Canine Warriors: Heroes of the Pawlands

Canine Warriors: Heroes of the Pawlands is a Musou styled hack and slash game with cartoonish visuals. The game is centered in the Pawlands, a fictional world where it’s main residents are dogs, cats, and other animals are at a major dispute with each other.

Gameplay
Like most Musou game, such as Dynasty Warriors, the game features two large armies fighting against each other in real-time combat. The game’s playable characters help the character the player is playing as from different points across the map, and can be ordered by the player to another spot. Depending on the mission, a different amount of playable characters can be chosen, up to four. The player can switch between them at anytime. If any of them lose, the mission ends in failure.

Different defeat and victory conditions exist in the battle, such as in by defeating this enemy, and defeat by losing your base. These conditions change depending on the mission. There are bases scattered across the battlefield, which can be captured by either army by defeating enough enemies in it, and then its leader. The player can also collect spells and equip them. Up to four spells can be equipped.

Setting
According to the game’s lore, the world of the Pawlands was created by the Seven Spirits in the Era of Beginning. As time progressed, the inhabitants of the Pawlands evolved into separate Packs, which evolved their own society: a world where Sword, shield, gun, and magic coexist. Guardian spirits roamed the land, creatures known as Dragans roamed about and were said to be created by the Spirits to keep peace and order to the Packs. The known Packs that exist to this day are: The Dogen, the Wolf Kingdom, The Fox Tribe, The Coyote Nation, and the Feline Union.

These lands were not without their problems, as when night fell, the supernatural roam the land, the undead, spirits, and more, while monsters ruled the day. And in the recent years of when the game takes place, an unusually large amount of monsters roam the land, scourging the poor people, resulting in the soldiers of the Packs to fend them off, one by one. The Dogen knew they had to find the source of this outbreak of evil, as they had experienced the worst of it.

And that is where our story begins. Because little does he know it, a young solider is going to do something much bigger than he thought...

Barc 1
The first “barc” begins with soldiers of the Dogen training. Training with with swords, spears, rifles, and SMG-like guns, training is going smoothly. Until the Dogen alarm, the Call to Paws, sounds. The soldiers are rallied to the front gates of the Dogen City. Monsters are leading a siege onto the Dogen City, and the soldiers must fend them off to keep the peace for their people. The soldiers march out into the Bark Forest to stop the monsters onslaught. The cutscene ends with one soldier readying himself.

Bark Forest - Looming Shadows
The player character, a soldier named Cooper, readies himself and joins his fellow army-dogs on the battlefield. Armed with a sword and an SMG like gun, he manages to take out a few monsters. After slaying a few, a strong monster appears, and the soldiers struggle to contain the beast. Thankfully, Cooper dispatches it easily. The other soldiers are impressed with him, as even they have struggled to slay a monster that strong. In order to sustain safety in the Forest, they find the three residential areas in the area and take them from the monsters. Midway through their mission, the soldiers receive a distress call somewhere in the northern forest. Cooper examines it, and finds a rifledog named Lear in trouble. Cooper helps him with the monsters. As thanks, Lear offers to help him win the battle for real. After taking the residential areas back, the Dogen army gets ambushed by a magic-powered enemy. Cooper defeats the enemy, causing most the monsters in the forest disappear.

Afterwards, the Dogen General Shepherd congratulates Cooper and Lear for their bravery as they preformed better than the other soldiers. Before the cutscene ends, the General is informed of the source of that last monster’s magic, saying it might have come from the Old Yorkenshrine. The army sets to head out there, and quickly to stop the monsters.

Old Yorkenshrine - Maddened Dragan
The Dogen Armies reach the Old Yorkenshrine, and find a peculiar sight: the carcass of a Dragan, the Guardian spirits of the Pawlands. Knowing that the road ahead to stop the monster invasions would be rough, the army proceeds with caution. Here, the player can play as General Shepherd. Fighting off some monsters, they stop for a spot of rest in the Shrine’s entrance. There, their relaxation was cut short. A crazed Dragan, with a muderous look in its eyes, charged in, lusting for dog blood. Wielding its massive sword, it charges towards the army, who have to retreat. Going further into the shrine, they open the door it’s deepest room. There, they find a strange person in a hood, casting spells. They catch their attention revealing himself as a cat. The cat wizard runs, dropping a spell on the way out. Before he leaves, he screams a spell, and teleports. Afterwards, the room shakes, with the same Dragan from before charging in. Convinced that the cat wizard was controlling it, they still had to stop the Dragan. Despite their strength, the Dragan wouldn’t fall. In an act of desperation, Cooper grabs the spell the wizard dropped when fleeing. Using it, he managed to use a flame spell, which dazed the Dragan. Lear bolted in, shot his rifle, and broke it gemstone on the creatures head, making it vulnerable. After the near impossible battle, the Dragan was slain, and fell over.

Afterwards, Cooper and Lear were promoted as Royal Knights, some of the most elite warriors in the lands. Even managing to damage a Dragan was nothing short of a miracle, but managing to slay one was a real accomplishment. Knowing that the road ahead would be tough, the King of the Dogen requested that they seek help from the other Packs. Lead by the General Shepherd, Cooper, and Lear, a small army heads out, to seek an alliance with the other Packs.