Samurai Warriors 3 is a hack and slash game and the third main entry in the Samurai Warriors series, set during Japan's Sengoku period. Players control historical warriors who cut through large numbers of enemy soldiers on the battlefield, using each character's unique weapons and powerful special attacks. A Spirit Gauge lets players cancel attacks into stronger moves, and characters can be created and customized in a dedicated Dojo section. The game includes Story, Free, and Historical modes, and the Wii version adds a mode based on Nintendo's The Mysterious Murasame Castle featuring the character Takamaru.