| Dynasty Warriors | |
|---|---|
  Original international logo (above) and original Japanese logo (below) | |
| Genres | Hack and slash Fighting Action role-playing Action-adventure Real-time strategy |
| Developer | Omega Force |
| Publishers | Koei (1997–2010) Koei Tecmo (2010–present) |
| Platforms | Game Boy Advance PlayStation PlayStation 2 PlayStation 3 PlayStation 4 PlayStation 5 PlayStation Portable PlayStation Vita Nintendo DS Nintendo 3DS GameCube Wii Wii U Nintendo Switch Nintendo Switch 2 Xbox Xbox 360 Xbox One Xbox Series X/S Windows iOS Android |
| First release | Dynasty Warriors February 28, 1997 |
| Latest release | Dynasty Warriors: Origins January 17, 2025 |
| Parent series | Romance of the Three Kingdoms |
| Dynasty Warriors | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese name | |||||||||||
| Chinese | 真·三國無雙 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 真·三国无双 | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
| Japanese name | |||||||||||
| Kanji | 真・三國無双 | ||||||||||
| Hiragana | しん・さんごくむそう | ||||||||||
| Kyūjitai | 眞・三國無雙 | ||||||||||
| Shinjitai | 真・三国無双 | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Dynasty Warriors (真・三國無双,Shin Sangokumusō;lit. "True Three Kingdoms Unrivaled") is a series of Japanesehack and slashaction video games created byOmega Force andKoei (nowKoei Tecmo). The series is a spin-off of Koei's turn-based strategyRomance of the Three Kingdoms series, based upon theChinese novel of the same name, which is a romanticised retelling of the ChineseThree Kingdoms period.
The first game in the series, titledDynasty Warriors in English andSangokumusō in Japanese, was afighting game, a separate genre from the rest of the games in the series. Koei later created a new game as aspin-off and added the wordshin (真; true, genuine) to the beginning of the title to differentiate it from its predecessor. When the game waslocalized for the North American market, the name becameDynasty Warriors 2. Since then, all English titles have been numbered one larger than their Japanese counterparts. Because the originalDynasty Warriors game belongs to a separate genre and has a different series title in Japan,Koei Tecmo does not consider it a formal entry in theDynasty Warriors series.[Note 1] This is evidenced by Koei-Tecmo's celebration of the series' 20th anniversary in 2020, two decades after the release ofDynasty Warriors 2.[1]
In 2008, it was Koei's most successful franchise,[2] and as of 2025, the series has sold more than 24 million copies worldwide.[3]
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| 1997 | Dynasty Warriors |
|---|---|
| 1998 | |
| 1999 | |
| 2000 | Dynasty Warriors 2 |
| 2001 | Dynasty Warriors 3 |
| 2002 | |
| 2003 | Dynasty Warriors 4 |
| 2004 | |
| 2005 | Dynasty Warriors 5 |
| 2006 | |
| 2007 | Dynasty Warriors 6 |
| 2008 | |
| 2009 | |
| 2010 | |
| 2011 | Dynasty Warriors 7 |
| 2012 | |
| 2013 | Dynasty Warriors 8 |
| 2014 | |
| 2015 | |
| 2016 | |
| 2017 | |
| 2018 | Dynasty Warriors 9 |
| 2019 | |
| 2020 | |
| 2021 | |
| 2022 | |
| 2023 | |
| 2024 | |
| 2025 | Dynasty Warriors: Origins |
The firstDynasty Warriors (Sangokumusō) is a traditional one-on-onefighting game, released in 1997 for thePlayStation. Its gameplay style is reminiscent ofSamurai Shodown,The Last Blade,Virtua Fighter andSoul Blade.
The next game was released in Japan asShin Sangokumusou. This game was released in other countries asDynasty Warriors 2, leading to the discrepancy in title numbers. From this game onwards, the player chooses aplayable character and plays a number of levels representing particular battles in theThree Kingdoms period, eventually defeating all other rival kingdoms and uniting China under a common ruler. In this game mode, known as "Musou Mode", the generals are usually chosen from one of the three kingdoms (Wu,Shu orWei; however, fromDynasty Warriors 3: Xtreme Legends onwards, independent generals were given full stories as well).Dynasty Warriors 3 has two secret characters,Nü Wa andFu Xi, that are not playable in Musou Mode.
Dynasty Warriors 2,Dynasty Warriors 3,Dynasty Warriors 5 andDynasty Warriors 6 have individual Musou Modes for each character. InDynasty Warriors 4,Dynasty Warriors 7, andDynasty Warriors 8, each of the Three Kingdoms has its own Musou Mode, which all characters from a particular kingdom would play. The stages are presented in athird-person view, with the camera set behind the player as they engage the enemy forces. Each scenario can have different win/lose conditions, but the common losing conditions (defeat of thecommander-in-chief, health bar reaching zero and maximum time limit reached) still hold. As for the other characters not from either of the Three Kingdoms, their Musou story modes are purely fictional since inRomance of the Three Kingdoms, most or all of them were eliminated until only the Three Kingdoms were left.
InDynasty Warriors 5, a relatively more realistic Musou Mode is introduced for each character. Instead of participating in the entire set of their kingdoms' events, the characters appear only in certain battles that they had fought in, as according to the novel or factual history. Therefore, characters will start at different points in time and they may never have opportunities to encounter some of the other characters (e.g.Zhuge Liang will never meetLü Bu orDong Zhuo in his Musou Mode). In between stages there are some dramatic cutscenes, in which the character will express their thoughts on the situation, adding a more personal touch and keeping the player updated on the events. Besides, a character's Musou Mode may end before the unification of China at any point of time, stopping for most at their historical point of death. However, some characters such as the three founders (Liu Bei,Cao Cao, andSun Jian) may continue to participate in battles that occurred after their deaths (e.g. Cao Cao appearing at theBattle of Wuzhang Plains), representing an extended leadership under more successful circumstances.
InDynasty Warriors 8, an "if" route is added for each country. By fulfilling conditions in previous battles, the player can unlock a hypothetical route for each country where it manages to achieve what it failed to do in actual history. For example, the player can help Wei avoid defeat in the battle of Chibi and unite China with all Wei characters alive.
Dynasty Warriors 9 sought to introduce an "open world" style of gameplay.
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In 2002, anXtreme Legends (猛将伝,Mōshōden) expansion was first released for the main games, beginning withDynasty Warriors 3. This expansion features new Musou Modes for the characters in theOther category as well as new stages, weapons, items, and modes. TheXtreme Legends expansion only have the new content, and so players would require the original game disc and use the "Mixjoy" option to access all features. The following games would continue the tradition by havingXtreme Legends expansion, save forDynasty Warriors 6. New characters were also added through theXtreme Legends starting withDynasty Warriors 7.
Beginning in 2004, another expansion line, titledEmpires was first released forDynasty Warriors 4. InEmpires, the game would combine the action gameplay of the regular series with strategical and tactical elements from Koei's earlier seriesRomance of the Three Kingdoms. Unlike theXtreme Legends,Empires did not require the original game disc to access all of its features as it is considered a unique game of its own. Again, the following games would continue having theEmpires expansion, includingDynasty Warriors 6, which did not receive anXtreme Legends expansion.
In 2004,Koei created the firstDynasty Warriors title for portable game handhelds,Dynasty Warriors, onPlayStation Portable, and in the following year,Dynasty Warriors Advance forGame Boy Advance. The sequel of the first PSP game,Dynasty Warriors Vol. 2 was released in 2006. In 2007, Koei releasedDynasty Warriors DS: Fighter's Battle for theNintendo DS. Another PSP game based onDynasty Warriors 6,Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce was released in 2009, which was followed up by a sequel,Shin Sangokumusō: Multi Raid 2 in 2010. APlayStation Vita game,Dynasty Warriors Next, was released in 2011 as a launch title, and aNintendo 3DS game,Shin Sangokumusō VS (真・三國無双 VS), was released in April 2012. Another portable game was announced in September 2020 for iOS and Android, titledShin Sangokumusō (真・三國無双).[4]
Other than titles specifically made for handhelds, select mainDynasty Warriors titles have also been ported to handhelds, all of which are only available in Japan. The PS2 version ofDynasty Warriors 6,Dynasty Warriors 6: Special was also ported to the PSP, which was soon followed by theEmpires expansion in 2010. A port ofDynasty Warriors 7,Shin Sangokumusou 6: Special was released in 2011 for PSP, based on theXtreme Legends expansion but without including the three new characters added for the expansion. A PS Vita port ofDynasty Warriors 8 was released in 2013, which includes features from theXtreme Legends expansion for that game. Later, in 2015, theEmpires expansion ofDynasty Warriors 8 was also released on the PS Vita, notably also compatible with the PlayStation TV.
Dynasty Warriors 4: Hyper in 2005 is marked as the firstDW game for the PC. Hyper was a port ofDynasty Warriors 4 for the PS2, and had harder AI, more enemies on screen and smoother textures.
In 2006,Dynasty Warriors BB (renamedDynasty Warriors Online in 2007) was released as anonline game. As of January 10, 2014 Aeria Games shut down the servers for Dynasty Warriors Online in America.[5] Next toDynasty Warriors 4: Hyper,Dynasty Warriors 5 Special was released for PC in 2006,Dynasty Warriors 6 was released for PC in 2008. AlsoSamurai Warriors 2 released in 2009. The PC port ofDynasty Warriors 7 with Extreme Legends was released on March 9, 2012.
TheDynasty Warriors game series, although referenced to factual people, is known for changing the traditional ways of how some of the historical characters were depicted inRomance of the Three Kingdoms or in historical records. For example,Zhang He appears to be more feminine whileWei Yan becomes a bestial tribal warrior, while historical accounts depict both to be relatively normal generals with no outstanding characteristics such as these. Some of them also wield weapons that areanachronistic, such asLing Tong'snunchaku andSun Ce'stonfas. A touch of mysticism is also added, as some characters such asZhuge Liang,Sima Yi andZuo Ci have the ability to use magic in their attacks. Female characters (exceptZhurong andWang Yi) who did not participate in any battles in the novel or in history are depicted as fearsomefemale warriors with exceptional fighting skills and weapons.
A total of 96 characters have been made playable at some point in the series (not counting spin-offs); however, only 94 currently make mainstay appearances as ofDynasty Warriors 9. Each of these characters is armed with a weapon that may be a conventional historical one, an exotic martial arts weapon or a magical weapon that enhances their mystical powers. FromDynasty Warriors 3 onward, each character can choose from a range of weapons with their own power-ups and ability enhancements, as well as higher-level weapons that extend their attack chain.
Following the success ofDynasty Warriors, Koei releasedDynasty Tactics in 2002 and its sequel,Dynasty Tactics 2 in the following year, focusing on strategy and tactics in the same Three Kingdoms setting.
Probably the third most recognized franchise of Koei,Samurai Warriors (Sengoku Musou in Japan), was introduced in 2004. Instead of the Three Kingdoms era, the series uses Japan'sSengoku period. As a result, the game's roster consists of characters from that era, while having gameplay similar to that of Dynasty Warriors. The game would be followed bySamurai Warriors 2 in 2006,Samurai Warriors 3 in 2009,Samurai Warriors 4 in 2014, andSamurai Warriors 5 in 2021.[7] as well as numerous other spin-off titles. As with the original series,Samurai Warriors also has theXtreme Legends andEmpires expansions, with the former beginning on the first game and the latter on the second game.
Atactical role-playing game,Dynasty Warriors: Godseekers was announced on April 5, 2016, with a Japanese release date in 2016 for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation Vita. It will be the series' first strategy RPG, featuring a turn-based system and a world map. The game will also completely deviate from history by introducing a completely new story line involving fictitious mystical elements, with Zhao Yun as the main protagonist.
Other related titles include:
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In January 2018, the president of Koei Tecmo, Hisashi Koinuma, said that he wanted to make a Dynasty Warriors spin-off using characters and settings from theStar Wars franchise fromLucasfilm after they managed to be successful withNioh andFire Emblem Warriors. Koinuma choseStar Wars to be able to make aScience fiction Warriors series. However, asElectronic Arts owns the game rights to theStar Wars franchise, it would be a difficult collaboration to achieve, and is more of a future goal.[14][15] As of 2021, EA have lost the exclusivity rights in developingStar Wars games and in the development of their other projects such asSamurai Warriors 5, Koinuma reiterated that bothSuper Mario andStar Wars in aDynasty Warriors format are projects he personally wanted to do it in the future.
On 15 March 2016, Suzuki Akihiro and the Hong Kong-based company HMV Digital China announced at the 20th Hong Kong International Film and TV Market that they will be making a live-action film adaptation ofDynasty Warriors. The film will be directed by Roy Chow, produced and written by Christine To, and to be released in 2017.[16][17] On 8 July 2017, HMV Digital China's executive chairman Stephen Shiu Jr. revealed on hisweibo that the film will start shooting on 11 July. He also revealed that he had approached Koei Tecmo four years ago and secured the rights to adapt theDynasty Warriors franchise into a movie.[18] On 11 July, Shiu announced thatHan Geng,Wang Kai,Louis Koo,Tony Yang andGulnazar are part of the main cast.[19] On 28 September 2017, director Roy Chow announced that after 63 days of filming in mainland China, the team will be moving to New Zealand in November 2017 to shoot the background scenes.[20]
Shooting forDynasty Warriors wrapped up on 28 November 2017. The pre-production phase took eight months, theprincipal photography phase lasted five months, and the post-production phase was expected to take up to a year.[21] A trailer for the film was released in 2018, stating a release was planned for 2019.[22] The film was released on April 29, 2021, in Hong Kong, and in China on April 30, 2021. The film was made available via Netflix in the UK in June 2021 and other regions in July 2021.[23]
Many of the stages are recreations of notable battles in the lateHan dynasty and Three Kingdoms periods, that are usually depicted inRomance of the Three Kingdoms. There are also some original creations in the newer installments that are also historical, such as the battle between theNanman andWu.
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The music for theDynasty Warriors game series is a mixture oftraditional Chinese instrumentals,hard rock andheavy metal. Most stages have their own exclusive music tracks played and the tracks change according to the battle situation or events. In licensed titles, the music falls between mixing metal instrumentalisation with compositions from the source material along with original songs made in the same vein as those from the licensed IP. There are notable cases where compositions deviate completely from the hard rock roots of most Dynasty Warriors titles and simply intensify the original musical style from the IP, an example isHyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, which forewent the heavy metal remixes thatHyrule Warriors used, and instead reprised the more subdued compositions fromThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild with stronger, and more bombastic orchestral tracks.
Quotations related toDynasty Warriors at Wikiquote
