Line #9 Headscratchers/DynastyWarriors


1	* A minor one but it still bugs me. Jin. Not the characters or anything like that, just that...it's not really Jin. It's the Wei officers that paved the way for Jin. Even in story mode it's not Jin until the last narration. So why call it Jin.
2	** Because as much as one would like to argue, the Sima family was really in control of Wei and not the Cao family. In other words, although it's not announced, Jin is in control of Wei's land.
3	*** Although that might be a wasted opportunity for a lot of "real" Jin characters such as Jia Chong and Yang Gu.
4	*** Remedied in ''Dynasty Warriors 8'' with the addition of Jia Chong as a playable character, who [[spoiler:advises Sima Shi and Sima Zhao, kills Zhuge Dan and then is the one who kills Cao Mao on Sima Zhao's behalf]].
5	** The very same reason why it's called Wei despite it's still being technically Han.
6	* Xiahou Dun getting the standard sword despite the opening/musou/EX attacks already have him using his trademark {{BFS}}
7	* [=DW7XL=] Zhao Yun getting his own weapon category. Considering it's nothing than a regular spear but Xu Huang doesn't get a battle axe category.
8	** Fixed in a later game.
9	** Technically a spear with a whole different gimmick compared to the others (relies on the flexible, whip-like shaft to attack), so it is a different weapon.
10	* In DW7, why do so many weapons have a [[VideoGame/SoulSeries Soul Edgey]] feel to them?
11	** RuleOfCool. Right, [[IaijutsuPractitioner Zhou Tai?]]
12	* The broken base over Zuo Ci's appearance in DW8. Most of his detractors complain that "mystical" characters shouldn't appear in this series, but ignoring the fact that the series itself is not free of mystical elements (Yellow Turban's magic, Zhuge Liang's "prayer ceremony" in Chi Bi, etc), where is it exactly mentioned in this universe that he's indeed a mystic? His character page on Website/ThisVeryWiki said it's confirmed in ''VideoGame/WarriorsOrochi'', but I don't recall ever seeing such statements (The fact that he appears with the Mystics in the final stage of Orochi's story don't count because Zhang Jiao is also there).
13	** Zuo Ci character in the source material is clearly a "mystic", having used what is obviously magic in messing around with Cao Cao. In the [=DW=] series, he is a Taoist who certainly uses magic as well, having said so himself in his debut. As for ''VideoGame/WarriorsOrochi'', it is mentioned in the first stage when Zhao Yun meets him...Not sure how the English version translated it, but it was roughly alone the lines of "That old man seems to be a mystic. Could he be that rumoured Zuo Ci?". So yeah, he's definitely a mystic. As for the BrokenBase over his appearance, personally I think it's just because he doesn't have a very interesting story, therefore making his presence seeming trivial. In his [=DW5=] debut, he is wondering among the chaos to find a virtuous man who can end it, and he gets 8 stages, that's as much as the 3 patriarchs get, but they are really dull to play, mainly because you don't seem to accomplish much storywise: You find Liu Bei, who you deems the one worthy to end the chaos, then you go through various battles to aid him. But in the end he dies and you did little to prevent that. So you are devastated, you go to Wuzhang Plains to aid Shu once more, kicked Sima Yi's ass, then treated with an ending stating that the chaos is to reign on...It just seems pointless, you know. So overall, IMO it's not so much of Zuo Ci being mystic therefore seems out of place, it because his storyline is a lot less engaging.
14	*** Okay, I can accept that reason for his broken base, since I personally find that DW tends to add too many characters for the heck of it and then neglect to give them interesting storyline or personality. But the mystic part is still not convincing. The source material only said that he's a Taoist who learnt mystic arts while studying certain books in Enmei mountains, not that he's an actual mystic (or PhysicalGod). And I don't know about WO1, but WO2 seem to make it clear that he's a human - e.g. In the Mystics Dream Stage in the PSP version, we see him side with the humans, and in his battle quote, if you pit him against Taigong Wang, he will say something about "Leaving the world to humanity" and whatnot.
15	* The Special bodyguard abilities of the Playable characters are very confusing for example: Zhu Ran and Lu Xun don't have the Fire Attack despite it being their [[SignatureMove calling card]] and Cai Wenji having a Poison Attack despite being a ReluctantWarrior.
16	** With over 800 of them available for selection, it is doubtful that the designers paid much attention to this aspect. A similar issue occurs with character Secret Weapons, where inapproriate or even conflicting weapon attributes are given to them, e.g. Cao Ren gets Frenzy, an offense-centred attribute on his Secret Weapon despite him being a StoneWall type of character, or that some weapons have both Frenzy and Barricade, which are conflicting attributes which cancels out each other.
17	* The otherwise good wei hypothetical ending had one weird part, after all of his effort to unify China, Cao Cao not only refuses to take control of the land but he also relinquishes all of his titles, I can kind of understand his logic of not wanting an ambitious man as the ruler of China, but it still seems a bit strange.
18	** I think that was his way of honoring Lui Bei's LastRequest.
19	** It's basically a re-call to Cao Cao's Story Mode ending in [=DW6=], where he pretty much did the same thing.
20	** Being a hero of chaos with much blood on his hands, he probably doesn't see himself fit to rule in a time of peace.
21	** It's probably just a pure political move on Cao's part (basically making a show that he doesn't want all those lofty titles) and he still control everything from behind the scene.
22	** It is a throwback to the statement made by Xu Shao, before Cao Cao took the post of Consultant in the capital in 180, that Cao Cao is a "treacherous villain in times of peace and a hero in times of chaos". As Cao Cao united the land in his [=DW6=] and [=DW8=] hypothetical ending, he has completed one half of the prophesy. In order to avoid fulfilling the more negative parts of this prophesy, he decides to step down after order is restored.
23	* Is Xu Zhu mentally handicapped? He barely Big taller and wider than normal simpleminded and childlike innocence . Sounds like a man with down syndrome (I actually know one). Do not I am not insulting he I have Asperger syndrome.
24	** Honestly, I think he just looks dumb and he's not an introspective thinker, he's just simple-minded and straightforward. He is much smarter and more perceptive than he looks (he's among the first to realize that something's wrong in Chi Bi before the fire attack).
25	** He is just a simpleton. He was known as the "Tiger Fool", and Koei tends to exaggerate qualities of their characters. His rather derpy portrayal is more or less to emphasize his simple-minded nature, much like how cartoon characters would have their stupidity amplified to get the point across that they aren't the brightest. He isn't mentally handicapped or anything, it's just that in a game series as campy as Dynasty Warriors, Xu Chu (Xu Zhu is an error in romanization) is portrayed as dumb muscle in a manner befitting the "Tiger Fool" moniker.
26	* In [=DW7=], I'm left with a doubt after ending Jin story mode. Specifically, as noted both in-game and on this very wiki, the tendency (almost fetish I'd say) of the Sima family to mock all the other factions for clinging to outdated ideals and see themselves as the best future for the land. While indeed Wei grow corrupted and Jiang Wei's struggle for Shu is indeed desperate, I somehow found it hypocrite: why mocking the loyalty and old valors of others while they 1): are livid at Xiahou Ba for his treason and keeps mentioning his father being disappointed (who, as shown in a What If scenario, would have defended Wei against the Jin anyway) and that 2): both Sima Shi and Zhao spend their part of the campaign carrying on Sima Yi's politic of unifying the land, with barely a will on their own. Am I mistken or those two are ancient ideals to cling to, making the Jin ultimately seem smug? I'd say that the only reason why they look so heroic is that, by that point, they lack serious opposition, nothing to be proud of.
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28	** Yeah, it’s bad storytelling. A better way of doing it would be to play closer to actual history and make the Sima huge conservatives who want to revive the ancient ideals:
29	-Wei was founded by a lowborn upstart who came to power through cunning and military power rather than through being highborn and well-connected, whose best claim to “great ancestor” was someone who lived 400 years ago
30	-Shu’s claims to restore Han is a farce of a mask used to hide the fact that it was founded by northern bandits that got kicked across the Empire into the western frontier, led by a bandit whose noble blood was diluted by being 300 years ago
31	-Wu was founded on the barbaric southern frontiers by a lowborn clan of opportunistic pirates led by a lowborn whose best “great ancestor” he could claim lived 800 years ago.
32	-Meanwhile the high-born and noble Sima clan is clearly meant to restore the ancient ideals by reuniting the realm under them instead of these three lowborn upstart clans
33	** So essentially they think they should rule just because of their status in spite of the efforts the other three kingdoms did to establish a dynasty of their own? Kinda like Yuan Shao only competent?
34	*** You know, if you played at the Jin storyline in the eigth and ninth game, you'll know eventually that many of the best officers in all three factions are already dead. Shu is having an internal struggle where Jiang Wei keeps butting heads with Huang Hao who pointed out that his campaigns are draining Shu's resources and it's shown that after Zhuge Liang's death, the rest of the officers except Liu Shan are becoming quite fanantical. On the other hand, Wu also had their own crisis which was never shown in the game where they had their own SuccessionCrisis particularly after Sun Quan's death. Sima Yi already mentioned after the first battle that the glory days of the three kingdoms are already gone and until that point, there is still chaos. That's why Sima Shi mentioned to Zhuge Dan that blood lines and nobility wouldn't matter, it's skills and competenence that are needed to unite the land...which is ironic that his nephew, Sima Yan, put his relatives into higher positions after he became the first Emperor of Jin in order to prevent the same situation that had to the Cao clan but instead, it led into a bloody family feud that split imperial China for centuries.
35	* Why don't Dian Wei and Xu Chu have Bodyguarding a Badass for Cao Cao?

Context Headscratchers / DynastyWarriors