Dynasty Warriors

Dynasty Warriors — latest news, discussion & facts — IJR

Main series

The first Dynasty Warriors (Sangokumusō) is a traditional one-on-one fighting game, released in 1997 for the PlayStation. Its gameplay style is reminiscent of Samurai Shodown, The Last Blade, Virtua Fighter and Soul Blade.

The next game was released in Japan as Shin Sangokumusou. This game was released in other countries as Dynasty Warriors 2, leading to the discrepancy in title numbers. From this game onwards, the player chooses a playable character and plays a number of levels representing particular battles in the Three 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 or Wei; however, from Dynasty Warriors 3: Xtreme Legends onwards, independent generals were given full stories as well). Dynasty Warriors 3 has two secret characters, Nü Wa and Fu Xi, that are not playable in Musou Mode.

Dynasty Warriors 2, Dynasty Warriors 3, Dynasty Warriors 5 and Dynasty Warriors 6 have individual Musou Modes for each character. In Dynasty Warriors 4, Dynasty Warriors 7, and Dynasty 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 a third-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 the commander-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 in Romance of the Three Kingdoms, most or all of them were eliminated until only the Three Kingdoms were left.

In Dynasty 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 meet Lü Bu or Dong 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, and Sun Jian) may continue to participate in battles that occurred after their deaths (e.g. Cao Cao appearing at the Battle of Wuzhang Plains), representing an extended leadership under more successful circumstances.

In Dynasty 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.

Spin-offs and licensed games

Following the success of Dynasty Warriors, Koei released Dynasty 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's Sengoku 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 by Samurai Warriors 2 in 2006, Samurai Warriors 3 in 2009, Samurai Warriors 4 in 2014, and Samurai Warriors 5 in 2021. as well as numerous other spin-off titles. As with the original series, Samurai Warriors also has the Xtreme Legends and Empires expansions, with the former beginning on the first game and the latter on the second game.

A tactical 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:

Dynasty Warriors Mahjong (Jan Sangoku Musou in Japan), which is completely different from the rest of the series, as it has the same characters play the game of mahjong, rather than having the gameplay of the original games.

Dynasty Warriors: Gundam (Gundam Musou in Japan) was released in 2007, combining the popular Gundam franchise with Dynasty Warriors gameplay. The game would be followed by three more sequels: Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 2 released in 2008, Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 3 in 2010, and Dynasty Warriors: Gundam Reborn in 2013, which also serves as a remake of the entire series.

Warriors Orochi (Musou Orochi in Japan), released in 2007 crosses the Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors series to create a fictional crossover. The game introduces the three-man team and have a modified gameplay from both series. The game was followed by a direct sequel Warriors Orochi 2 (called Musou Orochi: Mao Sairin in Japan) which reuses the same gameplay of the original game with the focus on adding new stories. A compilation of the two games, Musou Orochi Z was released in 2009, thus far has not been brought overseas. The third game, Warriors Orochi 3, was released in 2011. The game had a different engine and gameplay than the first two games, and noticeably titled Musou Orochi 2 in Japan (as the second game is considered as an expansion to the first game). The third game would have several ports and updates that would expand on the content, including a port for PlayStation Portable and Wii U in 2012, and an Ultimate update in 2013, which was re-released as a definitive edition including all downloadable content for the game in July 12, 2022 for Microsoft Windows. A fourth game titled Warriors Orochi 4 (released in Japan as Musou Orochi 3) was released September 27, 2018.

Bladestorm: The Hundred Years' War, a historical real-time tactics spinoff, released in 2007. The game is loosely based on the Hundred Years' War between the Kingdoms of England and France in the 14th and 15th centuries.

Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage (Hokuto Musou in Japan), a spin-off based on the manga and anime series Fist of the North Star, was released in 2010. It is the first game in the Warriors series to receive an M rating by the ESRB, due to its faithful depiction of the manga's highly graphic and violent fight scenes. It was followed by a sequel, Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage 2 (Shin Hokuto Musou in Japan) in 2012, which other than featuring a continuation of the first game's story with revamped gameplay, also serves as a remake of the first game. The sequel was made to celebrate the manga series' 30th anniversary.

Warriors: Legends of Troy (Troy Musou in Japan), the second game in the Warriors series to receive an M rating by the ESRB, released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2011.

One Piece: Pirate Warriors (One Piece Kaizoku Musou in Japan), a game inspired by the anime and manga series One Piece was released in 2012 for PlayStation 3. The game was followed by three sequels, One Piece: Pirate Warriors 2, released the following year in 2013, which features an original story instead of a continuation of the series' canon, One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3, released in 2015 for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita in addition to the PS3 and PC and One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 released for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC on March 27, 2020.

Hyrule Warriors (Zelda Musou in Japan), a game inspired by The Legend of Zelda video game franchise owned by Nintendo. The game was originally released in 2014 exclusively for the Wii U. An enhanced port for Nintendo 3DS featuring additional characters and story content, Hyrule Warriors Legends, was released in 2016, with the additional characters and future downloadable content also releasing on the Wii U version. A third version for the Nintendo Switch, Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition, was announced and released in 2018, with all the features and downloadable content from previous versions of the game.

Arslan: The Warriors of Legend (Arslan Senki x Musou in Japan), a game inspired by The Heroic Legend of Arslan fantasy novel series by Yoshiki Tanaka. It was based on the 2015 anime television adaptation sponsored by Koei Tecmo, which in turn is based on the 2013 manga adaptation by Hiromu Arakawa. It was released on October 1, 2015, for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4. An Xbox One version was released as well, but only in Europe and North America. Arslan was released February 10, 2016 for Microsoft Windows.

Berserk and the Band of the Hawk (Berserk Musou in Japan), a game inspired by the Berserk manga series. It was released for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita in Japan on October 27, 2016. The game is confirmed for a western release, which was revealed at Tokyo Game Show 2016 as February 21, 2017. A European release date for February 24, 2017 was also announced. The PlayStation 3 version will not release outside Japan and a PC version is in development for a simultaneous release with the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita versions on the western markets. It is the fourth Warriors title to be rated M.

Warriors All-Stars, a game based similar to the Warriors Orochi series featuring characters from various Koei Tecmo franchises such as Ninja Gaiden, Dead or Alive, Toukiden and Atelier. The game was released in Japan on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita on March 30, 2017; an English release was released on August 29, 2017.

Dynasty Warriors: Godseekers, is a tactical game with new and old characters, that was released on February 1, 2017.

Fire Emblem Warriors (Fire Emblem Musou in Japan), a crossover between the Warriors franchise and Nintendo's Fire Emblem series of tactical role-playing games, was released for the Nintendo Switch and New Nintendo 3DS on September 27, 2017.

Persona 5 Strikers (Persona 5 Scramble: The Phantom Strikers in Japan), a crossover between the series and Atlus's 2016 role-playing game Persona 5, takes place six months after the events of the original game. It was released in Japan for the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch on February 20, 2020, with a worldwide release on February 23, 2021. It is the fifth M-rated Warriors title.

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity (Zelda Musou: Calamity Apocalypse in Japan), a successor to Hyrule Warriors and an alternate-universe prequel to the events of the 2017 game The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, was released exclusively for the Nintendo Switch on November 20, 2020. Within its first four days, the game shipped over 3 million copies worldwide, making it the single best-selling game in the entire Warriors franchise.

Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes, a successor to Fire Emblem Warriors, was released exclusively for the Nintendo Switch on June 24, 2022. The game features an alternate story set in the universe of the 2019 game Fire Emblem: Three Houses and is likewise split amongst three different routes, each with their own unique playable characters, scenarios, and outcomes.

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment (Zelda Musou: Chronicle of the Sealing War in Japan), the third Hyrule Warriors game and a prequel to the events of the 2023 game The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, was released on November 6, 2025 for the Nintendo Switch 2.

Dynasty Warriors

Dynasty Warriors

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Notable quotes

Notable quotes

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Main series

Xtreme Legends and Empires

Portable games

PC games

Characters

Spin-offs and licensed games

Future

Film adaptation

Stages

Music