Dynasty Warriors
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Dynasty Warriors (or 真・三國無双:Shin Sangoku Musou in Japan) is a series of video games created by Koei based loosely around the Romance of the Three Kingdoms epic, and is a spinoff series of ROTK ( Sangokushi/Sanguo Yanyi )
The games in this series are as follows:
- Dynasty Warriors [1997]
- Dynasty Warriors 2 (Shin Sangoku Musou) [2000]
- Dynasty Warriors 3 (Shin Sangoku Musou 2)/ Dynasty Warriors 3 Xtreme Legends (Shin Sangoku Musou 2 Moushouden) [2001]
- Dynasty Warriors 4 (Shin Sangoku Musou 3)/ Dynasty Warriors 4 Xtreme Legends (Shin Sangoku Musou 3 Moushouden)/ Dynasty Warriors 4: Empires (Shin Sangoku Musou 3 Empires) [2003]
- Dynasty Warriors 4 for PSP [2005]
- Dynasty Warriors Advance [2005]
- Dynasty Warriors 4 Hyper for Windows (Shin Sangoku Musou 3 Hyper) [2005]
- Dynasty Warriors 5 (Shin Sangoku Musou 4) [2005]
- Dynasty Warriors for Nintendo DS [2005]
The first game was an obscure fighting game that was released in 1997 on the PlayStation. This game was not released under the 'Shin Sangoku Musou' title in Japan which is why there is a discrepancy in title numbers. From Dynasty Warriors 2 onward, a general is chosen as a playable character and they play through a number of levels representing certain conflicts in the time of the three kingdoms eventually defeating both of the other kingdoms and becoming the ruler of China. In Musou Mode (a gameplay mode in which the Three Kingdoms story is played out from one kingdom's perspective), the generals are usually chosen from one of the three kingdoms (Wu, Shu or Wei; however, from Dynasty Warriors 3: Xtreme Legends onwards, independent generals can be selected as well). Dynasty Warriors 3 had two secret characters, Nu Wa and Fu Xi, that are not playable in Musou Mode.
Both Dynasty Warriors 3 and Dynasty Warriors 5 have individual Musou Modes for each character. Dynasty Warriors 4 has a single Musou Mode for an entire Kingdom. For example, all characters aligned with Wu play through Wu's Musou Mode. This allows for characters to be interchangeable during level breaks. Second player can always choose from all playable characters, however.
The levels themselves follow a third-person beat-em-up format, where the camera is behind the player and they go around killing the enemy forces, while avoiding both the player's own death and one or more other loss scenarios (usually involving the death of the player's own superior, the loss of a critical ally or fortification, or the escape of an enemy leader). Unlike the more realistic Sangokushi series, the playable characters in Dynasty Warriors have superhuman abilities and can send enemy soldiers flying through the air with a single swipe from his or her weapon, if not killing them instantly. Certain generals can fire magical projectiles from their hands or pound the ground to create massive shockwaves. Thus, it is possible for one general to kill hundreds of enemy soldiers and defeat their commander without the aid of any AI controlled allies.
The order of events in a full (Musou) game for Dynasty Warriors 3 and 4 is as follows:
- Put down the Yellow Turban Rebellion.
- Defeat Dong Zhuo.
- Defeat the 'other' member of the alliance against Dong Zhuo (i.e. not Wu, Shu or Wei).
- Defeat one of the other three kingdoms.
- Defeat the last remaining other kingdom.
Each of the main three kingdoms has additional levels that deal mainly with internal problems. Since Dong Zhuo, Yuan Shao, Lü Bu, and Meng Huo are all defeated in Romance of the Three Kingdoms, their Musou Modes do not follow the book nor history and are pure fiction.
Dynasty Warriors 5 introduced a more realistic Musou mode. Instead of fighting in the above set of events, a general will only participate in battles they would have been alive for. Because of this, generals start off at different points in time and some generals will never encounter one another. Inbetween stages are drama scenes in which the general will discuss the battles and their feelings on what is happening. This has given the game more of a personal view as well as kept the player up to date with what has happened in the story. Dynasty Warriors 5 also deviates from the goal of taking over China. Not all characters are interested in the conquest and a general's Musou mode may end just after their kingdom is established instead of after the last kingdom is defeated.
Because of this, some events such as saving Sun Jian's life are not possible. While you can save Sun Jian from dying in the battle, he will pass away immediately after.
Koei released a new series called Samurai Warriors(Sengoku Musou) that is instead based on the Sengoku Period of japanese history. Also made by Omega Force, Samurai Warriors uses the same engine and design as Dynasty Warriors making the gameplay simliar yet different at the same time.
External Links
- Dynasty Warriors on GameFaqs (http://www.gamefaqs.com/search/index.html?game=Dynasty+Warriors&x=18&y=4)