There’s only one solution Raise a banner under the mighty name of Gongsun & strike fear into our foes until NOBODY overlooks the kingdom of Yan again😤😤
“Great, Cao Cao and Liu Bei are out there whooping each other’s butts while we are sitting on the sidelines, acting like a dame that’s stuck between two raging hot men. If either Lord Sun Jian or Lord Sun Ce are alive right now, we might be going toe to toe with them instead of being treated like the third wheel in this neverending ideological conflict between Cao Cao and Liu Bei” -the Kingdom of Wu
Wei has the feeling of a true power faction. Cao Cao has grand ambitions and attracted many strong followers who he thought highly of and respected. Shu has a very cult of personality feeling. Everything revolved around Liu Bei and his underdog aesthetic which is bolstered by others aligning to him mostly out of personal reasons. Wu is a very quick-burnout dynasty feel about it. It has it's early grandeur under Jian & Ce but stumbles when Quan takes the reigns and never recovers it's momentum past Chibi & Jing Province. Jin has a feeling of an amalgamation of the former three. Powerful ambitions, a cult of personality and a family dynasty, but tempered it's flaws in all three areas
"Liu Bei resorts to cannibalism in the book" That is the most surreal scene in the book by far and really shows the different way of thinking back when it was written lol. After Cao Cao defeats him at Xia Pi and Guan Yu joins him temporarily, while Liu Bei is on the run, he stays with a farmer. The farmer had no meat to serve the great and benevolent Liu Bei, so he butchers his wife and feeds her to him, and the book treats it like a great and noble thing he did. Liu Bei, instead of being horrified at the realization, thanks him and practically asks for seconds. XD
@@uhtijohn8217 He was completely non plused about it and was crying because he was grateful. And I think you missed the word "practically", or you're just being semantic.
@@ShadowOfCicero Yeah, I do recall a parable of Cao Cao rewarding the farmer for doing it too. A wife back then was seen as a piece of property, like a prized cow. So killing her to grill some wifeburgers was a noble gesture by the farmer. Now if one really wants cannibalism, read The Water Margin... You'll learn to fear the food at roadside inns...
Ive always been bias towards Wu due to my love for Sun Jian as a Father, Family Man but Feared and Honourable Warrior. Plus I was always the Red Ranger growing up with 3 Brothers so we all chose a Faction in Dynasty Warriors too
Wu has been my favorite since I was a young kid in the early 2000's. The major reason being I really enjoyed the story line of the Qiao's and their relationships with Sun Ce and Zhou Yu, as well as the scenario with Dong Zhuo capturing them at one point. I think I could attribute that to identifying more with those characters and relationships. Also the Qiao's are hands down the most beautiful and fun characters imo.
I have a special attachment to Cao Ren. The first DW game I played was DW5 Empires, and in that you could do a Create a Character officer and join a faction as a literal grunt. Cao Ren was my first commanding officer, and I remember feeling so cool when he rewarded me with his Shield Sword weapon after a battle. It helps that his character design is always cool and his signature weapon is so cool. There is just something fun about a warrior decked out in thick plate armor beating people with just a shield. Honorable mention to Chen Gong. Ever since playing DW8 XL and seeing the alternate Lu Bu story (that boils down to "What if Lu Bu listened to Chen Gong?") I have been a big Chen Gong fan. I also really like his DW8 weapon; using scrolls to summon spirit warriors was really entertaining for a strategist to use.
Zhen Ji is the queen it all first started when I saw her in Dynasty Warriors 5! I was like shes a fashionista and she had a flute and during that tine i was taking flute lessons in school! So immediately I chose her. She kicked ass and she was the first character i chose to kick lu bu tail! Her kicks the color purple and that little special with the bubble i became sold love her til this day!! 💜 The purple Princesses
While i have some pretty typical answers on my top S-Tier characters in Dynasty Warriors such as Lu Bu, Sima Yi, or Lu Xun. The most surprising answer that came out of my mouth regarding who is among my favorite DW Characters is... Is Liu Shan Everyone expects him to be THE Sucksessor character, but i really like how KOEI managed to flip his character into a more ofuscating kind of character. A man who sees reason beyond the maddening Benevolence that only serve to push the will of the past which led to the waste of resources that could have been used to improve Shu domestically instead of constantly trying to ram against the brick wall. Someone who recognized that the best way to make a Benevolent Act is to do something that is better for the good of the people long-term even if they don't see it that way, which is by surrendering to Wei before everyone died fighting or the land is bled dry to feed such resistance. I just find KOEI's take on Liu Shan to be a very fascinating subversion of everyone's expectation out of him, both as Liu Bei's Son and Successor in-universe, or an Incompetent Buffoon people expected him to be in the Fandom.
I actually agree and quite like that too. I always felt the only reason why Liu Shan was called a fool in history, was that he listened to the words of a uncompetent eunuch that is Huang Shao, and surrender to Wei (Jin). I don't know whether its true or not, but supposedly he was not terrible, just simply average. If he were to become the emperor after his father succeeds in unifying the lands, Liu Shan would no doubt be the serviceable emperor, not good, but not bad either. But he was born to the competent and charismatic Liu bei in a fractured realm, so they have this expectation for him to carry out his legacy despite having no godlike retainers like Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun and Zhuge Liang. I mean, if you play the strategy version of Three Kingdoms, playing as Liu Bei with 15 or so officers with 1 city is easier compared to Liu Shan with 60+ officers and like 7-9 cities. Dude is handicapped right from the get go. Sure he had Jiang Wei, Guan Xing, Zhang Bao and Zhao Tong, and Ma Dai, but they can't never quite reach the zenith of the former five Tiger Generals of Shu.
fave character? Ma Chao, because the classics' horseback moveset was the best way to do a decent cavalry charge or just the "I will now kill all my enemies for JUSTICE" vibe until he sees Cao Cao and throws that out of the window 🤣
Pang Tong, ma boy is the most unique on SHU and easily makes him the spotlight over the others for me. I love how this lad is so chill about everything, laughs on the face of danger and even think its weird the whole "benevolent" platonic vibes everyone have and make jokes about it lol. Pang is realistically the best portrait of being benevolent but not naive, that makes him my top tier character.
Fa Zheng is also a fascinating addition to the Shu Han unit, he isn’t the type of fella who embraces his teammates’ idealism and he is gonna tolerate their schtick as long as he gets to roll with whatever he’s cooking without anyone stopping him.
Zhuge Liang was my favorite for a long time with Sima Yi beign a close second (mostly because Zhuge was aquired early in DW4 my first game) but once I started reading the encyclopedia and the novel and learned Sima Yi (or his descendants) started a new dynasy my mind was blown and he scaled up to my fave position. That look he gives Cao Pi at the Wei Ending in DW7 is SO evil and foreshadowing I love it ❤
Jiang Wei is my favourite character. I'm aware of how unpopular this is as an opinion given that Jiang Wei is often perceived as that guy who just shouts "benevolence" in every scene he's in, but that's why I feel the need to make this comment. I've been playing these games since DW3 and originally I always really loved his design in that game. He reminded me of Zhao Yun but younger with a more vibrant colour palette. As the games went on though and I learned more about the story, I really appreciated how he was so incredibly loyal to Zhuge Liang, who looked out for him as a strategist and potential leader for Shu. It was like he was always looking to repay the mercy that Zhuge Liang showed to him even years after the man died. Additionally, he seemed to be portrayed as the perfect mixture of strategist and warrior. He had a traditional weapon for a long time having the spear which made him cool in that sense, but he also ended up at Shu because of his strategy at Tianshui. I agree that in the modern games he can get quite repetitive with the benevolence thing but I don't think it's any worse than Ma Chao shouting about justice and people still love Ma Chao understandably.
I'll separate my picks for favorite characters like this: Female: Sun Shangxiang without a doubt. I started with DW2 and since then, she became one of my favorite characters in the series. Mainly because of her good moveset which covered a good area. After that game, little by little I began to like more her personality. So in her case, it's both moveset and personality combined. Even her design is really cool, my favorites being 3, 5 and 7. Male: It's gotta be Cao Cao, but this time it's more of a case based mainly on his personality. I love his whole the end justifies the means mentality. He's also a really clever guy. His moveset isn't bad, but it's in no way one of the best ones in my opinion. So I'll still choose him, but I have to specify it's mainly because on his personality. I think he got better with the games. At first he was depicted more like a villain, but then he became more of an anti-hero and I appreciate that. And lastly (yes, I'm cheating) I want to chose one based only on moveset. That would be DW7's Gan Ning. I know they changed his weapon, I know he's not the only one who uses it, but I tried it in Wu story for the first time, and man, I loved it. It was so much fun. It was fast, flashy, chaotic, and it had good range. It was q pleasant surprise. I'm sure a lot of people liked his sword better, but not me. And I want to clarify that putting Gan Ning here doesn't mean I don't like his character or personality, just that I like SSX and Cao Cao more.
Zhang Liao remains my favourite legacy character. His service to everyone he fought for was exemplary, and under Cao Cao he flourished so much that he led one of the best military victories of the era and in human history. He remained a threat in his old age and earned the respect of the notoriously haughty Guan Yu. His pursuit of being the ultimate warrior never ended; he distinguished himself amongst men like Lu Bu, Guan Yu, Xu Huang, and many others. And by the way, Gan Ning is impressive, but IMO he doesn't hold up against Zhang Liao. My favourite generic officer is Zang Ba. He maintained great autonomy with everyone he served, stood steadfast against Cao Cao when his allies sought protection, governed Xu province like a great statesman, and led many battles as a true leader. Even though he wasn't the most prolific man, he died having more taxable households than Zhang Liao; he also died of old age from natural causes. He grew from a petty bandit to an integral part of Cao Wei. He started from the bottom and defeated the chaos of the land.
My favorite character is Lu Meng. He was born a commoner, he was a low-ranking officer, he was illiterate, and he changed all of that throughout his life. He proved to be a capable and dutiful soldier, a great warrior, he became not only literate but scholarly, he became one of the greatest strategists Zhou Yu ever taught, and he was raised to a high position of command. He did all of this before dying of an illness at only age 35. Lu Meng was a living example of dedication, duty, and self-improvement.
My absolute favorite character? I can't decide between Xing Cai and Lu Lingqi. The poster boy Zhao Yun used to be my favorite until Xing Cai made her first appearance in DW5. When DW8XL came out with Lu Lingqi, now I can't choose between the two. I love Xing Cai's stoic personality, but when she actually shows emotion, you know that it's genuine. She's calm not matter the situation and doesn't drive her actions through emotions and just do what needs to be done. She feels reliable and she gives the sense of security whenever she appears like "I'm glad you're here". As for Lu Lingqi I love her loyalty towards her father and just like Xing Cai she isn't driven by her emotions. I see her as the calm version of Lu Bu. She's pretty similar to Xing Cai in many aspects which is why she's one of my favorite characters. I just wish they would give her more screen time and spend more time developing her story even after Lu Bu. She have so much potential if they build her story after Lu Bu's death, gaining Lu Bu's halberd and becoming the 2nd Lu Bu always seeking strong opponents to fight making a name for herself.
As you can see by my name Lu Xun is my favorite character. He has been since i unlocked him back in DW3. As a kid playing the game and seeing a young one as himself out of the battlefield resonated with me in a way that made me think there's a possibility that I could do that. It also helped that he had a great move set and cool outfits. Getting his 4th weapon at The Battle at Yi Ling made it my favorite stage because of how unique every game handled the Stone Sentinel Maze and in my opinion it is the last battle the Kingdom of Wu had that can be seen as a great victory before everyone stopped caring about that Kingdom. I also will never forgive Sun Quan for treating Lu Xun in his later years in the way he did disregarding his advise which always seemed to lead to bad outcomes.
I think the reason why i even started falling in love with warriors games was that my first warriors game was Warriors Orochi 2 and Cao Cao and wei army just looked so cool. Cao Cao was just so amzing and he was super badass to me. Like I love Zhao Yun and Zhuge Liang or Zhou Tai but Cao Cao and Wei just looked so much more special than the rest to me. And of course because of characters like Sima Yi (He was part of Wei in old games), Zhang Liao , Zhange He , Xu Huang and Xiahou Dun my love for them has not changed. That and the fact I used to play Warriors Orochi 1 so much and Cao Pi was my favorite character in that game.
It’s always been Wei for me. My favorite set of characters and Cao Cao is my favorite leader (only rivaled by sun Jian but he dies pretty early) I also just prefer Wei’s focus on order and practicality over shus unobtainable utopian make the world perfect and help everyone benevolence. Wu has a cool set of characters and I like them more than shu but they’re just kind of there for so much of the story. They fall short because they don’t really have a big guiding principle like Cao caos ambition and liu beis benevolence. It’s just kind of the sun family is cool I guess? As far as favorite characters I have a tendency to love the wack job characters. Zhang Jiao always makes me smile with just how ridiculous he is and staff actually became a really fun weapon in the later games with tons of explosions. My absolute favorite to play as though is meng huo both with the gloves and the pillar. The big wild man is just pure fun whether it’s glove wrestling moves or beating people with a giant mushroom. Other than that it’s just a list of badasses from wei like Cao ren, xiahou dun, and zhang liao.
I agree Wu's motivation is a bit hard to pinpoint and I agree it is likely due to the switch of hands between leadership so, to speak. I think it is mostly due to the motivations being tied to its leadership. Shu and Wei has the easiest motivation to pinpoint as much of the story focuses on Liu Bei and Cao Cao. Wu has the problem where each leader has their own different motivations and stories that it is harder to get more solid idea on Wuxs motivation. You have Sun Jian who wanted to continue aiding the Imperial Court and remain loyal to Han, can be seen with him hiding the Imperial Seal and refusing to use it. Then Sun Ce who focuses on creating a land for his family, people and army where he would do everything he could to do so. Selling the Imperial Seal off to Yuan Shu and even working under him for a time, invading lands that would earn him his nickname, betraying Yuan Shu after he declared himself king (I get it is a smart move but it does show that Sun Ce would be willing to betray someone who helped him so much). And then you have Sun Quan whose goals is to maintain and carry on what his father and brother left behind. With the story focusing on Sun Quan's anxiety towards his rule, the goals of Wu as a whole takes a back seat. I think as a whole, Wu serves as story of survival. During the early years of this conflict, it was really just every man for themselves as each general and leader try to carve their own piece of the pie. Wu serves as that idea of a faction that fought through thick and thin to build themselves up and remain. A soft middle ground between Shu's literally being homeless for half the time and Wei's strong solid fortress.
I’m a Kingdom of Shu guy because of Liu Bei and Guan Yu, mostly Guan Yu. Ima be honest with you, I’m a Lu Bu fan for life but god damn is Guan Yu also a badass in his own right. Do you know how HIM fr you gotta be to the point where people start calling you the god of war? That’s tuff man!
Zhen-Ji has always been my favorite Warrior, purely for aesthetic and gameplay reasons. Standing there and juggling hoardes of enemies while she's playing her flute was always hella satisfying
I'd prefer Liu Bei being more like his historic counterpart than the one from the book, historic Liu Bei was a shrewd politician he did care about the common people but also had his own ambitions for power deliberately setting himself opposed to Cao Cao so that those who viewed Cao Cao as a tyrant would see Liu Bei as a savior his benevolent persona was a brilliant political ploy
When I was little my favorite character was always Da Qiao, but as I get older and start to appreciate the historical figures themselves even more than Koei's depictions, I ended up becoming far more partial to Sun Jian, with honorable mentions for Pang Tong and Lu Meng. Were I to try to focus exclusively on their Dynasty Warriors depictions, I'd say my favorites are Zhou Yu and Zhao Yun, and I think Koei was deliberate about making them the most generally appealing. I feel like you could rank every Xtreme Legends game exclusively based on how well they executed Zhao Yun rescuing infant Liu Shan at Chang Ban.
My favorite character in the franchise is Sun Shangxiang. Ever since I played through my first DW game, that being 4, she was a character that always stood out to me. When I was a kid, I was always considered the tomboy of my group. I was the girl that always wanted to run around and hang out with the guys, playing sports and video games instead of just standing around and talking/gossiping, like how my friends tended to do a lot. Shangxiang is also considered a tomboy, so I quickly resonated with her character because of that. Not only did she have a cool personality, I also loved her outfit in 4. She wasn't overly girly like how I thought all the other female characters were. That, and I really did just genuinely like her outfit more than the others. And of course, her weapon of choice being the chakrams, only cemented her being my favorite character. It's just such a cool concept for a weapon and her playstyle was always the most fun to me. Don't get me wrong, her bow in DW6 was fun but it was no set of chakrams. Another thing that I liked about Shangxiang is that, just like the rest of the Sun's, she was all about family. Family is also really important to me, so I found myself relating to her even more. Overall, Shangxiang is a character that I resonated with not just because she's just a cool character overall, but also because she kind of me reminded me of myself to a certain extent. She's just really relatable. ❤
Ever since I was a kid my favorite character has always been Xiahou Dun. For this comment I sat down and thought about why. Here's what I came up with: he is the military arm of Cao Cao's ambition, no one else is as determined or as dangerous. When my dad got me Dynasty Warriors 2 as a kid, Xiahou Dun became my character of choice. No one looked cooler. With the eyepatch, cape, pauldrons, and giant sword he reminded me of a great captain of men, or maybe a ronin samurai. All I really need to say is this: when a man gets skewered by an arrow, but instead of falling down in pain, finding a medic or laying down to die instead EATS HIS OWN EYEBALL and turns it into a way to intimidate his opponents, you know that you cannot stop this man. Since he is one of the oldest characters, he has had time to develop more. For a while, he became the one true rival of Guan Yu. The only man in the series who has the determination to rival the man who becomes the God of War. (Zhang Liao always felt like a rival/friend whereas you can tell Dun sees him as a threat and wants him dead.) As long as Dun is around Shu cannot sleep peacefully. And Shu's need to keep running from Cao Cao to find a homeland always felt more to me like they were fleeing Xiahou Dun's sword, especially at Chang Ban. Just like Walter White, he is the danger. And last, since the game rarely ever shows his death, it just feels like his spirit and malice never really goes away. Like he's always lurking out there ready to out down anyone who steps against Wei. Love the guy.
Xiahou Dun is always watching Cao Cao’s back and he’s got that intimidating glare prepped 24/7 “If any punk tries to deny Cao Cao of his ambition, well, I’ll not hesitate to cut him to pieces”
Xiahou Dun is also willing to cut down and disobey Cao Cao because of Cao Cao’s mistakes as well. Xiahou and Cheng Yu are the only two people Cao Cao allows to chastise him physically
The favorite Dynasty Warriors question is actually really tough for me. There are so many good choices that I could be talking about such as Ma Chao, Sima Zhao, Xu Shu, Ding Feng and so on. But right now, the character that I love the most is Yu Jin. First and foremost, I love his war trident moveset, absolutely huge range in DW8XL with the right abilities, furthermore, the way you can match the elemental orb with a certain string was a very interesting concept for a gimmick for a weapon. Aside from that, I love the take that Koei took with him, rather than just being seen as a traitor or a coward, they built him as a strict and follower of the rules, which makes his downfall at Fan Castle even more dramatic and in some ways, quite sad. Unfortunatly we don't really get to see his surrender in the actual games much aside from DW9 given how recent he is as a playable character in the franchise compared to others. Speaking of DW9, it does make it actually really unique by making it turn out to be part of Yu Jin's plan to surrender just to that Shu's provisions dwindle due to Guan Yu's righteous quality of treating hostages well, at least in DW, and even then, his character didn't really change, still being a follower of the rules, he still saw how he needed punishment for surrendering after returning back to Wei. That being said, even without being a playable character, I did see the guy as a clear example of someone who has conflict between loyalty and the wish continuing to live. Which could shown more differences between Shu's belief in loyalty against Wei's belief in meritocracy. If there is ever another chance to talk about other character, then I would have talked about Ma Chao, seriously, I genuenly love how Koei does a 180 when it comes to these character, making usually despicable or infamous character into the complete opposite of how they are usually depicted.
"But I wouldn't say I attribute any of them with having that high level of comradery seen with those found in the Kingdom of Shu" Game needs the feast/banquet at the Bronze Pheasant Tower from the book where Xu Chu and Dian Wei wrestle each other, and Zhang He duels someone... I can't recall who. Might've been Xu Huang Anyway, the book has a decent number of events where Wei characters are relaxing and hanging out that the games never tap into. As for my favorite character... that has to go to Liao Hua. Ever since I first played DW3 I noticed just how present the guy was, and from there going on to DW4 and DW5; playing ROTK's 8,9,10 and 11, reading the book - I just became more and more enamored with his journey. I know historically he wasn't around as much as he is in the books, but in the books he is the ultimate underdog, the rock of Shu, and it is a travesty that he was never added to Dynasty Warriors. Liao Hua is the Rodney Dangerfield of the Three Kingdoms, he gets no respect. If he doesn't count, then my favorite is probably Xu Huang because he is just awesome, or Yu Jin. Yu Jin is another character who doesn't get the respect he deserves, and whose failing at Fan Castle ends up, IMO unjustly, overshadowing his entire career.
Wang Yuanji is my favorite Dynasty Warriors character. Here me out on this one. Zhang Chunhua is pretty disliked because its understood by most that she somewhat ruins Sima Yi as a character. Wang Yuanji is the opposite. In every moment when Sima Zhao is down on his luck or needs motivation she is always there to pick him back up. Rather than intimidation or just generally acting rash or stupid, Wang Yuanji bolsters Sima Zhao by motivating him when he needs it and always helping him no matter the decision he makes while also making sure that the decision he makes is the best one for him. She also beleives in the cause of Jin heavily and you can tell by the dialog she has respect for all the characters of Jin as well, those of the new generation and the elders. You can tell she cares deeply for people and i love that so much. Her moveset is also so fun and unique, her throwing Knives are so cool and she is absolutely BROKEN in DW8XL. I also like her cute interactions with Sima Zhao where she really cares about him but pretends she doesnt sometimes its very endearing. Jin is also in general my favorite Dynasty. And ya some farmer fed Liu Bei his fucking wife. Liu Bei escaped and got refuge from a peasent farmer and everyone loves Liu Bei so out of respect he wanted to prepare a great feast for him. He had no pigs or anything like that so he killed his wife as a show of respect which is crazy. Liu Bei had no idea it was the dudes wife so he wasnt being malicious personally. When he found out he was disgusted and when he returned to the safety of Cao Cao he hoped Cao Cao would be upset about it like him. But NOPE, Cao Cao sent the man gifts and shit to help him mourn the dealth of his wife like what he had done had been heroic or something. Pretty Crazy story.
My favorite characters are Sun Ce and Zhang Liao. I can never choose which one to play as, and their characters story wise are perfect for each kingdom. Sun ce is young, energetic, and ready to take on the world head first, needing to be brought back to earth by his retainers. Zhang Liao on the other hand, is a firm, and determined warrior. Loyalty and honor are whats important to him, but he also tries to be better. In my opinion, DW6 did his personal story the best. Trying to find the meaning of being a true warrior. Asking his fellow officers and lords like Lu Bu, CaoCao, Xu Huang, Xiahou Dun, Xiahou Yuan, and others. Trying to find out what it takes to be a true warrior. Let's not forget, his stand at HeFei. Going against hundreds of thousands of troops, with only 800 men, and he didn't lose more than 100 men. They will both forever be my 1a and 1b
Ya know thiese videos make me wanna go and game the series more and reminds me why i love em so much. Even in this discussions i see peoples points a lot and it never really is clear which is really the best
Sima Zhao is my all time favourite character in not only Dynasty Warriors, but in ALL of the Warriors games. Now, people have their reasons against his characterization in game compared to his historical counterpart, but I'd like to argue that this huge change was actually a good thing rather than a detriment. Because if he was the exact same as his father and brother, it would've been a bit tiring and kinda would make the two brothers samey. Sima Zhao throughout all of the games is a lax person who's rather lazy which gets on other people's nerves and believes himself not worthy to lead compared to his brother. When Shi dies, his character changes so that he WILL do what he must to end this war. But the thing is, he's hates this, he has to kill A TON OF PEOPLE , people who either were his allies or people he thinks should've thought of another way of going about things but decided murder is the best call. He also knows of the consequences of his actions, that history will document him as a monster, there's a line in 7 that says; "There were other roads you could have taken, I will live with the fact that I have killed the emperor until the day I die, and history will record me as a killer. But, I will take this responsibility." In DW8, he's been toned down thanks to his darker moments in 7 going into Jia Chong which is a shame, However he did get a moment where his more lax attitude got them a valuable ally AND was able to convince Xiahou Ba to come back if you go for the hypothetical route. There's no doubt in my mind that if he acted more like his brother, Wen Yang and Xiahou Ba would've been dead right then and there. His Arc is two sides of the same coin as Liu Shan another character who not only knows he's not worthy of ruling but is fed up with the constant fighting, decides to surrender to Wei, knowing that he can't win. So a TLDR: He's a character who's in a constant struggle of what he wants vs what others want from him, and while he doesn't believe himself as fit to do that at first, grows into someone who is competent but doesn't like how it goes against his own morals. Sorry if that was alot but I feel Sima Zhao is very slept on in the larger warriors community because they only see him at face value and that sucks because his story in dw7 is really good and it kinda stings that 8 toned him down.
This here is exactly why I like Sima Zhao and Liu Shan. Also that is pretty much the biggest reason why Sima Zhao spares Liu Shan when he surrenders cause he recognized that he was going through the same struggle as he was as someone who was forced into that responsibility because of the people that came before him and when you think about it he was just too ahead of his time realizing wasting resources in the northern campaign and in a battle you cant win goes against the meaning of benevolence. The main difference being Zhao was looked at as a psychopath while Shan was looked at as a coward.
I still say Shu is the absolute best their benevolence honor and strong will to help the people definitely influenced me as a kid growing up I respected their aim to unite China ❤🔥 but my favorite character would be Zhang Liao he’s intelligent his strength and prowess as a warrior is impeccable and he’s definitely came along way from siding with Lu Bu to serving Cao Cao definitely a warrior to be duly noted and other favorites would be Ma Chao Gan Ning or Wen Yang
I think a video on Wu's stories and really bunker down to think about their purpose would be a good idea. Thinking over that kind of stuck is a good brain exercise and would be interesting too see what conclusion you end up with. Just uh...I wish you luck with DW9
Sun Quan is always my go to character 💚 His moveset is so basic yet incredibly effective on both crowd control and 1v1 due to his satisfying charge/musou (DW2-5). In DW6 he got slower but then again, KOEI gave him one of the best specials: Volley (rain of fire arrows)⚡️from 7 to 9, it's really hard not to like his swinging fire musou and auto-fire tornado EX attack 🔥 The story came from an uninteresting character (compare to Liu, Cao, his bro and dad) in eraly games to such a likeable leader whom we can relate to (from DW7 onwards), as someone who learned, failed, tried again, defended his kingdom no matter what ⭐️
Oh hey, as for favorite character I have appreciated pang tong going thrue a diff move set and model each game, and the interesting usage of the staff is nice, While for other charas it took dw5 or 6 to aquire a drastically different move set Along with the more laid back personality
I have to go with Cao Cao, he represents ambition and power, tempered by intellect and philosophical depth. He is not just a conqueror but a visionary who seeks to control chaos by any means necessary. As a leader, Cao Cao’s charisma and ability to inspire loyalty (even through fear) make him stand out. His generals, such as Xiahou Dun, Zhang Liao, and Xu Huang, followed him through intense campaigns because they respected his intellect and leadership.
I haven't read ROTTK (I tried several times) but I do know about that scene. A farmer/peasant gives her fucking wife as food for Liu Bei and company. I don't remember if Liu Bei knows this or not, but I don't think it was portrayed as "bad", more as "wow, this guy is loyal". Great video btw. Still watching. Will comment again.
I have so many favourites, but my all time fave now is Zhang Chunhua - I love her calm and serene aura, that contrasts with how intimidated people are by her. Despite how scary she can be, she clearly really cares for her family, and her stern attitude seems to be a way for her to encourage her family to be the best they can be. Her designs are awesome too and her Wired Claws are one of the most fun movesets in the game!!!
Yeah, the Shu kingdom officers being basically a group of ride or die homies is a big draw and that kind of brotherhood is something I think we long for earlier in life. Meanwhile, after giving it more thought, Cao Cao isn't evil so much as he is just an asshole.
Thank you for hearting my comments OP. Also want to point out another thing, Shu’s story line reminds me very much of Jesus and the 12 disciples. You know they’re all gonna die before you even watch the film, you anticipate all the suffering and betrayals, but there’s that finalization of hope and the message that ultimate good will win in the end. The three brother’s death and Zhuge Liang’s death all felt very serious like Jesus’ death.
I've already said my piece on this topic in the last hot takes video, so I won't repeat myself. I certainly have my favorite character to talk about, and that's Sima Zhao. First off, I'd argue his moveset (At least in DW8) is one of the best in modern Warriors games. Not only is it super effective, but it also has so much style, like him surfing on an enemy in one of his EX attacks. And as for his story, I'm gonna say it, I think he does the, "Guy thrust into leader" thing, better than Sun Quan. We see his struggles and how he feels about it firsthand on the battlefield, such as when he confronts Zhuge Dan and Xiahou Ba. And I do like the addition of Jia Chong to represent his dark side. And I also saw a comment naming Wang Yuanji as their favorite, and I pretty much agree with what they said there, I like the way she supports him. I think he also doesn't fall into the trap most DW characters do in terms of personality, which is having one specific trait be most of what they have. His laziness, while yes it does show up quite a bit, I think they do keep it in check when needed, like with Zhuge Dan's rebellion in DW7, he is taking this absolutely seriously, not giving Zhuge Dan an inch to retort. He is saying what he thinks, and he is straight ticked off while doing it. Another point is that I really like his designs. They do a good job of looking more modern, but still fitting in the time period. And it fits with the lazier side of his personality. So yeah, I like Sima Zhao. :) And since I feel like it, I'll go on and say my favorite female character, Guan Yinping. Not for any deep reason, I just think she's really fun to play, and I find her personality funny. Her design also isn't too crazy with the "Appeal", which I appreciate. (There's nothing wrong with that, I just think we could use a balance of modest, and immodest female characters) She's cute, and that's really all I got lol.
I would say hands down my favorite character was Lu Bu. Young me seeing this absolute beast of a man, his huge Halberd and unmatched Strength and little regard for serving a leader and just wanted to fight for the sake of battle was amazing to me. Using him made me feel so strong and fighting against him made feel like I was going against a super boss in the earlier levels. Lu bu to me will always have a place in my heart for bad ass character
Favorite DW character has to go to Fa Zheng. I love morally questionable characters (my second favorite is Jia Chong lmao), and because of Shu being the “benevolent” kingdom, he gets to stand out. Love both his designs and voice acting. I feel like one of the rare people who liked his carpet moveset, but his whip sword in 9 is fun too. He’s such a unique strategist, because who else thinks about endangering their own lord and makes it work? I actually liked him more in DW9 since I got more time to learn his role in Three Kingdoms China. His hypothetical was also so much fun
When I was a kid I was a young fan of Shu and how they had bad ass warriors that fought for the ppl and their lord. They were the underdogs who were always losing but trying to do the right thing. And even tho they were always losing the kingdom was held up by a group of elite officers that were basically superheroes. But as I got older I started to really respect the power Cao Cao created with Wei. His ambition won me over and how badass he is as a lord calculating and cold. Wu was always the lame one to me. They have a few cool warriors like Gan Ning and Zhou Tai but a lot of characters I NEVER want to play. Also Wu just falls off as time goes on. Sun Quan never was cool to me. His father and brother were much better but they aren’t around long. My favorite characters are Jiang Wei, Zhao Yun and Lu Bu. Zhao Yun and Jiang Wei were very similar when I played DW3 as my intro to the series. Zhao Yun was a bad ass poster boy who had such cool feats. Then I looked at Jiang Wei as the next Zhao Yun except he was also a genius strategist. It was like it was the next prodigy that would save Shu talented in both fighting and tactics. And Lu Bu is just a bad ass power house. And after finishing the video my opinions are very similar to yours with loving Shu and pouring hours into them as a kid. Then having a growing respect for Wei as I got older. Shu sounded like a dream world a kid would think up of total and perfect peace. Wei is far more realistic under Cao Cao which appealed to me as I matured and learned how cruel the world can really be during times of war. I don’t think I’ll ever come around to Wu as a whole but I’ll always enjoy the fan favorites they have.
I definitely gravitated towards Shu back when I first played DW3 at 10 or whatever it was, but over the years I’ve found myself becoming more and more of a Wei enjoyer. Might help that my favorite color used to be green, now it’s blue. Wonder if those things are connected…
Okey gonna seperate this from my other comment Favourite Character Hard Pick but I will go with Huang Gai (Surprise surprise i guess) For me the Veteran Warrior with Loyalty as strong as the rivers of Wu and a built that could match the might of Lu Bu and Dian Wei. As a Character he was my first pick as he was Loyal, wise and respectful even to his opponents. That Dynasty Warriors 7 cutszene on Chi Bi and the music with it really when the game first dropped then made me relove this character even more. I also loved they leaned in that he is the Pro Wrestler of the newer games. While his weapon in 8 wasnt to my taste his Voice Actor in english usually always killed it performance wise. Moveset I prefered the old ones up to 5 and funnily enjoyed his 7 and Warriors Orochi 3 version using the club then anker. They had such a weight to them and he was handling it one handed with ease (dw 3-5 weapon) His ending in DW5 really is sweet and fitting of the Character and the battles he was a main figure may be little but he always became the highlight for me in said battles. So yea Huang Gai for me the Veteran who served Wu from basically the start.
My all-time favorite was for sure Guan Yu, I remember when I was a kid and I was playing multiple warriors while discovering the franchise in itself that he was outstanding, growing up, I was fascinated by the weapon, the legendary Guandao and the steed he had Then, I would be fascinated by his design, I would understand his morals, his sense of family of choice, promises and lifestyle As an inspiration, Guan Yu is the G.O.A.T. Little recent regards to Yu Jin too His small development in D8 Empires was also inspiring, having to prove himself in the battlefield and getting to unlock his cinematic with Cao Cao at some point in the end with him congratulating Yu Jin, truly a shonen spirit right there Showing love to Yu Jin 😎 (Thanks for the videos by the way Koei, I hope everything's going well for you out there, take care)
My favourite Is Cao Ren, because i think i resemble him quite a bit. Same height,same physical build...but not only that. I also despise war and conflict with other people,and usually tend to have a calm and respectful demeanor. Of course i get angry too sometimes but everyone does...
Xiahou Dun. Loyal to a fault, been with Cao Cao since the early days, went toe to toe with Guan Yu for a bit. He was always the right hand of his lord, something that sort of resonates with me. When it comes to others, no one has got the guts (minus Xun Yu) to go against Cao Cao's word except Xiahou Dun. And come on, the dude ate his eye then continued to fight. Whether his enemies be Lu Bu or Guan Yu, Xiahou Dun wont back down if it means the success of his lord. Xu Huang. Despite being someone known for being "The Pinnacle of Might" Xu Huang is like the one person many of the common soldiers look up to in battle. He trains and does his best behind closed doors to maintain his appearance for not only his men but also himself.
My favorite is sadly not playable in DW: Cheng Yu. No one wants to be Cheng Yu’s friend but Xu Zhu and Xiahou Yuan loves his cooking. Cheng Yu serves Cao Cao as an adviser, fighter, laborer, and chef for commoners, soldiers.
Regarding story of Liu Bei and alternative ways to appreciate fellow humans! Novel goes roughly like this: after ANOTHER defeat somewhere, Liu Bei got lost and stumble upon a hunter's (i think) house. Hunter, of course, knew who Liu Bei was, love him and all what benevolence, so 'be my guest'. The problem is, hunter doesn't have much food to feed SUCH A HONORABLE GUEST. So he well-you-know his wife and made a meal out of well-you-get-it, getting a compliments from unsuspecting Liu Bei. Of course, afterwards Liu Bei find out WHAT kind of meat hunter provides to him. And wept. No, not because of THAT, guys, this is a good confucian story! He wept because of hunter's BENEVOLENCE and SACRIFICE, so then rest of the army find Liu Bei, he orders to compensate THIS KIND HUNTER for his trouble. I hope yt don't delete this comment...
DW8 made me love Wu again. I’m hoping “DW10” will return to form (DW8XL’s combat & unique weapons for _EVERY_ character), especially after Origins, and maybe get some of the 6~8 voice cast back! Jin grew on me, too [though it’s really just an extension of Wei].
Dong Zhuo is my all-time favorite character. Hear me out. Every story needs a villain, and he provides just that. The three-pronged war between Cao Cao, Liu Bei, and Sun Quan is a war of ideals. Dong Zhuo is a cut and dry villain with overtly selfish motivations. He has gotten fatter and fatter over the course of the franchise, but that makes him busting out swift moves hilarious - poetry in motion. I also love how he dominates the early game as it's the only time where most of the roster is united under a single banner to oppose this one evil man.
Lu bu from DW 5,6,7 the English VA knew how to make him sound like a badass and cool. his combat style was great and just an overall power house always mained him when unlocked. now characteristic wise Xu Shu. from dw 7/8/9 he was my fave newcomer. i was sad his story didnt get more in them. also are you ever gunna do a topic on the spin off warrior games? i.e Fire emblem warriors and hyrule warriors?
My favorite is and always will be Zhou Tai; I just wish they let him do more than be a simple bodyguard to Sun Quan. He was an extremely accomplished general in his own right and even served as second-in-command at Yiling under Han Dang.
This is solely based on dynasty warriors 8 since I haven't gotten around to play the other dynasty warriors games (although ask me about one piece warriors and I'm all ears) That being said Guo Jia is probably my favourite character within that game specifically because the story takes a very minor but noticeable tone shift where a lot of the strategies they employ are a lot more based on Jia Xu's style Which while effective and works, he lacks some qualities that Guo Jia has just as Jia Xu has qualities Guo Jia lacks. Big fan of how they made them this Wei dynamic duo and the loss of him is very much felt. The pool stick cue weapon is my favourite weapon in Dynasty Warriors 8 as nothing feels quite as good as setting up the balls and shooting them off just to see them ricochet off the environment around you. I can't imagine the amount of work that went into programming the physics all for one weapon and I definitely have respect for that
Zhou Tai's weapon in 7 and 8 is busted, plain and simple. Endless combos, for example, come easy, and the AI is unable to block his C6 and C4 EX attacks.
Cao Cao IS Dynasty Warriors. Cao Cao is the most important character in the Three Kingdoms story and it's not even close. From the Yellow Turban Rebellion all the way until his death Cao Cao was involved in pretty much every conflict in the era in some way shape or form. Even the conflicts that didn't involve his forces thanks to his control over the emperor. (Liu Bei vs. Yuan Shu and Liu Bei vs. Lu Bu just to name a few examples) If Cao Cao didn't exist, 95% of the game's events would never happen. The 2010 Three Kingdoms series also played a huge role in making Cao Cao my favorite character.
For me it has to be Zhuge Liang. To be honest I think that Zhuge Liang is who Sima Yi wants to be. When it comes to this whole Shu narrative, it is surely not benevolance that persuaded him to join Liu Bei. He could hide his goals, ambition and desire of power under that mask of saving people and doing it all for them. He could move as he pleases, making unpopular decisions and getting away with them. He is vicious, highly relies on others, while still sticking to the whole idea of serving the one and only, master of charity and people pleaser Liu Bei.
I would say my favorite character is Xiahou Dun. He's been by Cao Cao since the beginning and one of the few that can analyze his motives. I also like the one-sided rivalry between him and Guan Yu. Xiahou Dun is depicted as an austere general, but not immune to petty jealousy toward Guan Yu, a trait that intensifies as the conflict goes on.
I like Xiahou Dun simply because of him being a gruff, no nonsense badass who is eager to aid Cao Cao in his plans and when he decided to cut his hair, he has truly leveled up in the badassery level. Also, Xiahou Dun being voiced by Kirk Thornton aka Saito Hajime in the Rurouni Kenshin anime is a bonus in the badassery level that Xiahou Dun possesses.
I think for me it is Wu, even though I agree with some of the points against it. I’ve just always been a Wu guy, and a lot of my fave characters have always been from there. I really enjoy the interactions between the characters in Wu, theres a good sense of home and family, even characters who hate each other like ling tong and gan ning get along. I feel like the other kingdoms have less of that dynamic, they all put up with each other and some get along with each other more than others but none quite have those Wu bonds. After Wu I would say Jin, maybe it’s weird to seperate it from Wei but I feel like the kingdom of Jin and its cast just have a cold and darker feel then wei, and it’s produced some of my favourite characters again such as Sima Shi and Jia Chong. After that it would be Wei then Shu. Shu will always be last for me because i hate the 3 brothers so early shu stages are always a pain
I’m a Shu guy but, judging from what I’ve seen from other accounts over the years it’s Wei. 4:05 sidenote on this comment you made Shu becoming one note and it’s not that they became stale, it’s just that you have gotten older.
Cao Cao is someone I'd say has you in the first half but once he says I can do whatever I want to do it he looses me. Cao Cao massacred the people of Xu Province twice and his advisors even called him our on it and he replies with what did I do wrong and threatened them with execution if they continued to question him. His ideals to me don't have room for these behaviors and I'm someone who originally liked Wei Blue being my favorite color. My stance remains on the three kingdoms if Wu doesn't betray at Fan Castle Wei is cooked.
I personally think Cao Cao was backed up and blessed by God until he graped and mordered Xu province. That was when God allowed Wu to wipe him at Chi Bi
Shu has been getting alot of hate and it will forever be my favourite kingdom out of Wei, Wu and Jin. It was the first kingdom i picked back when i was a kid playing DW6 in ps3. I chose Shu cuz of Zhao Yun in the opening of DW6
I haven't played any Dynasty Warriors so far, I've only played with the DW characters in the Warriors Orochi (and from what I've seen of the DW characters, I really liked the ones from Shu), but all your videos make me really want to play the DW, I just don't do that at the moment because I'm still getting to know more about SW, I only knew 2 empires but I decided to get to know the others when 5 came out, at the moment I'm on 2 and then (when it gets a set in retro achievements) his Xtreme Legends, then I'll start playing the DW ones, and if anyone can help me, among the PS2 ones, which one is the most friendly for new players? and all your videos are very good, I wish more Brazilians saw them and liked musou games :3
and when I get a better PC I intend to play all the musou that are on Steam, even the anime ones (mainly one piece pirate warriors 4, as for 3 I pretend it doesn't exist, I didn't really like it because I was able to test it before and it was a bit tedious and without much immersion, now one that I'm curious to play is Berserk, but I'm also scared, I don't know if it's going to be good and I haven't seen much gameplay of it to surprise me by playing it :v) and I'm crazy because I want to play 4-II? (I see a lot of people talking bad about this SW, I want to try it but it's scary because of the negative reviews, but I think in the end I'll try it anyway, I hope I don't regret it)
For me ma chao is the best character who always wanted to protect his clan thus joined liu bei didn’t care about everyone like a little mama dog rather he would fight his way one of the example was tong gate battle if not for guan Yu’s death he would’ve been victorious
Fav Chars for me ? Female : Diao Chan. Why ? She managed to accomplished what an entire Coalition could not achieve and of course she' hella Hot and Beautiful! Male : Guo Jia. Bro is handsome, Womanizer, and Smart. Probably the perfect tactian for Wei. Ashame that Good Strategists always had bad expiration date.
Honestly its a toss up for me on best dw character but I like my boy zhuge liang he cold but calculated as a strategist and I hope they make it better in origins
Personally, Kingdom of Wei, Cao Cao gave everyone a chance, if you're bad at something then you're just bad, get gud. But whenever I'm reminded of my ancestry, it's the actual Han, they may seem ass in game but hey, Lu Zhi (my ancestor), Huangfu Song and Zhu Zhi were the general set out to end the YTR and they are actual lads that fight on the damn field, I take every chance to shit on Jin dynasty as a whole whenever I can.
Hey Koei Kollection, this is unrelated but I just want to ask. Is the DLC weapon worth it? Personally I just didn't want to grind too much (Asking for DW8XLCE and DW9) Edit: I legit didn't notice the name is Kollection not Collection lol
Hey! That’s all good regarding the name thing, tbh I’m happy either way if people spell it with a C or a K haha As for the DLC weapons, just double checking, are you meaning rare weapons? Or actual purchasing DLC weapons? I haven’t personally bought any weapons DLC, however as for grinding out rare weapons, tbh they’re not all that difficult to unlock in DW8XLCE, and I found really gave me more to do in the game with every character😎 I’m also pretty sure Koei didn’t put any secret/hidden weapons in DW9, which is a real bummer
@@KoeiKollection ah yes, I mean purchasing DLC weapons. I heard its almost as good as rare weapons from the base game but not as OP as the.. I believe the 6th weapon is what people call it. So yeah I was wondering if it's worth purchasing. Thanks for the reply!
Listen red is my fave color so for me its Wei cuz of my queen Zhenji and Wu cuz of fine ass Zhou Tai and Sun Jian!! Shu my faves in Guan Yinping and Yue Ying shes a badass
to me i played dw3 in 2003 i was 11 but i didnt even know i played dw1 in arcade before😂i dont know the history when i played 3 but i think Wu has badaz armor n design Zhou Yu was my first fav dw game then Lu Xun then Xiahou Dun n Zhang Liao i got Shu last. Dw4 i liked Wei bc Xiahou Dun n Zhang Liao design i got Wu second n Shu last Dw5 Wei, Wu, Shu Dw6 Shu, Wei, Wu now i got to 7 then Shu became my fav Kingdom bc Lui Bei's ideal dream.
Started on DW5 without knowing the book or the novels and tv series, went totally for the gameplay and character designs. And from that perspective i liked Zhou Tai more that any other character. All lance weilders felt the same, the sword wielders to except for him since his style was basically iaido and totally out of place on ancient China. The other weapons felt clunky 🤣 As for character/personality/motivations , Cao Cao by far is the one that calls my attention due to how he got things through and through 😁
Of course it's Wei. Shu is hypocritical about benevolence when you got dudes like Zhang Fei and Guan Yu beating the shit of their own guys. And I don't even know what Wu stood for.
Shu is where it’s at they were the weakest at first but became the strongest near the end till Wu backstabs them over the Jing province since then they drop down to 3rd place so it’s Wei-Wu-Shu at first then Shu-Wei-Wu near the end it’s Wei-Wu-Shu again since Jin conquered Shu first with Wu being the last one to be conquered
if shu want to be morally ambiguous they really need to take a look at the ravages of time. Zhuge liang and pang tong depiction is downright cunning and brutal.
I'm gonna cheat and pick one male and one female character my favorite female character is Sun Shangxiang and as I mentioned in a comment from another one of your videos she should be the poster child of the series, she was here since the very first game and as far as I know has the most consistent move set in the series, she had the best story arc out of every female character (dw5 and 6), and she is always fun to play even in worst games in the series and my first pick in every DW and WO games. my favorite male character is a toss up between Cao Cao and Cao Pi, Cao Cao is charisma's incarnation, he owns every seen he is in and weirdly enough some are my favorite stages in the series are the ones that you play as him ( specially Wei's first stage in DW8 ) but I never liked his move set until DW8, on the other hand I don't like Cao Pi as a character but I love his gameplay and move set, he is my favorite in DW5 and 8 but if I'm gonna choose I'll choose Cao Cao, I know very shocking
why nobody say what best kingdoms is Yan. Really man with name Gongsun Yuan can't be bad
There’s only one solution
Raise a banner under the mighty name of Gongsun & strike fear into our foes until NOBODY overlooks the kingdom of Yan again😤😤
Romance of the *FOUR* kingdoms! D:
He was that bad lol
Gongsun lived in peace until Sima Yi showed up lol
@@GTInai no he died when Yuan shao conquered the north he was a tyrant in his area
“Great, Cao Cao and Liu Bei are out there whooping each other’s butts while we are sitting on the sidelines, acting like a dame that’s stuck between two raging hot men. If either Lord Sun Jian or Lord Sun Ce are alive right now, we might be going toe to toe with them instead of being treated like the third wheel in this neverending ideological conflict between Cao Cao and Liu Bei”
-the Kingdom of Wu
Wei has the feeling of a true power faction. Cao Cao has grand ambitions and attracted many strong followers who he thought highly of and respected.
Shu has a very cult of personality feeling. Everything revolved around Liu Bei and his underdog aesthetic which is bolstered by others aligning to him mostly out of personal reasons.
Wu is a very quick-burnout dynasty feel about it. It has it's early grandeur under Jian & Ce but stumbles when Quan takes the reigns and never recovers it's momentum past Chibi & Jing Province.
Jin has a feeling of an amalgamation of the former three. Powerful ambitions, a cult of personality and a family dynasty, but tempered it's flaws in all three areas
"Liu Bei resorts to cannibalism in the book"
That is the most surreal scene in the book by far and really shows the different way of thinking back when it was written lol. After Cao Cao defeats him at Xia Pi and Guan Yu joins him temporarily, while Liu Bei is on the run, he stays with a farmer. The farmer had no meat to serve the great and benevolent Liu Bei, so he butchers his wife and feeds her to him, and the book treats it like a great and noble thing he did. Liu Bei, instead of being horrified at the realization, thanks him and practically asks for seconds. XD
Not true he never asked for seconds he started crying
@@uhtijohn8217 He was completely non plused about it and was crying because he was grateful.
And I think you missed the word "practically", or you're just being semantic.
And the farmer got Cao Cao's approval for doing it.
@@ShadowOfCicero Yeah, I do recall a parable of Cao Cao rewarding the farmer for doing it too. A wife back then was seen as a piece of property, like a prized cow. So killing her to grill some wifeburgers was a noble gesture by the farmer.
Now if one really wants cannibalism, read The Water Margin... You'll learn to fear the food at roadside inns...
No one ever cares about Cheng Yu, that miserable old man
Ive always been bias towards Wu due to my love for Sun Jian as a Father, Family Man but Feared and Honourable Warrior. Plus I was always the Red Ranger growing up with 3 Brothers so we all chose a Faction in Dynasty Warriors too
Wu has been my favorite since I was a young kid in the early 2000's. The major reason being I really enjoyed the story line of the Qiao's and their relationships with Sun Ce and Zhou Yu, as well as the scenario with Dong Zhuo capturing them at one point. I think I could attribute that to identifying more with those characters and relationships. Also the Qiao's are hands down the most beautiful and fun characters imo.
I have a special attachment to Cao Ren. The first DW game I played was DW5 Empires, and in that you could do a Create a Character officer and join a faction as a literal grunt. Cao Ren was my first commanding officer, and I remember feeling so cool when he rewarded me with his Shield Sword weapon after a battle. It helps that his character design is always cool and his signature weapon is so cool. There is just something fun about a warrior decked out in thick plate armor beating people with just a shield.
Honorable mention to Chen Gong. Ever since playing DW8 XL and seeing the alternate Lu Bu story (that boils down to "What if Lu Bu listened to Chen Gong?") I have been a big Chen Gong fan. I also really like his DW8 weapon; using scrolls to summon spirit warriors was really entertaining for a strategist to use.
I salute you Cao Ren bro
Zhen Ji is the queen it all first started when I saw her in Dynasty Warriors 5! I was like shes a fashionista and she had a flute and during that tine i was taking flute lessons in school! So immediately I chose her. She kicked ass and she was the first character i chose to kick lu bu tail! Her kicks the color purple and that little special with the bubble i became sold love her til this day!! 💜 The purple Princesses
While i have some pretty typical answers on my top S-Tier characters in Dynasty Warriors such as Lu Bu, Sima Yi, or Lu Xun. The most surprising answer that came out of my mouth regarding who is among my favorite DW Characters is... Is Liu Shan
Everyone expects him to be THE Sucksessor character, but i really like how KOEI managed to flip his character into a more ofuscating kind of character. A man who sees reason beyond the maddening Benevolence that only serve to push the will of the past which led to the waste of resources that could have been used to improve Shu domestically instead of constantly trying to ram against the brick wall. Someone who recognized that the best way to make a Benevolent Act is to do something that is better for the good of the people long-term even if they don't see it that way, which is by surrendering to Wei before everyone died fighting or the land is bled dry to feed such resistance. I just find KOEI's take on Liu Shan to be a very fascinating subversion of everyone's expectation out of him, both as Liu Bei's Son and Successor in-universe, or an Incompetent Buffoon people expected him to be in the Fandom.
I actually agree and quite like that too. I always felt the only reason why Liu Shan was called a fool in history, was that he listened to the words of a uncompetent eunuch that is Huang Shao, and surrender to Wei (Jin). I don't know whether its true or not, but supposedly he was not terrible, just simply average. If he were to become the emperor after his father succeeds in unifying the lands, Liu Shan would no doubt be the serviceable emperor, not good, but not bad either. But he was born to the competent and charismatic Liu bei in a fractured realm, so they have this expectation for him to carry out his legacy despite having no godlike retainers like Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun and Zhuge Liang.
I mean, if you play the strategy version of Three Kingdoms, playing as Liu Bei with 15 or so officers with 1 city is easier compared to Liu Shan with 60+ officers and like 7-9 cities. Dude is handicapped right from the get go. Sure he had Jiang Wei, Guan Xing, Zhang Bao and Zhao Tong, and Ma Dai, but they can't never quite reach the zenith of the former five Tiger Generals of Shu.
fave character? Ma Chao, because the classics' horseback moveset was the best way to do a decent cavalry charge
or just the "I will now kill all my enemies for JUSTICE" vibe until he sees Cao Cao and throws that out of the window 🤣
Pang Tong, ma boy is the most unique on SHU and easily makes him the spotlight over the others for me. I love how this lad is so chill about everything, laughs on the face of danger and even think its weird the whole "benevolent" platonic vibes everyone have and make jokes about it lol. Pang is realistically the best portrait of being benevolent but not naive, that makes him my top tier character.
Fa Zheng is also a fascinating addition to the Shu Han unit, he isn’t the type of fella who embraces his teammates’ idealism and he is gonna tolerate their schtick as long as he gets to roll with whatever he’s cooking without anyone stopping him.
Guan Yu and Zhang Fei did not respect Zhuge Liang. But Pang Tong was able to calm them both down
Zhuge Liang was my favorite for a long time with Sima Yi beign a close second (mostly because Zhuge was aquired early in DW4 my first game) but once I started reading the encyclopedia and the novel and learned Sima Yi (or his descendants) started a new dynasy my mind was blown and he scaled up to my fave position. That look he gives Cao Pi at the Wei Ending in DW7 is SO evil and foreshadowing I love it ❤
Jiang Wei is my favourite character.
I'm aware of how unpopular this is as an opinion given that Jiang Wei is often perceived as that guy who just shouts "benevolence" in every scene he's in, but that's why I feel the need to make this comment. I've been playing these games since DW3 and originally I always really loved his design in that game. He reminded me of Zhao Yun but younger with a more vibrant colour palette. As the games went on though and I learned more about the story, I really appreciated how he was so incredibly loyal to Zhuge Liang, who looked out for him as a strategist and potential leader for Shu. It was like he was always looking to repay the mercy that Zhuge Liang showed to him even years after the man died. Additionally, he seemed to be portrayed as the perfect mixture of strategist and warrior. He had a traditional weapon for a long time having the spear which made him cool in that sense, but he also ended up at Shu because of his strategy at Tianshui.
I agree that in the modern games he can get quite repetitive with the benevolence thing but I don't think it's any worse than Ma Chao shouting about justice and people still love Ma Chao understandably.
Same! On DW4 I would play as Jiang Wei and my buddy Ma Chao. It’s was so awesome!
I'll separate my picks for favorite characters like this:
Female: Sun Shangxiang without a doubt. I started with DW2 and since then, she became one of my favorite characters in the series. Mainly because of her good moveset which covered a good area. After that game, little by little I began to like more her personality. So in her case, it's both moveset and personality combined. Even her design is really cool, my favorites being 3, 5 and 7.
Male: It's gotta be Cao Cao, but this time it's more of a case based mainly on his personality. I love his whole the end justifies the means mentality. He's also a really clever guy. His moveset isn't bad, but it's in no way one of the best ones in my opinion. So I'll still choose him, but I have to specify it's mainly because on his personality.
I think he got better with the games. At first he was depicted more like a villain, but then he became more of an anti-hero and I appreciate that.
And lastly (yes, I'm cheating) I want to chose one based only on moveset.
That would be DW7's Gan Ning.
I know they changed his weapon, I know he's not the only one who uses it, but I tried it in Wu story for the first time, and man, I loved it. It was so much fun. It was fast, flashy, chaotic, and it had good range. It was q pleasant surprise. I'm sure a lot of people liked his sword better, but not me.
And I want to clarify that putting Gan Ning here doesn't mean I don't like his character or personality, just that I like SSX and Cao Cao more.
Great cases for all three, and excellent picks my friend🔥🔥
Zhang Liao remains my favourite legacy character.
His service to everyone he fought for was exemplary, and under Cao Cao he flourished so much that he led one of the best military victories of the era and in human history. He remained a threat in his old age and earned the respect of the notoriously haughty Guan Yu. His pursuit of being the ultimate warrior never ended; he distinguished himself amongst men like Lu Bu, Guan Yu, Xu Huang, and many others. And by the way, Gan Ning is impressive, but IMO he doesn't hold up against Zhang Liao.
My favourite generic officer is Zang Ba. He maintained great autonomy with everyone he served, stood steadfast against Cao Cao when his allies sought protection, governed Xu province like a great statesman, and led many battles as a true leader. Even though he wasn't the most prolific man, he died having more taxable households than Zhang Liao; he also died of old age from natural causes. He grew from a petty bandit to an integral part of Cao Wei.
He started from the bottom and defeated the chaos of the land.
My favorite character is Lu Meng. He was born a commoner, he was a low-ranking officer, he was illiterate, and he changed all of that throughout his life. He proved to be a capable and dutiful soldier, a great warrior, he became not only literate but scholarly, he became one of the greatest strategists Zhou Yu ever taught, and he was raised to a high position of command. He did all of this before dying of an illness at only age 35. Lu Meng was a living example of dedication, duty, and self-improvement.
My absolute favorite character? I can't decide between Xing Cai and Lu Lingqi. The poster boy Zhao Yun used to be my favorite until Xing Cai made her first appearance in DW5. When DW8XL came out with Lu Lingqi, now I can't choose between the two.
I love Xing Cai's stoic personality, but when she actually shows emotion, you know that it's genuine. She's calm not matter the situation and doesn't drive her actions through emotions and just do what needs to be done. She feels reliable and she gives the sense of security whenever she appears like "I'm glad you're here".
As for Lu Lingqi I love her loyalty towards her father and just like Xing Cai she isn't driven by her emotions. I see her as the calm version of Lu Bu. She's pretty similar to Xing Cai in many aspects which is why she's one of my favorite characters. I just wish they would give her more screen time and spend more time developing her story even after Lu Bu. She have so much potential if they build her story after Lu Bu's death, gaining Lu Bu's halberd and becoming the 2nd Lu Bu always seeking strong opponents to fight making a name for herself.
Lu Bu and Zhang Fei are both overly wreckless so their children will rebel by going opposite direction
As you can see by my name Lu Xun is my favorite character. He has been since i unlocked him back in DW3. As a kid playing the game and seeing a young one as himself out of the battlefield resonated with me in a way that made me think there's a possibility that I could do that. It also helped that he had a great move set and cool outfits. Getting his 4th weapon at The Battle at Yi Ling made it my favorite stage because of how unique every game handled the Stone Sentinel Maze and in my opinion it is the last battle the Kingdom of Wu had that can be seen as a great victory before everyone stopped caring about that Kingdom. I also will never forgive Sun Quan for treating Lu Xun in his later years in the way he did disregarding his advise which always seemed to lead to bad outcomes.
I think the reason why i even started falling in love with warriors games was that my first warriors game was Warriors Orochi 2 and Cao Cao and wei army just looked so cool. Cao Cao was just so amzing and he was super badass to me. Like I love Zhao Yun and Zhuge Liang or Zhou Tai but Cao Cao and Wei just looked so much more special than the rest to me. And of course because of characters like Sima Yi (He was part of Wei in old games), Zhang Liao , Zhange He , Xu Huang and Xiahou Dun my love for them has not changed. That and the fact I used to play Warriors Orochi 1 so much and Cao Pi was my favorite character in that game.
It’s always been Wei for me. My favorite set of characters and Cao Cao is my favorite leader (only rivaled by sun Jian but he dies pretty early)
I also just prefer Wei’s focus on order and practicality over shus unobtainable utopian make the world perfect and help everyone benevolence.
Wu has a cool set of characters and I like them more than shu but they’re just kind of there for so much of the story. They fall short because they don’t really have a big guiding principle like Cao caos ambition and liu beis benevolence. It’s just kind of the sun family is cool I guess?
As far as favorite characters I have a tendency to love the wack job characters. Zhang Jiao always makes me smile with just how ridiculous he is and staff actually became a really fun weapon in the later games with tons of explosions. My absolute favorite to play as though is meng huo both with the gloves and the pillar. The big wild man is just pure fun whether it’s glove wrestling moves or beating people with a giant mushroom.
Other than that it’s just a list of badasses from wei like Cao ren, xiahou dun, and zhang liao.
I agree Wu's motivation is a bit hard to pinpoint and I agree it is likely due to the switch of hands between leadership so, to speak.
I think it is mostly due to the motivations being tied to its leadership. Shu and Wei has the easiest motivation to pinpoint as much of the story focuses on Liu Bei and Cao Cao.
Wu has the problem where each leader has their own different motivations and stories that it is harder to get more solid idea on Wuxs motivation.
You have Sun Jian who wanted to continue aiding the Imperial Court and remain loyal to Han, can be seen with him hiding the Imperial Seal and refusing to use it.
Then Sun Ce who focuses on creating a land for his family, people and army where he would do everything he could to do so. Selling the Imperial Seal off to Yuan Shu and even working under him for a time, invading lands that would earn him his nickname, betraying Yuan Shu after he declared himself king (I get it is a smart move but it does show that Sun Ce would be willing to betray someone who helped him so much).
And then you have Sun Quan whose goals is to maintain and carry on what his father and brother left behind. With the story focusing on Sun Quan's anxiety towards his rule, the goals of Wu as a whole takes a back seat.
I think as a whole, Wu serves as story of survival. During the early years of this conflict, it was really just every man for themselves as each general and leader try to carve their own piece of the pie. Wu serves as that idea of a faction that fought through thick and thin to build themselves up and remain. A soft middle ground between Shu's literally being homeless for half the time and Wei's strong solid fortress.
Wu is very much like a predecessor to Hong Kong
I like Sun Jian n Sun Ce when Sun Quan took over Wu became pus💩
-Wu needed to team up w Shu to beat Wei
-Wu needed to team up w Wei to kill Guan Yu
Cao Wei is the best but Shu is my favorite Kingdom and Zhao Yun is my most played character
I’m a Kingdom of Shu guy because of Liu Bei and Guan Yu, mostly Guan Yu. Ima be honest with you, I’m a Lu Bu fan for life but god damn is Guan Yu also a badass in his own right. Do you know how HIM fr you gotta be to the point where people start calling you the god of war? That’s tuff man!
Yet in a fight Zhang Fei can beat Guan Yu
@@mattparke4370 oof
@@supadupa8088fellow Shu and Lu Bu fan 🤝🏻
@@mattparke4370Really?
Zhen-Ji has always been my favorite Warrior, purely for aesthetic and gameplay reasons. Standing there and juggling hoardes of enemies while she's playing her flute was always hella satisfying
I'd prefer Liu Bei being more like his historic counterpart than the one from the book, historic Liu Bei was a shrewd politician he did care about the common people but also had his own ambitions for power deliberately setting himself opposed to Cao Cao so that those who viewed Cao Cao as a tyrant would see Liu Bei as a savior his benevolent persona was a brilliant political ploy
When I was little my favorite character was always Da Qiao, but as I get older and start to appreciate the historical figures themselves even more than Koei's depictions, I ended up becoming far more partial to Sun Jian, with honorable mentions for Pang Tong and Lu Meng. Were I to try to focus exclusively on their Dynasty Warriors depictions, I'd say my favorites are Zhou Yu and Zhao Yun, and I think Koei was deliberate about making them the most generally appealing. I feel like you could rank every Xtreme Legends game exclusively based on how well they executed Zhao Yun rescuing infant Liu Shan at Chang Ban.
My favorite character in the franchise is Sun Shangxiang. Ever since I played through my first DW game, that being 4, she was a character that always stood out to me. When I was a kid, I was always considered the tomboy of my group. I was the girl that always wanted to run around and hang out with the guys, playing sports and video games instead of just standing around and talking/gossiping, like how my friends tended to do a lot. Shangxiang is also considered a tomboy, so I quickly resonated with her character because of that. Not only did she have a cool personality, I also loved her outfit in 4. She wasn't overly girly like how I thought all the other female characters were. That, and I really did just genuinely like her outfit more than the others. And of course, her weapon of choice being the chakrams, only cemented her being my favorite character. It's just such a cool concept for a weapon and her playstyle was always the most fun to me. Don't get me wrong, her bow in DW6 was fun but it was no set of chakrams. Another thing that I liked about Shangxiang is that, just like the rest of the Sun's, she was all about family. Family is also really important to me, so I found myself relating to her even more. Overall, Shangxiang is a character that I resonated with not just because she's just a cool character overall, but also because she kind of me reminded me of myself to a certain extent. She's just really relatable. ❤
Ever since I was a kid my favorite character has always been Xiahou Dun. For this comment I sat down and thought about why. Here's what I came up with: he is the military arm of Cao Cao's ambition, no one else is as determined or as dangerous.
When my dad got me Dynasty Warriors 2 as a kid, Xiahou Dun became my character of choice. No one looked cooler. With the eyepatch, cape, pauldrons, and giant sword he reminded me of a great captain of men, or maybe a ronin samurai.
All I really need to say is this: when a man gets skewered by an arrow, but instead of falling down in pain, finding a medic or laying down to die instead EATS HIS OWN EYEBALL and turns it into a way to intimidate his opponents, you know that you cannot stop this man.
Since he is one of the oldest characters, he has had time to develop more. For a while, he became the one true rival of Guan Yu. The only man in the series who has the determination to rival the man who becomes the God of War. (Zhang Liao always felt like a rival/friend whereas you can tell Dun sees him as a threat and wants him dead.)
As long as Dun is around Shu cannot sleep peacefully. And Shu's need to keep running from Cao Cao to find a homeland always felt more to me like they were fleeing Xiahou Dun's sword, especially at Chang Ban. Just like Walter White, he is the danger.
And last, since the game rarely ever shows his death, it just feels like his spirit and malice never really goes away. Like he's always lurking out there ready to out down anyone who steps against Wei. Love the guy.
Xiahou Dun is always watching Cao Cao’s back and he’s got that intimidating glare prepped 24/7
“If any punk tries to deny Cao Cao of his ambition, well, I’ll not hesitate to cut him to pieces”
Xiahou Dun is also willing to cut down and disobey Cao Cao because of Cao Cao’s mistakes as well. Xiahou and Cheng Yu are the only two people Cao Cao allows to chastise him physically
When I see Elle Driver from Kill Bill, I see Xiahou Dun. They have the same fight stance and personality too. Very petty people
The favorite Dynasty Warriors question is actually really tough for me. There are so many good choices that I could be talking about such as Ma Chao, Sima Zhao, Xu Shu, Ding Feng and so on.
But right now, the character that I love the most is Yu Jin.
First and foremost, I love his war trident moveset, absolutely huge range in DW8XL with the right abilities, furthermore, the way you can match the elemental orb with a certain string was a very interesting concept for a gimmick for a weapon.
Aside from that, I love the take that Koei took with him, rather than just being seen as a traitor or a coward, they built him as a strict and follower of the rules, which makes his downfall at Fan Castle even more dramatic and in some ways, quite sad. Unfortunatly we don't really get to see his surrender in the actual games much aside from DW9 given how recent he is as a playable character in the franchise compared to others.
Speaking of DW9, it does make it actually really unique by making it turn out to be part of Yu Jin's plan to surrender just to that Shu's provisions dwindle due to Guan Yu's righteous quality of treating hostages well, at least in DW, and even then, his character didn't really change, still being a follower of the rules, he still saw how he needed punishment for surrendering after returning back to Wei.
That being said, even without being a playable character, I did see the guy as a clear example of someone who has conflict between loyalty and the wish continuing to live. Which could shown more differences between Shu's belief in loyalty against Wei's belief in meritocracy.
If there is ever another chance to talk about other character, then I would have talked about Ma Chao, seriously, I genuenly love how Koei does a 180 when it comes to these character, making usually despicable or infamous character into the complete opposite of how they are usually depicted.
"But I wouldn't say I attribute any of them with having that high level of comradery seen with those found in the Kingdom of Shu"
Game needs the feast/banquet at the Bronze Pheasant Tower from the book where Xu Chu and Dian Wei wrestle each other, and Zhang He duels someone... I can't recall who. Might've been Xu Huang
Anyway, the book has a decent number of events where Wei characters are relaxing and hanging out that the games never tap into.
As for my favorite character... that has to go to Liao Hua. Ever since I first played DW3 I noticed just how present the guy was, and from there going on to DW4 and DW5; playing ROTK's 8,9,10 and 11, reading the book - I just became more and more enamored with his journey. I know historically he wasn't around as much as he is in the books, but in the books he is the ultimate underdog, the rock of Shu, and it is a travesty that he was never added to Dynasty Warriors. Liao Hua is the Rodney Dangerfield of the Three Kingdoms, he gets no respect.
If he doesn't count, then my favorite is probably Xu Huang because he is just awesome, or Yu Jin. Yu Jin is another character who doesn't get the respect he deserves, and whose failing at Fan Castle ends up, IMO unjustly, overshadowing his entire career.
Wang Yuanji is my favorite Dynasty Warriors character.
Here me out on this one.
Zhang Chunhua is pretty disliked because its understood by most that she somewhat ruins Sima Yi as a character.
Wang Yuanji is the opposite. In every moment when Sima Zhao is down on his luck or needs motivation she is always there to pick him back up. Rather than intimidation or just generally acting rash or stupid, Wang Yuanji bolsters Sima Zhao by motivating him when he needs it and always helping him no matter the decision he makes while also making sure that the decision he makes is the best one for him. She also beleives in the cause of Jin heavily and you can tell by the dialog she has respect for all the characters of Jin as well, those of the new generation and the elders. You can tell she cares deeply for people and i love that so much. Her moveset is also so fun and unique, her throwing Knives are so cool and she is absolutely BROKEN in DW8XL. I also like her cute interactions with Sima Zhao where she really cares about him but pretends she doesnt sometimes its very endearing.
Jin is also in general my favorite Dynasty.
And ya some farmer fed Liu Bei his fucking wife. Liu Bei escaped and got refuge from a peasent farmer and everyone loves Liu Bei so out of respect he wanted to prepare a great feast for him. He had no pigs or anything like that so he killed his wife as a show of respect which is crazy. Liu Bei had no idea it was the dudes wife so he wasnt being malicious personally. When he found out he was disgusted and when he returned to the safety of Cao Cao he hoped Cao Cao would be upset about it like him. But NOPE, Cao Cao sent the man gifts and shit to help him mourn the dealth of his wife like what he had done had been heroic or something. Pretty Crazy story.
My favorite characters are Sun Ce and Zhang Liao. I can never choose which one to play as, and their characters story wise are perfect for each kingdom. Sun ce is young, energetic, and ready to take on the world head first, needing to be brought back to earth by his retainers. Zhang Liao on the other hand, is a firm, and determined warrior. Loyalty and honor are whats important to him, but he also tries to be better. In my opinion, DW6 did his personal story the best. Trying to find the meaning of being a true warrior. Asking his fellow officers and lords like Lu Bu, CaoCao, Xu Huang, Xiahou Dun, Xiahou Yuan, and others. Trying to find out what it takes to be a true warrior. Let's not forget, his stand at HeFei. Going against hundreds of thousands of troops, with only 800 men, and he didn't lose more than 100 men. They will both forever be my 1a and 1b
Ya know thiese videos make me wanna go and game the series more and reminds me why i love em so much. Even in this discussions i see peoples points a lot and it never really is clear which is really the best
100000% agree, I love when a new discussion vid goes live bc I’m always super curious about what comments or hot takes people are gonna leave
Sima Zhao is my all time favourite character in not only Dynasty Warriors, but in ALL of the Warriors games.
Now, people have their reasons against his characterization in game compared to his historical counterpart, but I'd like to argue that this huge change was actually a good thing rather than a detriment. Because if he was the exact same as his father and brother, it would've been a bit tiring and kinda would make the two brothers samey.
Sima Zhao throughout all of the games is a lax person who's rather lazy which gets on other people's nerves and believes himself not worthy to lead compared to his brother. When Shi dies, his character changes so that he WILL do what he must to end this war. But the thing is, he's hates this, he has to kill A TON OF PEOPLE , people who either were his allies or people he thinks should've thought of another way of going about things but decided murder is the best call. He also knows of the consequences of his actions, that history will document him as a monster, there's a line in 7 that says;
"There were other roads you could have taken, I will live with the fact that I have killed the emperor until the day I die, and history will record me as a killer. But, I will take this responsibility."
In DW8, he's been toned down thanks to his darker moments in 7 going into Jia Chong which is a shame, However he did get a moment where his more lax attitude got them a valuable ally AND was able to convince Xiahou Ba to come back if you go for the hypothetical route. There's no doubt in my mind that if he acted more like his brother, Wen Yang and Xiahou Ba would've been dead right then and there.
His Arc is two sides of the same coin as Liu Shan another character who not only knows he's not worthy of ruling but is fed up with the constant fighting, decides to surrender to Wei, knowing that he can't win.
So a TLDR: He's a character who's in a constant struggle of what he wants vs what others want from him, and while he doesn't believe himself as fit to do that at first, grows into someone who is competent but doesn't like how it goes against his own morals.
Sorry if that was alot but I feel Sima Zhao is very slept on in the larger warriors community because they only see him at face value and that sucks because his story in dw7 is really good and it kinda stings that 8 toned him down.
This here is exactly why I like Sima Zhao and Liu Shan. Also that is pretty much the biggest reason why Sima Zhao spares Liu Shan when he surrenders cause he recognized that he was going through the same struggle as he was as someone who was forced into that responsibility because of the people that came before him and when you think about it he was just too ahead of his time realizing wasting resources in the northern campaign and in a battle you cant win goes against the meaning of benevolence. The main difference being Zhao was looked at as a psychopath while Shan was looked at as a coward.
I still say Shu is the absolute best their benevolence honor and strong will to help the people definitely influenced me as a kid growing up I respected their aim to unite China ❤🔥 but my favorite character would be Zhang Liao he’s intelligent his strength and prowess as a warrior is impeccable and he’s definitely came along way from siding with Lu Bu to serving Cao Cao definitely a warrior to be duly noted and other favorites would be Ma Chao Gan Ning or Wen Yang
I think a video on Wu's stories and really bunker down to think about their purpose would be a good idea.
Thinking over that kind of stuck is a good brain exercise and would be interesting too see what conclusion you end up with.
Just uh...I wish you luck with DW9
Ma Chao getting my vote, man consistently has the freshest look throughout the entire series (just wish his moves were as tight as he looks)
Sun Quan is always my go to character 💚
His moveset is so basic yet incredibly effective on both crowd control and 1v1 due to his satisfying charge/musou (DW2-5). In DW6 he got slower but then again, KOEI gave him one of the best specials: Volley (rain of fire arrows)⚡️from 7 to 9, it's really hard not to like his swinging fire musou and auto-fire tornado EX attack 🔥
The story came from an uninteresting character (compare to Liu, Cao, his bro and dad) in eraly games to such a likeable leader whom we can relate to (from DW7 onwards), as someone who learned, failed, tried again, defended his kingdom no matter what ⭐️
Same here. Always my main (from 7 onwards) and yes his fiery musou attacks are fun to pull off 🥰
Oh hey, as for favorite character I have appreciated pang tong going thrue a diff move set and model each game, and the interesting usage of the staff is nice,
While for other charas it took dw5 or 6 to aquire a drastically different move set
Along with the more laid back personality
I have to go with Cao Cao, he represents ambition and power, tempered by intellect and philosophical depth. He is not just a conqueror but a visionary who seeks to control chaos by any means necessary. As a leader, Cao Cao’s charisma and ability to inspire loyalty (even through fear) make him stand out. His generals, such as Xiahou Dun, Zhang Liao, and Xu Huang, followed him through intense campaigns because they respected his intellect and leadership.
A leader like Cao Cao can fix the world right now and would have a lasting affect long after his death
I haven't read ROTTK (I tried several times) but I do know about that scene. A farmer/peasant gives her fucking wife as food for Liu Bei and company. I don't remember if Liu Bei knows this or not, but I don't think it was portrayed as "bad", more as "wow, this guy is loyal".
Great video btw. Still watching. Will comment again.
I remember he was told of this after he finished eating, this shit crazy.
Don’t forget Cheng Yu the 8 feet tall adviser who enjoys harassing Cao Cao and hos coworkers. Cheng Yu fed his townsfolk to Cao Cao’s forces
I have so many favourites, but my all time fave now is Zhang Chunhua - I love her calm and serene aura, that contrasts with how intimidated people are by her. Despite how scary she can be, she clearly really cares for her family, and her stern attitude seems to be a way for her to encourage her family to be the best they can be. Her designs are awesome too and her Wired Claws are one of the most fun movesets in the game!!!
Yeah, the Shu kingdom officers being basically a group of ride or die homies is a big draw and that kind of brotherhood is something I think we long for earlier in life. Meanwhile, after giving it more thought, Cao Cao isn't evil so much as he is just an asshole.
Thank you for hearting my comments OP. Also want to point out another thing, Shu’s story line reminds me very much of Jesus and the 12 disciples. You know they’re all gonna die before you even watch the film, you anticipate all the suffering and betrayals, but there’s that finalization of hope and the message that ultimate good will win in the end. The three brother’s death and Zhuge Liang’s death all felt very serious like Jesus’ death.
I've already said my piece on this topic in the last hot takes video, so I won't repeat myself.
I certainly have my favorite character to talk about, and that's Sima Zhao. First off, I'd argue his moveset (At least in DW8) is one of the best in modern Warriors games. Not only is it super effective, but it also has so much style, like him surfing on an enemy in one of his EX attacks.
And as for his story, I'm gonna say it, I think he does the, "Guy thrust into leader" thing, better than Sun Quan. We see his struggles and how he feels about it firsthand on the battlefield, such as when he confronts Zhuge Dan and Xiahou Ba. And I do like the addition of Jia Chong to represent his dark side. And I also saw a comment naming Wang Yuanji as their favorite, and I pretty much agree with what they said there, I like the way she supports him.
I think he also doesn't fall into the trap most DW characters do in terms of personality, which is having one specific trait be most of what they have. His laziness, while yes it does show up quite a bit, I think they do keep it in check when needed, like with Zhuge Dan's rebellion in DW7, he is taking this absolutely seriously, not giving Zhuge Dan an inch to retort. He is saying what he thinks, and he is straight ticked off while doing it.
Another point is that I really like his designs. They do a good job of looking more modern, but still fitting in the time period. And it fits with the lazier side of his personality.
So yeah, I like Sima Zhao. :)
And since I feel like it, I'll go on and say my favorite female character, Guan Yinping. Not for any deep reason, I just think she's really fun to play, and I find her personality funny. Her design also isn't too crazy with the "Appeal", which I appreciate. (There's nothing wrong with that, I just think we could use a balance of modest, and immodest female characters) She's cute, and that's really all I got lol.
I would say hands down my favorite character was Lu Bu. Young me seeing this absolute beast of a man, his huge Halberd and unmatched Strength and little regard for serving a leader and just wanted to fight for the sake of battle was amazing to me. Using him made me feel so strong and fighting against him made feel like I was going against a super boss in the earlier levels. Lu bu to me will always have a place in my heart for bad ass character
Favorite DW character has to go to Fa Zheng. I love morally questionable characters (my second favorite is Jia Chong lmao), and because of Shu being the “benevolent” kingdom, he gets to stand out. Love both his designs and voice acting. I feel like one of the rare people who liked his carpet moveset, but his whip sword in 9 is fun too. He’s such a unique strategist, because who else thinks about endangering their own lord and makes it work? I actually liked him more in DW9 since I got more time to learn his role in Three Kingdoms China. His hypothetical was also so much fun
When I was a kid I was a young fan of Shu and how they had bad ass warriors that fought for the ppl and their lord. They were the underdogs who were always losing but trying to do the right thing. And even tho they were always losing the kingdom was held up by a group of elite officers that were basically superheroes. But as I got older I started to really respect the power Cao Cao created with Wei. His ambition won me over and how badass he is as a lord calculating and cold. Wu was always the lame one to me. They have a few cool warriors like Gan Ning and Zhou Tai but a lot of characters I NEVER want to play. Also Wu just falls off as time goes on. Sun Quan never was cool to me. His father and brother were much better but they aren’t around long.
My favorite characters are Jiang Wei, Zhao Yun and Lu Bu. Zhao Yun and Jiang Wei were very similar when I played DW3 as my intro to the series. Zhao Yun was a bad ass poster boy who had such cool feats. Then I looked at Jiang Wei as the next Zhao Yun except he was also a genius strategist. It was like it was the next prodigy that would save Shu talented in both fighting and tactics. And Lu Bu is just a bad ass power house. And after finishing the video my opinions are very similar to yours with loving Shu and pouring hours into them as a kid. Then having a growing respect for Wei as I got older. Shu sounded like a dream world a kid would think up of total and perfect peace. Wei is far more realistic under Cao Cao which appealed to me as I matured and learned how cruel the world can really be during times of war. I don’t think I’ll ever come around to Wu as a whole but I’ll always enjoy the fan favorites they have.
I definitely gravitated towards Shu back when I first played DW3 at 10 or whatever it was, but over the years I’ve found myself becoming more and more of a Wei enjoyer.
Might help that my favorite color used to be green, now it’s blue. Wonder if those things are connected…
Wu, because its red, lmao
Okey gonna seperate this from my other comment
Favourite Character
Hard Pick but I will go with Huang Gai (Surprise surprise i guess)
For me the Veteran Warrior with Loyalty as strong as the rivers of Wu and a built that could match the might of Lu Bu and Dian Wei.
As a Character he was my first pick as he was Loyal, wise and respectful even to his opponents.
That Dynasty Warriors 7 cutszene on Chi Bi and the music with it really when the game first dropped then made me relove this character even more.
I also loved they leaned in that he is the Pro Wrestler of the newer games.
While his weapon in 8 wasnt to my taste his Voice Actor in english usually always killed it performance wise.
Moveset I prefered the old ones up to 5 and funnily enjoyed his 7 and Warriors Orochi 3 version using the club then anker. They had such a weight to them and he was handling it one handed with ease (dw 3-5 weapon)
His ending in DW5 really is sweet and fitting of the Character and the battles he was a main figure may be little but he always became the highlight for me in said battles.
So yea Huang Gai for me the Veteran who served Wu from basically the start.
My all-time favorite was for sure Guan Yu, I remember when I was a kid and I was playing multiple warriors while discovering the franchise in itself that he was outstanding, growing up, I was fascinated by the weapon, the legendary Guandao and the steed he had
Then, I would be fascinated by his design, I would understand his morals, his sense of family of choice, promises and lifestyle
As an inspiration, Guan Yu is the G.O.A.T.
Little recent regards to Yu Jin too
His small development in D8 Empires was also inspiring, having to prove himself in the battlefield and getting to unlock his cinematic with Cao Cao at some point in the end with him congratulating Yu Jin, truly a shonen spirit right there
Showing love to Yu Jin 😎
(Thanks for the videos by the way Koei, I hope everything's going well for you out there, take care)
My favourite Is Cao Ren, because i think i resemble him quite a bit. Same height,same physical build...but not only that. I also despise war and conflict with other people,and usually tend to have a calm and respectful demeanor. Of course i get angry too sometimes but everyone does...
Love this video everyone came up with fantastic points in my eyes
Xiahou Dun. Loyal to a fault, been with Cao Cao since the early days, went toe to toe with Guan Yu for a bit. He was always the right hand of his lord, something that sort of resonates with me. When it comes to others, no one has got the guts (minus Xun Yu) to go against Cao Cao's word except Xiahou Dun. And come on, the dude ate his eye then continued to fight. Whether his enemies be Lu Bu or Guan Yu, Xiahou Dun wont back down if it means the success of his lord.
Xu Huang. Despite being someone known for being "The Pinnacle of Might" Xu Huang is like the one person many of the common soldiers look up to in battle. He trains and does his best behind closed doors to maintain his appearance for not only his men but also himself.
My favorite is sadly not playable in DW: Cheng Yu. No one wants to be Cheng Yu’s friend but Xu Zhu and Xiahou Yuan loves his cooking. Cheng Yu serves Cao Cao as an adviser, fighter, laborer, and chef for commoners, soldiers.
Regarding story of Liu Bei and alternative ways to appreciate fellow humans!
Novel goes roughly like this: after ANOTHER defeat somewhere, Liu Bei got lost and stumble upon a hunter's (i think) house. Hunter, of course, knew who Liu Bei was, love him and all what benevolence, so 'be my guest'.
The problem is, hunter doesn't have much food to feed SUCH A HONORABLE GUEST. So he well-you-know his wife and made a meal out of well-you-get-it, getting a compliments from unsuspecting Liu Bei.
Of course, afterwards Liu Bei find out WHAT kind of meat hunter provides to him. And wept. No, not because of THAT, guys, this is a good confucian story! He wept because of hunter's BENEVOLENCE and SACRIFICE, so then rest of the army find Liu Bei, he orders to compensate THIS KIND HUNTER for his trouble.
I hope yt don't delete this comment...
DW8 made me love Wu again. I’m hoping “DW10” will return to form (DW8XL’s combat & unique weapons for _EVERY_ character), especially after Origins, and maybe get some of the 6~8 voice cast back!
Jin grew on me, too [though it’s really just an extension of Wei].
Dong Zhuo is my all-time favorite character. Hear me out. Every story needs a villain, and he provides just that. The three-pronged war between Cao Cao, Liu Bei, and Sun Quan is a war of ideals. Dong Zhuo is a cut and dry villain with overtly selfish motivations. He has gotten fatter and fatter over the course of the franchise, but that makes him busting out swift moves hilarious - poetry in motion. I also love how he dominates the early game as it's the only time where most of the roster is united under a single banner to oppose this one evil man.
Lu bu from DW 5,6,7 the English VA knew how to make him sound like a badass and cool. his combat style was great and just an overall power house always mained him when unlocked.
now characteristic wise Xu Shu. from dw 7/8/9 he was my fave newcomer. i was sad his story didnt get more in them.
also are you ever gunna do a topic on the spin off warrior games? i.e Fire emblem warriors and hyrule warriors?
Personal favorite of mine from not only gameplay but story as well is Jia Chong
Random thought but Taishi Ci and Cao Ren are my favourite characters they feel to me like they were vanguards of their faction.
@KoeiKollection 7 is Wu's peak. The most fun i had with the narrative
My favorite is and always will be Zhou Tai; I just wish they let him do more than be a simple bodyguard to Sun Quan. He was an extremely accomplished general in his own right and even served as second-in-command at Yiling under Han Dang.
This is solely based on dynasty warriors 8 since I haven't gotten around to play the other dynasty warriors games (although ask me about one piece warriors and I'm all ears)
That being said Guo Jia is probably my favourite character within that game specifically because the story takes a very minor but noticeable tone shift where a lot of the strategies they employ are a lot more based on Jia Xu's style
Which while effective and works, he lacks some qualities that Guo Jia has just as Jia Xu has qualities Guo Jia lacks. Big fan of how they made them this Wei dynamic duo and the loss of him is very much felt.
The pool stick cue weapon is my favourite weapon in Dynasty Warriors 8 as nothing feels quite as good as setting up the balls and shooting them off just to see them ricochet off the environment around you. I can't imagine the amount of work that went into programming the physics all for one weapon and I definitely have respect for that
empires i always pick zhou tai's weapon on my caw since its always fun.
Zhou Tai's weapon in 7 and 8 is busted, plain and simple. Endless combos, for example, come easy, and the AI is unable to block his C6 and C4 EX attacks.
I think the best Kingdom in DW is definitely the Goguryeo! Them Koreans just watched as China went to war!
Love shu - zhao yun, jiang wei, wei yan, zhang fei. BUT wu - ling tong, zhou tai, sun ce......but Zhu Rong is also fun
Cao Cao IS Dynasty Warriors.
Cao Cao is the most important character in the Three Kingdoms story and it's not even close. From the Yellow Turban Rebellion all the way until his death Cao Cao was involved in pretty much every conflict in the era in some way shape or form. Even the conflicts that didn't involve his forces thanks to his control over the emperor. (Liu Bei vs. Yuan Shu and Liu Bei vs. Lu Bu just to name a few examples) If Cao Cao didn't exist, 95% of the game's events would never happen. The 2010 Three Kingdoms series also played a huge role in making Cao Cao my favorite character.
Cao Cao shares the same Chinese sign as Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Bruce Willis, and Jimmy Conway
For me it has to be Zhuge Liang. To be honest I think that Zhuge Liang is who Sima Yi wants to be. When it comes to this whole Shu narrative, it is surely not benevolance that persuaded him to join Liu Bei. He could hide his goals, ambition and desire of power under that mask of saving people and doing it all for them. He could move as he pleases, making unpopular decisions and getting away with them. He is vicious, highly relies on others, while still sticking to the whole idea of serving the one and only, master of charity and people pleaser Liu Bei.
Wu needs more love, its always been my favorite out of the three.
Dynasty Warriors was the first for me to an from then the the rest was history love this franchise
I would say my favorite character is Xiahou Dun. He's been by Cao Cao since the beginning and one of the few that can analyze his motives. I also like the one-sided rivalry between him and Guan Yu. Xiahou Dun is depicted as an austere general, but not immune to petty jealousy toward Guan Yu, a trait that intensifies as the conflict goes on.
I like Xiahou Dun simply because of him being a gruff, no nonsense badass who is eager to aid Cao Cao in his plans and when he decided to cut his hair, he has truly leveled up in the badassery level.
Also, Xiahou Dun being voiced by Kirk Thornton aka Saito Hajime in the Rurouni Kenshin anime is a bonus in the badassery level that Xiahou Dun possesses.
I think for me it is Wu, even though I agree with some of the points against it.
I’ve just always been a Wu guy, and a lot of my fave characters have always been from there. I really enjoy the interactions between the characters in Wu, theres a good sense of home and family, even characters who hate each other like ling tong and gan ning get along. I feel like the other kingdoms have less of that dynamic, they all put up with each other and some get along with each other more than others but none quite have those Wu bonds.
After Wu I would say Jin, maybe it’s weird to seperate it from Wei but I feel like the kingdom of Jin and its cast just have a cold and darker feel then wei, and it’s produced some of my favourite characters again such as Sima Shi and Jia Chong.
After that it would be Wei then Shu.
Shu will always be last for me because i hate the 3 brothers so early shu stages are always a pain
Wei is a lot warmer and friendlier than Jin. Wei has camaraderie the kind you see in a restaurant kitchen setting
I’m a Shu guy but, judging from what I’ve seen from other accounts over the years it’s Wei. 4:05 sidenote on this comment you made Shu becoming one note and it’s not that they became stale, it’s just that you have gotten older.
Cao Cao is someone I'd say has you in the first half but once he says I can do whatever I want to do it he looses me. Cao Cao massacred the people of Xu Province twice and his advisors even called him our on it and he replies with what did I do wrong and threatened them with execution if they continued to question him.
His ideals to me don't have room for these behaviors and I'm someone who originally liked Wei
Blue being my favorite color. My stance remains on the three kingdoms if Wu doesn't betray at Fan Castle Wei is cooked.
I personally think Cao Cao was backed up and blessed by God until he graped and mordered Xu province. That was when God allowed Wu to wipe him at Chi Bi
when i was a kid, was more of a Shu guy because of Zhao Yun, Pang Tong, Wei Yang and Guan Ping.
now im more of Wei guy lol 😂
Shu has been getting alot of hate and it will forever be my favourite kingdom out of Wei, Wu and Jin. It was the first kingdom i picked back when i was a kid playing DW6 in ps3. I chose Shu cuz of Zhao Yun in the opening of DW6
In those games I am more of the wild card player playing as all the kingdoms and factions
I haven't played any Dynasty Warriors so far, I've only played with the DW characters in the Warriors Orochi (and from what I've seen of the DW characters, I really liked the ones from Shu), but all your videos make me really want to play the DW, I just don't do that at the moment because I'm still getting to know more about SW, I only knew 2 empires but I decided to get to know the others when 5 came out, at the moment I'm on 2 and then (when it gets a set in retro achievements) his Xtreme Legends, then I'll start playing the DW ones, and if anyone can help me, among the PS2 ones, which one is the most friendly for new players? and all your videos are very good, I wish more Brazilians saw them and liked musou games :3
and when I get a better PC I intend to play all the musou that are on Steam, even the anime ones (mainly one piece pirate warriors 4, as for 3 I pretend it doesn't exist, I didn't really like it because I was able to test it before and it was a bit tedious and without much immersion, now one that I'm curious to play is Berserk, but I'm also scared, I don't know if it's going to be good and I haven't seen much gameplay of it to surprise me by playing it :v) and I'm crazy because I want to play 4-II? (I see a lot of people talking bad about this SW, I want to try it but it's scary because of the negative reviews, but I think in the end I'll try it anyway, I hope I don't regret it)
For me ma chao is the best character who always wanted to protect his clan thus joined liu bei didn’t care about everyone like a little mama dog rather he would fight his way one of the example was tong gate battle if not for guan Yu’s death he would’ve been victorious
Fav Chars for me ?
Female : Diao Chan. Why ? She managed to accomplished what an entire Coalition could not achieve and of course she' hella Hot and Beautiful!
Male : Guo Jia. Bro is handsome, Womanizer, and Smart. Probably the perfect tactian for Wei. Ashame that Good Strategists always had bad expiration date.
the kingdom 6 comment is the best one here, and I'm a Wei head.
Honestly its a toss up for me on best dw character but I like my boy zhuge liang he cold but calculated as a strategist and I hope they make it better in origins
Wei = Too evil
Wu= Too weak
Shu= Too nice
Personally, Kingdom of Wei, Cao Cao gave everyone a chance, if you're bad at something then you're just bad, get gud.
But whenever I'm reminded of my ancestry, it's the actual Han, they may seem ass in game but hey, Lu Zhi (my ancestor), Huangfu Song and Zhu Zhi were the general set out to end the YTR and they are actual lads that fight on the damn field, I take every chance to shit on Jin dynasty as a whole whenever I can.
Cao Cao will find a talent for everyone and place them in those positions
Gotta be shu with the three brothers story
Hey Koei Kollection, this is unrelated but I just want to ask.
Is the DLC weapon worth it? Personally I just didn't want to grind too much
(Asking for DW8XLCE and DW9)
Edit:
I legit didn't notice the name is Kollection not Collection lol
Hey! That’s all good regarding the name thing, tbh I’m happy either way if people spell it with a C or a K haha
As for the DLC weapons, just double checking, are you meaning rare weapons? Or actual purchasing DLC weapons?
I haven’t personally bought any weapons DLC, however as for grinding out rare weapons, tbh they’re not all that difficult to unlock in DW8XLCE, and I found really gave me more to do in the game with every character😎 I’m also pretty sure Koei didn’t put any secret/hidden weapons in DW9, which is a real bummer
@@KoeiKollection ah yes, I mean purchasing DLC weapons.
I heard its almost as good as rare weapons from the base game but not as OP as the.. I believe the 6th weapon is what people call it. So yeah I was wondering if it's worth purchasing. Thanks for the reply!
13:06
OHHHHHHH YEAH!
Listen red is my fave color so for me its Wei cuz of my queen Zhenji and Wu cuz of fine ass Zhou Tai and Sun Jian!!
Shu my faves in Guan Yinping and Yue Ying shes a badass
to me i played dw3 in 2003 i was 11 but i didnt even know i played dw1 in arcade before😂i dont know the history when i played 3 but i think Wu has badaz armor n design Zhou Yu was my first fav dw game then Lu Xun then Xiahou Dun n Zhang Liao i got Shu last.
Dw4 i liked Wei bc Xiahou Dun n Zhang Liao design i got Wu second n Shu last
Dw5 Wei, Wu, Shu
Dw6 Shu, Wei, Wu
now i got to 7 then Shu became my fav Kingdom bc Lui Bei's ideal dream.
Started on DW5 without knowing the book or the novels and tv series, went totally for the gameplay and character designs. And from that perspective i liked Zhou Tai more that any other character. All lance weilders felt the same, the sword wielders to except for him since his style was basically iaido and totally out of place on ancient China. The other weapons felt clunky 🤣
As for character/personality/motivations , Cao Cao by far is the one that calls my attention due to how he got things through and through 😁
The samurai fighting style may even be an archaic Chinese style that was abandoned and picked up by Japan
@@mattparke4370 That would be super cool, it's funny because so few on SW actually do Iaido 🤣
I love Wu, but they are essential Don from Fast and Furious. My power is my family!!!!
The easier video would have been "the best warriors from each kingdom"..
I can't pick one of them tbh 😂
what team would u be in? and my 2 mains are zhen ji and da xiao for the woman for the guys i like gan ning lu lxun cao pi zhang he lubu etc
Of course it's Wei. Shu is hypocritical about benevolence when you got dudes like Zhang Fei and Guan Yu beating the shit of their own guys. And I don't even know what Wu stood for.
Shu is where it’s at they were the weakest at first but became the strongest near the end till Wu backstabs them over the Jing province since then they drop down to 3rd place so it’s Wei-Wu-Shu at first then Shu-Wei-Wu near the end it’s Wei-Wu-Shu again since Jin conquered Shu first with Wu being the last one to be conquered
if shu want to be morally ambiguous they really need to take a look at the ravages of time. Zhuge liang and pang tong depiction is downright cunning and brutal.
Wei Because i like the color of blue
I'm gonna cheat and pick one male and one female character
my favorite female character is Sun Shangxiang and as I mentioned in a comment from another one of your videos she should be the poster child of the series, she was here since the very first game and as far as I know has the most consistent move set in the series, she had the best story arc out of every female character (dw5 and 6), and she is always fun to play even in worst games in the series and my first pick in every DW and WO games.
my favorite male character is a toss up between Cao Cao and Cao Pi, Cao Cao is charisma's incarnation, he owns every seen he is in and weirdly enough some are my favorite stages in the series are the ones that you play as him ( specially Wei's first stage in DW8 ) but I never liked his move set until DW8, on the other hand I don't like Cao Pi as a character but I love his gameplay and move set, he is my favorite in DW5 and 8 but if I'm gonna choose I'll choose Cao Cao, I know very shocking