A 5ch thread heated up over speculation that Koei Tecmo’s flagship “Musou” series is running out of fresh ideas. The series has a track record of tackling all kinds of settings — from the Sengoku era and Three Kingdoms to Zelda and Dragon Quest — and posters lined up to pitch which franchise or era should get the Musou treatment next. Some called for big-name IPs like Final Fantasy, Pokémon, and Star Wars, while others worried about skyrocketing licensing fees, and still others offered a cooler take: only the skins change, the gameplay’s the same every time. Opinions on the series’ future were split.
What people said
1AnonymousSep 24, 2026 06:43
So what now?
3AnonymousSep 24, 2026 06:43
Quit being a contrarian and just put out FF Musou already
4AnonymousSep 24, 2026 06:44
Pokémon Musou, Mario Musou, that kind of thing
5AnonymousSep 24, 2026 06:44
Buy some time with something like Samurai Warriors ORIGIN
8AnonymousSep 24, 2026 06:45
Just make Dragon Ball Musou or Naruto Musou
10AnonymousSep 24, 2026 06:46
Only way it happens is a collab where Koei pays through the nose
15AnonymousSep 24, 2026 06:47
Zelda Musou (Hyrule Warriors) was actually pretty solid
19AnonymousSep 24, 2026 06:49
Maybe they don't need to force out more Musou spin-offs anymore
Just keep cranking out remakes like the Dynasty Warriors 2 one
66AnonymousSep 24, 2026 07:14
Re: #19
Then how about remaking the original Dynasty Warriors — that obscure PS1 fighting game everyone's forgotten about
20AnonymousSep 24, 2026 06:49
Why not just make a regular new Dynasty Warriors?
25AnonymousSep 24, 2026 06:51
Samurai Warriors died with part 5, give it up
28AnonymousSep 24, 2026 06:51
The tech for turning real people into game characters has gotten good, so do it with baseball players
31AnonymousSep 24, 2026 06:54
A To Love-Ru Musou could still work
32AnonymousSep 24, 2026 06:55
They could probably squeeze out two more Dragon Quest Musou games
Let us actually play as the heroes this time
33AnonymousSep 24, 2026 06:55
Star Wars Musou
50AnonymousSep 24, 2026 07:06
Re: #33
I'd love to see that
96AnonymousSep 24, 2026 07:32
Re: #33
The licensing fees would send the price through the roof
35AnonymousSep 24, 2026 06:56
Or flip it around — a game where you control a horde of mob soldiers trying to take down a lone Lu Bu
36AnonymousSep 24, 2026 06:57
If Sengoku's played out, there's still the Bakumatsu era, the Meiji Restoration, WWI, WWII — plenty of material left
38AnonymousSep 24, 2026 06:58
Re: #36
That take feels out of touch with what people actually want
40AnonymousSep 24, 2026 07:00
They did Dragon Quest but still haven't done Final Fantasy
42AnonymousSep 24, 2026 07:02
Seriously, they haven't done a Bakumatsu Musou yet?
52AnonymousSep 24, 2026 07:07
Re: #42
Rise of the Ronin basically was that
Probably turned out better than if they'd made it a Musou
43AnonymousSep 24, 2026 07:02
Koei: "Thanks for buying our Musou game — by the way, the definitive edition's dropping in a year lol"
45AnonymousSep 24, 2026 07:03
They should've made a Chiikawa Musou while Chiikawa was still popular
46AnonymousSep 24, 2026 07:03
Something more unexpected, like Sazae-san or Chibi Maruko-chan
48AnonymousSep 24, 2026 07:04
Mongol Invasion Musou — charge around on horseback mowing down Mongol troops as they land from the sea
49AnonymousSep 24, 2026 07:05
Re: #48
Why couldn't Koei have made this themselves
58AnonymousSep 24, 2026 07:08
Even with fresh material, the gameplay never changes, so it probably wouldn't sell that well
60AnonymousSep 24, 2026 07:09
Re: #58
Yeah, only the visuals change — what you actually do is identical every time
61AnonymousSep 24, 2026 07:10
Hundred Years' War Musou
You pick France or England at the start
Though honestly Koei seems reluctant to touch European wars in general, not just this one
63AnonymousSep 24, 2026 07:11
Re: #61
Most Japanese people don't even know about it
Even if it was covered in world history class, hardly anyone actually remembers it
65AnonymousSep 24, 2026 07:13
Re: #61
B-Bladestorm…! (a real Koei Tecmo game literally set in the Hundred Years' War)
64AnonymousSep 24, 2026 07:11
Monster Rancher Musou
69AnonymousSep 24, 2026 07:14
Re: #64
They basically killed that franchise themselves by turning it into a mobile gacha game
71AnonymousSep 24, 2026 07:16
They clearly have the know-how to make something like Three Houses, so isn't it a huge waste that they just keep churning out Musou games?
77AnonymousSep 24, 2026 07:20
Re: #71
Because Musou games can be made on autopilot
73AnonymousSep 24, 2026 07:18
Didn't they hold the rights to Water Margin and Genghis Khan?
Just call it something like 'Plunder the Ordo' (a khan's mobile court/camp)
92AnonymousSep 24, 2026 07:31
Re: #73
Jadugar's been getting buzz lately, so now's the time for a Mongol game
I want them to go all the way up to the era of Kaidu
112AnonymousSep 24, 2026 07:46
Alien Musou
Resident Evil Musou
113AnonymousSep 24, 2026 07:47
Re: #112
Regular Resident Evil is basically already a Musou game lol
Background and Key Points
“Musou” is the action series Koei Tecmo has run since 1997’s Dynasty Warriors, built around the thrill of mowing down huge numbers of enemies. The series has produced numerous collaborations with in-house and outside IPs alike, including Sengoku-era history, Zelda, Dragon Quest, and One Piece. Note that the thread title quoted above is not an actual statement from Koei Tecmo — it’s a made-up line poking fun at the sense that the series is running low on ideas, so it shouldn’t be mistaken for a real quote. While the thread buzzed with hopes for what franchise or setting should get the Musou treatment next, the recurring complaint that “only the look changes, the substance is the same every time” ran just as strong, making the series’ formula fatigue the central point of debate. Some posters called for a Star Wars Musou, but others pushed back with concerns about ballooning licensing costs — a reminder that pairing with a popular franchise isn’t a guaranteed hit on its own.
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