The Dynasty Warriors Character Guide

Dynasty Warriors

Is Dynasty Warriors 5 Xtreme Legends good?

Yes, I'd say so, though other may disagree. Read my review and decide for yourself if it's worth $30.

Will there be a Dynasty Warriors 5 Empires?

Yup. It will be released for the Playstation 2 and the X-Box 360 on March 30th in Japan and North America. A European release date has not been announced yet. See the official GAMECITY site.

Will there be any Dynasty Warriors games for the next generation consoles?

You betcha, though only two for the X-Box 360 have been announced so far. Dynasty Warriors 5 Special for the 360 (currently only available in Japan) is a special edition of DW5 and DW5XL. Dynasty Warriors 5 Empires will be released on the X-Box 360 as well as the PS2. No other next-gen DW games have been announced yet. Once again, the Tech Demo is NOT a real game.

How do I get this item/weapon/character?

I don't answer gameplay questions. Try GameFAQs.com.

Are there any other games like Dynasty Warriors?

Yes. For games with DW-style gameplay, check out Samurai Warriors, Mystic Heroes, Drakengard, Sengoku Basara, and Kingdom Under Fire. For games based on Three Kingdoms, there's Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Dynasty Tactics, and Kessen II.

What does 'CAW'/'CAC' stand for?

'Create-A-Warrior' and 'Create-A-Character,' also known as Edit Mode. This is the mode where you make up your own playable officer.

Where can I get Dynasty Warriors merchandise, like the artbooks?

Try the following online vendors: GameStop, GKWorld, Amazon.co.jp, CD Japan, Jamall, Rinkya, YesAsia, Café Reo, ok!shon, and EBay. I cannot personally vouch for the reliability of these stores or their ability to provide you with these products.

What's the Dynasty Warriors Tech Demo?

The Tech Demo, shown at E3 2005, was a short CG movie clip, featuring Guan Yu, Koei made to demonstrate the power of the Playstation 3 console. It is NOT a real game, or a demo for a real game. It is not playable.

Back to top

Novel

What's this novel you keep talking about?

Dynasty Warriors is based on the Chinese novel Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong. This novel is well-known and well-loved in Asia. The novel is itself based on real Chinese history — the end of the Han dynasty — and it is mostly accurate.

Where can I get the novel?

First of all, you can read the whole thing online at ThreeKingdoms.com. I'd recommend buying your own copy, though, because it's a very long book. If your local bookstores don't have it on the shelves, ask them to special order it for you, most places will do that. If they can't special order it, you'll have to go online — try Amazon.com or Barnes & Nobles. eBay occasionally carries used copies, too.

Which edition of the novel should I buy?

This is the edition I own: Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong, translated by Moss Roberts, 4 volume paperback, ISBN 7119005901, published by Foreign Languages Press. It cost about $40 US. When looking for your own copy, I suggest you search with the ISBN number.

What are the differences between the abridged and unabridged editions?

'Abridged' means it has been condensed and shortened. That means, there's parts of the book missing. There are several abridged editions of Three Kingdoms, and they're not worth reading unless you have ADHD or something. A lot of characters and events don't appear in the abridged editions. Make sure the copy you get is unabridged — you'll know for sure that it is if it's got all 120 chapters.

Why do the names look weird in the novel? Who are Liu Pei and Ts'ao Ts'ao?

There's two (well, more than two) systems for romanizing Chinese — that is, two ways to write Chinese names in English. There's Pinyin, which the Dynasty Warriors games use, and Wade-Giles, which some older editions of Three Kingdoms use. Check the Wade-Giles page for more information.

Back to top

History

Is Dynasty Warriors based on real history?

To some extent, yes. It is based on a novel which is based on history (see above). The games are not 100% historically accurate, and neither is the novel it's based on.

Where can I go to learn more about the real history?

Kongming's Archives.

Did women like Sun Shang Xiang actually fight, historically?

In the novel, only Zhu Rong fought in battles. Sun Shang Xiang may have known martial arts, and she may have collected weapons, but she did not fight in battle. Historically (as far as I know), no women fought, period, because Zhu Rong is a made-up novel character.

Back to top

Website

Why haven't you replied to my e-mail?

I do not reply to fanworks submissions unless there's something wrong with your submission. If you sent a question or a comment, wait a few more days — I may just be too busy to answer my e-mail. E-mail me again if I haven't replied in three days.

May I use your pictures on my website?

Please read our Usage Policy. The gist of it goes like this: if you want to use Official Artwork, the answer is YES, go ahead. If you want to use Fanart/Yaoi/Wallpapers, the answer is NO, not without permission from the artist.

What is 'direct-linking'?

'Direct-linking' (also called hotlinking) is when you link to an image on another server. When you post a picture on a blog or in a forum, you paste in a URL that points to where the image is located, such as http://www.yueying.net/images/image.jpg — if this URL does not point to a website or server you have permission to direct-link from, you are stealing someone's bandwidth.

Direct-linking from YueYing.net is forbidden, except when posting quiz results. I have to to do this, because I cannot afford to pay hundreds of dollars in bandwidth fees.

How can I contact the fanartists?

Contact me and I'll try to get you in touch. Remember to tell me the name/nickname of the fanartist you want to talk to. You must contact a fanartist before using his or her artwork on your website or in a wallpaper/winamp skin/avatar/whatever.

May I link to your website?

Sure.

Where do you get the stuff you put on your site?

If you'll notice, a lot of the stuff on my site is donated by other people. I give credit to them wherever that content appears. All of the Official Gallery images come from either Koei websites, or were scanned from Dynasty Warriors artbooks.
Other stuff, like the links, the names, and the profiles, is collected and written by me.

Will you make a quiz for the Other characters?

No.

When will you update next? Why don't you update more often?

I update when I update. I have this thing called a 'life,' it takes up a lot of my time. I do the best I can.

What's 'yaoi' and why do you have it on your site?

'Yaoi' is depictions of homosexual relationships between men. 'Shounen ai' is another term for it. I like yaoi, and lots of other Dynasty Warriors fans (both male and female) enjoy it, and that's why I have it on my site. If you don't like it, then don't look at it. No one's forcing you to.

Why don't you have any 'yuri' on your site?

Because no one's sent me any. If and when someone does, I'll put it up. ('Yuri,' by the way, is the female equivalent of yaoi — depictions of homosexual relationships between women.)

Will you link to my website?

If it's a Dynasty Warriors or Three Kingdoms related website, absolutely, just contact me. If it's not... Well, this is a DW site, there's no point in linking to stuff that has nothing to do with DW. Sorry.

Back to top

Personal

Who's your favorite character?

I don't have one. I like everyone — yes, even Dong Zhuo.

Do you work for Koei?

No, I do not. I have no inside information, no contacts, nothing. I am just a fan, no different from you. And for the record, I don't make a cent off this website.

Can you send me mp3s of music from the game?

No.

May I e-mail you, just to chat?

Sure, but I'm a boring, laconic person so it's hard to get me to talk.

How do you make your website?

I use xHTML, CSS, PHP, and a tiny bit of Javascript to make this site run. I'm self-taught. I type up xHTML and CSS in Notepad, and use EditPlus for PHP. I loathe Javascript, so whenever I have to use it I just take something from a free script repository. I pay a reasonable monthly fee to have my site hosted by HostGator, and another yearly fee to It's Your Domain to keep my domain name.

How can I help you with your site?

Submit fanart, send me stuff on my wishlist, contact me if you find an error on my site or if you know about any DW sites not on my links page. No, I don't need help writing my profiles, don't offer.

Back to top

Miscellaneous

Are you ever going to work on your Samurai Warriors site?

I hope to, someday, but not right now. I don't have the time, the money, or the material for it. The Dynasty Warriors site comes first.

What is 'Ikkitousen?'

Ikkitousen is an anime and manga series with loose relevance to Three Kingdoms. Basically, it's an excuse for buxom, scantily-clad young ladies to wrestle each other. Being female and heterosexual, I have no interest in the series, but it's worth mentioning because most of the main characters are reincarnations of Three Kingdoms characters. Female reincarnations, keep in mind. Characters included are Sun Ce (Sonsaku Hakufu), Zhou Yu (Syuyu Koukin), Lu Meng (Ryomou Shimei), Gan Ning (Kannei Kouha), Taishi Ci (Taishizi Shigi), Dong Zhuo (Toutaku Chuuei), Lu Bu (Ryofu Housen), and probably others. The manga has been translated and released in North America under the title 'Battle Vixens.' The anime is also being released in the USA, under the name 'Ikki Tousen.'

What is 'Eternity?'

Eternity is a manhwa (Korean graphic novel) by Park Jin-Ryong and Shin Yong-Gwan about Liu Bei (Yube), Guan Yu (Gwanu), and Zhang Fei (Jangbe) reincarnated in modern times. Only not with boobs, like in Ikkitousen (thank GOD). In this series, Guan Yu is a dorky ladies' man, Zhang Fei is an angry hoodlum, and Liu Bei is a meek porn-freak. Heh. I've read the first volume and I like it, but it's definately meant for guys — lots of ass-kicking, panty-shots, and other shounen staples. I have to say, though, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei are pretty hot in this, so it's not a total loss for the ladies. It's being released in North America by Tokyopop.

Where did your Kessen II walkthrough go? Are you ever going to finish it?

It's over here, and I hope I will. Like I said, busy life.