105 replies to this topic

[NyNy]

Really? Shu? Please tell me why. My favourite has always been Wu. But my favourite characters are Zhao Yun and Sun Shang Xiang mostly. I also love playing quite a few others like Ling Tong, Ma Chao, Zhen Ji etc. but back in DW5, when I know their moves and Musou's so well

[Dran]

I'm not really sure why Shu became my favourite. Probably because, in terms of the novel, Shu had some of my favourite generals. Liu Bei, Zhang Fei, Guan Yu.
And, of course, the great Zhuge Liang.

Wu were treated a little unkindly in the novel, as when the novel was written, Wei were commonly regarded as the heroes of the empire, so most chapters were written from their perspective, with their primary rival getting about 2/3rds of the remaining chapters. Wu, however, didn't really do much after Chi Bi, save for the incident when Lu Meng killed Guan Yu and stole Jing Province.

The late novel, following Chi Bi, was very much about Wei vs Shu and, after Cao Cao's death, Zhuge Liang vs Sima Yi.


So yeah, Liu Bei has always been regarded as a defender of the people, and a great leader. And he was consistently one of the biggest thorns in Cao Wei's side, the kingdom which I regard to be the villians of the story.

[NyNy]

I need to get the Romance of the Three Kingdoms novel (you are referring to that one right?) to understnad what happened. But it really upsets me how Wu was not in Dynasty Warriors much after Cao Cao, Liu Bei and Sun Quan died. It was just mostly Wei and Shu. But Wei was overtaken by Jin was it not? Or has Dynasty Warriors 7 just changed it for the game plot?

[Dran]

Yeah, that's the novel.

Sun Quan actually survived long after the death of Cao Cao and Liu Bei - it helps that he was from the next generation, as so much younger than the other two rulers.
But yeah. After Zhuge Liang died, Shu surrendered to Wei, and Sima Yan went on to usurp the throne declaring the Jin dynasty.

As I say, DW7's story was much closer than any of the other DW games.

[NyNy]

Ah I see, that's good but it kind of also makes me thing was the point of other DW except 5. I wonder if they will continue in the direction of bringing the warriors stories together or the actual story in DW8.

[mochi.rini]

...you people make me cry tears of joy! I had no idea this thread existed~ My favorite kingdom was Wu (oooh surprise huh? ) and my favorite characters are definitely Sun Shang Xiang, Lu Xun, and Zhao Yun I guess I'm one of those stereotypical people who just like the cute characters

Just hopping in the discussion, but

I feel like Koei Co. was seriously bias towards the Wu kingdom. A lot of the characters were more visually appealing towards the younger age groups, so a lot of characters like Lu Xun, Ling Tong, Sun Ce, etc. were really pretty boys, while at the same time, Wu had more female characters, as well as characters in general. Wei and Shu were given much more powerful fighters, but their looks weren't as appealing (and they were heavier so they were slo~oow >.<) .

But the book was definitely more bias towards Shu. A lot of the Chinese history is actually. I've talked about the Three Kingdoms with my family and a lot of them usually quote "Shu is the best. They're kind and care for all the people in China." "Wei filled with evil and only care about domination." "Wu tried, but was easily beaten every time." Strangely enough, they always comment that Cao Cao had "evil eyebrows" lol

Man...I need to start playing again. I stopped when the sixth installment came out since I didn't like the change in weapons lol. And I was too cheap to get a new console~

Dran: How long did it take you to read the entire novel? I got to the second one before I completely gave up since I was so confused. There are so many characters and footnotes that it's hard to keep up! I tried to write little notes in a notebook as I read along, but I just got so confused. I've tried about four or five times lol How did you do it???

[NyNy]

^^ Same kingdom and characters (well Shang Xiang and Zhao Yun).

When I found this thread, I just had to keep it alive. It's Dynasty Warriors!! Strange because a lot of people do say that Wu is the most appealing but I feel like they spend most of the attention to detail on Shu and Wei because of history. Damn, I need to get this book ;___; is it in English and can I order it?

mochi, may I ask are your family Chinese or...? And you need to play DW7, it's really good!

[Dran]

The original novel was very much biased towards Wei. It was re-written over the years to, indeed, favour Shu a little more. The great thing about the novel, however, is that you are still able to make your own mind up about which Kingdom was the best, and to speculate on what happened and how they might have done things differently - just as people have been doing for the last 1700 years.

How long did it take me to read it? Months. I can be a slow reader at the best of times, but you're right, it's very difficult to keep track of everything that is going on. I guess the trick might be to not try to understand everything. There are people who have studied the text for an entire lifetime and probably can't retain it all.

That said, there have also been a few incredible series based on the novel which I'd also reccomend - especially for people who struggle with the book. I recently sat through all 96 episodes of the 2010 series sanguo and loved it. They skipped some parts of the story, especially near the start with the Yellow Turban rebellions and the 10 attendants crisis, and near the end, where the later years of the Three Kingdoms period and the establishment of the Jin dynasty were kind of glossed over too. But they also added a fair amount in for some of the important players whose role in the novel was very understated - including Sun Quan and Cao Pi.
It really developed and fleshed out those characters beyond what was in the original novel.

There was a similar 84-part series called sanguo yan yi back in 1994 which I've heard is also very good - but I haven't had a chance yet to sit down and watch it, so I can't really say how it compared.

Both are notable, however, for being the mainland China TV series' with the highest budget in Chinese history, in their respective times.

[NyNy]

Sounds interesting but may I ask, how many pages or chapters does the book have? Very interested in reading it!

[Dran]

The book has 120 chapters. The page count varies between about 1100 and 1700 pages.

If you aren't sure which version to get (and there are many) I reccomend heading over to threekingdoms.com, where users have published a fantastic copy of the novel online - merging the classic Brewitt-Taylor translation with hundreds of notes and maps etc, for those who like to read them. Also, they updated the text to use the modern Pinyin romanization method.

They also provide a little advice for if you plan to buy the paper novel.

[NyNy]

OMG O__O Thanks but isn't there a copy I can purchase perhaps on like Amazon or so?

[Dran]

Of course. A little research beforehand would help, though, as there are several versions and translations available. And you really want to make sure you get the one you want. (The unabridged Moss Roberts translation seems to be the one most people reccomend)

Unless, of course, you have the aptitude (which I, myself, do not) to be able to read it in the original Chinese.

[mochi.rini]

HelloNyNy: Yup! My family is Chinese

I hope I get to play it~ I really don't want to buy a new console, but it's so tempting, especially reading both of your comments and looking at gameplay videos on youtube hehe


Those two series sounds like a really nice way to get into the book Did you find the 2010 one online with subs? Or...? I'm really interested to watch this now! I could probably get my sister to watch as well since she's a fan of Dynasty Warriors as well~ I'll need to find some time to watch both series, as well as John Woo's Red Cliff film

This is the version I got., which is the one Dran was talking about in the post above me. It was about $25 when I bought it (4 years ago?), so personally, I think it's worth it if you're dedicated to read it. It's way better then sitting in front of the computer and reading the online version that's for sure

[Dran]

Yeah, the 2010 series was subbed by a group called Jiang Hu. They have also subbed other Chinese dramas/movies into English, but it was pretty impressive of them to take on Sanguo, as it's insanely long.

And yeah, that's the version you should probably go for. I think it also exists in 2-volume format too, but since with that you get them all as a box set and don't have to go track down the relevent volumes yourself, the numbers don't really matter.

[NyNy]

Okay, I see! ^__^ I can read very little Chinese characters but I won't be able to understand them hahaha! But thanks Dran.

[mochi.rini]

Thanks Dran! I guess I know what I'll be doing during my breaks next semester :3

EDIT: Man...so I looked up some actual cut scenes...dude, it kills me hearing the pronunciaton of some of the names. I'm glad they fixed stuff like "cow cow" and "cow pee"...but seriously, send the engrish away~

Edited by mochi.rini, 31 May 2012 - 03:32 AM.

[Dran]

With each passing game, more and more pronunciations get fixed.
Don't think they've used k'ao k'ao since DW4, for example.

I think for DW7, as free DLC, you were able to download a patch that changed all the voice acting back to the original Japanese - that's pretty cool. I'd very much like them to release a version with Chinese voices though.

[cynthia]

Dynasty warriors 7 empires will release in Japan soon, I hope that a version will be released in Europe!
With a new character, Xu Shu!
Can't wait.

I like DW empires, this is another way to play, more strategically.
And we can create characters, it's nice.

PS: My favorite kingdom is the Shu. I like Zhuge Liang, He is the best strategist.
Wu makes me laugh because they like to burn everything!

[Dran]

^Kongming is probably also my favourite character in the whole of the Three Kingdoms epic. Though I was never fond of playing as him in Dynasty Warriors, as he was pretty underpowered.

[NyNy]

But they should have fixed the pronounciation years ago >_< because you know when you call something/someone a name after a long time and it just sticks, that's why I still call Cao Cao "cow cow" even though it's pronounced with a "Z" at first. And it's awkward talking to one of my friends and trying to pronounce them all to them >__<

Man, I thought Empires was already released O__O I've only played DW4 Empires but I loved it! I'm waiting for WO to go down in price before buying the game! Maybe I might get DW7 Empires too