Omega Force’s Dynasty Warriors series used to be a technical tour-de-force for consoles back in the day with the series’ iconic Musou combat rendering awe-inspiring crowds of enemies across huge maps. Over the last decade, the series undoubtedly stagnated with swarms of spin-offs and sequels causing the series to lose its lustre. With Dynasty Warriors Origins, however, that lustre is back, especially on Nintendo Switch 2.

Launching at the same time as Final Fantasy 7 Remake: Intergrade, a lot of eyes are looking away from Dynasty Warriors Origins on Nintendo Switch 2. After all, a Warriors-style game has already released with the Zelda-themed Age of Imprisonment, and that game didn’t really push the bar as much as players expected for a next-gen launch-period game.

However, while Age of Imprisonment is the apex of the old era of Warriors, Dynasty Warriors Origins is a hundred-kill combo into the future. Originally a next-gen only console and PC title, the new game features an incredible overhauled combat system that focuses on dodges, parries and incredible special moves with drop-dead gorgeous visuals that renders hundreds of decently-detailed enemies on screen.

The scale of Dynasty Warriors Origins is what you remember the series being. As someone who recently replayed Dynasty Warriors 8 on the Nintendo Switch 2, it’s actually shocking how sparse the enemy population really was in older games (although, curiously, the Switch version of the original Hyrule Warriors has the best enemy density of that era of games). With this new game, the classic boast of “1 vs 1,000” is not only back, but actually accurate, and it plays great on the Switch 2.

For the Nintendo Switch 2 version, the game runs at a remarkably high resolution in handheld mode—where I prefer to play my system—and even higher in docked mode. The credits do reveal that FSR1 upscaling is being used, but the internal resolution must be rather high as the upscaling is surprisingly stable outside of some funky depth-of-field shots.

The Switch 2 port gives players an option between a locked 30fps or a variable frame rate, and this is where the new port actually has a really great advantage over playing the game on an LCD Steam Deck. On average, the game definitely outperforms the Steam Deck with the game’s variable framerate always falling above the handheld’s VRR window of 40fps during battles. No matter the size of the crowd, it always feels smooth, although you can still tell when it shifts to a full-fat 60fps once the crowd is reduced.

The game does render cutscenes at 30fps as well as its map screen, but battles are incredibly fluid for the amount of detail on screen. While Ubisoft is currently helping Nintendo to improve VRR on the Nintendo Switch 2, few games actually use the feature properly. System Shock Remake, which is currently undergoing major patches to improve performance, constantly jumps in and out of that VRR window, and IO’s Hitman port also fails to make use of the technology.

From the hours I’ve played of the port, Dynasty Warriors Origins is a technical marvel on Nintendo Switch 2. Unlike Assassin’s Creed Shadows, its handheld mode doesn’t feel compromised. It feels like a game made for the limitations of portable mode, and looks even better in docked mode. Even the game’s HD Rumble features are well done—although, I would like more of its presence—with horse gallops pulsating through the controller and the stomps of a large battle thumping in your hands.

It also helps that Origins is a breath of fresh air for the main series Dynasty Warriors games. Even with a hilariously silent protagonist, the game’s story is succinctly told with proper character work for the first time in series history, and it makes the legendary Romance of the Three Kingdoms easy to follow for anyone.

With all that said, Dynasty Warriors Origins on Nintendo Switch 2 is an instant recommend. As a long-time fan of the series, I was wary that this port would be a major disappointment, but it’s (by far) Omega Force’s most technically competent experience yet. It feels like a next-gen game in the palm of your hand to the point where it deserves to be used an an example of that Nintendo’s newest handheld is actually capable of.

Of course, Dynasty Warriors Origins isn’t for everyone—the series never has been—but it is a clear generational leap over what’s come before. It also helps that it still feels like the old series with actual large-scale battles that make you think as well as slap those combos for massive damage. Kudos, Omega Force, you’ve still got it.