History YMMV / DynastyWarriors

* WhatAnIdiot:
** In ''Dynasty Warriors 8'', during a battle against Lu Bu at Puyang in Wei's Story Mode, a peon shoots an arrow and hits Xiahou Dun, [[EyeScream taking out his eye]]. Instead of running away, the soldier stands there and gloats how they will be victorious [[KilledMidSentence he's filled with arrows by Xiahou Yuan and Yue Jin]].
** Guan Yu told the Wu forces that Liu Bei entrusted him Jing Province and his honor doesn't allow him to give it back to Wu.\\
'''You'd Expect''': Guan Yu re-evaluates his brother's orders and asks him the details of his deal with Wu regarding Jing Province. They did make a deal with Wu that Jing Province is just "borrowed" for the sake of their campaign against Wei. At the very least, he should be considerate of why Wu is very insistent regarding their demand of Jing Province and why they really need it. After all, Liu Bei already gained Yi Province and Han Zhong as a base for their campaign against Wei in the northwest. So it's kind of understandable if Wu wanted Jing Province because it's essential for their alliance against Wei. There's no reason why he couldn't ask Liu Bei whether they should keep Jing Province for no reason or honor their alliance with Wu and let them have it. Apparently, he just wouldn't bother to ask.\\
'''Instead''': Guan Yu takes Liu Bei's orders at face value with absolution and practically yells "No!" at Wu's face. He never once considers that his refusal means unnecessary war against Wu and when Wu actually attacks, [[NeverMyFault he's actually surprised that they would betray Liu Bei]].\\
'''Even Worse''': He then attacks Fan Castle, an important territory within Jing Province that's still occupied by Wei. Historically, there's no record that Liu Bei ever ordered him to attack. Guan Yu simply thinks it's a good idea to attack because Liu Bei just recently gained victory and occupied Hanzhong so the morale of Shu forces is pretty high at this time. Not to mention that he also attacked Wu's supply depots to boost his own troops' supply.\\
'''As a Result''': He and his eldest son Guan Ping are killed by Wu. Then Zhang Fei is killed in the middle of his journey to attack Wu, then Battle of Yiling happened with massive casualties for Shu and Liu Bei later died of despair. Shu lost Jing Province ''[[RewardedAsATraitorDeserves entirely]]'' to Wu, who had become a [[VoluntaryVassal vassal kingdom]] under [[TheUsurper the newly-founded Wei kingdom]], who gave Wu the large portion of Jing Province. Oh, and [[NiceJobBreakingItHero Shu never got back the Jing Province for the rest of their reign]] until their downfall by Wei many decades later. Granted, [[DoomedByCanon this is all that happened in history anyway]], but you can't deny that things wouldn't have been so bad if they just talked it out. In fact, the hypothetical route in Shu's story in 8 is possible because not only Guan Yu survived thanks to Xu Shu, but also because Liu Bei listened to his strategists to find out what Wu really wanted by consulting with Lu Su ([[DefeatMeansFriendship after they fought against each other first]]). Although originally, Lu Su died before Fan Castle, so Guan Yu still being hard-headed would've caused the more radical Lu Meng to immediately decide that he has gathered enough reasons to attack.

** Aside from Zhenji since her debut in ''Dynasty Warriors 4'', Wang Yi making her appearance in ''7: Xtreme Legends'' became instantly popular, both for her [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge atypical-for-a-heroine personality]] and the hilarious amounts of FoeYay she has with fellow EnsembleDarkhorse Ma Chao. The PaintedOnPants on her don't hurt, either.

** While bad voice acting has been one thing in ''3'' and ''4'', Diaochan had a change of English VA in ''4'' and she sounded so extremely raspy and constipated which might make you think that it's actually an old lady residing in one of the WorldsMostBeautifulWoman, the contrast can be extremely jarring. Thankfully, by the next installments, they tend to get Diaochan's voice in the right, young ladylike pitch with the next games.

*** Fortunately for Guan Yu, there's also [[TakeAThirdOption a third camp]] that believed that most of his historical flaws above were overexaggerated, while he was indeed not as great as the novel hyped him up, he was still not as pathetic as the decriers made him out to be. [[note]]History-wise Shu has rather poor history department that didn't list much of his victories, but whatever remaining official records from Wei and Wu, which are mostly trustworthy, also made sure to note the qualities of Guan Yu of being honorable and a man of merit. Additionally, his beheading of Yan Liang happened in history and for its time, doing so in the middle of battlefield was exceedingly rare and Guan Yu did just that, showcasing his strength. Even Lu Meng praised his honor and admitted to having to be careful to devise the tactic that defeated him, so he wasn't actually winning his battle against Guan Yu easily.[[/note]] In other words, Guan Yu still have a group of level-headed defenders that doesn't just blindly defend him based on his mythical veneration and worship; these fans viewed him as a [[{{Reconstruction}} reconstructed]] figure worthy of praise.

** Guan Yu has become this towards the later games. While the reverence for Guan Yu's honor and valor and veneration of him as the "God of War" is very much in line with the original novel and even East Asian culture to this day, some fans believe him to be a major CreatorsPet whose alleged virtues have been [[{{Flanderization}} Flanderized]] in later games. This especially applies after fans began analyzing official historical records, which suggest Guan Yu was a GeneralFailure with very few actual accomplishments and a GeneralRipper who cared little for tactics and strategy (factors the historical Zhang Fei actually favored), and who treated anyone besides Liu Bei with arrogance and disdain. Furthermore, almost all his in-game accomplishments are either entirely fictional (slaying Wen Chou and Yan Liang) or historically attributed to someone else (killing Hua Xiong and fighting and routing Lu Bu, both of which were actually achieved by Sun Jian). Lastly, some fans blame him for creating the SpotlightStealingSquad of his family and Zhou Cang (two[[note]]Guan Suo and Zhou Cang[[/note]] of whom are completely fictional), who seem to exist entirely to [[HeroWorshipper worship and make him look good]]. Such fans believe they "stole" character spots from more deserving and actual historical figures.

** Guan Yu has become this towards the later games. While the reverence for Guan Yu's honor and valor and veneration of him as the "God of War" is very much in line with the original novel and even East Asian culture to this day, some fans believe him to be a major CreatorsPet whose alleged virtues have been [[{{Flanderization}} Flanderized]] in later games. This especially applies after fans began analyzing official historical records, which suggest Guan Yu was a GeneralFailure with very few actual accomplishments and a GeneralRipper who cared little for tactics and strategy (factors the historical Zhang Fei actually favored), and who treated anyone besides Liu Bei with arrogance and disdain. Furthermore, almost all his in-game accomplishments are either entirely fictional (slaying Wen Chou and Yan Liang) or historically attributed to someone else (killing Hua Xiong and fighting and routing Lu Bu, both of which were actually achieved by Sun Jian). Lastly, some fans blame him for creating the SpotlightStealingSquad of his family and Zhou Cang, (two of whom are fictional) who seem to exist entirely to [[HeroWorshipper worship and make him look good]]. Such fans believe they "stole" character spots from more deserving and actual historical figures.

** Is Zuo Ci actually some sort of divine being who truly believes in Liu Bei's cause, a trickster whom Liu Bei (or some other warlord who wanted to frame Liu Bei) hired to spread rumors and weaken Wei forces from the inside or, as Xiahou Dun surmises, a merely deluded hermit?

** Guan Yu has become this towards the later games. While the reverence for Guan Yu's honor and valor and veneration as the "God of War" is very much in line with the original novel and even East Asian culture to this day, some fans believe him to be a major CreatorsPet whose alleged virtues have been [[{{Flanderization}} Flanderized]] in later games. This especially applies after fans began analyzing official historical records, which suggest Guan Yu is GeneralFailure with very few actual accomplishments and a GeneralRipper who cared little for tactics and strategy (factors the historical Zhang Fei actually favored), and who treated anyone besides Liu Bei with arrogance and disdain. Furthermore, almost all his in-game accomplishments were either entirely fictional (slaying Wen Chou and Yan Liang) or actually from someone else (killing Hua Xiong and fighting and routing Lu Bu). Lastly, some fans blame him for creating the SpotlightStealingSquad of his family and Zhou Cang, (two of whom are fictional) who seem to exist entirely to [[HeroWorshipper worship and make him look good]]. Such fans believe they "stole" character spots from more deserving and actual historical figures.

** Guan Yu has become this towards the later games. While the reverence for Guan Yu's honor and valor and veneration as the "God of War" is very much in line with the original novel and even East Asian culture to this day, some fans believe him to be a major CreatorsPet whose alleged virtues have been [[{{Flanderization}} Flanderized]] in later games. This especially applies after fans began analyzing official historical records, which suggest Guan Yu is GeneralFailure with very few actual accomplishments and a GeneralRipper who cared little for tactics and strategy (factors the historical Zhang Fei actually favored), and who treated anyone besides Liu Bei with arrogance and disdain. Furthermore, almost all his in-game accomplishments were either entirely fictional (slaying Wen Chou and Yan Liang) or actually from someone else (killing Hua Xiong and fighting and routing Lu Bu). Lastly, some fans blame him for creating the SpotlightStealingSquad of his family and Zhou Cang, (two of whom are fictional) who seem to exist entirely to [[HeroWorshipper worship and make him look good]].Such fans believe they "stole" character spots from more deserving and actual historical figures.

** Xiahou Ji's addition in ''9'' turned controversial due to [[AndNowYouMustMarryMe her touchy history with Zhang Fei]], with her profile in ''Dynasty Warriors Blast'' omitting some of the murkier spots on her encounter with Fei, changing it into a RescueRomance, which made some fans accuse Koei Tecmo of historical white-washing. Her addition as a unique NonPlayerCharacter who became playable via DownloadableContent didn't sit well with players (to wit, Xiahou Ji retains her youthful appearance throughout 9, [[MumLooksLikeASister making her look younger than her children Zhang Bao and Xingcai]] and Zhang Fei just happens to be her type of preference in men - beardy, gruff and muscular); even her meeting with Fei is different, as [[LoveAtFirstSight she's the one who pursues him]], fueling more white-washing accusations. However, some people have no problem with Xiahou Ji, citing her connections with the Xiahou and Zhang clans add a bridge for Xiahou Ba's defection to Shu, as seen in his ending for 9

* PanderingToTheBase: Similar to what had happened to ''Samurai Warriors 4'' when it comes to costumes, the female characters are the only ones who get DLC costumes in the second Season Pass. In the female characters' case, their costumes are modern ones, particularly high-school themed, which made many suspect that Koei Tecmo was banking on those [[SexSells who are into fanservice]]. It doesn't help that the producer admitted that they're following the ''VideoGame/DeadOrAlive 5'''s business model of releasing [=DLC=]s via season passes. With the third season pass, several male characters also get their DLC costumes asides from the female ones; however, it's very obvious that the men selected are the popular PrettyBoy ones.

** In later incarnations, Sun Shangxiang's life post-marriage with Liu Bei isn't shown up until her saving Liu Bei in Yiling from her brother and eventually being in her husband's deathbed before disappearing entirely. Her being involved in the Shu-Wu alliance only appears in hypothetical plotlines, but her life in Shu is virtually invisible. In the ninth game's hypothetical scenarios DLCs, she never appears or is mentioned at all which is even stranger in Zhou Yu's and Xu Shu's scenarios where both Shu and Wu made an alliance without her.

** Despite his minimal role in the story, Xu Shu ranked fourth in the latest Japanese polls and in the overseas' Shu character polls. This might have something to do with his move-set and weapon, wearing an ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed''-like outfit and, to some, his {{Adorkable}} personality

** Of the Shu roster in post-''Dynasty Warriors 8'', Guan Yinping; just as popular for Eastern and Western players, seen via her dominating the fanarts, despite having less stages in Story Mode compared to Wang Yuanji. Regardless of [[BrokenBase the plentiful anti-Shu sentiments from the player base]], both anti- and pro- sides agree Yinping was a great, tolerable addition to the rosternote ; furthermore, her unique move-set, cute physical features and character design, and being the least disliked of Guan Yu's children was what helped launch her popularity. Want more proof? In the ''Dynasty Warriors 8'' [[http://www.gamecity.ne.jp/smusou7/enquete/ popularity polls]], she ranked third for "characters players want as a sibling" and first for "characters players want as a girlfriend"note . By the next popularity poll, she dethroned Wang Yuanji as the most popular female and she's the first female in ''Warriors Orochi 4'' to be announced to have a Deification form.

* CargoShip: Sima Shi and meat buns. Yes, it's a thing because he would always describe in perfect detail how delicious they are

** Due to ValuesDissonance, Western players do not take to Xiaoqiao well. The reason stems from her appearance making her much younger than her husband Zhou Yu (whom fans mostly respect), making him look like an {{Ephebophile}}; adding to the fact [[GenkiGirl she's very bubbly and perky]], yet [[TheDitz not exactly known for her intelligence]], just adds fuel to the fire. Eastern fans are more accepting of her, though it's still somewhat acknowledged she feels too young to be Zhou Yu's wife

** When Cao Pi first met Zhenji in ''Dynasty Warriors 5'', he flirts with her by praising her that she's a beautiful flower and asking her if she wants to join him where she would rather have "your petals bloom...''beneath me''?"
** One of Wang Yuanji's lines in "Ambition Mode" for Dynasty Warriors 8 consists of her inviting the Player Character to try some of her "meat buns".

** Is Zhuge Liang a brilliant, honorable strategist who wished to see justice brought back to the world, or is he only in it for fame and prestige? His retreat quote in most of the games is almost always a variation of JustAsPlanned or IMeantToDoThat. An example of {{Chessmaster}}? Or just a plain SoreLoser? Considering some other more honorable, or, say, benevolent characters (including Shu characters, such as Zhao Yun) still [[GracefulLoser have the dignity to accept defeat]] in their retreat quote, it does make Zhuge sound a bit less honorable than he's supposed to be.
** Do the Shu officers truly desire a land of benevolence and virtue or are they only interested in conquest and glory, hiding their real intent behind a veneer of righteousness? At its minimum, is Shu (more specifically, Liu Bei) really motivated by TheNeedsOfTheMany or are they glorified [[KnightTemplar Knight Templars]] who believe anyone who goes against them is automatically evil? Note the Shu Kingdom ending in ''Dynasty Warriors NEXT'' sees the faction killing all of its enemies, just as the Wei Kingdom does,''including'' Liu Bei's wife Sun Shangxiang, while the Wu Kingdom ending has Sun Quan sparing his fellow warlords and convincing them they have a place in the new order. Not to mention that in the hypothetical path for ''8'', Shu ends up destroying Wei (though still allied with Wu, albeit a tense relationship) while Wu's hypothetical path have them forming peaceful relation between all three factions.

** How loyal is Sima Yi to Cao Cao and Cao Pi? ''Dynasty Warriors 6'' portrayed him as an overly ambitious EvilChancellor [[TheStarscream more than willing to betray and overthrow his masters]], yet beginning with ''7'', Yi is content to serve them, as he considers the Cao clan worthy rulers who have the greatest chance at reuniting the land. However, when successors such as Cao Shuang turn out to be very incompetent, Sima Yi stages his coup d'etat and wrests control away from the Cao family. Judging by the ending of Wei's Story Mode in ''7'', there are still traces of his scheming, sinister side. This is also acknowledged InUniverse by Jia Xu in his ending for ''Dynasty Warriors 9'', who remains wary of Sima Yi's motives and questions his loyalty to Cao Pi.

** Due to ValuesDissonance, Western players do not take to Xiaoqiao well. The reason stems from her appearance making her much younger than her husband Zhou Yu (whom fans mostly respect), making him look like an {{Ephebophile}}; adding to the fact [[GenkiGirl she's very bubbly and perky]], yet [[TheDitz not exactly known for her intelligence]], just adds fuel to the fire. Eastern fans are more accepting of her, though it's still somewhat acknowledged she feels too young to be Zhou Yu's wife

* AntiClimaxBoss: Due to the WideOpenSandbox feature in ''Dynasty Warriors 9'', Lu Bu is derided into this. Since players are allowed to level up as freely as they want until they approach Hulao Gate, this generally renders Lu Bu underleveled and easy to defeat for most players, not to mention his boss-exclusive "Hyper Mode" does nothing against a fully charged unblockable attack, nor is Lu Bu's AI play as strong for this game compared to prior installments. Even by increasing the difficulty via sneaking past Lu Bu and defeating Diaochan first, thus triggering his Hyper Mode, only makes him slightly stronger. It seems players can pursue Lu Bu all they want in this game, after all.

** In ''Dynasty Warriors 9'', several players criticized Matt Fowler's performance as Zhuge Liang for being too emotional and rough in contrast to Creator/LexLang's calculating and soft-spoken performance, which is akin to Creator/MasayaOnosaka's portrayal of the Sleeping Dragon. In the hypothetical DLC scenarios, Fowler's performance improved with his voice similarly closer to Lang's portrayal as it was originally intended.

** Zuo Ci returning in ''Dynasty Warriors 8'' made some fans happy since his absence post-''Dynasty Warriors 5'', but others felt he took a roster spot away from more deserving historical characters in the "Others" category and should have been relegated to SpinOff Crossover series VideoGame/WarriorsOrochi, given the majority of "mystical" characters in that setting. On the other hand, Zuo Ci did appear for part of the source novel, and his mystical status against Fu Xi and Nuwa are debatable, since the latter two were recreated specifically for the crossover. His characterization is another case - some are fine with the way he's portrayed as a MysteriousProtector, but others believe the developers have no idea on how to effectively use him as part of the story, seeing him as nothing more than a Liu Bei supporter who unnecessarily trolls Cao Cao, despite the latter being less of a CardCarryingVillain since ''Dynasty Warriors 7'', making Zuo Ci[[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter wasted potential]].

** Zhao Yun. No matter how many new characters Koei Tecmo can introduce into the series, it's clear he will always be the SeriesMascot, constantly being on the cover of major installments and the primary focus of the intro CG movies; even the SpinOff ''Dynasty Warriors: Godseekers'' makes him the protagonist of the game (aside from two OriginalGeneration characters sharing the spotlight with him, while other historical characters play second fiddle to Yun). In the developer's defense, they needed a character to represent what encompasses OneManArmy the most from a game-play perspective, thus relegated to Yun, citing the "Battle at Changban" from the novel as the motivating reason (even though it never occurred the way it did historically). While some are feeling tired of Zhao Yun being shoved in their faces perpetually by Koei, especially those who look past the source material and into his actual history, others enjoy the notion that for whatever feats he has pulled, inaccurate or not, it's still breathtaking. And thankfully for the developers, Zhao Yun is one of the squeakiest clean guy amongst Shu history-wise, even if he actually didn't do much, so picking him as a poster boy means they avoid bigger controversies of putting other prominent Shu characters like Liu Bei and his brothers when their historical versions weren't as moral.

** Liu Shan, though given what he was in RealLife this should come as no surprise; fans either love his HistoricalHeroUpgrade the developers have done or hate he isn't portrayed as the {{Sucksessor}} he historically was [[note]]There are just as many RealLife historians who believe Liu Shan was smart enough to have surrendered but pretended to be a moron in order to not be killed by the Jin faction. The only thing these games did was change him into an AdaptationalBadass (as all its characters are given) and he wasn't hiding his intelligence (provided one agrees with what historians argue about him).[[/note]].

** Shu is often accused of being the CreatorsPet: while some argue this viewpoint is consistent with the novels, others are annoyed and believe what better light they got in the source material has been ramped UpToEleven in the games (these camps are mostly comprised of historically-inclined fans who see the Shu officers as inefficient). There's even a base who's annoyed at how much of a downgrade its characters received during the rise of the Jin Kingdom, since the latter got plenty of sugar-coating (the historical Sima Zhao was crueler; Dynasty Warriors 8 foisted some of that onto Jia Chong).

** Xiahou Ji's addition in ''9'' turned controversial due to [[AndNowYouMustMarryMe her touchy history with Zhang Fei]], with her profile in ''Dynasty Warriors Blast'' omitting some of the murkier spots on her encounter with Fei, changing it into a RescueRomance, which made some fans accuse Koei Tecmo of historical white-washing. Her addition as a unique NonPlayerCharacter who became playable via DownloadableContent didn't sit well with players (to wit, Xiahou Ji retains her youthful appearance throughout 9, [[MumLooksLikeASister making her look younger than her children Zhang Bao and Xingcai]] and Zhang Fei just happens to be her type of preference in men - beardy, gruff and muscular); even her meeting with Fei is different, as [[LoveAtFirstSight she's the one who pursues him]], fueling more white-washing accusations. However, some people have no problem with Xiahou Ji, citing her connections with the Xiahou and Zhang clans add a bridge for Xiahou Ba's defection to Shu, as seen in his ending for 9

* CharacterRerailment: Starting with ''Dynasty Warriors 6'', Yuan Shao was made more characteristically and visually foppish and pompous, an egregious {{Flanderization}} of his BlueBlood status; it didn't sit well with fans. For ''Dynasty Warriors 9'', Koei Tecmo reverted him back to his pre-6 personality - while still pompous, Shao retains an air of bravery and nobility. Most likely because in 9, they have his half-brother Yuan Shu to take the majority of Shao's old foppish and pompous traits.

** Aside from Zhenji since her debut in ''Dynasty Warriors 4'', Wang Yi making her appearance in ''7: Xtreme Legends'' became instantly popular, both for her [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge atypical-for-a-heroine personality]] and the hilarious amounts of FoeYay she has with fellow EnsembleDarkhorse Ma Chao. The PaintedOnPants on her don't hurt, either.
** Guo Jia. His handsome looks, lax attitude and strategic mind earn him many fans which got him [[http://www.gamecity.ne.jp/smusou/vote/ first place]] in the latest Japanese popularity poll, beating the likes of Cao Pi and Xiahou Dun.

** Of the Shu roster in post-''Dynasty Warriors 8'', Guan Yinping; just as popular for Eastern and Western players, seen via her dominating the fanarts, despite having less stages in Story Mode compared to Wang Yuanji. Regardless of [[BrokenBase the plentiful anti-Shu sentiments from the player base]], both anti- and pro- sides agree Yinping was a great, tolerable addition to the rosternote ; furthermore, her unique move-set, cute physical features and character design, and being the least disliked of Guan Yu's children was what helped launch her popularity. Want more proof? In the ''Dynasty Warriors 8'' [[http://www.gamecity.ne.jp/smusou7/enquete/ popularity polls]], she ranked third for "characters players want as a sibling" and first for "characters players want as a girlfriend"note . By the next popularity poll, she dethroned Wang Yuanji as the most popular female and she's the first female in ''Warriors Orochi 4'' to be announced to have a Deification form.
** Despite his minimal role in the story, Xu Shu ranked fourth in the latest Japanese polls and in the overseas' Shu character polls. This might have something to do with his move-set and weapon, wearing an ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed''-like outfit and, to some, his {{Adorkable}} personality
** Asides from Xu Shu, Fa Zheng is very popular among the Shu strategists due to his morally shady persona which added variety to Shu's good-guy image. It helps that his {{Bishōnen}} appearance won many female fans.
** ''7'' introduced Wang Yuanji, who instantly rose to fame on both sides of the Pacific for her looks and personality. Of the new characters making their debut in this game, Yuanji has the second most fanart of them on Pixiv, trailing behind her husband Sima Zhao. She even won first place in [[http://www.gamecity.ne.jp/smusou6/enquete/ the popularity poll]] for 7; note she's the only (new) female character who made it to the top ten, even beating out veterans Sun Shangxiang or Zhenji. That Yuanji is the female Dynasty Warriors representative in ''VideoGame/WarriorsAllStars'' reflects this.
** Zhong Hui is beloved by the female fanbase not only because of his good looks but also his AwesomeEgo which is as long as the Great Wall of China. It's no surprise that he's one of the few male characters who get a lot of DLC costumes and a hypothetical scenario. He's even regarded as the male representative of the Jin faction rather than the men of the Sima clan.

* FairForItsDay: Sima Yi's belief in a meritocratic system of rulership where only those of talent and ability are allowed at the top (instead of relying solely on blood relations and proclaimed divine right to rulership) would've been downright progressive at the time the game takes place. 

** Back when he was still a generic NPC, Xu Shu is listed under Wei and the official historical records stated that he's a Wei officer. Though Koei Tecmo placed him as a Shu character because of his admiration for Liu Bei, most of his fans prefer him as a Wei character because his tenure under Liu Bei was very short (his individual story in 9 consists of only one chapter) and had a very meaningful role in Wei's hypothetical scenario of ''8:XL''. This coupled with their huge dislike of Zhuge Liang because he upstaged Xu Shu and the latter's WhatIf DLC focuses more on him trying to get Zhuge Liang's attention.

** Dong Bai has NoSenseOfPersonalSpace moment towards Diaochan, as seen [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QY9ftJW0wM here]]. Doubles as LesYay.
** Cao Cao with Liu Bei in almost all installments, there's even a distinct "naivete vs. pragmatism" bent between them in ''Dynasty Warriors 7''. Though the end of their respective Hypothetical Routes in 8 are what takes the cake.

* FountainOfMemes: Zhang Jiao and, to a lesser extent, his brothers Bao and Liang utter a lot of hammy lines which are very memorable ever since their hilarious English voice performances in DW3. Even if voice acting got better after 3, Zhang Jiao is always set to have a hilarious hammy voice acting style courtesy of Doug Stone until 9, [[NarmCharm which adds further to his charm and make him spout out even more memes]].

** Of the entire ''Dynasty Warriors'' roster, Lu Bu - in Japan, he's at around 21st place in the official popularity polls, but the West consider him to be the most recognizable character of the franchise (moreso than SeriesMascot Zhao Yun) and easily in the top five. The developers took notice, even granted him his own Story Mode again in ''Dynasty Warriors 8: Xtreme Legends'', as well as giving him an appearance on the box art cover instead of Zhao Yun.
** Guan Yu usually has middling scores in popularity polls from Japan amongst Shu characters, due to being TheBigGuy and not a pretty boy. When Koei Tecmo America held a popularity poll per faction pre-9, Guan Yu ranked third behind the more obvious choices of Ma Chao and Zhao Yun, yet surpassed fan favorites Xu Shu and Yinping, who'd more likely win by a wide margin in the Japanese polls. Justified when non-Japanese audiences particularly the Chinese are aware of his deification into a god in Myth/ChineseMythology, thus much of his reception relies on this fact.
** Zhou Tai is very popular in the West, placing first in the Wu popularity polls and second place on the final round of the overall popularity poll in the West, beating out the likes of SeriesMascot Zhao Yun and EnsembleDarkhorse Wang Yuanji. The image of [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot Chinese Samurai Ex-Pirate]] is way too awesome for Western audience to digest

** Jump canceling Zhenji's EX attack in 7 can result in her suddenly entering a slow-motion state until it's performed again or it wears off.
* HarsherInHindsight: 

** Sima Yi's ending in ''Dynasty Warriors 9'' shows him encouraging his sons to raise worthy heirs after lamenting Cao Pi's early death. Yi's eldest son, Sima Shi, dies without a son (historically, Shi adopted his brother's younger son, Sima You, since he only had daughters). A year prior to his own death, Sima Zhao had to choose his oldest son, Sima Yan, over You as his heir; eventually, Yan overthrows the last Cao Wei emperor, establishes the Jin Dynasty, and finally conquers Wu, ending the Three Kingdoms Era. However, Yan's decisions to [[{{Nepotism}} empower his male family members into higher positions]] and make his developmentally disabled son, Sima Zhong, as his heir, led to a bloody power struggle among the family members and regents called the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_the_Eight_Princes "War of the Eight Princes"]], which lasted fifteen years. This resulted in [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasion_and_rebellion_of_the_Five_Barbarians the invasion of the Northern barbarians tribes]], the relocation of the Jin Dynasty to the East, and [[{{Irony}} the splitting of Ancient China into several kingdoms once again]].
** In 8, Sima Shi reminds Zhuge Dan that it's not his heritage that makes him the person he is, but his talent and deeds. As noted above, his nephew Sima Yan clearly never gets this lesson.

* IncestYayShipping: It comes as no surprise there's an enormous amount of doujinshi, fanarts and fanfics of Sima Shi and Sima Zhao being paired together; even their father, Sima Yi, is paired with either one of them, though this is because the games depict Yi [[OlderTHanTheyLook looking just as young as his sons]].

* JerkassWoobie: Wang Yi is an eerily sadistic, nasty woman, until players realize what made her like that, thus it's understandable why people do like to cheer for her - her clan and everyone she cared about were slaughtered by Ma Chao, who pranced around [[ForGreatJUstice "in the name of justice"]] as if it were collateral damage, claiming that Cao Cao wronged him and must pay for that, [[ButForMeItWAsTuesday while not even batting an eye on the damage he caused on her]]. It's no wonder Wang Yi flipped in the face of such unanswered {{Hypocrisy}}.

** Lu Bu: there's a reason why Yuan Shao at the "Battle of Hulao Gate" for ''Dynasty Warriors 3'' enforces the phrase "Do not pursue Lu Bu". When players see him on the battlefield, [[TheDreaded they'll quickly learn why he's feared by all]]. This gets crazier in ''Dynasty Warriors 6'', where in his version of his "defining" Battle at Hulao Gate, [[spoiler:he takes on just about everyone else in the game]] and wins (provided players complete the stage, of course). Hell, [[spoiler:Dong Zhuo and Zhang Jiao come BackFromTheDead and the leaders of the three kingdoms (Cao Cao, Liu Bei, Sun Quan) pull an EnemyMine (complete with crossing swords in ''Literature/TheThreeMusketeers''-style), just to fight him!]]
** Zhang Bao (Zhang Jiao's brother, not Zhang Fei's son who shares the same name), due to all players feeling the power of his MAAGGGEEECC!
* MemeticLoser: Many Wu fans felt that Koei Tecmo severely neglected their faction in favor of Wei and Shu because the late Wu period was not covered and they're still underrepresented in the spinoff games such as ''VideoGame/WarriorsAllStars'' and ''VideoGame/WarriorsOrochi 4''. It doesn't help that Lu Xun was supposed to have a deified form but was held back at the last minute, making Wu the only faction with no representative for the eight deified characters.

** Dong Bai. Her ElegantGothicLolita getup, AlphaBitch persona, intimidating aura, and her ground musou attacks which consists of tying her opponent with the chain and drag them to their knees before she flips them off the air. Meanwhile, her aerial Musou attack has her landing the metal ball on her opponent's abdomen and stomps them with it. In a cutscene after defeating Diaochan, instead of immediately killing her, she [[ForTheEvulz takes a sweet time pinching the older maiden's chin while wondering how she's going to kill her]], implying she's a TortureTechnician as well. In her ending, [[spoiler:she has Cao Cao, Lu Bu, Zhang Liao, Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu on their knees and forces them to bow at her feet. The fact that it turns out to be a dream doesn't help as it accidentally looks comparable to EroticDream]].
** Her grandfather, Dong Zhuo, is way ahead of her (of course, all those molesting genes Bai had would've come from him). He lusts Diaochan and wants to build his own paradise of women as seen in the ''Warriors Orochi'' games. He also has a bunch of grab attacks but the most provocative grab attack is his second ground Musou in 8 where he grabs his opponent from behind, [[HoistHeroOverHead hoist them over his head]]* , and did some sort of an AssShove which got their opponent flinching in pain.
** Huang Gai, as a result of his Musou Attacks beginning with ''Dynasty Warriors 7'' incorporating wrestling techniques, particularly the "Backbreaker", which is officially named as such, but actually based on the [[Manga/{{Kinnikuman}} "Kinniku Buster"]]. Find any video online of him using the Kinniku Buster on female characters, which also gives players [[PantyShot a view of their behinds]]. Additionally, it doesn't help he's an aged, muscular character, whose design in modern installments reveals plenty of skin compared to other male characters.
** Zhang Chunhua. Her nice smile, her domineering aura, her treatment of [[HenpeckedHusband Sima Yi]] and her Musou attacks which consists of tying up her enemies or whipping them to their knees makes her into the ultimate dominatrix of the Three Kingdoms. There's even [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1cycdn7Irw a whole video of her whipping all officers]]!

** [[spoiler:[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2Cxp6uBDfs Fa Zheng's death]] in ''Dynasty Warriors 9'' is very anti-climatic: after discussing with Liu Bei about the possibility of Wu killing Guan Yu, he closes his eyes and bows his head; Liu Bei attempts to wake him up, only to realize he's dead. Though the latter did mention beforehand that Fa Zheng was ill, Zheng suddenly becoming lifeless, while sitting in front of his lord, led many players to believe he simply fell asleep. Liu Bei's reaction to this is calling out his name in shock, sadly shaking his head]].
** Liu Shan's defeated yells for ''9'' in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1jLapaQ5y8&t=120s Japanese]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEMgHHGaV6o English]] sounds so hilarious, it wouldn't be entirely plausible if it replaced the "Game Over" sounds from the ''Franchise/{[Pacman}}'' franchise.
** Zhou Cang already wears green even when he was in Yellow Turbans. Considering that he's some sort of StarterVillain since he's always the mini-boss in the first mission for Chapter 1, it can be a bit distracting.
** In 9, some of the deaths for the Wu characters were them sitting down and bowing their heads as if they're going to take a nap. The worst is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCp9C2jgb9c Gan Ning's death]] because of a glitch where Ling Tong runs past him while Gan Ning just sits down on a rock with his head bowed down which is a huge contrast with [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMOMBhtYNBA his death]] in 6 where he slumps on a tree and [[DiedInYourArmsTonight Ling Tong holds him before he dies]].
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9rxaW5sGME The English dub of Sima Shi's death]] in 9 would have been a {{Tearjerker}}, were it not for the performance of Sima Zhao's voice actor. The way he says "Brother!" as Shi dies sounds very flat, ruining the emotional momentum of the scene.
** Wen Yang's ending in 9 has his brother calling him the "reincarnation of Zhao Yun". While that phrase is applicable for his courage and determination that Zhao Yun possessed, it's still eye-rolling considering that Wen Yang's weapon is the longtou dazhadao and not the famed polearm which Zhao Yun also had as his main weapon.
** The games can go out of their way to show Sima Yi's hostility against the Cao family, which can be hard to take seriously considering he wasn't that bad in real life. For example in 8, during the Battle of Shiting, he openly yells at Cao Xiu and calls him "imbecile" even if he did no such thing in other games' version of that battle.

** The rule of thumb is that up until 9, if Zhang Jiao isn't overacting with silly hammy voice acting, he's just... not the same.

* OlderThanTheyThink: Any "BestHerToBedHer" sub-plot regarding Sun Ce and Zhou Yu against the Qiao sisters (such as in ''Dynasty Warriors 5: Xtreme Legends'' and ''7'') isn't anything new to the series. It's likely inspired from a UsefulNotes/PekingOpera production called Fenghuang Er Qiao - [[HistoricalBadassUpgrade the sisters are depicted as skilled martial arts practitioners]]. Their father, Qiao Xuan, believed his daughters to be perfect matches for Sun Ce and Zhou Yu, thus issued a martial arts competition between the four so the future husbands could prove themselves worthy and engage his daughters in battle. Depending on the adaptation, they may do so by engaging in a sword fight or by hunting down tigers; Sun Ce and Zhou Yu prevail, leading to marriage with the sisters.

* RomanticPlotTumor: It wasn't hard for players to see this happen regarding Sun Quan and Lianshi's relationship in 7, [[SpotlightStealingSquad where it took about half of Wu's story]], while pushing other influential officers to the side as secondary characters. It was as if Koei Tecmo attempted to shoehorn the fact that Lianshi is historically Sun Quan's closest and favorite wife, as both were genuinely HappilyMarried in RealLife (unlike most of the other couples at the time whose marriages were for political purposes). However, this was Downplayed in 8, where their developing relationship was mostly only alluded to in camp dialogues.

** Even when the games depicted Wei as the "villainous" faction, as per the novels, fans embraced and ran with that idea. Nowadays, the faction has {{Downplayed}} the "evil" traits from earlier installments, yet garner just as many fans for the Shu and Wu characters.
** Despite being shown as unhinged and [[TokenEvilTeammate more "evil" than the rest of the faction]], there are more people who want to see Wang Yi win and put Ma Chao's head on a spike, when they consider her desire for vengeance to be more justified, disliking the {{Hypocrisy}} that Ma Chao unveils or citing that Wang Yi was historically more of a moral figure, while Ma Chao was adamantly worse.
* TheScrappy: Guan Suo is disliked by the Eastern and Western fanbases mostly as a result of the latter's distaste of pretty boys, but also for his lack of character traits beyond admiration of his father Guan Yu. That Suo is also a questionable addition to the roster (like Bao Sanniang, the only significant character he interacts with, aside from Guan Yu), adds to his unpopularity. Note in the character polls for the ''Xtreme Legends'' expansions of 7 and 8, Suo ranked in the 60's.

** For some reason, Cai Wenji and Yu Jin are paired together despite that they never talked to each other in the games except for that one mission in ''8: Xtreme Legends'' where he, Yue Jin, Li Dian and Xiahou Yuan went around the battlefield to look for her.

** Lu Lingqi in ''Dynasty Warriors 8: Xtreme Legends'' - despite being heavily marketed in the expansion, she only appears in the second half of Lu Bu's historical campaign, and wasn't present in the hypothetical route. The creators expressed some difficulty at writing her interactions with Diaochan, but it seemed they solved the problem entirely by completely avoiding it, even giving it a {{Handwave}} in 9, where Diaochan leaves right after Dong Zhuo is assassinated, the implication that after Lu Bu parted ways with Diaochan, Lingqi came to the proper age to go out there and fight, thus the two never truly met. This was also explored in ''Dynasty Warriors: Godseekers'' where both of them can meet and had dialogue together, but things got awkward and complicated between the two. In ''Warriors Orochi 4'', the two women never interact at all because by the time Orochi's world was rebuilt by Zeus, Lu Bu has already formed his faction with his daughter and Chen Gong while Diaochan is with Dong Zhuo and can be recruited via side mission.
** Similar to Lu Lingqi never interacting with Diaochan during ''Dynasty Warriors 8: Xtreme Legends'', in the Wu and Shu's hypothetical stories for 8, where Liu Bei and Sun Shangxiang remain HappilyMarried, Liu Shan never had a chance to interact with his step-mother.
** Despite that her storyline focuses on her perspective on certain Shu VS. Wei battles (e.g. Battle of Changban and Battle of Chibi) and her ConflictingLoyalty with Zhang Fei and Xiahou Yuan, many fans were disappointed that Xiahou Ji has less interaction with her children as her story stops with her reaction on Yuan's death at the Battle of Hanzhong. This would have been a good opportunity to expand Zhang Bao and Xingcai's characterization.
** Daqiao's history has potential due to her very strong historical connections to a good amount of characters. But alas, like her younger sister, she was often pushed to the sidelines after her husband's death in most of the games, with Xiaoqiao following soon after.

** Ever since 9 added Xin Xianying to the roster, there were expectations of her since she lived long enough to see the rise of the Jin Dynasty and is one of the few female historical figures who made an impact in the Three Kingdoms Era. Unfortunately, the game makes Xianying a stand-in for her father, Xin Pi, and her story ends with the Battle of Wuzhang Plains. While she does appear in several battles post-Wuzhang Plains, [[DemotedToExtra she doesn't have any important role afterwards]]. Like Guo Huai, Sima Yi and Xiahou Ba, many players see her more as a Wei character, rather than part of the Jin lineup, as Xianying never did things that made her historically prominent during the Sima clan's regency on Wei, such as advising her brother to stay allied with Cao Shuang during Sima Yi's coup d'etat and becoming suspicious enough of Zhong Hui that she warns her nephew about him. The best thing players could say about her is one scene where Xianying encourages the Wei forces to not give in to Zhuge Liang's taunts, [[OneSceneWonder an event where she makes the most out of it]].

** The lack of playable officers from the late Wu generation (except for Ding Feng) prevented the Wu storyline from going further into Sun Quan's reign as the Wu emperor and other events that occurred after his reign, leading to Wu's collapse. The NPC conversation ([[https://twitter.com/CKamijan/status/1135482370943905792 1]], [[https://twitter.com/CKamijan/status/1135482638251118592 2]], and [[https://twitter.com/CKamijan/status/1135483344450273280 3]]) from the Wu civilians in 9 hinted at the SuccessionCrisis within the Sun clan but this only occurred offscreen.
** Ever since 7 added the Jin faction, their storyline and the games as a whole only ended with the fall of Shu, while the ''Xtreme Legends'' expansions ended with Zhong Hui's rebellion, never going further into events such as Sima Yan's ascension as the first emperor of Jin and the fall of Wu, which are only mentioned in passing. The lack of several playable characters who were important during those events (Sima Yan, Yang Hu, Lu Kang, Sun Hao etc.) was the reason why the games never went past the fall of Shu.

** Zhuge Liang in ''Dynasty Warriors 3'' has short-ranged attacks by proxy of using a feather fan, a slow-starting fourth charge attack (which is one of his only wave-clearing tools), his EnergyWeapon is ineffective at juggling opponents, nor can he inflict as much damage overall in order to fill the Musou Gauge. There's a reason why he's ranked as the lowest on tier lists for stage completion time/officer-killing. Just about the only acceptable strategy with him is to stay at low HitPoints and spamming away his "True Musou Attack". However, compare [[GameBreaker this version of him to his counterpart in the fifth installment...]]
** Ma Chao in the same game has an inaccurate Musou Attack, with an average spear-based moveset, including subpar defense against arrows (though not the flat out worst, as Guan Yu had the lowest in 3). Of course, this becomes the other way around in 4, thanks to his superb mounted combat and the Shadow Runner making him unable to be knocked away from the horse.
** Sun Ce made his debut in ''Dynasty Warriors 3'', but was deemed this due to an incredibly poor move-set, which was bad at filling up the Musou Gauge, with a C4 attack seen as "laggy" and a Musou Attack with terrible crowd control due to its honky hitboxes.
** Sima Yi was similar to Zhuge Liang in ''Dynasty Warriors 3'', with a stronger Musou charge stat on his fourth weapon and carries an innate lightning element on his fourth ChargedAttack for great AreaOfEffect and filling up the Musou Gauge. Unfortunately, he suffered stationary attacking issues stemming from the fourth Charged Attack and Musou Attack. To get the most out of him, it's best to simply spam his running attack.
* TooCoolToLive: Sun Jian - in some games, it's a case of RocksFallEveryoneDies; in others, it's AnnoyingArrows. Averted for him in 4, 5 and if players succeed in triggering the Hypothetical Route for 8. Likewise, Sun Ce in 4 and the Hypothetical Route in 8

'''You'd Expect''': Guan Yu re-evaluates his brother's orders and asks him the details of his deal with Wu regarding Jing Province. They did make a deal with Wu that Jing Province is just "borrowed" for the sake of their campaign against Wei. At the very least, he should be considerate of why Wu is very insistent regarding their demand of Jing Province and why they really need it. After all, Liu Bei already gained Yi Province and Han Zhong as a base for their campaign against Wei in the northwest. So it's kind of understandable if Wu wanted Jing Province because it's essential for their alliance against Wei. There's no reason why he couldn't ask Liu Bei whether they should keep Jing Province for no reason or honor their alliance with Wu and let them have it. Apparently, he just wouldn't bother to ask.\\
'''Instead''': Guan Yu takes Liu Bei's orders at face value with absolution and practically yells "No!" at Wu's face. He never once considers that his refusal means unnecessary war against Wu and when Wu actually attacks, [[NeverMyFault he's actually surprised that they would betray Liu Bei]].\\
'''Even Worse''': He then attacks Fan Castle, an important territory within Jing Province that's still occupied by Wei. Historically, there's no record that Liu Bei ever ordered him to attack. Guan Yu simply thinks it's a good idea to attack because Liu Bei just recently gained victory and occupied Hanzhong so the morale of Shu forces is pretty high at this time. Not to mention that he also attacked Wu's supply depots to boost his own troops' supply.\\
'''As a Result''': He and his eldest son Guan Ping are killed by Wu. Then Zhang Fei is killed in the middle of his journey to attack Wu, then Battle of Yiling happened with massive casualties for Shu and Liu Bei later died of despair. Shu lost Jing Province ''[[/RewardedAsATraitorDeserves entirely]]'' to Wu, who had become a [[VoluntaryVassal vassal kingdom]] under [[TheUsurper the newly-founded Wei kingdom]], who gave Wu the large portion of Jing Province. Oh, and [[NiceJobBreakingItHero Shu never got back the Jing Province for the rest of their reign]] until their downfall by Wei many decades later. Granted, [[DoomedByCanon this is all what happened in history anyway]], but you can't deny that things wouldn't have been so bad if they just talked it out. In fact, the hypothetical route in Shu's story in 8 is possible because not only Guan Yu survived thanks to Xu Shu, but also because Liu Bei listened to his strategists to find out what Wu really wanted by consulting with Lu Su ([[DefeatMeansFriendship after they fought against each other first]]). Although originally, Lu Su died before Fan Castle, so Guan Yu still being hard-headed would've caused the more radical Lu Meng to immediately decide that he has gathered enough reasons to attack.

** Liu Shan inherits the throne at a very young age after his father's untimely death. At that time, he has to rely on Zhuge Liang on getting things done. But it turns out that this is very detrimental to his growth as a leader because after Zhuge Liang died, he's now on his own with no idea on how to proceed while his court is run by those who are debating on how to achieve his father's dream. It's true that he wants to fulfill his father's dream but the lack of progress against Wei and growing internal struggle within his court which both affected his kingdom's resources stresses him to point that he becomes very cynical which he hides by being a StepfordSmiler. Likewise, he feels inadequate when being compared to his father due to the high amount of expectations on him and because of his status as an emperor, he doesn't have many friends who can confide his worries except Xingcai while the rest of the officers only see him as a mere figurehead. As Wei under Sima Zhao invades his city, Liu Shan makes one difficult decision which is to surrender in order to save what's left of his kingdom. Except that his people condemn his choice and call him a failure. After being forced to exile to Luoyang, Liu Shan understands that he has to bear the burden of being a failure to his father. All of that would make you want to hug this poor guy.
** Daqiao is the kind of girl you just want to give a hug. The girl is pretty timid in times of wars, but then at least she's blessed with a husband like Sun Ce, right? Nope. He died way too soon, leaving her a heartbroken widow that continued to support her husband's legacy by supporting his little brother, despite how much it's putting her in a Despair Event Horizon in a world where her husband was done. Sure, at least her sister Xiaoqiao was there to keep her going, but sometimes, hugs from her sister might not be enough...

** Many players found Jiang Wei’s English dub voice from 7 to 8 very irritating, though that depends on where one finds his yelling of "BENEVOLENCE!" very suitable for him or very hilarious to the point of {{Narm}}.
** Due to Tsuyoshi Takishita’s untimely passing post-Dynasty Warriors 8, Sima Yi’s Japanese voice actor was replaced by Creator/RyotaroOkiayu, who voices Sima Shi. However, many find the latter's performance of Yi too similar to Shi.

** Yan Liang and Wen Chou's deaths always happen in each games, but the incarnation in ''3'' turned into a meme because of just how over the top it is:

** Yan Liang and Wen Chou's deaths always happened each game, but the incarnation in ''3'' turned into a meme because of just how over the top it is:

** Her grandfather, Dong Zhuo, is way ahead of her. He lusts Diaochan and wants to build his own paradise of women as seen in the ''Warriors Orochi'' games. He also has a bunch of grab attacks but the most provocative grab attack is his second ground Musou in 8 where he grabs his opponent from behind, [[HoistHeroOverHead hoist them over his head]]* , and did some sort of an AssShove which got their opponent flinching in pain.

* AmericansHateTingle: This and ''VideoGame/SamuraiWarriors'' are well-received in Japan, but in North America, both are far more along the lines of a mixed reception, with exceptions for ''Dynasty Warriors 7'' and ''8''. Generally, the earlier games had a poorer reception from professional critics (with the exception of perhaps [[WebVideo/{{Jimquisition}} one individual]]). The usual arguments are repetitive ButtonMashing and the fictional/historical story aspects are boring and redundant (since it is technically telling the same stories with different variations in each major installment).

* BrokenBase

* CharacterRerailment: Starting with ''Dynasty Warriors 6'', Yuan Shao was made more characteristically and visually foppish and pompous, an egregious {{Flanderization}} of his BlueBlood status; it didn't sit well with fans. For ''Dynasty Warriors 9'', Koei Tecmo reverted him back to his pre-6 personality - while still pompous, Shao retains an air of bravery and nobility. Most likely because in 9, they have his half-brother Yuan Shu to take the majority of Shao's old foppish and pompous traits.

** Of the majority of women from Android Trading Card Game Spin-Off ''Dynasty Warriors Blast'', Dong Bai led the pack, despite almost no historical relevance or mention from the novels. However, awareness of her increased when it became known she was Dong Zhuo's granddaughter, ultimately culminating with her debut in ''Dynasty Warriors 9''. When her DLC was released, many players enjoyed her storyline and her Musou attacks.
** Aside from Zhenji since her debut in ''Dynasty Warriors 4'', Wang Yi making her appearance in ''7: Xtreme Legends'' became instantly popular, both for her [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge atypical-for-a-heroine personality]] and the hilarious amounts of FoeYay she has with fellow EnsembleDarkhorse Ma Chao. The PaintedOnPants on her don't hurt, either.
** Guo Jia. His handsome looks, lax attitude and strategic mind earn him many fans which got him [[http://www.gamecity.ne.jp/smusou/vote/ first place]] in the latest Japanese popularity poll, beating the likes of Cao Pi and Xiahou Dun.
** Out from the Wei newcomers in 9, Man Chong seems to garner much attention due to his character design and personality.

* HilariousInHindsight: One of the games' producers is named [[https://koei.fandom.com/wiki/Atsushi_Miyauchi Atsushi Miyauchi]]. In 2013, Cao Cao's general Yu Jin joined the cast for ''8: Xtreme Legends'', voiced by [[Creator/AtsushiMiyauchi a person with the same name]].

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: Despite the return of individual story-lines in ''Dynasty Warriors 9'', players cannot play a character who began their career prior to joining their official faction during the Three Kingdoms Era - for example, Ma Chao started his military career under his father, Ma Teng, while Zhang Liao worked with Dong Zhuo and Lu Bu prior to joining Wei; by contrast, consider ''8: Xtreme Legends'', where Zhang Liao was playable for Lu Bu's faction and Wei. Likewise, certain story-lines end before a character joins another faction (e.g. Sun Shangxiang, Xiahou Ba and Xu Shu); players are unable to play as them afterwards.
* TierInducedScrappy: Xiahou Yuan in ''Dynasty Warriors 3'' was terrible at filling up the Musou Gauge; however, when ''3: Xtreme Legends'' was released, [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap Yuan's fifth weapon featured the death element]].

* WhatAnIdiot: In ''Dynasty Warriors 8'', during a battle against Lu Bu at Puyang in Wei's Story Mode, a peon shoots an arrow and hits Xiahou Dun, taking out his eye. Instead of running away, the soldier stands there and gloats how they will be victorious; [[KilledMidSentence he's filled with arrows by Xiahou Yuan and Yue Jin]].

** Zhang Chunhua - while many players love her borrowed move-set and weapon from Sima Yi's sixth incarnation, alongside her unique dynamic with her sons (being the first maternal character introduced for the roster), just as many people dislike how her presence derails her husband's character from a [[TheChessmaster chessmaster]] to HenpeckedHusband

* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff:
** ''Warriors'' games, in general, sell much better in Europe than in North America: case in point, SpinOff ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriors'' sold more copies in Europe than any other region.
** The [[https://www.quora.com/To-those-who-are-Chinese-how-do-you-feel-about-Dynasty-Warriors series is very popular in China]], due it being [[MexicansLoveSpeedyGonzales based on one of their most famous works]], which is what made the country very obsessed with the Three Kingdoms era. It says a lot when this series can still stick out among other local ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' works due its live-action adaptation movie debut [[https://www.siliconera.com/dynasty-warriors-live-action-movie-will-land-in-china-this-april/ being released in China and Hong Kong first]].

* NarmCharm: Almost as entertaining as the games themselves are the unintentional hilarity accompanying nearly every line of dialogue and dramatic moment. This starts becoming apparent by the third game due to its hilariously awkward voice acting.

** In the stage Yellow Turban Rebellion for ''5'', if you defeated Zhang Bao or Zhang Liang and let Zhang Man Cheng alive for a while, there will be this exchange:
--->'''Zhang Jiao''': "Zhang Man Chengggggg... receive the power!"
--->'''Zhang Man Cheng''': "Oooohhh.... I feel the power in my own hands."
** When Cao Pi first met Zhenji in ''Dynasty Warriors 5'', he flirts with her by praising her that she's a beautiful flower and asks her if she wants to join him where she would rather have "your petals bloom...''beneath me''?"

** Is Zhuge Liang a brilliant, honorable strategist who wished to see justice brought back to the world, or is he only in it for fame and prestige? His retreat quote in most of the games is almost always a variation of JustAsPlanned or IMeantToDoThat. An example of {{Chessmaster}}? Or just a plain SoreLoser? Considering some other more honorable, or, say, benevolent characters (including Shu characters, such as Zhao Yun) still [[GracefulLoser have the dignity to accept defeat]] in their retreat quote, it does make Zhuge sound a bit less honorable than he's supposed to be.
** Do the Shu officers truly desire a land of benevolence and virtue or are they only interested in conquest and glory, hiding their real intent behind a veneer of righteousness? At its minimum, is Shu (more specifically, Liu Bei) really motivated by TheNeedsOfTheMany or are they glorified [[KnightTemplar Knight Templars]] who believe anyone who goes against them is automatically evil? Note the Shu Kingdom ending in ''Dynasty Warriors NEXT'' sees the faction killing all of its enemies, just as the Wei Kingdom does, ''including'' Liu Bei's wife Sun Shangxiang, while the Wu Kingdom ending has Sun Quan sparing his fellow warlords and convincing them they have a place in the new order. Not to mention that in the hypothetical path for ''8'', Shu ends up destroying Wei (though still allied with Wu, albeit a tense relationship) while Wu's hypothetical path have them forming peaceful relation between all three factions.
** The series itself does this for Liu Shan. In the source material, Liu Shan is dismissed as a moron, even possibly outright retarded as a result of being dropped on his head as a baby (re: the "Battle at Changban"), but Dynasty Warriors reinterprets him as a BrilliantButLazy, highly enlightened leader who employs ObfuscatingStupidity to avoid letting things get "too complicated", and surrenders to the Jin faction not out of cowardice, but because of the realization this age of strife won't end until somebody takes the first step to ending the fighting.
** Is Jia Chong a pragmatic political officer who does the dirty work no one else is willing to in the best interests of his leaders or a cold-blooded murderer who enjoys the bloodshed of his enemies and coincidentally chooses the best course of action?
** How loyal is Sima Yi to Cao Cao and Cao Pi? ''Dynasty Warriors 6'' portrayed him as an overly ambitious EvilChancellor [[TheStarscream more than willing to betray and overthrow his masters]], yet beginning with ''7'', Yi is content to serve them, as he considers the Cao clan worthy rulers who have the greatest chance at reuniting the land. However, when successors such as Cao Shuang turn out to be very incompetent, Sima Yi stages his coup d'etat and wrests control away from the Cao family. Judging by the ending of Wei's Story Mode in ''7'', there are still traces of his scheming, sinister side. This is also acknowledged InUniverse by Jia Xu in his ending for ''Dynasty Warriors 9'', who remains wary of Sima Yi's motives and questions his loyalty to Cao Pi.

* BadassDecay: Yuan Shao, insofar as presence and cunning are concerned, beginning around the fifth game. He was a reasonably fearsome warlord and a WorthyOpponent to Cao Cao in the first few games, but newer installments have more heavily leaned on his image as an UpperClassTwit who foregoes strategy in favor of throwing troops at his enemies.

** Zuo Ci returning in ''Dynasty Warriors 8'' made some fans happy since his absence post-''Dynasty Warriors 5'', but others felt he took a roster spot away from more deserving historical characters in the "Others" category and should have been relegated to SpinOffCrossover series VideoGame/WarriorsOrochi, given the majority of "mystical" characters in that setting. On the other hand, Zuo Ci did appear for part of the source novel, and his mystical status against Fu Xi and Nuwa are debatable, since the latter two were recreated specifically for the crossover. His characterization is another case - some are fine with the way he's portrayed as a MysteriousProtector, but others believe the developers have no idea on how to effectively use him as part of the story, seeing him as nothing more than a Liu Bei supporter who unnecessarily trolls Cao Cao, despite the latter being less of a CardCarryingVillain since ''Dynasty Warriors 7'', making Zuo Ci [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter wasted potential]].
** Xiahou Dun is slowly veering toward this path, having been openly admitted by the series producer for being his favorite character. In the modern installments, Dun's received special treatments from appearing in the opening CG movie to appearing in battles he didn't historically participate in, even [[SpotlightStealingSquad taking screen-time from other characters]] (Cao Ren and Xu Huang at the "Battle of Fan Castle" in ''Dynasty Warriors 7'' being the most egregious example). These alone raised many controversies among fans, accusing Xiahou Dun for stealing the already minimal- to non-existent appearances of less popular characters.
** Xu Zhu's portrayal in this series is either acceptable and gives a unique color to the Wei force or is considered an insult to his historical/novel counterpart, where he's known as one of the most fearsome Wei generals, instead of the constantly-hungry fat simpleton the games has turned him into and further exaggerated with the English voice he got ever since ''4''.
** Zhao Yun. No matter how many new characters Koei Tecmo can introduce into the series, it's clear he will always be the SeriesMascot, constantly being on the cover of major installments and the primary focus of the intro CG movies; even the SpinOff ''Dynasty Warriors: Godseekers'' makes him the protagonist of the game (aside from two OriginalGeneration characters sharing the spotlight with him, while other historical characters play second fiddle to Yun). In the developer's defense, they needed a character to represent what encompasses OneManArmy the most from a game-play perspective, thus relegated to Yun, citing the "Battle at Changban" from the novel as the motivating reason (even though it never occurred the way it did historically). While some are feeling tired of Zhao Yun being shoved in their faces perpetually by Koei, especially those who look past the source material and into his actual history, others enjoy the notion that for whatever feats he has pulled, inaccurate or not, it's still breathtaking. And thankfully for the developers, Zhao Yun is one of the squeakiest clean guy amongst Shu history-wise, even if he actually didn't do much, so picking him as a poster boy means they avoid bigger controversies of putting other prominent Shu characters like Liu Bei and his brothers when their historical versions weren't as moral.
** Bao Sanniang. She's either loved for her GenkiGirl traits and parading around in a {{Stripperiffic}} outfit while killing thousands of Mooks, or she's hated for those same reasons. Detractors claim she's pure {{Fanservice}}, which the developers tried too hard to get players onboard with her, while Bao's fans find her cute and refreshing. Seeing her act akin to a CatGirl for her Musou Attacks only gave the latter more reasons to love her, and yet more reasons for the former to hate. All this is before mentioning Bao is the first playable character on the roster to not come from ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' or historical fact, making her inclusion a questionable addition.
** Liu Shan, though given what he was in RealLife this should come as no surprise; fans either love his Historical Hero Upgrade the developers have done or hate he isn't portrayed as the {{Sucksessor}} he historically was.
** Guan Yu has become this towards the later games. While the reverence for Guan Yu's honor and valor and veneration as the "God of War" is very much in line with the original novel and even East Asian culture to this day, some fans believe him to be a major Creator's Pet whose alleged virtues have been Flanderized in later games. This especially applies after fans began analyzing official historical records, which suggest Guan Yu is a General Failure with very few actual accomplishments and a General Ripper who cared little for tactics and strategy (factors the historical Zhang Fei actually favored), and who treated anyone besides Liu Bei with arrogance and disdain. Furthermore, almost all his in-game accomplishments were either entirely fictional (slaying Wen Chou and Yan Liang) or actually from someone else (killing Hua Xiong and fighting and routing Lu Bunote ). Lastly, some fans blame him for creating the Spotlight-Stealing Squad of his family and Zhou Cang, (two of whomnote  are fictional) who seem to exist entirely to worship and make him look good. Such fans believe they "stole" character spots from more deserving and actual historical figures.
** Aside from Guan Yinping (see Ensemble Dark Horse), Guan Yu's sons are treated as such, mostly because their characterization in the games are more-or-less a singular point of "worshipping their father".
*** Guan Ping was a lot more appreciated in prior installments, such as Dynasty Warriors 5, when he had a rapport with Xingcai. Once that was removed when Liu Shan became Promoted to Playable, Ping's stance didn't fare better, making some players believe he was thoroughly shafted, being only significant at the "Battle of Fan Castle" in order to die with Guan Yu. On the other hand, other fans welcomed how, since his siblings' introduction, the games have attempted to make him a Big Brother Mentor until his death, with a few noted appearances before the event at Fan Castle.Extra tidbits 
*** Guan Xing is either a decent addition to the roster or more wasted potential, as Koei Tecmo Downplayed a lot of his features from the novel, such as avenging Guan Yu by executing Mi Fang, reclaiming his father's guandao from Wu's Pan Zhang and Xing's sworn brotherhood with Zhang Bao, which was touched upon slightly since their debut in 8.
*** Subverted with Guan Suo: he isn't so much as base-breaking than he is The Scrappy (see below).
** Before the modern installments, players were fine with Ma Chao's For Great Justice stance and immense utility due to the "Shadow Runner" mount. When 7 started to round out the Wei Kingdom's characterization, the fandom splintered - some say Chao's characteristics don't need to change, but others became appalled at how brutal he was historically and in the source novel, with the games Flanderizing him as a bringer of justice. This wasn't helped when Wang Yi was added to the roster, whose vengeance made Ma Chao's creed look extremely Hypocritical, yet Koei Tecmo doesn't have Chao acknowledge his deeds against Yi, treating it as an afterthought. Fans are less likely to run into discussions about Ma Chao that doesn't stray into debates on whether he should remain who he is or he's a douchebag.

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*** In "Conquest Mode", the goal is to capture all enemy territories. Each territory has a "Territory Level", and players can only invade an adjacent territory with a lower level to theirs. On each turn, the player gains one Territory Level...to a ''single'' territory, which is chosen slot-machine styled[[note]]The system shuffles through all of a player's territories until a button is pressed or time runs out[[/note]], making it very difficult for players to level up the territory they want. Furthermore, if there's no territory for the player to attack, the game will lock the player out of action until the situation is averted; meanwhile, [[UnwinnableByMistake the opponent is free to take over all of the player's under-leveled territories without the latter being able to do jack about it]].

*** Furthermore, game pundit [[WebVideo/{{Jimquisition}} Jim Sterling]], who has been a long-time defender of the series, proclaimed ''9'' to be the "[[http://www.thejimquisition.com/dynasty-warriors-9-the-worst-dynasty-warriors-game-ever-made-jimpressions/ worst Dynasty Warriors game ever made]]" in his first impression video after having played it. And it only got worse when he noticed that many characters' more iconic weapons, which had been removed from the basic game, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zbLQQToBh4 had been re-released as DLC]]. This only added to the divisiveness among fans.