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  • Dynasty Warriors 7: Empires retained the marriage/ love confession mechanics, and let you watch a short cinematic when they're triggered, in which the pursuing character either slips out a confession, or an oath of marriage, all very much sugar-coated, and some of them may actually come to be quite a surprise given the character's established persona. It can be very unexpected to hear an arrogant Blood Knight like Lu Bu, or Dong Zhuo to heartfeltly proclaim, in their own rugged way, that you are the most important person in the world to them and they'll make sure that nothing will ever change that.
  • The Hypothetical Endings in 8. After all the extra crap you went through ensuring that many of your important officers avert their historical deaths, you're finally treated to seeing how the land has gotten better thanks to your efforts. And everyone in the Kingdom you chose gets to enjoy peace (doubly so if you choose Shu; it's basically Shu and Wu in an eternal, good alliance, and triply so for Wu, because Wu drags BOTH Shu and Wei into one big happy family). After the Bittersweet and Downer feel of the ending in 7, it's really nice to see that with effort, you can change fate and create a better future. With any Kingdom you want.
    • That last point hits home even more so in 8 if you get each kingdom's historical ending first (and you probably will). 7 had the mercy of ending at what could be called each kingdom's high point, even if history said it was all downhill from there. 8 plays out the entire story and doesn't pretend the kingdoms in question are anything but doomed. Working hard for that happy alternative is worth every minute.
  • The development between Liu Bei and Sun Shangxiang as the series progresses, before it was given a brief mention and the two didn't interact at all but comes Warriors Orochi and the sixth game it expands on their relationship and marriage more with the two interacting and caring for each other with her beside him at his deathbed in 8 and in Shu's Hypothetical ending the two stand side by side each smiling at one another. In fact, both Liu Bei and Sun Quan put her happiness above their desire for conquest. Liu Bei spares Quan in 6 and Quan does so likewise in 7 so she doesn't have to shed any more tears.
  • Guan Yu's reunion with his brothers in 7. After being chased out at Guan Du by Yuan Shao for seemingly being a traitor, Liu Bei has no one beside him except for Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun. Then Guan Yu appears before him, but a group of Cao Cao's soldiers are with him as well, and Zhang Fei thinks he has joined Cao Cao, only for Guan Yu to swat his would-be assassins away and walk forward, bows and kneels, having at last found them, stating that his place will always be beside them.
  • In 7, Dian Wei promises to help Xu Zhu plow his fields. However, Wan Castle happens and before he dies, he gives his life to save Cao Cao, regretting in the process he wasn't able to keep his promise (and in 7, this is basically unavoidable). But in 8, if you do things right and get the Hypothetical Route, what do you see in Wei's ending? The two working together as they plow fields, FOR REAL!
  • Also in the hypothetical ending, we see the resident Rich Bitch Zhenji approach Cai Wenji and approvingly nod before playing a song together... for Wang Yi. The two's music is enough to make Wang Yi finally smile for real instead of her usual brooding about 'how do I kill Ma Chao'. Though it kind of help that Ma Chao is dead, it may also show that maybe thanks to Zhenji and Cai Wenji, Wang Yi wouldn't collapse after fulfilling her vengeance, she finally can find another purpose in life aside of revenge.
  • Cao Cao taking the remnant of the Yellow Turbans from Qing Province, men who are starving with no food and only fight so they could live to see another day, as his own troops and giving them fields and land to farm is another great heartwarming moment, as this shows his nicer side, contrasting the fact that he's often labeled the villain of the Series (and the ultimate example of Classic Villain in China.)
  • In 5, if you play as Pang Tong or Wei Yan in Mt. Dingjun. The latter will show his uneasy feeling because some of his allies in Shu are doubtful about his loyalty to Liu Bei. Pang Tong, however, comfort and encourage him and basically said he has faith on Wei Yan. This is a stark contrast to Zhuge Liang's faith in Wei Yan, which also allude Pang Tong and Zhuge Liang's rivalry/differences.
  • A couple of camp dialogues in both Dynasty Warriors 7 and 8 are very heartwarming, as some soldiers will try to help their superiors in accepting hard losses, while others may tell stories of their personal lives or their devotion to their lord.
    • In Shu's story mode in 8, if one goes through the camp dialogue, there will always be a peon who always starts with "Hey, it's me!". Throughout Shu's story, he states tells his superiors about how he's been following Liu Bei ever since he saved the peon's family. As the story progresses, he tells his superiors about how he's trying to man up to propose to the one he loves, and how he's going to expect his first child. However, his statement regarding his child is made during the camp of Fan Castle.
      • If the historical scenario is followed, then the peon's son will appear at the next camp, stating that his father died at Fan Castle. From that point on, he takes on his father's role as the "Hey it's me" guy, and he often notes how he wants to make his late father proud.
      • If the hypothetical scenario is chosen, the peon survives, and he states that his son has also joined the army, and he wishes to keep on fighting to be the father his son deserves, while the son has similar thoughts. At the end of the story, we finally see that the peon who just started out as a private finally received a promotion as a captain.
  • Swearing an oath in Empires with another character into being siblings is this. Even taking those who have been enemies such as Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi and have them swear and vowing to end the chaos now considering the other as family.
  • Dynasty Warriors 9 brought back the individual-based stories where all the 90 characters have different endings. While some have bittersweet to sad endings, there are some that have some heartwarming moments:
    • In Lu Lingqi's ending, she visits Zhang Liao who is already a Wei officer. Zhang Liao shows her Lu Bu's iconic halberd which is his last memento. Lingqi tests it despite how heavy it is which impresses Zhang Liao. When he asks her what she's going to do in the future, Lingqi understands that her father doesn't want her to fight but she also believes that he doesn't want her to turn away from her desired path. In the end, she decides to continue fighting which Zhang Liao respects. This is also one of the rare moments where Zhang Liao and Lu Lingqi interact each other in a master-apprentice relationship.
    • Diaochan's ending has Lu Bu respecting her wishes not to join him and telling her to live on as herself and not as poison or her father's pawn. Lu Bu isn't even mad at her for her decision to leave and accepts it because like him, she's being used by other people.
    • In Zhenji's ending, she plays her flute while her husband Cao Pi listens. When she noticed that it's getting cold, she goes to Cao Pi but notices that he's not moving, causing her to panic. Cao Pi holds her and tells her not to worry because he is thinking how thankful he is to have her on his side after all the work and stress he experienced as Wei emperor. Then, the two embrace each other which shows how much they love each other regardless of what happened to their relationship in history.
    • Wang Yuanji's ending has her looking for Sima Zhao who is resting in her bedroom. When Zhao confides to her that he now has a lot of responsibilities to do as the Regent of Wei, Yuanji reassures to her that regardless of his rank, he is still himself. Then, she tells him in a Tsundere way that she would always watch over him. Zhao thanks her and lays his head on her lap which Yuanji doesn't mind.
    • Sun Shangxiang's ending is her wedding with Liu Bei. Then on their wedding night, they hold hands as they watch the moonlight.
    • In Cai Wenji's ending, she plays her harp as Zhenji and Xin Xianying come in and appreciate her music but they notice that there's some sadness in it. Wenji tells them that she thought that the chaos brought a lot of grief in the land but she realizes that there's hope and vows to pass her music to the next generation. Later, she and Zhenji play their instruments together as Xianying watches on.
    • Xingcai's ending is bittersweet in a sense that despite the defeat of Shu where she and her fellow officers are unable to fulfill what her father and his sworn brothers had been fighting for and being exiled to Luoyang with Liu Shan, she is given Liu Shan's permission to roam around the countryside, where she notices that the people are now at peace which shows that at least his surrender wasn't put into waste.
    • In Liu Bei's ending, he reminisces the time he and his sworn brothers are drinking and laughing together under the peach garden. Everything fades in his eyes and then, he sees his son Liu Shan and the children of Guan Yu and Zhang Fei together with Zhuge Liang under the same peach garden. It is there where he realizes that he and his brothers' legacy now rest on their children and decides to share that legacy with them.
    • Yu Jin's ending is about the aftermath of his surrender to Guan Yu at the Battle of Fan Castle. In a flashback, it turns out that the surrender is actually was actually of his suggestion to lure Guan Yu out of the open and keep his men safe in case something happened. Cao Cao was aware of this but was concerned that it would ruin his reputation. However, the Great Wei general could care less about it and requests his lord to keep it a secret in order for the plan to succeed. At the present, he visits Cao Cao's grave and Cao Pi comes along, wondering why the traitor like him came before his father's grave. Yu Jin understands the grave consequences he received for surrendering to the enemy. However, it turns out that Cao Pi also knew about Yu Jin's plan and thanks him on behalf of his father. Unlike in history where Cao Pi puts Yu Jin into shame which led him to his death, the former appreciates what latter had done and Yu Jin never suffers his historical fate.
    • Xiahou Ba's ending is about his defection. Like in history, his family relationship with Xingcai's mother, Xiahou Ji, convinced Liu Shan to let him join Shu. Despite that Shu is responsible for the death of his father, Xiahou Ba was able to let go of his grudge, considering that he's conflicted to defect or not after realizing that he had nowhere else to go when the Sima clan slaughtered the majority of his relatives.
    • In Sun Quan's ending, he dreams of seeing his father, brother and their strategists (Zhou Yu, Lu Su and Lu Meng) riding a boat which is presumably heading to the afterlife. Quan calls and tries to reach them only to trip on the water. When his father, brother and their friends turn around to look at him, Quan tries to talk to them only to be interrupted by Lianshi. It is there where Quan understands the legacy that his father and brother left him which also shows that he is about to move on.
    • Ma Dai's ending is him being a helpful ally to his officers such as bringing Guan Suo to Bao Sanniang, who is surrounded by enemy forces, helping Guan Yinping with the supplies and rescuing another Shu officer in need of reinforcements.
    • Zhurong's ending shows the Shu forces and Nanman people forming an alliance. Yueying apologizes to her for attacking her people but Zhurong reassures that they were only doing it for the sake of their loved ones. Then, Bao Sanniang asks her some love advice on how to get someone to notice her feelings which Zhurong finds it amusing and tells her to work on her cooking skills so that her object of affection will fall in love with her. While Bao Sanniang is excited to try out, Yueying comments that she wished that instead of fighting, it would have been better if people should just sit down and talk which Zhurong agrees.
    • Guo Huai's ending shows him visiting Sima Yi and thanking him for helping his family. Then, he vows that he would also help his family too. Later, Guo Huai mentions to Sima Yi that he must have missed his wife, Zhang Chunhua, who just passed away. However, Sima Yi tells him that he managed to move on, but he would definitely miss the meat buns she cooked. Despite that his wife was the dominant one, it's clear that Sima Yi still loved her Then, Guo Huai sees an apparition of Zhang Chunhua standing over her husband's back and looking content. With that, he would love his own wife forever.
    • Gan Ning's ending has him resting on his boat until he hears some bandits harassing the civilians. When he rushes towards them, the bandits listen to his bells and realize that he is their former master. Then, they kneel down before him and beg that they want to join him because they lost their properties due to the war so they had to resort to banditry. Gan Ning is touched by this, so he welcomes them.
    • In Xiahou Yuan's ending, he encounters his niece, Xiahou Ji. While he is glad to see her, he wonders that ever since she ran off and married Zhang Fei, he becomes suspicious of her. Xiahou Ji reassures that she's just wandering around the forest while Yuan accepts. Then, Yuan tells her that she reminded him of his son, Xiahou Ba, and hopes that they meet each other someday. Likewise, Xiahou Ji also hopes that her uncle meets her children, Xingcai and Zhang Bao, but not on the battlefield. Just before she leaves, Yuan asks her to give Zhang Fei a message that Shu will never take Hanzhong. In contrast what happened in history and controversy surrounding the relationship, it seems Xiahou Ji is Happily Married and Xiahou Yuan is in good terms with her. It's also a Heartwarming in Hindsight that in later years, Xiahou Ba defects to Shu and gets to meet his niece Xingcai despite that they looked like they're the same age.
    • In Cao Xiu's ending, he and Zhang Liao are about to leave to face off Wu forces until they meet Cao Pi at the gates. Cao Xiu wonders why his cousin, the emperor, is here until Cao Pi explains that he just wants to see his cousin off to battle. If you read the history between Cao Xiu and Cao Pi, you would know that they were as close as actual brothers. It's also nice to see that asides from Zhenji, Cao Pi shows his softer side when he talks to his cousin.

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