier this year.

During its time, the Dynasty Warriors series charted a slightly different course, which is why Sho was eager to get back to basics. Now, speaking to TheGamer at a retrospective celebrating the series' 25th anniversary, the director/producer has shared that he felt certain aspects of those games made the series “too weak.”

Dynasty Warriors 7, 8, and 9 “really focused on increasing the number of characters”

A close-up of Lu Bu in Dynasty Warriors 9.

Reflecting on his time away from the Dynasty Warriors series, Sho told me, “I wanted to do something different. I thought the Musou genre would end when I left. I didn't need the series and it would die out. However, that didn't happen, and there were a lot of fans waiting for other members of the company to continue.”

Those torchbearers took the series down a path that the show wouldn't have taken on its own. “It was a bit different from the direction I was aiming for. There were no strategic elements, and it was very weak,” he recalled. “I think it's really focused on growth [the number of] characters. And obviously, there are a lot of fans who appreciate and do that direction, so I'm not saying anything bad about it, but it's different from my initial approach. “

Last year, in a separate interview, Sho told me that the reason for dropping the numbered title was due to his ambition to return the series to its “strategic action roots” and that “In the last ten years of the Dynasty Warriors series, the strategy part was a little on the lower side. It was more focused on action. Compared to the current title, it was more numbered. [Origins] It's different.”

It's clear how passionate Shaw is about the Dynasty Warriors series, especially the strategic elements, and it's interesting to hear his thoughts on the development of the series. Our full interview goes live tomorrow, where Sho dives deep into the series as it turns 25, the lessons he's learned, how Origins sold better and why he doesn't want to work with any other developers on the Warriors series.