#SamuraiWarriors5
Rating the redesigns we've seen so far (my apologies, I gathered a bunch of renders but not all of them are HQ)

Nobunaga Oda is an easy 10/10 in both SW4 and SW5. He's a special case tho, as he's meant to be an entirely different character here!

Ieyasu Tokugawa, another who's now a totally different character, so we can't fairly talk upgrade or downgrade here

Not that it matters since he's also fantastic in both games, yes he's generic and plain af, just an ordinary guy, but that's the point

Hideyoshi Hashiba went from a 10/10 to a 11/10

Mitsuhide Akechi:

His SW4 design is the only one I considered great, and I dig the new one a LOT

I can still recognize him through the redesign, and his characterization hasn't gotten a complete makeover either, so yeah just happy this jobber looks nice

Katsuie Shibata:

Though he is younger, hairier and taller(?) now, you can still recognize old Katsuie when zooming over the new one's facial features. Shame about the axes disappearing tho

Very solid, looks a bit more promising and entertaining than before

Oichi:

Wasn't excited for a return to her kid form, but she looks better and less childish than her SW1 self, and while making her a more mature mother figure in SW4 was a great idea she wasn't that interesting sadly

Mildly excited.

Nagamasa Azai:

I enjoyed the bolder, fresher look for him at first glance but upon closer inspection he looks like the cringy banana fuck from Fire Emblem Warriors?

fuck you/10

Yoshimoto Imagawa:

I didn't mind the joke character, and his SW4 iteration was the best one in terms of story, gameplay, design.

BUT NOW HE'S FUCKING DONE

Now we have the real threat, the truly dangerous gigachad from history. About time!

from a 5/10 to a 10/10

Toshiie Maeda: this is going to be unpopular but I liked his SW4 design better. A clusterfuck, awkward but colorful design for a clusterfuck, awkward but colorful character really hit the spot.

The new one is objectively okay tho, and his characterization seems different so

Tadakatsu Honda:

The man's always had solid designs, and the SW5 look would suck in comparison if not for the "he's no longer the strongest, now the story will portray his growth" detail. Very refreshing. If his personality becomes less stiff in the process I'm all for it

Nō:

Though I couldn't give a damn about her due to her irrelevance, the SW4 design was a masterpiece. I enjoyed the femme fatale and sensual voice more than the vanilla-ish girl we're getting now

Another redesign that's objectively fine but it does nothing for me

Hanbei FUCKING Takenaka:

The character that has changed the least lol. He's always had good designs, and now I feel like the SW5 redesign is his best.

he's baby he's baby he's baby he's baby he's-

And the last veteran at the time of writing this, Kanbei Kuroda:

His SW4 design was hella hard to top. Now he's plain and young. Okay.

The cool "burn mark" on his face and the rotten hair might appear after he's imprisoned by Araki in the story.

Please have aging feature SW5.

For me, it's SW4 > SW5 > SW3 as far as Kanbei's design is concerned

Waiting for the rest of the roster now. SW5 is all-around phenomenal on the redesign front, so if Takakage and Motochika return I have little doubt that I'll like them more in SW5 lol

Shingen Takeda: we have an extremely good redesign for young Shingen but is he going to be an absolute chad like the one in 4? Will he retain his humor, his wisdom and his cunning?

Kenshin Uesugi: the white hair was unexpected but I like it. This new design fits the "God of War"

moniker in its own way, which is as fantastic as it is refreshing. The buddhist cues seem to have disappeared, so I'm curious how he'll behave her

Motonari Mōri: from DILF to GILF real quick. Actually old this time. 10/10

Takakage Kobayakawa: hair is a downgrade but he still looks great and stands out from the rest of the roster

Hisahide Matsunaga: my man wasn't butchered. His smug grin means he's as proud of his bullshit

as ever. So he's essentially, exactly the same as before, like Hanbei seems to be.

While Shingen looks more mobile now, Hisahide on the other hand seem like he'll have a harder time running with his new robe...? Definitely looks less agile lol

OKAY NOW WE'RE TALKING

nuNobunaga already looks way more human but the armor design hmm... not as flawless as I'd like? Though maybe it's like adult Yukimura, where I didn't jive with his design at all before playing Spirit of Sanada

I already sort of like Nobu tho. 9/10

Mitsuhide now looks extremely similar to his SW4 counterpart

Again it's too early to really gauge the design, but I'm liking the young SW5 one more so far

Hanzo Hattori:

SW4 design was very good upon closer inspection, but definitely not ideal lol

Now we have a fusion of Nioh's Hanzo and DMC's Vergil, complete with a sick new mask and a rad weapon. He still has the Kiryu voice too

8.5/10 -> 10/10

Magoichi "God" Saika:

Literally who????

Now, okay, new guy doesn't look like a complete stranger, still got a bit of Mago in him. Seems more buff, less playful, more generic

But SW4 Magoichi had an ordinary-ass design too anyway, so

8.5/10 -> 8.5/10

So yeah that's a wrap for the veterans. 6 newcomers out of 7 look great, 10/10, while Kazuuji Nakamura is a 9/10 (only with his hood on)

And I was way too kind with Takakage in this thread. He's generic af. 6/10 playable character design, 8/10 NPC or boss design