I didn't hate 9, but I don't think an open world is worth doing if they can't make the most of it. Roaming around digital China was neat for a time, and I maintain that the day/night and general weather systems were actually really nice (but wasted on an overlarge, poorly designed environment). However, the battlefields were often indistinct. And as much as I'm impressed that they had story modes for all 90+ characters, they were far too bloated. Way too many battles that were repeated without alteration for almost every character. Chop the fat and focus on battles and events that made these officers distinct.
I wouldn't mind larger maps for singular battles if they keep the elements like sprinting--some of the increased scale was effective--but I don't think the side activities of the open world justify its existence. There were some pretty environments tucked away if you explored them, but they had little bearing on the core gameplay. I'd have preferred the design work of those areas went into giving the battlefields some flavor. And I certainly don't mind if they deviate from the likely reality of battlefields of the era if the reality leads to bland, flat maps.
The combat system I'd have to return to to really put together my thoughts on it together. If I remember, I ultimately thought it was a bit unengaging. If you're the kind of person who likes to combo enemies for 100 hits, then you may have liked it. Personally, I thought it robbed the characters of their uniqueness (beyond the obvious move sharing that came with overhauling combat for 90+ characters), especially the sort of uniqueness that they were getting at with DW8's dlc and expansion characters. Those gimmicks were good. And in 9, I found myself trying to combine weapon attributes to dispose of enemies the quickest, as there were just too many opponents for how long they took to die. That wraps a bit back around to the bloat part of the equation. The unique elements in each character's moveset just did not hold enough interest for the duration of each one's story.
Keep the direction they were going with the character designs though. Those were some of the series' best.
www.siliconera.com
