It’s only a weird idea to turn Dynasty Warriors into a turn-based strategy game until you think about it. After all, it’s been done before with the long-dormant Dynasty Tactics series! Though Musou games are about fast-paced action, they’re also about big battlefields, huge casts, tactical advances and grinding for levels and loot. And those are the sorts of things you also see in games like Disgaea.

The long line of Omega Force’s Warriors games has included lots of attempts at incorporating more strategy into the formula. After all, when Koei Tecmo isn’t making Musou releases, it’s crafting deep strategic simulations like Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Nobunaga’s Ambition, and — at least in Japan — both types sell very well.

What makes Samurai Warriors 4 stand out from the pack is its board game-like approach, making your decisions fewer and simpler but also giving itself the time to make those decisions more meaningful.