As with Square Enix's Dragon Quest IX (DS), Nintendo will be publishing the game here in North America under a "unique partnership," one that presumably sees Nintendo attempting to highlight notable third-party titles with extra marketing effort.

Developed by the same team as hack 'em up battler series Dynasty Warriors, Samurai Warriors 3 includes online and offline cooperative play for two players, plus a new gameplay mode inspired by Mario and Zelda creator Shigeru Miyamoto and an old game for the original Nintendo: Nazo no Murasamejo (The Mysterious Murasame Castle).