Dynasty Warriors 2
Extras FAQ (FAQFAQ) Version 0.7
April 20, 2001
By Eugene Huang
a.k.a. NekkiBasara
[email protected]
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Thanks for understanding.
i. FOREWORD
-----------------------------------
WHY AM I WRITING THIS FAQ?
I've noticed that several people on the message boards these days have
questions that just aren't answered or even addressed on some of the FAQs on
GameFAQS. Either that, or the questions are not answered in quite enough
detail. This is the reason that I am writing this FAQ - although answering
questions on the Message Boards is fun, it would be much more efficient to
have these questions readily answered through this Extras FAQ, or FAQFAQ.
So, anyway, here we go.
CONTENTS
-------------------------------------------------
I. ITEMS AND POWERUPS
a. SAVE POINTS (AND LIFE RECOVERY BUNS)
b. +10 LIFE UPS
c. THE BABY AT CHANG BAN
d. THE LUMINOUS SWORD
e. INCREASING THE VALUE OF POWERUPS
II. INITIATING CUTSCENES AND OTHER EVENTS
III. LEVEL STRATEGIES
IV. OFFICERS LIST AND THEIR POWERUPS
V. FAVORITE EDIT MODES
VI. MORE FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
VII. SPECIAL THANKS
I. ITEMS AND POWERUPS
-------------------------------------------------
There are a ton of items and powerups in this game, but there are also many
many more crates and pots to sift through in order to find them. This guide
will show you where to find some of them in each stage. I won't list where
to find the common ones, or give descriptions of what they do (since that
information can be found in your instruction manual, or at any of the other
FAQs here), but I will list the ones that are much more rare and tougher to
find.
As a general rule, keep these in mind:
- All food items are found in pots, while all other items are found in
crates.
- When you see a group of pots or crates all located in one area, one of
them
MUST have an item
- All personal bodyguards of every general drop +50 Life buns when they die.
All Guard Captains have valuable food items (+200 Life or All Recovery
Potion)
- Named generals that are playable (with exception to all rulers and two
advisors) drop either +4 Attack or +4 Defense. All non-playable advisors
will drop +2 Defense, while most other non-playable generals will drop +1 or
+2 Attack
- Of course, all Gate Captains drop +1 Defense by default
A. SAVE POINTS (AND LIFE RECOVERY BUNS)
If you own the Japanese version of this game, you're out of luck, since you
are not given the option to save within the level. On the other hand, most
levels in the American version of this game contain 5 save points that are
contained in crates which are scattered throughout the map. Please note
that most of these save points are found in lone crates - usually not
accompanied by other crates and pots. Please also note that there is
usually a Life Recovery Bun somewhere within the immediate vicinity of most
save points (sometimes they are slightly farther away). Be on the lookout
for them, and remember their locations as well.
No stage has more than 5 save points, and no less than 3. Here's a list of
where to find them all.
YELLOW TURBAN REBELLION - There are a total of 4 confirmed save points in
this level. The first two are in lone crates behind both of the second
gates. Therefore, once you defeat Cheng Yuanzhi or Bo Zhang, there should
be a save point in a crate behind the gates that open. The third save point
is found in a lone crate at the mouth of the valley in which Zhang Bao
summons the magical wind. It's located near Zhang Man Cheng's starting
point, so it shouldn't be very tough to find. The Life Recovery Bun that
accompanies it is found near a set of boxes and crates in between Zhang
Bao's valley and the alternate pathway you take to fight He Yi.
The last save point is in a lone crate under one of the pagodas close to
Zhang Jiao's mountain fortress (it's on the lower level that you fight in
before you run up the ramp to fight Zhang Jiao himself. There is also a
Life Recovery Bun in a pot under another pagoda, as well as a lone crate in
the center of the courtyard, which contains a 10-second Full Musou powerup.
HU LAO GATE - I have only managed to find 3 save points in this stage, and
there may very well be only 3 on this stage. If any of you have been able
to find anymore, please let me know by e-mailing me via the address at the
top of the FAQ. I'm certain everybody has found the first save point - this
one is at the top of Fan Shui gate, towards the eastern section of the wall.
The second save point is found most easily if you take Cao Cao's route. Go
to the gate which is opened by defeating Niou Fu - once you go through the
gate, the Save Point is in a lone crate to your right. The third save point
is also fairly easy to find - it's at the bottom of Hu Lao Gate - you can
get it even before the gate is even opened. It's in a crate found in a nook
to the right of the gate entrance. The Life Recovery Bun that accompanies
this save point is found at the top of the gate - in a pot on the western
section of the gate.
The only other Life Recovery Bun that I can remember of is found near Yuan
Shao's central gate - notice that in the northern section of the map, there
are two gates which seem like they are stuck together. There should be a
Life Recovery Bun somewhere near the gate on the left.
GUAN DU - There are 5 save points here, and all of them are located within
or at the entrances the 5 fortresses in this stage. Two of them are found
somewhere within the two castles - near the starting points of both Dian Wei
and Liu Yan. Two of them are also found within Liu Bei's fortress and Yuan
Shao's fortress. Liu Bei's save point is found near the western gate of his
fortress, while Yuan Shao's is found near the entrance of his southern gate.
The last one is found at the gate that you must open in order to gain access
to the Wu Chao supply depot.
CHANG BAN - I believe that there are only 3 save points here - once again,
let me know if I am wrong. The first one is at the northern end of the
village (the village on the south side of the map). Look for a line of
crates and pots for this one. The second one is found near Cao Cao's
southeastern gate - right where Liu Bei begins to fight Li Dian at the start
of his retreat. There is also a Life Recovery Bun in a pot in the immediate
vicinity. The last one is in a set of crates and pots near the northeastern
area where Liu Bei's reinforcements arrive by sea. Once again, there is a
Life Recovery Bun in the vicinity, so be on the lookout for it.
CHI BI - There are 5 on this stage. The first one is near Sun Quan's
starting point - a bit to the northwest, in a crate somewhere along the
coast. The second one is east of the first one - in a crate that is also
somewhere along the coast, on the eastern half. There is also one near Cao
Cao's starting point, in a crate on the western side of his camp. One can
also be found in Dian Wei's starting point, and the last one is found at the
small campfire near the area where Lu Xun makes his entrance. Check around
the gate on the eastmost side of the map on the northern coast, just
slightly north of Cao Ren's starting point.
HE FEI - There are actually 5 save points on this stage, although some are a
bit tough to find. One is near a bridge on the western side of the map -
look for a watchtower that's on one end of the bridge. The save point
should be in the crate near the eastern side of the watchtower. The next
one is very close to Yu Jin's starting point, near the southern gate of Cao
Cao's fortress. This one is also close to a bridge. The third one is in a
clump of boxes that is directly west of Zhang He's starting point. The pot
there also contains a Life Recovery Bun, I think. The fourth one is in the
vicinity of the ungodly brawl that occurs between Taishi Ci, Xu Zhu, and Cao
Ren. Look for a lone crate somewhere in the southeastern area of the map -
if my memory is correct, it's also somewhere near a bridge. And finally,
the last one is found in that very narrow valley - the one that leads right
to Zhang Liao's starting point if you're battling in the center of the map.
Note that there is a Life Recovery Bun placed in the immediate vicinity -
open only if NEEDED, since you're going to need a save point before AND
after you battle Zhang Liao.
YI LING - 5 here. Look for the first one near Lu Meng and Guan Yu's
starting point in the northeast side of the map. The box should be in the
vicinity of the coastline, which should be close to Sun Quan's northeast
gate (there should also be a Life Recovery Bun nearby). The second one is
near the southern section of that central area where Ma Chao, Huang Zhong,
Taishi Ci, and Gan Ning duke it out. There might be a Life Recovery Bun
found in some other section of the Central area, but I'm not too sure. The
third one is found in the northwestern entrance to Zhuge Liang's maze, which
is on the western side of the map. The Life Recovery Bun that accompanies
this save point is actually found in another pathway to Liu Bei's army.
Look around to the eastern entrances to Liu Bei's camp for a pot containing
the bun.
The fourth one is found quite near Sun Shang Xiang's starting points, in the
outskirts of Sun Quan's camp. Look for a lone crate to the right of the
easternmost fence in the area. The last one is in the northern section of
Zhang Fei's camp, near a watchtower in that area. It's somewhat close to
the southeastern entrance to Zhuge Liang's maze.
WU ZHANG - 5 here as well. Two of them are quite easy to find - they're at
the gates that are guarded by Guan Suo of Guan Yu's army and Lei Tong of
Zhang Fei's army. The next one is in a crate near one of Cao Cao's eastern
gates - the one that is north of the river. Look for a lone crate in the
vicinity. If memory serves me correctly, the fourth one is somewhere in the
northwestern area of the map, close to Zhang Liao's starting point. Once
again, look for a lone crate in the area. The last one is easy to find -
it's at the foot of the valley where Sima Yi throws his avalanche upon you -
look for a crate that is quite close to a pot containing a Life Recovery
Bun.
B. +10 LIFE UPS
I've posted this topic before on the GameFAQS message boards, so I'm pretty
much
just going to cut and paste this information verbatim:
There are two ways you can get a +10 life up - the first is to find it in a
pot somewhere in each stage. Every stage has a +10 life up - it's just a
matter of knowing where they all are. Here are all of the locations:
YELLOW TURBAN REBELLION - Once you've gone through Cao Cao's second gate
(the gate that opens once you defeat Cheng Yuanzhi), head north all the way
to the top of the screen. Go up the steps to the top of the wall and go all
the way to the right - the lone pot there contains a life up.
HU LAO GATE - On the eastern side of the top of Fan Shui Gate, in a pot next
to the save point. Go up the steps and head right if you don't already know
where it is.
GUAN DU - In Wu Chao Supply Depot. Right before the path bends, the pot
containing the +10 Life Up should be near the right-hand wall.
CHANG BAN - Find Cao Cao's gate on the east side of the village. The life up
is very close to there - head due south (towards Cao Cao's starting point)
and look for a few pots along the wall.
CHI BI - This is found in the northeasternmost corner of the map amongst a
collection of boxes and pots. It's very close to the bridge north of Lu
Xun's starting point.
HE FEI - Right in between Xiahou Dun and Lu Xun's starting point, there is a
tiny island with two bridges on the east and west side. Go to the
northernmost tip of the island to find a pot with the life up.
YI LING - This pot is somewhere near the center of Zhuge Liang's maze. It's
a lot easier to find if you're an officer of Shu, as opposed to an officer
of Wu.
WU ZHANG - Right near the point of conflict between Ma Chao and Dian Wei,
there is a tiny village. Look for a group of houses that forms a "U" shape.
The entrance to the "U" is blocked by a thin tree. Go past the tree and
break open the pots to find a +10 Life Up and a +50 Recovery Bun (You know
what to get first).
The second way is to get a +10 Life Up is to defeat a general that drops it.
All generals that are lords, or are relatives of lords (excluding Cao Zhang
and Liu Feng) drop +10 life ups. However, this does not include lords who
are the main enemy of a level. For instance, you can get a +10 life up from
Cao Cao while fighting against him in the Yellow Turban Stage, but you won't
be able to get one battling against him in Wu Zhang Plains. Here's a
complete list of generals, as well as where you can defeat them:
Liu Bei - Yellow Turban Rebellion, Hu Lao Gate, Guan Du
Gongsun Zan - Hu Lao Gate
Cao Cao - Yellow Turban Rebellion, Hu Lao Gate
Cao Pi - Chang Ban, Chi Bi, He Fei, Wu Zhang
Sun Jian - Yellow Turban Rebellion, Hu Lao Gate
Sun Shang Xiang - He Fei, Yi Ling
C. THE BABY AT CHANG BAN
Many people have noticed a baby that is featured in the item list, above a
caption reading, "?????" Simply put, the baby is a special item that can
only be found in the battle at Chang Ban. To find him, simply wait until
Cao Cao's reinforcements arrive. Afterwards, head to the village towards
the south of the map. Now, check along the western wall of the village and
keep going until you find a well surrounded by several crates. Open all of
the crates there - the baby should be in one of them. Please note that the
crate containing the baby will appear only after Cao Cao's reinforcements
arrive, so going to the well beforehand will only leave you confused.
So, what does the baby do? Well, the only bonus you get is an extra 2000
points which is added to your score at the end of the level. Other than
that, the baby is pretty much useless. If you're curious as to what a baby
is doing in the middle of a battlefield, here's the background story:
During the battle of Chang Ban, Zhao Yun was out searching for Liu Bei's
wife, Lady Mi (who happened to be officer Mi Zhu's sister) and their child,
Liu Chan. Eventually, Zhao Yun approaches a well and finally finds Lady Mi,
who is quite wounded from battle. Yet, the baby she holds in her arms still
appears to be fine. Zhao Yun offers to assist both Lady Mi and her child to
safety, but Lady Mi would hear none of it. Claiming that she would only be
a burden upon their escape, she instead hands only the child over to Zhao
Yun so that he may be placed under the mighty Zhao's protection. Knowing
that Zhao Yun is worthy of protecting the child even against the most
insurmountable odds, she then throws herself into the well, preventing Zhao
Yun from even attempting to protect her.
Zhao Yun then carries the young child under his breastplate with one arm and
rides off to bring him back to Liu Bei. Along the way, he defeats and kills
several important generals and several thousand soldiers - even with his
debilitated fighting ability hindered by the handicap of protecting the
baby. Bruised and bleeding from battle, Zhao Yun finally reaches Liu Bei
and presents his son to him. Seeing Zhao Yun's injured body infuriates Liu
Bei, and so he grabs the child and throws him upon the ground, exclaiming
something to the effect of, "It was because of you that I might have lost my
most faithful retainer! I can have other sons, but there can only be one
Zhao Yun!"
Epilogue: When Liu Chan grew older, it appears that the damage he received
from being thrown upon the ground may have caused a sharp decrease in his
intellect (his father's negligence towards his upbringing may have also been
a factor). While Liu Chan inherited his father's kingdom upon the death of
Liu Bei, Chan could not even come close to Liu Bei's intellect, charm,
political savvy, or even his judge of talent. The heir of the kingdom of
Shu turned out to be a complete and total moron who whittled his kingdom
away through his weak-willed administration and his drunken and carefree
behavior. He made tremendously bad decisions under the horrendous advice of
his most trusted eunuch, Huang Hao, and he eventually handed the kingdom of
Shu over to the kingdom of Wei towards the end of the Three Kingdoms period.
A majority of historians believe that he alone is the cause of Shu's
eventual downfall.
D. THE LUMINOUS SWORD
You may have noticed that, along with the baby, there is also a picture of a
sword in the Instruction Manual that hovers over the caption of "?????"
This item is, in fact, the Luminous Sword, which offers a very valuable
Attack +10 power up to whoever is good enough to find it. The sword was, in
fact, a very famous legendary sword that was fabled to be able to cut
through steel as if it were butter. This is the story behind it:
Prior to the battle of Chang Ban, Cao Cao had handed the Luminous Sword over
to the care of his relative, Xiahou En. Because he was entrusted with such
an important task and such a valuable item, Xiahou En was arrogant enough to
believe that he could defeat anybody with the sword. After accosting Zhao
Yun during the battle, he challenged him to a duel, and lost - quickly and
badly. Zhao Yun, realizing the sword's value, picked it up with him and
kept it as a prized find.
There are three ways in obtaining the Luminous Sword. The first is playing
as a Shu general in the battle of Chang Ban. Defeat Xiahou En as soon as
Cao Cao's reinforcements arrive, and the Luminous Sword is yours. Be
careful - make sure that you are the first to defeat him, since he is such a
weak character. If he runs into any of your allies, chances are that he
will be dead very soon.
The second way to get it is to play the battle of Chang Ban while working
for the forces of Wei. To get the Luminous Sword in this stage, you must be
able to defeat Zhao Yun, and believe me, this task is MUCH harder than
simply defeating a sissy-pants like Xiahou En. In this stage, Guan Yu,
Zhang Fei, and Zhao Yun have all been given "Lu Bu-like" stats, making the
task of facing just one of them, let alone all of them, a difficult task.
The third method is to fight in the battle of He Fei under Sun Quan's
forces. In this stage, defeat Zhang Liao to obtain the sword. While Zhang
Liao never owned the sword in history, the power up you get for defeating
him is justified. During the battle of He Fei, Zhang Liao once warded off
100,000 enemy soldiers by utilizing only 800 of his men.
E. INCREASING THE VALUE OF POWER UPS
Here is a tip that allows you to level up your characters much more quickly
and efficiently. Have you ever gotten tired of cruddy generals only
dropping crud items like +1 Attack swords or lowly Gate Captains only
dropping +1 Defense shields? Well, you can change the quality of the power
up you receive simply by increasing the combo that you kill your enemy with.
For instance:
If you perform an 8-hit combo on an enemy gate captain, then he will drop a
+2 Defense shield instead of a +1. If you perform a 16-hit combo, then he
will drop a +4 Defense instead. And finally, if you perform a 24-hit combo,
he will drop a +8 Defense instead - the highest amount of Defense possible
in a power up.
The same applies for lowly generals. For instance, if you hit Pei Yuan Shao
(from the Yellow Turban Stage) with a 24-hit combo, he will drop a +8 Attack
sword instead of a +1. Also, please note, that getting these combos does
not automatically double the value of the power up. For instance, hitting
Zhou Yu with an 8-hit combo does not garner a +8 power up. That would be
too easy. In order to get that +8 defense, you need to hit him with a 24-
hit combo, just like you would a normal Gate Captain. Simple?
And finally, using high-hit combos on generic soldiers will always result in
an automatic minor item. So, if you finish a generic soldier off with an 8-
hit combo, then they will leave either a +5 Arrow set or a +50 Life Up,
which is chosen randomly. However, you may notice that if you use higher-
hit combos to finish them off, then the value of the item will not increase.
Unfortunately, I'm not exactly sure how this system affects those soldiers
who already drop minor powerup items, since I do recall getting a Life
Recovery Bun from using a 16-hit combo on a soldier once. If anybody knows
the exact circumstances that are required for these rare items, let me know.
So how do you get such high-hit combos? Well, here are a few proven
methods:
- Use your Musou attack. Even in the early stages, using your extended
Musou attack (by holding down the circle button) after hitting S,S,S
(Square, Square, Square) will almost always guarantee you an 8-hit combo,
depending on the character. However, if you're using a character like
Taishi Ci, whose Musou attack doesn't cause juggles, then it's best to hit
your opponents off of a wall so that he bounces back into your attacks.
Also use this technique when using the Liu Bei/Sima Yi clones, since killing
your enemy with a Musou attack causes him to be catapulted away from you.
If there is no wall nearby, then try and make it so that the enemy has just
enough life left so that you can fit at least 8-hits in before he dies.
- Use your Musou arrow barrage (Hold down R1, aim, and then press and hold
circle). Once again, in the early stages of development, an arrow barrage
will almost always garner you an 8-hit combo against your opponents,
provided that you had enough arrows in your supply. Later on, when your
life meter increases, it's possible to get 16-hit combos off your enemy, but
they usually have to be at very close range. In addition, I find that
raising the aim of your bow just a little bit during the barrage seems to
help with the juggling. Watch your enemy's health carefully as well - once
it's completely depleted, your opponent will drop like a stone. Try to
lower the aim of your bow once that happens so that you can catch your
opponent in mid-fall.
- Infinite Combos. I don't use these combos often because I simply don't
have the time and patience to practice them. However, I do know that Lu
Xun's is probably the easiest infinite combo. To perform this, press S,T
(Square, Triangle) to launch your opponent in the air, and then repeat S,T
infinitely. Some people have been able to get 99-hit combos with this, but
not me.
- Infinite Combos Part 2. You may notice that the game has several subtle
nuances that allow you to get extra hits by accident. For instance, when an
enemy is defeated with a non-power move (such as the first, second, or third
hit of an S,S,S,S attack), he will stagger to the ground instead of getting
knocked away. In this case, try to keep him standing for as long as
possible by poking him with your weapon one or two times. Also, your allies
can assist you with these combos as well, by keeping your enemy standing
with their sword pokes as well. It also helps if you're doing this against
a wall or mountain.
- Mounted Combos (or Horse Massacres). This is by far the easiest way to
obtain infinite-hit combos. To do this, first you must make your opponent
follow you into a corner (with a horse very close by) and knock him down.
Afterwards, you simply get onto to your horse and repeatedly run him over in
the corner, repeatedly slashing until you get the desired number of hits -
sadistic, but fun. There is a catch, however - your attack level must be
significantly higher than your opponent's defense in order to be able to run
him over in the first place. Even if you knock a powerful opponent down,
attempting to run him over with your horse will only result in being stopped
in your horse's tracks.
- There is a Jump + Slash combo that some people on the GameFAQS message
boards use, but I am currently unaware of the exact procedure to attain it.
If anybody out there has any additional infinite combos that they would like
to share, please e-mail me at
[email protected] or post them on the
GameFAQS website.
II. INITIATING CUTSCENES AND OTHER EVENTS
-------------------------------------------------
You may have noticed that, several times during the battles, sometimes
certain events will occur. Most of these events are based on events in the
novel, and have been subtly recreated into the battles to make the game much
more enjoyable. Here's a list of most of the cutscenes and other events, as
well as the instructions on how to trigger them:
YELLOW TURBAN REBELLION
-----------------------
*All of the following scenes are obtainable only if you play on the side of
the Imperial Forces.
Zhang Bao's Magic Wind:
To initiate this cutscene, any soldier fighting for the Imperial forces
(including your character) must set foot in the valley to the north that
leads to Zhang Bao.
BACKGROUND: The event depicted is based on Chapter 2 of the novel. In it,
Zhang Bao cites a few magic incantations and summons a fierce wind that
deters the Imperial Forces. To counter this, Zhu Jun performed an animal
sacrifice which forced the wind to cease.
Zhang Liang's Avalanche:
To trigger this scene, any soldier fighting for the Imperial forces
(including your character) must set foot in the valley that leads to Zhang
Liang. This valley is reachable by going down the alternate pathway that is
guarded by He Yi. Past He Yi is a fork in the road - take the first left,
and then make a right. This path should lead to Zhang Liang's valley,
causing the rocks to start falling. This event did not occur, by the way,
since there were very little words spoken about Zhang Liang in the novel.
The Appearance of Zhang Jiao:
If any Imperial soldier (including your character) reaches any of the two
ramps that lead to Zhang Jiao's fortress, then a scene will be triggered
showing Zhang Jiao summoning a ball of fire leading to an explosion.
BACKGROUND: In the novel, Zhang Jiao obtained great wisdom power when he was
given a book titled "The Way of Peace." It was this wisdom that inspired
him to lead the people into rebellion in the first place.
HU LAO GATE
-----------
*The following scenes are triggered only if you are fighting for Yuan Shao's
forces.
Lu Bu's Arrival:
Once your character obtains 100 kills, Dong Zhuo will say something to the
effect of "Lu Bu, bring me that fool's head!" Any information about Lu Bu's
background may be obtained from my Lu Bu Acquisition FAQ found at
www.gamefaqs.com.
Xiahou Dun Loses an Eye:
If you're playing as Xiahou Dun, all you have to do is approach Xu Rong's
gate - once you do, a cutscene will show a stray arrow hitting Xiahou Dun in
the eye.
BACKGROUND: While Xiahou Dun really did lose an eye to an arrow in reality,
this scene is quite anachronistic. Xiahou Dun actually lost his eye while
chasing the armies of Lu Bu years after the Battle of Hu Lao Gate took
place. The details of this event are found in Chapter 18 of the novel - in
it, one of Lu Bu's officers, Cao Xing, shot an arrow at Xiahou Dun to
protect their retreat. The arrow happened to catch Xiahou Dun in the eye,
causing him to scream in pain. He then proceeded to pull the arrow out of
his eye socket and exclaimed, "Essence of my father, blood of my mother, I
cannot throw this away!" During that period, a man's body was considered to
be the greatest treasure of all since it contained the essence of all prior
ancestors. Thus, to merely discard a part of your body was considered to be
a great sin (this is why nobody ever cut their hair in those days). That is
why Xiahou Dun put his own eye into his mouth and swallowed it, effectively
demonstrating his filial piety.
Bowmen Appear at Fan Shui Gate:
This event is triggered by the first allied soldier (usually one of Liu
Bei's) to approach the entrance to Fan Shui gate. Basically, you'll see a
line of bowmen picking off some of Liu Bei's many lesser soldiers. There's
not much historical context to this event, by the way.
Dong Zhuo's Surprise Attack:
This event did not really happen in the novel - it's just an extra obstacle
that the programmers placed in order to make this level just a bit more
challenging. Everyone who's beaten this level knows what it is - basically,
a legion of Dong Zhuo's forces will suddenly appear to the rear of Yuan
Shao. If Yuan Shao's morale is low (which it usually is), then it's up to
you to rescue his sorry ass. If you ignore his girlish cries for help, then
expect to see the message "HQ is in trouble! Need assistance immediately!"
very, very often. If I were hazard as guess as to what it is that triggers
this scene, it would probably be a morale trigger. Basically, if your
overall morale rises to a certain point, then this scene is triggered.
There are many other events in this game which are like this.
Finally! Hu Lao Gate!:
This event is triggered once your character approaches the entrance to Hu
Lao Gate. Very similar to the "Fan Shui Bowmen" event, except that your
character is the only one who can trigger it.
*The following scenes are triggered only if you're fighting for Dong Zhuo's
forces.
Lu Bu Moves to the Front Lines:
I'm not certain as to how to obtain this one - I believe it occurs when Yuan
Shao's forces make it past Fan Shui Gate.
Lu Bu's Rebellion:
This scene is yet another event that is not accompanied by a cutscene. To
trigger this, Diao Chan forces must be scattered. Once this occurs, Lu Bu
will go ballistic and suddenly turn against Dong Zhuo, blaming him for
idiotically placing Diao Chan on the front lines. For more information on
the relationship between that wacky trio of Lu Bu, Diao Chan, and Dong Zhuo,
consult my Lu Bu FAQ found on www.gamefaqs.com. In fairness, once Lu Bu
rebels, he will not move or make any advances towards Dong Zhuo - he'll just
stand there and wait for you to attack him, which is very understandable.
After all, it's tough enough to face Guan Yu and Zhang Fei at the same time
- adding Lu Bu to the mix is just plain unfair.
Please note - this event cannot be triggered if you are playing as either Lu
Bu or Zhang Liao. Rather than deal with the headache that would be caused
if your unit were to suddenly rebel, the programmers just decided to delete
the possibility of that event if you happen to fight under Lu Bu's flag.
GUAN DU
-------
*Unless otherwise specified, the following cutscenes are available only
while playing under Cao Cao's forces.
The Reunification of the Three Brothers:
Note that in Guan Du, all three Brothers of the Peach Tree Oath are in this
level, but are in opposite sides. Both Liu Bei and Zhang Fei fight for Yuan
Shao while Guan Yu fights for Cao Cao. Basically, once Guan Yu happens to
come across either one of his brothers during the battle, then the brothers
of the opposing side will retreat. Therefore, if you're fighting on Cao
Cao's side, both Liu Bei and Zhang Fei will retreat as soon as they make
contact with Guan Yu. Likewise, if you are fighting on Yuan Shao's side,
then Guan Yu will make a hasty retreat as soon as he meets up with either
one of his brothers.
BACKGROUND: I suppose you're wondering how all three brothers ended up on
opposing sides. Well, the original events of the novel have been greatly
changed in order to adapt to the level design, but the idea is still there.
To get more info on this event, consult chapters 24-26 of the novel. If
you're too impatient, then here's a synopsis:
Shortly after Cao Cao had gained control of Emperor Xian and attained the
rank of Prime Minister, a small group of Han loyalists (including Liu Bei
and Ma Teng, Ma Chao's father) secretly plotted his assassination under
orders of the Emperor himself. The assassination was thwarted, however, so
Liu Bei fled back to his province of Xuzhou. Cao Cao knew that Liu Bei was
an accomplice to the assassination, so, in revenge, he sent an army to
capture him. Liu Bei and Zhang Fei sallied to meet up with Cao Cao's
overwhelming number of Imperial troops while Guan Yu was ordered to guard
the city. Zhang Fei attempted to ward off their advance through a night
raid against Cao Cao's camp, but Cao Cao had luckily received a premonition
that warned him of the attack in advance. Zhang Fei's night raid turned out
to be a complete failure as both he and Liu Bei were separated in the
confusion. Liu Bei, being blocked off in all directions, fled northward to
the refuge of Yuan Shao, Cao Cao's enemy to the north. The whereabouts of
Zhang Fei were unknown.
Meanwhile, Cao Cao attacked Guan Yu and the city of Xuzhou. Guan Yu refused
to surrender until Cao Cao's officer Zhang Liao (whose life, if you recall,
was once spared by Guan Yu) approached him to convince him. After speaking
with Zhang Liao, Guan Yu decided to surrender under three conditions:
1) He would willingly serve in the name of the Emperor, and not Cao Cao
2) Liu Bei's family would be well protected and off-limits to anyone in Cao
Cao's army
3) Once the whereabouts of Liu Bei were discovered, Guan Yu would be allowed
to retire and immediately head out in search of him
Cao Cao did not like these conditions, but he had no choice to accept, lest
a great man like Guan Yu be prematurely erased from the world. While under
Cao Cao's service, Guan Yu received many gifts and was the guest of honor at
many banquets, yet he was not involved in many battles. Cao Cao feared
that, if Guan Yu were to perform any extraordinary deeds for him on the
battlefield, then all of the debts incurred from his many gifts would be
paid in full. However, at the Battle of Baima, Cao Cao came across one of
Yuan Shao's greatest generals, Yan Liang, who had killed two of Cao Cao's
generals, and had easily defeated Xu Huang, wielder of the Giant Axe.
Realizing that nobody else could defeat such a man, Cao Cao summoned Guan Yu
to deal with Yan Liang, despite the fact that it might allow Guan Yu to
repay his debt. Guan Yu promised to bring back Yan Liang's head, and a few
minutes later, Yan Liang's head was dangling from Guan Yu's horse.
Needless to say, this infuriated Yuan Shao when he discovered that it might
have been Liu Bei's brother, Guan Yu, who had so effortlessly killed one of
his greatest warriors. Yuan Shao threatened Liu Bei's life, but Liu Bei had
volunteered to find out for certain whether or not Guan Yu was truly under
Cao Cao's service. In the next battle, Liu Bei was sent with Yuan Shao's
other great general, Wen Chou, to avenge Yan Liang's death. This time, Wen
Chou's army unwittingly fell victim to one of Cao Cao's clever ruses, but in
the confusion, Wen Chou managed to escape death at the hands of both Xu
Huang ad Zhang Liao. Unfortunately, he was not able to escape death at the
hands of Guan Yu, who had chased him down and slaughtered him with one blow.
However, during the retreat, Liu Bei was able to catch a glimpse of Guan Yu,
giving him definite proof that he was working under Cao Cao. That night,
Liu Bei sent a letter to him, informing Guan Yu of his whereabouts. Thus,
Guan Yu packed up all of his belongings, readied Liu Bei's family, and
informed Cao Cao of his departure while leaving all of his gifts behind.
Cao Cao could not help but keep his word, so he had no choice but to wish
him farewell.
So, where was Zhang Fei during all of this? Well, during his retreat from
his failed night raid, he came across a small town named Gucheng. He tried
asking the magistrate for grain, but was refused - so, in anger, Zhang Fei
drove away the officials and took the city for himself. When Guan Yu
finally found him during his travels northward, Zhang Fei charged towards
him with his horse and attempted to kill him for his supposed betrayal,
since he had gotten word that Guan Yu was under Cao Cao's service. After
explaining the situation, however, Guan Yu was forced to prove his loyalty
by easily killing one of Cao Cao's officers. After the situation had
cleared, both brothers agreed to head north to reunite with Liu Bei. So,
going by the novel, Zhang Fei is really not supposed to fight alongside Liu
Bei at the Battle of Guan Du.
The Death of Yan Liang:
This does not lead to a cutscene (although it really should), but you should
use this information to your advantage when playing this level. Yuan Shao
will only attack Cao Cao's main castle until Yan Liang is defeated. Once he
is defeated, Yuan Shao's main force will begin the push from his fortress,
initiating the following cutscene:
Yuan Shao Arrives:
Once Yuan Shao's forces reach the front of Cao Cao's castle walls, there
will be a short cutscene showing Cao Cao surveying Yuan Shao's humongous
army.
BACKGROUND: In the novel, Yuan Shao's army outnumbered Cao Cao's by a
considerable number, but it was Cao Cao who eventually won the war due to
several factors. First of all, Cao Cao had troops who were better trained,
but more importantly, he had many able advisers who were cunning and were on
Cao Cao's wavelength, like Guo Jia, Xun You, Xun Yu, and Cheng Yu. On the
other side, Yuan Shao was a petty and shortsighted man who disagreed with
everything that his most intelligent advisers suggested. The mistreatment
and mistrust that he exhibited towards his subordinates forced one of his
officers, Xu You, who happened to be a childhood friend of Cao Cao's, to
betray Yuan Shao, resulting in the Wu Chao Supply Depot ploy (which will be
mentioned later).
Catapults/Archers Appear:
After Yuan Shao arrives at Cao Cao's castle, a few minutes will pass before
either a unit of catapults or several units of archers appear. One poster
on the GameFAQS message boards claims that this variable is determined by
the overall morale of your force. For instance, if Yuan Shao's morale is
greater at the time of this cutscene, then hordes of archers will appear.
However, if Cao Cao's morale is greater, then a unit of catapults will
appear, which will do far more damage to your forces. The catapults are
always accompanied by a Catapult Captain who drops a +1 Attack powerup, if
I'm not mistaken. By the way, the catapult (otherwise known as a "Stone-
launching Weapon" or a "Rumbler") makes its first appearance in the novel
here at the Battle of Guan Du.
The Burning of Wu Chao Supply Depot:
In order to initiate this scene, you need to infiltrate Wu Chao Supply Depot
by defeating Han Meng, and then defeat Chun Yuqiong to burn the depot to the
ground. Once he is defeated, a cutscene begins, showing Yuan Shao in
distress over the loss of his supplies. Afterwards, your troops will get a
HUGE morale boost, giving you enough strength to make a counter attack on
Yuan Shao's forces. If you want to beat this level in the easiest way
possible, make sure that you initiate this event.
Likewise, if you're playing under Yuan Shao, then you have no choice but to
experience this event, since it is one of the many morale-triggered events
in this game. Once your morale reaches a certain point, the event will take
place, resulting in two occurrences. First, Chun Yuqiong and all of his
forces will be defeated. In his place will be Jia Xu, one of Cao Cao's
advisors, with a small force of his own. Secondly, Zhang He and Gao Lan
will defect from your forces and will instantaneously fight for Cao Cao,
thereby increasing the difficulty of the level enormously. The only way to
defeat this level without experiencing this event, by the way, is to defeat
Cao Cao as soon as possible (which is pretty hard to do without a maxed-out
character).
BACKGROUND: In the novel, just like in the level, the burning of Wu Chao was
the turning point in the war between Cao Cao and Yuan Shao. Cao Cao's
supplies had been completely exhausted, leaving him to ponder the
possibility of retreat. Meanwhile, Xu You, who had been so fed up with Yuan
Shao's idiocy, decided to defect to Cao Cao and assist him in his attack.
He knew that the solution to the supply problem could be found at Wu Chao,
or to be more specific, Chun Yuqiong. Xu You knew that Chun Yuqiong was a
notorious drunkard, and would thus be vulnerable to a very stealthy attack.
Thus, Cao Cao sent out a small force (consisting of men dressed in Yuan
Shao's uniforms) to infiltrate the Supply Depot and burn it down. Since
Chun Yuqiong and his men were heavily drunk at the time, they didn't notice
that they were under attack until it was too late, resulting in their speedy
capture. To prove to Yuan Shao that he was incapable of hearing, smelling,
or doing anything to prevent the raid, Chun Yuqiong was sent back to Yuan
Shao without ears, nose, or hands. Needless to say, he was executed soon
after.
By the way, most of the Battle of Guan Du is described in Chapter 30, while
the rest of Cao Cao's battle against the Yuan family occurs in chapters 31-
33.
CHANG BAN
---------
Cao Cao's Reinforcements:
Since I have not come across any evidence that proves otherwise, we can
assume that this event is triggered by morale. However, regardless of how
low your morale is, Cao Cao's troops will still arrive if you wait long
enough, so it must be a combination morale/time trigger. Once Liu Bei's
morale reaches a certain point, or once a certain amount of time passes, Cao
Cao's reinforcements will arrive from the northwestern and southwestern
gates. Included in the reinforcement squad is Cao Cao, Cao Pi, Cao Zhang,
Cao Hong, and Xiahou En in the southwest as well as Xiahou Dun and Xiahou
Yuan in the northwest.
Zhang Fei Protects Chang Ban Bridge:
If you aren't playing as Zhang Fei, then this scene will most likely
initiate just as long as Zhang Fei is still alive. However, if you ARE
playing as Zhang Fei, then you need to do the following to activate the
cutscene:
1) You must be on a HORSE (very important)
2) You must be waiting on Chang Ban bridge, which is in the southeast corner
(just north of Cao Cao's southeast gate)
3) You must wait there until one of Cao Cao's troops approaches the bridge
If all of these conditions are met, then the event will begin. This scene
also happens to be my favorite cutscene in the game, as well as one of the
best scenes in the novel. In fact, the actual event in the novel is very
similar to the event in the game.
BACKGROUND: Back when Guan Yu had just defeated Yan Liang while he was still
under Cao Cao's service, Cao Cao marvelled at Lord Guan's strength and skill
in battle. In reply, Guan Yu had noted that his brother, Zhang Fei, had the
ability to mow through hundreds of enemy soldiers and take the head of the
enemy commander as easily as picking someone's pocket. Cao Cao was shocked
by this statement, so he ordered his officers to write a note on their
sleeves that would remind them to be careful if they were to eventually come
across Zhang Fei.
Much later, during the Battle of Chang Ban, Zhao Yun had just defeated
several generals and was about to bring Liu Chan back to his father.
Relieved, he came across Zhang Fei at Chang Ban Bridge, who promised to
watch his back. Soon after, a horde of Cao Cao's greatest generals,
including Xiahou Dun, Xiahou Yuan, Zhang Liao, Xu Zhu, Li Dian, Cao Ren,
Zhang He, and Yue Jin pulled up to the bridge. Zhang Fei stood there and
just glared at them all. Some of them were frightened by Zhang Fei's power,
while others were afraid that this may have been one of Zhuge Liang's clever
tactics. As soon as the standoff began, Zhang Fei spoke,
"I am Zhang Fei of Yan; who dares to fight with me?"
Many of Cao Cao's officers still remembered Guan Yu's words of warning, and
many were terrified to challenge him, or even move at all. Impatient, Zhang
Fei repeated his words, "I am Zhang Fei of Yan; who dares to fight with me?"
Seeing some movement in the rear of Cao Cao's forces, he then shouted, "What
mean you? You will not fight nor do you run away?" The sheer force of his
voice caused Xiahou Jie, one of Cao Cao's officers, to fall off of his horse
in sheer terror, where he eventually died. The death of Xiahou Jie proved
to be a catalyst for wholesale panic amongst Cao Cao's troops, as they all
scrambled and trampled over each other to get away from Zhang Fei and save
their own lives. Cao Cao was so stricken with fear and lacking in self-
control that, as he was running away, his headgear had fallen off, leaving
his long hair streaming behind him.
By the way, this event is described in Chapter 42 of the novel. Also, I'm
not sure whether this event is attainable if you're playing on Cao Cao's
side. Can anybody fill me in on this?
Liu Bei's Reinforcements:
Once Liu Bei successfully retreats to the northeast to gather his forces,
then a group of reinforcements led by General Liu Qi will arrive soon after.
I'm not exactly sure what exactly triggers this event (it could be time-
released, it could be morale, or it could be Liu Bei's positioning), but all
I can say that it is almost certain, just as long as Liu Bei is safely
positioned in the northeast. Similar to Yan Liang's death, the arrival of
Liu Bei's reinforcements signals his attack towards Cao Cao's main forces.
However, instead of heading south, Liu Bei will move his main army west
instead, and thus apprehend Cao Cao from the rear.
Please note - this event will not occur if you are playing under Cao Cao.
Once Liu Bei reaches the northeast corner of the map, he will retreat
indefinitely instead of regrouping for retaliation. Liu Bei's retreat will
also lead to an automatic loss for Cao Cao, so be especially vigilant about
preventing Liu Bei's retreat.
CHI BI
------
Zhuge Liang Summons the Southeast Wind:
To initiate this cutscene, you must simply kill 100 enemy soldiers. After
this, you are treated to a scene that shows Zhuge Liang changing the course
of the wind. Please note that, if Cao Ren still survives, then Lu Xun and
his forces will appear behind Cao Ren from the eastern gate (the one on the
northern shore). If Cao Ren's forces are scattered before you reach 100
kills, then Lu Xun will not appear. Please note that this cutscene appears
under different circumstances if you're playing under Cao Cao's forces.
Unfortunately, I'm not exactly sure of what those circumstances are.
BACKGROUND: In Chapter 49 of the novel, slightly before the battle of Chi
Bi, Zhou Yu had suddenly become stricken with illness. Zhuge Liang, who had
been with them to secure an alliance between Liu Bei and Sun Quan, offered
to help cure the advisor. After speaking with him, Zhuge Liang realized
that the only thing that could cure Zhou Yu was a southeastern wind that
would aid the plot of burning down Cao Cao's naval forces. Using a magical
book that he had acquired (which was called "Concealing Method"), Zhuge
Liang set up an altar in order to make sacrifices to the winds, and so after
the third watch on the third day of sacrifice, a southeastern wind began to
blow.
Cao Cao's Navy Burns:
The only condition that is required to make this cutscene occur is the
survival of Huang Gai. After Zhuge Liang summons the wind, Huang Gai will
make a mad dash towards the eastern block of Cao Cao's ships. After he
makes his rounds and pays a visit to all of them, the cutscene will begin,
signaling the burning of all of Cao Cao's ships. Executing this cutscene is
strongly recommended if you're fighting under Sun Quan, since it deals such
an incredible blow to Cao Cao's morale. You will also be able to see this
scene if you happen to be fighting for Cao Cao's army, so, if you wish to
prevent this cutscene, you must kill Huang Gai as soon as possible. After
which, Sun Quan will exclaim with disbelief about how impossible it was to
see through Zhou Yu's plan.
BACKGROUND: Reading chapters 46-50 will give you more detailed information
about the circumstances surrounding the Battle of Chi Bi. Prior to the
battle, Huang Gai, who was a longstanding general under the rule of the Sun
family, participated in a ruse with Zhou Yu so that he could defect over to
Cao Cao's service. So, after having a "disagreement" with Zhou Yu, Huang
Gai was sentenced to severe physical punishment. Now, with the fresh scars
to prove his dissension, Huang Gai went along with Kan Ze to ask for a
position under Cao Cao. This was step one of their plan.
Step two involved one of Liu Bei's brilliant strategists, Pang Tong, who was
also known as "Fledgling Phoenix." Pang Tong had gained notoriety as being
a rival of Zhuge Liang, who had studied alongside him during their
scholastic period. Pang Tong volunteered his services to Cao Cao, who was
happy to enlist the help of such a wise strategist, since his name was
already known across most of China. Pang Tong noticed that Cao Cao's army </pre><pre id="faqspan-2">
was not used to naval warfare, since many of them were getting seasick, so
the strategist then suggested that Cao Cao chain his entire navy together so
that the boats would not rock nearly as much. Cao Cao was delighted to hear
such an idea, so he immediately commissioned his blacksmiths to create great
chains of iron.
Step three involved the aforementioned wind that Zhuge Liang had summoned.
After the wind was summoned, Huang Gai used the flammable substances that he
had gathered onto Cao Cao's ships to create a gigantic blaze. Since all of
the ships were chained together, not one of them was spared from the fire,
forcing many of Cao Cao's soldiers to abandon their ships. Cao Cao narrowly
escaped death himself - the details of this event are described somewhat in
the next cutscene.
Cao Pi Rescues His Father:
I don't know the exact details on how to trigger this cutscene, but from my
experience, this cutscene almost never occurs if Lu Xun appears after Zhuge
Liang summons the wind. Thus, in order to get this cutscene, you must
defeat Cao Ren before you obtain 100 kills. If there's anybody who has
evidence that counteracts this, then please let me know. Anyway, after this
scene, Cao Pi and Jia Xu will arrive to provide reinforcements and delay Sun
Quan's advance while Cao Cao attempts his retreat. Please note that even if
Cao Cao retreats, you can still win the level by default. Please also note
that this scene will only occur if you're playing under Sun Quan's forces.
BACKGROUND: Historically, Cao Pi never rescued his father from death at the
battle of Chi Bi. However, there is an interesting story behind Cao Cao's
retreat found in Chapter 50. When Zhuge Liang began to plan the ambush of
Cao Cao's retreat, Guan Yu wondered why the strategist had not included him
in the battle plans. Zhuge Liang feared that Guan Yu would show kindness to
Cao Cao (due to Cao Cao's previous kindness towards him) and allow him to
pass. However, Guan Yu promised that this would not be the case, and
offered to guard Huarong pass. Zhuge Liang knew that Cao Cao's death was
not fated for the near future, so he commissioned Guan Yu to guard the pass.
Sure enough, as Cao Cao was retreating, he traveled to Huarong pass where he
met up with Guan Yu. Lord Guan, who still remembered Cao Cao's kindness,
could not help but let him go, allowing us to see a rare occurrence in which
Guan Yu did not keep his word. Thus, Cao Cao was once again lucky enough to
escape death for the umpteenth time.
HE FEI
------
Here are the only events of He Fei that I have personally witnessed:
Zhang Liao's arrival:
During the battle, Sun Quan will order Cheng Pu and Han Dang to cover the
wings of the battle and support the skirmishes in the northwest and
southeast. Once the area clears, Cao Cao will exclaim, "The enemy lines
have thinned! Go now, Zhang Liao!" On this cue, Zhang Liao will come into
the battle with maximum morale - couple that with the fact that he has
almost Lu Bu-like stats, making him a very, very formidable opponent.
BACKGROUND: As explained before in the Luminous Sword section of this FAQ,
the reason why Zhang Liao is so powerful in this stage is because, in the
novel, Zhang Liao (along with Yue Jin and Li Dian) defended He Fei against
Sun Quan's multitude of troops using only 800 men. It has been said that,
because of Zhang Liao's brutal defense of this territory, the mere mention
of his name caused children to cease crying. By the way, this information
is mentioned in chapter 67 of the novel.
Gan Ning's ambush:
This event only occurs after Zhang Liao begins his attack against Sun Quan's
main camp. After this cutscene, Gan Ning's force will arrive from Cao Cao's
eastern gate, and will thus begin battle with Yue Jin's army. When Gan Ning
appears, you may notice that Zhou Yu says, "Cao Cao may have Zhang Liao, but
we have Gan Ning!" (even though Zhou Yu was supposed to be dead before the
Battle of He Fei)
BACKGROUND: This is the reason why that particular quote is in this game.
In chapter 68, shortly after Zhang Liao's successful defense of He Fei, Sun
Quan requested that one of his generals make a raid on Cao Cao's
reinforcements to He Fei. Ling Tong, who was Gan Ning's hated rival (due to
the fact that Gan Ning had killed his father in battle), volunteered to take
3000 horsemen to initiate battle with Zhang Liao. Gan Ning then boasted
that he could do the same with only 100 horsemen. Sun Quan, not willing to
risk sending Gan Ning with so few soldiers, decided to allow Ling Tong to
lead the attack.
When Ling Tong met up with Zhang Liao, the two dueled each other to a
standstill. Sun Quan was forced to send Lu Meng to escort their forces back
to the main camp. Afterwards, Gan Ning made the same promise as before -
that he would perform a night raid with only 100 horsemen that would send
Cao Cao's forces into utter confusion. Sun Quan gave him permission, and
Gan Ning claimed that he would take no merit for his deed even if he lost
only one soldier.
That night, Gan Ning's forces crept through the night, wearing white goose
plumes so as to distinguish each other from the enemy. The night raid was a
complete success, as none of Cao Cao's forces knew who was attacking them or
how many of them there were. Gan Ning returned triumphantly to the camp,
leading Sun Quan to happily exclaim, "Cao Cao may have his Zhang Liao, but I
can match him with my friend Gan Ning!"
Reinforcements for Sun Quan:
Once Zhang Liao appears, he will go straight for Sun Quan's main forces,
since Han Dang and Cheng Pu are busy at the other corner skirmishes. If
Zhang Liao's forces begin to directly threaten Sun Quan, a cutscene will
occur, showing Sun Quan in danger. After this, several ships will appear on
the horizon, meaning that reinforcements have arrived. Once these
reinforcements arrive, Cao Cao will use this as a trigger to perform an army
attack with his main forces to converge on Sun Quan. So, basically, this
cutscene will trigger the mobilization of Cao Cao's army.
(Note - an identical cutscene will occur for Liu Bei in Yi Ling under the
exact same conditions)
YI LING
-------
All of these events take place in Chapter 84 of the novel.
Lu Xun's Idea:
If you're playing under Wu forces then you may notice that Lu Xun will say,
"I have an idea! We'll raid the rear of Zhang Fei's camp!" as soon as Yan
Yan (one of Zhang Fei's lieutenants) is defeated. Likewise, Lu Xun will
make a similar quote, "Zhang Fei! His guard is slipping!", if you happen to
be fighting under Shu forces (I don't know the exact circumstances needed to
trigger this quote - all I know is that it will eventually happen just as
long as Lu Xun is kept alive.
By the way, these aren't really events - these are just warnings that let
you know that Zhang Fei's camp will soon be burned to the ground.
The Razing of Zhang Fei's Camp:
If you are playing for Shu forces, you may already know that this event is
nearly impossible to prevent if you aren't playing as Zhang Fei. Basically,
in order to prevent it from occurring, you must rush towards Lu Xun and kill
him as soon as possible. If you don't, then the event is inevitable.
If you're playing under Wu forces, then this event is as equally as
impossible to initiate if you aren't playing as Lu Xun. Notice the small
little pathway in the southwest corner of the map with the two gates? Well,
if you're playing as Lu Xun, all you have to do is rush through that pathway
and go into Zhang Fei's camp from the rear. Afterwards, the event will
begin.
However, if you aren't playing as Lu Xun, then the event is close to
immensely hard to initiate (especially if you're playing as somebody like Lu
Meng or Zhou Yu, who are on the other side of the map). If you're
interested in attempting this, then here's a step-by-step process:
1) Immediately at the start of the level, go to the mouth of the pathway and
defeat Yan Yan as soon as possible. If you don't initiate the "Lu Xun's
idea" event mentioned above or if you take too much time in defeating Yan
Yan, then Lu Xun will most likely not attempt to go through the pathway. He
will instead tangle with Zhang Fei's forces to the north, meaning that it
will impossible to pry him away from battle. If this occurs, then restart.
By the way, the best general to attempt this with is any member of the Sun
family (Sun Jian, Sun Quan, and especially Sun Shang Xiang), since their
starting points are the closest to Lu Xun.
2) Go all the way to the end of the pathway and defeat the gate captain who
is just west of the rear of Zhang Fei's camp
3) Back track to the pathway entrance, and take out any soldier that you
see, especially the gate captain to the south.
4) Once the pathway is clear of enemies, escort Lu Xun to the rear of Zhang
Fei's camp (easier said than done), which will initiate the scene.
What makes this especially difficult is the fact that, during Lu Xun's trek
up the pathway, you're most likely going to run into Zhang Bao on the way.
Zhang Bao will most likely appear in two different places - within Zhang
Fei's fencing, or he will block the pathway from the west. If he is found
within the fencing, try to divert his forces as far northward as you
possibly can. If Lu Xun's forces see a battle occurring to the north, then
they will most likely abandon their mission and engage Zhang Bao's forces
instead (PRIORITIES, PEOPLE!) If Zhang Bao is blocking your path from the
west, then defeat him as soon as possible as you pray that Zhang Fei doesn't
follow him. Most likely, Zhang Fei will follow his son wherever he goes (he
has a kind of Jaws - Baby Jaws thing going), so you're out of luck if this
happens. If Zhang Fei blocks the pathway to the rear of his camp, then you
have no choice but to restart.
Another method you can try is to engage in battle with Zhang Fei to the
north once the pathway has been cleared. Only attempt this if you're doing
this for fun and not for points, however, since you'll most likely lose
bodyguards as a result of this if they're too weak. Unfortunately, if your
bodyguards are too strong, then they'll probably be able to kill Zhang Fei
without you having to lift a finger, so you can't really win either way.
BACKGROUND: During the battle of Yi Ling, Lu Xun had successfully executed a
plot in which he completely annihilated several thousand of Liu Bei's troops
by using a simple fire tactic. Because Zhuge Liang was not there to advise
him, Liu Bei had foolishly ignored several of the most basic strategems in
Sun Tzu's "Art of War" - mainly, the one that stipulates that a camp should
be easily portable to prevent fires from destroying it. Thus, Lu Xun was
able to take full advantage of the situation when he set fire to Liu Bei's
entire camp - reducing Liu Bei's army of thousands into a mere hundred men.
It would have been one of the most humiliating defeats in Shu history, had
it not been for Zhuge Liang's eight-array maze. By the way, Zhang Fei was
not involved in this razing incident since, at the time of the battle, both
he and Guan Yu were both dead.
Lu Xun Enters the Eight-Array Maze:
If you're playing for the Shu armies, this event will occur after Lu Xun
razes Zhang Fei's camp. Once Zhang Fei's forces have been scattered, Lu Xun
will make his way northward to Zhuge Liang's maze. As soon as he enters the
maze, you'll see a cutscene showing a bewildered Lu Xun, wondering where he
is among the haze and the fog.
If you're playing as a Wu officer, the triggering of this scene is a little
bit different. You don't necessarily have to play as Lu Xun, but you do
have to come into the maze without a horse. Once you simply walk into the
maze, the cutscene will start with your character instead of Lu Xun.
BACKGROUND: After Liu Bei's camp was completely destroyed, the only safe
haven for the armies of Shu was Baidicheng. When Liu Bei and a few of his
officers eventually reached their rendezvous point, there were only a few
hundred men left in his army. Many Shu officers had given their lives at
the Battle of Yi Ling, including Fu Tong (who volunteered to be the rear
guard) and Shamoke (who was killed by Zhou Tai after a short scuffle).
To protect Liu Bei's retreat, Zhuge Liang had set up a safety measure way
ahead in advance. On the way to Baidicheng, Lu Xun had come across an odd
structure containing several piles of boulders. After asking several of the
natives as to the purpose of these boulders, the natives only replied that
Zhuge Liang had placed them there during his westward trip. Feeling
particularly curious, Lu Xun decided to head inside them with a small
escort. Once he entered the structure, he noticed that there were several
doors and pathways that were purely meant to obscure one's senses.
When the sun began to set, Lu Xun and his escort decided to head back home
for safety reasons, only to find that the original entrance had suddenly
been closed off by the wind as the surrounding area became clouded with fog
and vapor. Lu Xun had finally realized that he had been trapped by his own
curiosity and by the superior intellect of Zhuge Liang. The Wu strategist
would have eventually died of starvation in the maze, had it not been for a
kindly old man that showed him the way out. The old man revealed himself to
be Zhuge Liang's father-in-law, Huang Chenyan, who was told specifically by
the Shu minister not to assist any Wu general who wanders into the maze.
However, because he felt compassion for Lu Xun, the old man decided that his
assistance was necessary. Upon leaving the Eight-Array Maze, Lu Xun
commented, "This Zhuge Liang is well named Sleeping Dragon - I am not his
equal."
Reinforcements for Liu Bei:
Note: See "Reinforcements for Sun Quan" in the He Fei section.
WU ZHANG
--------
Surprise Attack on Both Flanks:
Frankly, I don't really know what it is that triggers this event (probably
morale), but regardless of how it's triggered, the result is always the
same. Both Wei Yan and Jiang Wei will spring forth from Cao Cao's Eastern
and Western gates (Jiang Wei in the East and Wei Yan in the West) to
initiate a surprise attack to support the Shu armies on both flanks.
BACKGROUND: I'm not sure if there was really a surprise attack during the
Battle of Wu Zhang - this was probably just an attempt by the game
programmers to properly introduce Jiang Wei and Wei Yan as characters. If
anybody has more information on this, please let me know, since I haven't
gotten anywhere near this far in the book.
Zhuge Liang's Arrow Ambush:
This is triggered as soon as any Wei soldier makes it to the auxiliary
pathway that leads to Liu Bei's main camp. The auxiliary pathway is the
path you take that is south of the two gates (the ones guarded by Lei Tong
and Guan Suo). As soon as a soldier sets foot on one of those paths, the
cutscene will begin, signalling the presence of archers on the hill.
Sima Yi's Avalanche:
Very similar to Zhang Liang's Avalanche all the way back in the Yellow
Turban Rebellion. As soon as any Shu soldier sets foot in the main valley
that leads to Cao Cao's camp, boulders will begin to fall relentlessly upon
any Shu soldier that attempts to pass. Once Sima Yi is defeated, the
boulders will cease to fall.
A Fallen Star - Zhuge Liang Ascends to the Heavens:
To trigger this cutscene, Zhuge Liang must be defeated. Once his forces are
scattered, this short cutscene will begin, regardless of which side you're
fighting for. Also, please note that Cao Cao's main force will advance to
the front as soon as Zhuge Liang's forces are defeated.
BACKGROUND: Chapter 104 marks the death of Zhuge Liang in the battle of Wu
Zhang Hills. In this chapter, Zhuge Liang is suffering due to exhaustion
from his less-than-successful Northern Campaigns. Sensing that his end is
coming near, he organizes a council and explains to his officers that the
heavens have decreed his approaching death. He names Jiang Wei to succeed
him as Prime Minister, and hands him his 24 volumes of strategy as well as
plans for a multiple 10-arrow crossbow. Afterwards, he commissions Ma Dai
to guard the Shinping Mountains (which he sees as Shu's only weak point) and
privately gives special instructions to Yang Yi. In these instructions,
Zhuge Liang writes that Wei Yan will betray Shu soon after the Prime
Minister's passing. The instructions (kept in a silken bag) order Yang Yi
to commission Ma Dai to assassinate Wei Yan as soon as this betrayal occurs.
After this, he points to a star in the sky, which appeared to flicker and
fade with its light. "That is my star," he explains. He instructs each of
his officers to not mourn for him, since mourning would cause the star to
finally fall. If Sima Yi were to discover the truth of Zhuge Liang's
passing, then an immediate attack would be almost certain.
Soon after, the 53-year old Zhuge Liang finally left the Earth - it was said
that even the moon dimmed as he ascended to the heavens. That night, a star
in the sky with a red glow dipped and rose three times. When Sima Yi saw
this, he knew that Zhuge Liang was dead, so he organized an all out attack.
However, he was still wary that Zhuge Liang might have organized this as
some sort of trick, and that the armies of Wei might be falling into some
sort of trap. To be absolutely certain of their success, Sima Yi chose to
fight at the van.
When Sima Yi arrived at the front, he saw that the camps were abandoned and
that all of Shu's troops were retreating. Thus, he knew for certain that
Zhuge Liang was dead, so he ordered his troops to hastily annihilate Shu's
retreating forces. When the armies began to clash, a bomb exploded as a
banner fluttered in the breeze, bearing the words, "Prime Minster of Han,
Lord of Wuxiang, Zhuge Liang." In the distance, the Wei troops could see a
chariot bearing the figure of Zhuge Liang standing tall with his fan in his
hand. Upon seeing this, Sima Yi became panic-stricken and lost all rational
thought when he realized that he had fallen into yet another of Zhuge
Liang's traps. He and his army blindly ran towards the rear for fifteen
miles, trampling their own soldiers in the process.
Later, Sima Yi discovered that Zhuge Liang truly was dead, and that the
figure he saw was only a wooden statue of the Shu Prime Minister. Thus, it
became a saying later that "a dead Zhuge Liang was able to defeat a live
Sima Yi."
III. LEVEL STRATEGIES
-----------------------------------
Many people on the message boards have asked for strategies on how to defeat
certain levels. Here are the strategies that I often use to get as close to
a clean sweep as possible. Note - here's my definition of a clean sweep:
1) Single handedly defeating all generals and lieutenants (and obtaining
their powerups)
2) Single handedly defeating all gate captains
3) Keeping all bodyguards alive
And, for an ultra-hard clean sweep:
4) All allied generals and lieutenants must survive
Therefore, most of these strategies listed below will assist you in getting
that difficult clean sweep:
YELLOW TURBAN REBELLION
-----------------------
Imperial Forces:
This isn't the first level for nothing - it's very easy to beat this level
on your first try without dying, even if you've never actually played the
game before! But there are a couple of things to look out for if you want
to get all the powerups, and if you want to take the easiest path to Zhang
Jiao.
1) No matter who you use in this stage, you're going to have follow the same
pattern. If you have a horse, then go straight for the gate captains and
take them out. If you don't have a horse, go to the lieutenant who protects
the gate, knock him off his horse, and steal it. After defeating the gate
captain(s), finish off the lieutenant and head out the gate.
2) If you want to get all of the powerups in the stage, head over to one of
the other unopened gates (the ones that the other kingdoms are trying to get
open) and park your horse in front of it. Afterwards, head up the nearest
staircase, take out the bowmen on the top of the wall, and jump down onto
the other side of the gate. Take out the lieutenant, wait for the gate to
open, and reclaim your horse. Afterwards, take out all of the gates in the
area. Repeat this stage for the third and final unopened gate.
3) Take out all of the gate captains and generals that you can, so that you
can open the next gates. Once they're open, look for Pei Yuan Shao - he's a
little bit to the southeast of Cao Cao's second gate, so take him out before
Cao Cao's forces do. Afterwards, finish off the last gate before you defeat
Zhang Man Cheng.
4) After Zhang Man Cheng is defeated, head over to the valley that is just
north of the gate that you just secured. He Yi should be guarding it, so
take care of him first. After he's defeated, head north to the forks in the
valley. Keep going east to take the twisting and turning path, so that you
can finish off the gate captain at the end of road. Now, head north and
finish off Zhang Liang before anybody sets foot in his valley. Once he's
taken care of, finish off the Gate Captain to the north. Afterwards, take
the quickest route back to Zhang Bao to finish him off (it should be down
the valley to the west where Zhang Liang starts the avalanche).
5) After Zhang Bao is defeated, head north and defeat the two gate captains
in succession. After this, head over to Zhang Jiao's fortress (make sure
you save before you tangle with him) and secure the gate before you run into
him. If you have accomplished all of this, then defeating Zhang Jiao should
be easy, considering that your allies should be right behind you. If you
still have problems with this stage even after reading this, maybe this
isn't the right game for you?
Yellow Turbans:
Fighting for the Yellow Turbans is considerably more difficult than fighting
for the Imperial Forces. I wouldn't recommend starting this stage in Free
Mode until your character has completed this stage for the Imperial Forces
at least once.
1) Unless you're playing as Zhang Jiao, you're always going to start at the
same place. This allows you to choose Liu Bei's forces or Sun Jian's forces
as an initial target. Who you choose depends upon which stat you want
upgraded first - Attack or Defense. If you choose Attack, go over to Liu
Bei's forces and defeat both Zhang Fei and Guan Yu, who will give you a
combined Attack +8 (without the 24 hit combos). Afterwards, defeat Liu Bei
for a +10 Life Up and all the other generals and gate captains for a few
petty Defense and Attack upgrades. On the other hand, if you choose to
level up your character's defense first, simply defeat Sun Jian's stalwart
generals for a couple of Defense +2 upgrades. Once you finish off both Sun
Jian's and Liu Bei's sections, head back north to finish off Cao Cao.
2) Cao Cao's generals can sometimes be REALLY tough to find. Sometimes, the
real tough guys like Xiahou Yuan and Xiahou Dun will make it all the way
through Zhang Bao's valley while the rest of Cao Cao's forces are still in
the back dealing with Pei Yuan Shao! Take out all of Cao Cao's lieutenants
before finishing off Cao Cao. Also, feel free to take out the random
generals like Lu Zhi and Huangfu Song, since they don't command any
lieutenants that are scattered around the battlefield. Once everybody else
from the Imperial Forces is defeated, He Jin should be as simple hitting
your head against a wall.
3) If you're playing as Zhang Jiao, you can follow the above strategies to
ensure success (although it's a little harder, since it takes so long for
you to get down to the bottom of the mountain). However, for more of a
challenging experience, try this: as soon as the level starts, wait about
15-30 minutes for all of the Imperial Forces to defeat your entire army and
all of your generals. Once the Imperial Forces gather around Zhang Jiao's
fortress, take out as many of them as you can, and work your way down to the
mountain. Try to take out all of the gates and all of the generals this
way. If you succeed in this, then you should STOP PLAYING THIS LEVEL AND
MOVE ONTO SOMETHING HARDER!!! :)
HU LAO GATE
-----------
Yuan Shao's Forces:
Defeating this level would be extremely simple, were it nor for two factors:
1) Lu Bu and 2) that goldarned area behind Hu Lao Gate. As for Lu Bu, he
can simply be ignored (you don't get the nifty Attack +8 powerup, however).
But, as for that area behind Hu Lao Gate, you've really got a handful of
problems to deal with. Read on:
Liu Bei's Generals: Obviously, you want to defeat Wang Fang and the Gate
Captain as soon as possible. After that, defeat the Gate Captain to the
south/west, and assist Yuan Shao's forces by defeating Fan Chou, Hu Zhen,
and the nearby gate. If you want all the powerups, head down Sun Jian's
path and assist his forces by defeating Zhao Cen and the two gates. After
all of those guys are taken care of, take out Hua Xiong, which will open Fan
Shui Gate.
Sun Jian's Generals: Similar to Liu Bei - defeat Zhao Cen and the initial
gate captain. Afterwards, head south to finish the second gate captain
around the bend. At the end of the valley, you'll most likely run into Hu
Zhen - finish him off, and head to the east to defeat Fan Chou and the
nearby gate captain. Assist Liu Bei by defeating the Wang Fang and the two
gates. After both of these areas are clear, open up Fan Shui Gate by
defeating Hua Xiong.
Yuan Shao's Generals: Fan Chou + Nearby gate captain, Hu Zhen, Liu Bei's
Area, then Sun Jian's Area (or vice versa), and Hua Xiong, who opens Fan
Shui Gate.
Cao Cao's Generals: Defeat everybody in your path (simple, no?). Once you
pass Niou Fu's gate, finish off the gate captain and head towards Fan Shui
Gate.
Now here's where all of the paths intersect. The next step for each force
is to take out the combined forces of Li Jue, Guo Si, Jia Xu, and the gate
to the east. If you want to get everybody's powerup, make sure you defeat
Guo Si and Jia Xu before defeating Li Jue. Guo Si can be found in the
pathway to the west, past the camp behind Fan Shui Gate. Jia Xu can be
found near the Gate area to the east. Once everybody's defeated, only Lu
Bu's forces stand between you and Hu Lao Gate. My advice would be to take
out Zhang Liao first (since he gives you the Attack +4 - he's in the western
path, just a little bit south of Guo Si's starting point. After he's
defeated, make sure you take out the gate behind him. Afterwards, go back
east and finish off Gao Shun. Once Gao Shun is defeated, finish off Li Ru
to the south in order to open up Hu Lao Gate. Once it's opened, SAVE THE
GAME.
If you're man (or woman) enough to take on Lu Bu, then by all means, take
him on. There are only few tips and strategies that I can offer you to
assist you in fighting Lu Bu (or any other superior general):
1) Kill all of his bodyguards as soon as possible (very important).
2) Use a continuous string of S,S,S attacks to get the maximum amount of
hits without knocking him down. If you're Zhou Yu, you have the advantage
of using S,S,S,T,T. However, if you're surrounded by allied troops,
preventing Lu Bu's knockdown can be a bit frustrating, what with stray
archers and other soldiers accidentally knocking him down. If that's the
case, just grin and bear it as he takes his Life Up +200 or, heaven forbid,
his Attack x2 powerups, and just start all over again.
3) An alternate method is to block continuously (hold down L1) and perform
constant counter attacks (press S immediately after successfully blocking an
attack). Since a counter attack is an automatic knockdown, you'll be
forcing Lu Bu to use his powerups quicker than he usually would. Once all
his powerups are gone, you can knock him down as many times as you want.
Once Lu Bu starts dipping into his Defense x2's, then it most likely means
that he's completely run out of Life Recovery items.
4) Use arrows if your conscience allows it. Yes, it's cheap and dirty, but
it gets the job done. Wait for a clear shot and let the arrows fly. If
you're sure you have a clear shot, use the Triangle Charge arrow to do the
most damage possible from a single arrow. If you don't have enough arrows,
break some of the surrounding boxes and find some more.
5) Say goodbye to your bodyguards. Lu Bu will rip through all of them in
1.2 seconds, and not give a second thought as to how or why. Unless they're
highly leveled up, or unless you really take good care of them, then chances
are that they won't survive Lu Bu's onslaught.
6) One more thing - NEVER use your Musou attack against Lu Bu unless your
Musou juggles (like Zhao Yun's, Xiahou Dun's, or Zhou Yu's). If Lu Bu is
still on the ground, then he will very easily counter your Musou attack with
his own (especially if his life is in the red), which will most likely kill
you with very little effort. Also, be conservative with your Musou - never
use it unless you're desperate, or unless you absolutely KNOW that it will
finish him off.
Ok, so Lu Bu is now defeated. Take a minute to congratulate yourself or pat
yourself on the back for a job well done. Savor the Attack +8 sword - you
deserve it. If there's still a Save point left somewhere on the stage, use
it. If not, trudge onwards to the area behind Hu Lao Gate.
The reason why this area is so annoying (like you don't already know...) is
because you've got to deal with two officers, as well as two gate captains.
Meanwhile, endless amounts of reinforcements are being pumped into the area,
meaning that if you aren't dead by now, chances are that your bodyguards are
already pushing up daisies.
So, how do you avoid that slow ticking death? Well, first of all make sure
that the tunnel under Hu Lao Gate is clear of all enemy soldiers. Once the
path is clear, any allies that are straggling behind you will be able to
rush through the tunnel and assist you against Dong Zhuo. Afterwards, try
and take out a gate captain - it doesn't matter which one. Just kill one of
them to stop the reinforcements from pouring out. By all means, take out
the second one as well if he's nearby.
Once the two gates are secured, it's smooth sailing until the rest of the
level. Take out Diao Chan before beating the level, since she always drops
a Defense +4 powerup. Meanwhile, if you're running out of life, make sure
you know where all the powerups are. Outside of Hu Lao Gate, there should
be a pot towards the east, which contains a Life Up +200. In addition, the
aforementioned Life Recovery Bun is on the top of the Gate, on the west
side.
Remember, when all else fails, use arrows! Since you have the height
advantage, finishing off Diao Chan and Dong Zhuo from the top of the gate is
a cinch, just as long as they're standing still! Good luck!
Dong Zhuo's Forces:
Not much strategy involved here, really. Just pick out the kingdom that you
want to eliminate first (probably either Cao Cao or Sun Jian, depending upon
whether you want Attack or Defense). Afterwards, cut into the center and
eliminate Liu Bei, Gongsun Zan, and finally, Yuan Shao's forces.
However, for maximum challenge and powerup, you're going to want to attempt
the Diao Chan event. Since Diao Chan is waiting in the front lines outside
of Fan Shui gate, keep waiting until she's defeated by enemy forces. Once
she dies, Lu Bu will go ballistic and turn on Dong Zhuo, taking all of his
lieutenants with him. After this event, it's pretty much you versus the
rest of the three kingdoms. All of the Allied Forces will converge upon Hu
Lao Gate, and it's your job to prevent them from getting past it to reach
Dong Zhuo (unless, of course, you ARE Dong Zhuo). If you fight with all
your power and survive, you will assuredly be handsomely rewarded in
powerups and points.
Once all of the generals are taken care of (including Cao Cao, Sun Jian, and
Liu Bei) this will mean that nobody is left to oppose you except Yuan Shao
and Lu Bu. You can ignore Lu Bu because he isn't going anywhere. What you
need to do now is travel down Sun Jian's path and take out all of the gate
captains that you see. Once the gate captains are taken out, use your horse
(you'd better have a horse...) and circle around to the rear of Yuan Shao's
army so that you can attack the "snake's tail." Eventually, you're going to
reach Yuan Shao himself, but make sure to kill all of his soldiers first. I
know it's tempting, but once all of his soldiers are defeated, don't kill
Yuan Shao yet - instead, go over to Lu Bu and finish him off by using the
tips above (if you think you can). Ok, NOW, you can take out Yuan Shao,
which should be a walk in the park compared to what you've been through.
Consider yourself a DW2 master if you survive this in Hard Mode. You
deserve it.
GUAN DU
-------
Cao Cao's Forces:
Your obvious goal here is to defeat Chun Yuqiong, thus initiating the
burning of the Supply Depot, which is a humongous blow to the morale of Yuan
Shao's forces. But, since it's very difficult to just rush straight into
the supply depot, here are a few tips on things to do before you take it
over.
1) The most volatile and vulnerable point of conflict is most definitely
Baima castle in the northeast. Despite the fact that four of the greatest
generals of the period are guarding it (Guan Yu, Xu Zhu, Zhang Liao, and
Xiahou Yuan), the castle will almost always be taken over if it is left
alone. If you happen to be playing as one of those four generals, your
first step is to take out Wen Chou and his lieutenant. If you're playing as
someone else, always make this your second step towards winning the battle.
Remember that defeating Yan Liang will cause Yuan Shao's troops to converge
on Cao Cao's castle, so abandon the area once Wen Chou's forces are
scattered.
2) If you're Dian Wei, you should start off by defeating Zhang He and Gao
Lan, as well as any other enemy forces that are loitering outside of the
castle. If you're wondering where Gao Lan is, he's protecting the gate that
is opposite to Zhang He - along the coast of the river, to the north. Once
they're taken care of, run over to Baima Castle and help out those in need.
3) Xiahou Dun is always in trouble, since his lieutenant, Xu Huang, is
nowhere near him at the start of the battle. Help him out as soon as you
can, since he's almost always the first general to die. If you're playing
as him, take out Yuan Xi as soon as possible (the general to the immediate
west) and try to thin out his forces. As soon as the path is clear, make
your way towards Wu Chao Supply Depot - once you defeat both Han Meng and
Chun Yuqiong, the battle should be much, much easier. If you're not playing
as Xiahou Dun, then try to make his area your second or third point of
conflict (after defending the two castles).
4) If you want the extra powerups - defeat Liu Bei and Zhang Fei as soon as
you get the chance. Remember - once Guan Yu runs into either of them, both
of them will never be seen again.
Once all of the fronts have been taken care of, it's time for you to sweep
through all of the enemy gates. Once all of the gates are taken care of,
sweep through all of Yuan Shao's lesser generals before tackling Yuan Shao
himself (which is a very easy task).
Yuan Shao's Forces:
No matter what you do, the Wu Chao Supply Depot event is COMING, and there's
nothing you can do about it. Try to get as much done as possible before
this occurs. Most likely, you're going to want to head over to Baima castle
to assist both Wen Chou's and Yan Liang's forces. Defeat Guan Yu, Xu Zhu,
and Zhang Liao for a MASSIVE Attack powerup. Even without 24-hit combos,
defeating those three generals gives you a combined Attack +12, so you
should definitely use that to your advantage. Afterwards, finish off the
castle by taking out both Xiahou Yuan and Liu Yan.
By this time, the Supply Depot Event has most likely already happened. It's
up to you and your forces to raise your army's morale by defeating enemy
generals one by one. First, go to the Depot and dispose of Jia Xu.
Afterwards, head east and take out Xiahou Dun and his oddly placed
lieutenant. Now that two fronts have been taken care of, you have only one
front left to deal with. Immediately head across the river to deal with the
traitorous Zhang He and Gao Lan. If everyone else is defeated, then Dian
Wei, along with all of Cao Cao's lieutenants should be an easy task.
Speed is more important than anything else in this particular battle. Take
out the generals quickly, quietly, and without effort - only then will this
stage be easy to defeat.
CHANG BAN
---------
Liu Bei's Forces:
If you're playing Musou Mode for the first time, this level (much like the
other two level 3's) is your wake-up call to the difficulty of this game.
Without a plan or a strong character, you're really not going to get far.
Here's my favorite strategy for tackling this level.
1) Start off by taking out the gate captain who's smack-dab in the middle of
the map. Afterwards, take out Yue Jin, who should be lurking around in the
area. After this, assist Guan Yu by helping him to take out Xu Huang and
his nearby gate. If you're feeling good about yourself, you can go to the
south and try to defeat Xu Zhu and Dian Wei before Cao Cao's reinforcements
arrive. Once they do, finish up what you're doing and get out.
2) Once the entire central area has been pacified to your liking, assist Liu
Bei in his retreat. First, head over to the southeast gate and defeat Li
Dian and the Gate Captain there. Afterwards, sweep upwards to the
northeast, taking out the three gate captains and Cao Ren (if you're not
quick enough, you're probably only going to get two gate captains because
Zhuge Liang is a wily fellow).
3) When Liu Bei reaches this point, your armies will settle and await the
reinforcements. In the meantime, Zhang Fei is putting up a heckuva fight in
the south. Go assist him if you feel like it, although it is a bit
dangerous. Your other alternative is to go westward and take out all the
gates along the northern rim if the pathway is clear. Your third
alternative is to just wait for the reinforcements to arrive - once they do,
Liu Bei's army will make the final push.
4) When your armies head southward, try to take out as many of Cao Cao's
generals as you can, which should be an easy task with all the backup you're
now receiving. Eventually, you and your forces are going to reach Cao Cao -
when you do, watch out for Xiahou En and make sure to take his Luminous
Sword. Before you finish off Cao Cao, make sure to take out any remaining
gates to get the Defense power-ups. Afterwards, finishing Cao Cao should be
fairly easy (but whatever you do, don't underestimate him). If you run into
trouble, be sure to run around the village and break all of the pots to find
life up buns.
Cao Cao's Forces:
This level probably has the greatest difference in difficulty between the
two sides on the battlefield. Yes, playing for Liu Bei is not exactly a
walk in the park, but playing for Cao Cao is a walk in the park on top of
razor blades. Why? Well, going up against Lu Bu was tough, wasn't it? So,
if you were to go up against 3 of them in the same level, it would be
incredibly unfair, wouldn't it? Well, that's EXACTLY what this level is
because Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhao Yun all received incredible powerups on
this stage!
So, in this level, two things are going against you - the power of the three
tiger generals and the ticking of the clock. Keep in mind that, once Cao
Cao's reinforcement's arrive, Liu Bei will make a mad dash for the exit in
the northeast, so it's your job to prevent that from happening AS WELL AS
defeating the 3 tiger generals.
Well, let me just say that it's nearly impossible to get a clean sweep on
this battle. Sure, it'll happen every once in a while with a maxed out
character (especially with a character like Dian Wei), but you have to be
both lucky AND good. In addition, try doing it on HARD MODE.
There's really no strategy involved in playing this level, actually -
Depending on your placement, take out the tiger general who's closest to
you. Afterwards, before Liu Bei retreats, try to take out as many enemy
generals as you can, especially Liu Bei's weak advisers who drop Defense
+2's (except for Zhuge Liang, who drops a Defense +8). If Liu Bei gets too
close to the exit, then hurry up to the northeast to cut him off. If you
have no choice, kill off Liu Bei to end the level prematurely. The irony is
that killing Liu Bei will probably seem easy, after facing three of Liu
Bei's tiger generals in their full fury.
CHI BI
------
Sun Quan's Forces:
This level can most definitely become THE most frustrating battle, because
so many things can go against your goal of a clean sweep. Either a
bodyguard dies, or a some punk soldier steals your kill, or you mess up in
getting that high hit combo on a gate captain because there are so few
horses to go around. Regardless, here's the main strategy I use to get that
illustrious sweep:
By the way, these tips are universal in that they apply to every single
general in Sun Quan's army.
1) First, you're going to want to take out Xiahou Dun and Yu Jin. Why?
Because, for some reason, the computer-controlled Taishi Ci in the southwest
corner will never defend his gate under any circumstances. I assure you
that almost 5 minutes (give or take a minute) into the battle, the southwest
gate will be secured by Xiahou Dun's forces, meaning that Taishi Ci will be
without reinforcements throughout the rest of the battle and will
subsequently give up without putting up a fight. That is why it is
absolutely imperative that you protect him by scattering Xiahou Dun's forces
as soon as possible. Unfortunately, this task is a little difficult to do
if you're playing as somebody that's rooted in the northeast corner, like Lu
Xun or Gan Ning, so, unless you're good, you're probably going to have to
sacrifice Taishi Ci for the good of the army.
2) Once that's accomplished, head over to the northeast corner and assist
Gan Ning in his battle with Cao Ren. I would wholeheartedly recommend
defeating Cao Ren before getting 100 kills - since that will cause Cao Pi to
arrive at the end of the battle (a +10 Life Up is probably the most valuable
powerup in the game) instead of Lu Xun coming in to offer help. However, if
you want the battle to end quickly, or if you're not confident in your
skills, then by all means, get 100 kills before defeating Cao Ren's forces.
3) If Cao Cao senses that Cao Ren is in trouble, he'll most likely send out
both Zhang He and Xu Huang to assist. If that occurs, defeat as many of Cao
Ren's forces as you possibly can before they arrive. Once they arrive,
systematically defeat Xu Huang and Zhang He (whoever arrives first).
Somewhere during your battle with these generals, Huang Gai is going to set
fire to Cao Cao's ships, giving your army a morale boost. Once this occurs,
it's almost impossible to lose this level.
4) Once the area has been pacified, go and get the +10 Life Up in the
northeast corner, and cross the bridge, heading due southwest. From here,
you're probably going to want to assist Lu Meng (if he hasn't already been
defeated) by attacking Zhang Liao and Yue Jin from behind. It's not going
to be an easy task (especially for your bodyguards), but the combined Attack
+6 will be worth it.
5) Head to the west and defeat Dian Wei, who's guarding a save point. Once
he's defeated, head off to face Xiahou Yuan, who's probably on the verge of
defeat. Once he's defeated, take out as many of Cao Cao's lieutenants as
you can - Xun You, Cheng Yu, and Cao Zhang. If Lu Xun did not come in to
assist you, that means that Cao Pi has probably already arrived - take care
of both him and Jia Xu before heading west to defeat Xu Zhu.
6) After defeating Xu Zhu, you must then head northwest and take care of the
dreadful and irritating northwest gate. The northwest area is probably the
trickiest area in the entire level, simply because all of Sun Quan's forces
are being concentrated on keeping Cao Cao at bay in the north, so not enough
troops are being committed to the northwest. This makes pacifying it a
great deal tougher than any other normal gate, and the bad news is that your
bodyguards will most likely suffer because of it. The good news, however,
is that once your bodyguards are out of the way, you can rack up your kills
in the thousands. But, once again, the bad news is that not many of the
soldiers you face here will drop any powerups and life buns for you. Use
your Musou OFTEN.
In order to get through the northwest area with your bodyguards unscathed, I
would suggest rushing through all the enemy troops and defeating the gate
captain ASAP before more reinforcements arrive. Once that happens, the
enemy forces will rapidly thin out, making it easier to fight your way back
out. Once you've accomplished this, head back east and finish off Cao Cao.
Make sure you know where all the Life Ups are, in case of an emergency -
there's a Life Recovery Bun at the small campsite along the northern wall -
it's somewhere in-between Cao Cao's camp and the northwest gate. There's
also a minor Life Recovery +50 bun that's located near the eastern fencing
of Cao Cao's camp - also don't forget the save point in the area.
Cao Cao's Forces:
If you want to defeat this the easy way, then simply start out the level by
dropping everything to go to the east so that you can defeat Huang Gai. If
he's defeated, then Cao Cao's overwhelming forces will eventually overcome
Sun Quan - provided that you assist in the war effort by systematically
defeating some of their more powerful generals.
On the other hand, if you're looking for a challenge (in that you would like
to defeat the game without preventing the razing of Cao Cao's ships), here's
a simple guide to get you on the right track:
1a) The most notable "hot spot" on this level is the Xiahou Dun vs. Taishi
Ci skirmish that occurs in the southwest corner of the map. Your first
objective would be to assist Xiahou Dun, since I can assure you that he will
be the first casualty on your side if he goes unassisted. After defeating
Taishi Ci and his lieutenants, and securing the two gates in the area, start
heading eastward to sweep any enemy soldiers you may come across.
1b) An alternate method is to forego Xiahou Dun so that you can concentrate
on the eastern front. Ultimately, this means taking out Huang Gai, but you
can concentrate your energy against Gan Ning and Lu Xun (once he arrives to
the battlefield). If you want, leave Huang Gai alone, and start sweeping
westward.
2a) Head eastward and defeat Zhu Huan, who should be all by his lonesome
self. Defeat him just before defeating his boss, Zhou Yu, as well as any
other generals who might straggle into the battle. Once that's over, head
over to the eastern front as quickly as you can to dispose of the generals
that are giving Cao Ren and his entourage such a tough time. After that,
finish off Lu Meng and any other generals that are hanging around before you
begin the final attack on Sun Quan.
2b) Do the exact opposite if you've started in the east. Take out Lu Meng
and his three lieutenants as quickly as possible. Afterwards, head over to
the west to assist Xiahou Dun (if he hasn't already died). Once you've
taken out Taishi Ci, finish off Zhou Yu and any other generals before you
take on Sun Quan.
3) A general tip - archers will be a HUGE annoyance in this stage. Take
them out if they start to annoy you (which they will). Do this to prevent
them from interrupting your combos or killing your bodyguards. Also - if
you feel that you're being outnumbered, by all means, PULL BACK! Take out
any random soldiers that are holding up the reinforcements behind you. That
way, you'll get the support you need to keep yourself alive. Note: use this
strategy in any level with overwhelming numbers of archers!
HE FEI
------
This is probably one of the nicest levels in terms of design - plus it's not
a night battle, meaning that you can clearly see everything on the field.
Sun Quan's Forces:
Only one thing makes this battle tough, and that's obviously Zhang Liao.
And, unlike Lu Bu, you can't ignore him for long because he threatens Sun
Quan's forces. You know as well as I do that once Sun Quan is defeated, the
level is all over. So, sooner or later, you're going to have to deal with
Zhang Liao. But, before that, here's what you should do on this level:
1) Dian Wei and Li Dian are your easiest targets, since their forces are so
small, and they have nobody else to back them up. Defeating them should be
your first step. Afterwards, you have a choice of supporting either of the
two fronts - the northern front or the southeastern front.
2a) Southeastern Front - Nothing much to do that isn't self-explanatory,
really. Head over to the southeastern corner and assist Taishi Ci in his
fight against Xu Zhu, Pang De, Cao Hong, and Cao Ren. For a clean sweep,
defeat Cao Hong before Cao Ren - Cao Hong usually hangs around to the north
of Cao Ren. He may be easy to find, but he's not that easy to defeat, </pre><pre id="faqspan-3">
considering that all of the enemy soldiers that will surround you due to
your lack of backup. After Cao Hong is gone, eliminate Cao Ren as soon as
possible.
Pang De is a little bit toughter to find, but he's usually on the western
edge of the main battle. As soon as you find and destroy him, seek out Xu
Zhu to get his Attack +4 powerup. Afterwards, head north to defeat Yu Jin
and Yue Jin and the gate captain to the east. Defeating them will result in
the opening of the southern gate, which leads to the inside of Cao Cao's
fortress. After the gate is opened, I would advise going inside to defeat
both Cao Zhang and Cao Pi to open the inner gates to Cao Cao's domain.
After this, take out all of the ministers inside the castle (Xun You, Jia
Xu, Cheng Yu, I believe) to get their Defense +2 powerups before heading out
to assist Sun Quan against Zhang Liao. Remember, if you feel that Sun Quan
is being threatened at any time, feel free to leave your current battle to
rush back to the southeast and assist him. After all, if he loses, then
everyone loses.
2b) Northern Front - There are two ways to go about this. To be secure, you
can go ALL the way back to rendezvous with Lu Xun and Lu Meng, so that you
can assist them in their fight against Xiahou Dun and Xu Huang. Once
they're defeated, get the +10 Life Up and go around to the northwest and
finish off the gate captain in the area. Please note that, among the pile
of boxes in the area past the two bridges, there is a Full Musou 10 second
powerup. If Xiahou Yuan is in the area, use this powerup so that you can
get an Attack +8 sword, especially if your character has juggling
capabilities. Once Xiahou Yuan is defeated, kill the gate captain in the
area to the northeast before heading off to finish Zhang He. Once Zhang He
is scattered, the western gate will open, meaning that the same rules apply
as the Southeastern Front mentioned above: Cao Pi, Cao Zhang, inner
ministers, and then head back out to assist Sun Quan. Once again, if you
feel that Sun Quan is under too much of a threat, feel free to head back
there prematurely.
2c) Northern Front (alternate) - The alternate method to use (if you're
particularly lazy, or particularly quick) is to go straight for Zhang He to
open the western gate. Afterwards, follow the same pattern mentioned above
(Cao Pi, Cao Zhang, inner ministers) before heading back out to tackle
Xiahou Yuan. This is no easy task, because an endless supply of enemy
soldiers will be flooding from the gates. So, you'll have to either
exterminate Xiahou Yuan quickly, or exterminate the gate captains.
Afterwards, finish off Xiahou Dun and Xu Huang (if Lu Xun and Lu Meng
haven't already done so) before heading back to Sun Quan to provide
assistance against Zhang Liao.
3) Remember - Zhang Liao is no easy task. He's just as powerful as Lu Bu,
and he's got the tough bodyguards to prove it as well. Use the strategies
mentioned way back at Hu Lao Gate to effectively defeat him. The easiest
and quickest way to defeat him, in my opinion, is to separate Zhang Liao
from his bodyguards and lure him into that narrow valley with the save point
and the Life Recovery Bun. Once he's in the valley, park your horse
horizontally across the valley so as to block the passage (to prevent his
bodyguards from entering). Now that Zhang Liao is trapped, hit him
repeatedly with S,S,S attacks - he'll probably try to run away, meaning that
you'll get free hits on him as his back is turned towards you. Eventually,
if you're persistent, you'll be able to finish him off without losing a
single bodyguard.
The toughest part to performing this trick is the luring of Zhang Liao.
Sometimes, if Zhang Liao feels that he's too far away from the rest of his
troops, he'll turn back and head towards the battle with Sun Quan. This
makes trying to kill him extremely frustrating - so I would advise giving up
this trick if Zhang Liao insists on staying put. If that's the case, use
the guidelines above to finish him off the hard way.
4) Once Zhang Liao is defeated, you can go back to whatever front you fought
in to finish what you started, or you can head over and assist the other
front. Regardless of what you choose, defeating Cao Cao should be fairly
simple as long as these two fronts belong to Sun Quan's army. If your
morale is greater than theirs, then this truly gives you the upper hand.
When all of the surrounding forces are decimated, fight Cao Cao in the
center of the fortress. Unfortunately, there aren't many powerups to be
found in the area, so you might have to run outside of the castle in an
emergency.
Cao Cao's Forces:
The strategy for beating this level is very similar to Sun Quan's - Pacify
the center, overcome the two wings, and then aim for the enemy commander.
1) Eliminate Zhou Yu's forces, who are threatening Dian Wei. Once he's
defeated, move on to the two wings (the northwest corner and the southeast
corner).
2) Choose a wing to pacify - Xiahou Dun is in more danger, because he's up
against both Lu Xun and Lu Meng (as well as their lieutenants). I would
advise assisting them first. Once that area is clear, move onto the next
corner.
3) Head to the Southeast to defeat Taishi Ci and his lieutenants. Sometime
during the battle, Gan Ning will arrive in that area, so take him out too.
Once all the other generals are defeated, head to the southwest to defeat
Sun Quan personally.
YI LING
-------
Sun Quan's Forces:
The easiest way to defeat this level is to initiate the razing of Zhang
Fei's camp. Since I've made it clear that it is particularly difficult to
perform (if you're not Lu Xun), then you're just better off performing an
all out attack:
Central Area: If you are Gan Ning of Taishi Ci, start out by clearing out
all generals and lieutenants in the central area. It's going to be a tough
battle, but it's still possible to defeat them all single handedly.
Remember that there's a save point in the vicinity, so use it wisely. After
the area is clear, head over to the northeast and assist Zhou Yu and Lu Meng
in Guan Yu's defeat. Once he's defeated, go straight for Zhao Yun, Wei Yan,
and Huang Zhong. Lu Xun will most likely be in trouble by the time this is
over, so assist him as soon as possible by defeating Zhang Fei's forces.
Once all other areas are cleared, head northwest - either through the maze
or through the northern valleys. No matter where you go, Liu Bei should be
relatively easy to defeat once all of his tiger generals are down.
Northeastern Docks: If you're Zhou Yu or Lu Meng, then you're going to have
to take down Guan Yu as quickly as possible. Once he's disposed of, defeat
Zhao Yun and Wei Yan before heading off to the Central Area. After the
Central Area is clear, head over to the southwest and defeat Zhang Fei.
Once he's gone, go to the northwest to take on Liu Bei's army, thus
finishing the battle.
The Southern Camps: This strategy applies if you're playing as any member of
the Sun family. Head over to the Southwest to either defeat Zhang Fei or to
attempt the Lu Xun razing event. In any case, when Zhang Fei is defeated,
assist Lu Meng and Zhou Yu. After which, pacify the central area before
moving on to Liu Bei's main force.
Liu Bei's Forces:
You can use the same exact strategies that have been listed for Sun Quan's
forces in order to be successful in this battle. However, I personally like
to use this strategy, no matter who I'm using (except Zhang Fei):
1) First and foremost, assist Guan Yu and Zhao Yun by defeating Lu Meng
first, and then Zhou Yu. If left alone, Guan Yu is in the most danger since
he is completely surrounded by Wu forces. In addition, if Guan Yu is
rescued, chances are that he, as well as Zhao Yun, will be strong enough to
make an attack on Sun Quan's force by travelling southward through the
eastern pathway. Eventually, they'll push back Sun Quan's forces to the end
of the valley, meaning less of a headache for you.
2) If the Zhang Fei camp-razing incident has already happen (which it
probably has), then Taishi Ci and Gan Ning might have broken through to Liu
Bei's main army. If that's the case, ASSIST HIM ASAP. Once Taishi Ci and
Gan Ning have been dealt with, it's time to take on Lu Xun.
3) Most likely, Zhang Fei has perished in the fire. Avenge his death by
taking on Lu Xun, who has most likely made it through to Zhuge Liang's maze.
Defeat him before moving onto the dwindling armies of Sun Quan in the
southeast.
4) Take out all the gate captains en route to Sun Quan's main camp. Defeat
Sun Shang Xiang as well as all of the other minor generals in the area.
Afterwards, defeat Sun Quan, thus winning the battle for the forces of Shu.
The reason why I exclude Zhang Fei from using this strategy is the simple
fact that he alone is capable of preventing the camp razing incident by
putting an end to Lu Xun as soon as possible. If you manage to do this,
then the camp razing incident will be avoided, meaning that your army won't
take a mandatory hit in morale. Once Lu Xun is defeated, move onto the
central area, followed by a trip to the northeast to assist your brother.
Then, you may move onto Sun Quan's camp to finish the level.
WU ZHANG
--------
This battle is tough to get an ultra clean sweep, considering that there are
four fronts to deal with - and chances are, you're already losing three of
them. Be quick in this stage, or say goodbye to a beloved general. A horse
doesn't hurt either, so ALWAYS have one handy. Believe me, you'll be peeved
if you don't.
Cao Cao's Forces:
The four fronts are as follows:
1) The Western front: Xu Zhu's force vs. Huang Zhong's force
2) The Central-Western front: Zhang Liao's force vs. Guan Yu's force
3) The Central-Eastern front: Xiahou Dun's force vs. Zhang Fei's force
4) The Eastern front: Dian Wei's + Xiahou Yuan's force vs. Ma Chao's + Zhao
Yun's force
And this isn't even including Jiang Wei and Wei Yan's surprise attack.
Basically, you must initially pacify fronts 1 and 4 before moving in on the
center. Don't worry, the center fronts will always give in last - it's the
weaknesses on the east and the west that you should worry about.
Unfortunately, it's difficult to pacify one without losing the other, since
it takes so long to get to the other side of the map - so chances are, no
matter where you go, one of your generals is going to die. If you intend on
defeating Huang Zhong, then both Dian Wei and Xiahou Yuan will sacrifice
themselves. Likewise, if you defeat Ma Chao & Zhao Yun, then Xu Zhu will
sacrifice his humongous gut. So either way, you lose.
Regardless of who perishes, take out the both fronts. Thus, pacify the
front that is closest to you before using a horse to travel ALL THE WAY to
the other side. Once the second front is taken care of, move onto the
center.
The central fronts are strong, but they're probably hanging by a thread.
Assist the general who needs more help - either Zhang Liao or Xiahou Dun.
After defeating both Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, you may have to deal with Jiang
Wei and Wei Yan's joint attack (which is threatening your reinforcement
gates). Deal with them before moving onto Liu Bei's main camp.
Be careful, because Zhuge Liang may be in danger. If an allied general
defeats him before you do, then you just lost a very, VERY valuable Defense
+8 powerup. If you see that Zhuge Liang is in danger during any portion of
the battle, drop everything and take him out personally. Or, you can avoid
all of this by defeating Zhuge Liang while travelling from front to front.
It's your choice.
Once Zhuge Liang is defeated, the doors to Liu Bei's inner camp should be
open. Remember, Liu Bei is no easy kill - I have perished many a time at
Liu Bei's hands, which can be VERY frustrating, indeed. Utilize the many
save points and memorize the locations of all the surrounding life recovery
powerups to ensure your victory.
Liu Bei's Forces:
The same rules for Cao Cao's forces apply to Liu Bei's forces as well, since
the four fronts also apply. Basically, you're going to want to pacify the
outer fronts and the enemy gates before moving onto the central fronts.
Once all four fronts have been taken care of, cross the river into Sima Yi's
valley. Dispose of Sima Yi and his lieutenants before taking on Cao Cao
himself. Exterminate Sima Yi quickly, so that his boulders don't' take too
many of your soldiers' lives. Enter into Cao Cao's main camp and dispose of
him - victory for Shu has now been assured.
IV. LIST OF OFFICERS AND POWERUPS
-----------------------------------
YTR = Yellow Turban Rebellion
HLG = Hu Lao Gate
GD = Guan Du
CBN = Chang Ban
CBI = Chi Bi
HF = He Fei
YL = Yi Ling
WZ = Wu Zhang
A. RULERS
Note: As mentioned before, all rulers who are not enemy commanders will
automatically drop a Life Up +10 powerup.
LIU BEI -
Drops: Life Up +10
Found in: YTR, HLG, and GD (as a general) - CBN, YL, and WZ (as a commander)
The very first Emperor of the Kingdom of Shu-Han. With his blood brothers,
Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, he made an oath to restore and uphold the glory of
the latter Han Dynasty. A few years after quelling the Yellow Turban
rebellion, he inherited the province of Xuzhou from a dying Tao Qian. Due
to frequent battles with Cao Cao, Liu Bei was forced to seek refuge with his
relative, Liu Biao. During that period, Liu Bei discovered Zhuge Liang, who
soon became his warlord. Constant pressure from Cao Cao forced him to flee
westward, where he amassed growing support from the kingdom of Shu. After
annexing several cities from Liu Zhang in the southwest, Liu Bei became King
of Hanzhong before establishing the kingdom of Shu-Han. Unfortunately, all
of Liu Bei's effort soon turned to naught after his death. His heir, Liu
Chan, had no leadership skill and was forced to surrender to the forces of
Wei. However, due to Luo Guanzhong's depiction of him in Romance of the
Three Kingdoms, Liu Bei is now the symbol of virtue in China, despite his
many losses.
CAO CAO -
Drops: Life Up +10
Found in: YTR and HLG (as a general) - GD, CBN, CBI, HF, and WZ (as a
commander)
He laid the groundwork for what was later known as the Kingdom of Wei. Cao
Cao actually belonged to the Xiahou family, but was adopted into the upper
nobility by Cao Song, who was a court eunuch. When he was a young boy,
someone had once told him that, "In peace you are an able subject; in chaos,
a crafty hero" - these words greatly pleased him. Cao Cao first experienced
success by quelling the Yellow Turban Rebellion, but his real success came
after rescuing the Emperor from the clutches of Guo Si and Li Jue. Once the
Emperor was under his control, Cao Cao began to lightly abuse Imperial
Authority under his new rank of Prime Minister - however, he still managed
to rule the people in a just and honorable fashion despite his paranoid
tendencies. After eliminating his enemy to the north, Yuan Shao, by
pacifying the regions of He Bei, Cao Cao then set his sights southward to
eliminate his adversaries there - particularly the Sun family and his chief
rival, Liu Bei. Despite his aspirations towards empire, Cao Cao constantly
declined the title of emperor even when his ministers assured him that his
supreme leadership would help to pacify the land. He never did become
Emperor, and eventually died of a brain tumor at the age of 66.
SUN JIAN -
Drops: Life Up +10
Found in: YTR and HLG
He was a direct descendant of the brilliant strategist, Sun Tzu, and was
also the father of Sun Quan. Being of noted birth, Sun Jian was one of the
participants in both the quelling of the Yellow Turban Rebellion (which
garnered him the Protectorship of Chang Sha) and the attack on Hu Lao Pass.
Due to a lack of reinforcements from Yuan Shu (Yuan Shao's less reputable
brother), Sun Jian lost many men in the attack on Hu Lao Pass, leading to a
bitter quarrel between the two warlords. (It was this dissension that
exposed the internal weaknesses of the federation, making the attack on Dong
Zhuo a complete failure.) After Dong Zhuo burned Luo Yang, Sun Jian
traveled there to inspect the wreckage, and it was there that he came across
what appeared to be the Imperial Seal, which granted its possessor
undisputed proof of Imperial lineage. When Yuan Shao inquired what it was
that Sun Jian found, Sun Jian was forced to tell a lie that attracted the
attention of the Heavens. Because of this infraction, Sun Jian was forced
to suffer a very premature death - he perished soon after in a battle
against Liu Biao at the age of 37.
SUN QUAN -
Drops: Nothing
Found in: CBI, HF, and YL
Shortly after the death of Sun Jian, Sun Ce (Sun Jian's first son and Sun
Quan's older brother) became the heir and was set to take the reins of power
in the South Land. After numerous successes in battle, Sun Ce established
the foundation for what would later be known as the Kingdom of Wu.
Unfortunately, Sun Ce also experienced a premature death caused by the guilt
of ordering the execution of the prophet, Yu Ji. Shortly before his death,
Sun Quan was notified by his brother that he was to rule the kingdom in his
place. Garnering the help of such strategists as Zhou Yu, Lu Su, and Lu
Xun, Sun Quan was able to defend his kingdom for many years after countless
battles, but he was unable to expand his territory. Due to its superior
defense and clever tacticians, the Kingdom of Wu was the last of the three
kingdoms to fall before it was overrun by the armies of Jin. Sun Quan
himself fell at the age of 71, after reigning as Wu Emperor for 24 years.
Unfortunately, after Sun Quan's death, there was a bitter power struggle for
control of the kingdom which led to much turmoil and assassination for many
years in Wu.
HE JIN -
Drops: Nothing
Found in: YTR
He Jin was an officer of the Han Dynasty with the rather high rank of High
Minister, which was greatly attributed to the fact that his sister was one
of the emperor's favored concubines. Unfortunately, He Jin did not have the
intelligence to match the height of his rank. After the successful campaign
against the Yellow Turbans, he set his sights on eliminating the leech-like
corruption that had attached itself to the palace during the waning years of
the Emperor's life. His first task was the elimination of a group of
Imperial eunuchs who had reduced the palace to a haven for greed and
corruption for nearly half a century. The eunuchs caught wind of this plot,
and thought of a plot of their own. They asked the Empress (He Jin's
sister) to falsely summon him to the palace for an imperial audience.
Despite the good advice that was given to him by several officers and
advisors, He Jin blindly walked into their trap - oblivious to any form of
obvious subterfuge. Because of his stupidity, he became a victim of their
plot, and was summarily hacked to death at the hands of assassins.
ZHANG JIAO (Zhang Jue)-
Drops: Nothing
Found in: YTR
After acquiring the "Way of Peace" from a strange hermit from the South
Land, Zhang Jiao began his benevolent quest to help the poor and the sick.
However, these acts of benevolence eventually graduated into acts of
rebellion. Amassing the help of the poor, the frustrated, the disreputable,
and the trodden-on, Zhang Jiao declared himself “Lord of Heaven,” and formed
the uprising known as the Yellow Turban Rebellion. While it was his intent
to eliminate the corruption within the Han Empire, the rebellion soon became
an excuse for riots, pillaging, and lawlessness. Eventually, Zhang Jiao's
rebellion was brought to an end thanks to the combined efforts of the
country's greatest warlords. He died and was buried before he could be
captured, but this did not prevent the Imperial Forces from exhuming his
body, beheading it, and then publicly humiliating it.
YUAN SHAO -
Drops: Nothing
Found in: HLG and GD
The Yuan family had served the Han Dynasty for eight generations, and Yuan
Shao was the last generation to hold a high governing post. In the war with
Dong Zhuo, Yuan Shao was unanimously named the head commander in the attack
on Hu Lao Pass. After the Dong Zhuo fiasco had ended, Yuan Shao set his
sights north to eliminate his rival, Gongsun Zan. After completely
obliterating Gongsun Zan's forces, Yuan Shao then focused upon rescuing the
emperor once more, since he was now in the clutches of Cao Cao. Citing many
examples of treason in an eloquent letter, Yuan Shao declared war on the
"rebel" with his forces that greatly outnumbered those of Cao Cao. As
mentioned before, Yuan Shao was a petty man who would not listen to reason
that disagreed with his own ideas. After many defeats at the hands of Cao
Cao's superior strategy, Yuan Shao became gravely ill - thus forcing him to
name his youngest son, Yuan Shang, as his successor. Subsequently, Yuan
Shang volunteered to challenge one of Cao Cao's generals in combat. Soon
after, he was beaten in humiliating fashion - the sight of which caused Yuan
Shao to have a stroke that initiated his death.
DONG ZHUO -
Drops: Nothing
Found in: HLG
Dong Zhuo was a minor warlord who suffered a defeat in the Yellow Turban
Rebellion. Soon after, during the turmoil at the palace, Dong Zhuo decided
to take full advantage of the chaos by invading the Imperial Capital,
Luoyang. Once he was there, he made many outrageous decisions, including
the ousting of the current Emperor in favor of his brother, as well as the
burning of the capital of Luoyang. As mentioned before, his success at the
battle of Hu Lao Pass was not attributed to his own military genius, but to
the political infighting that occurred between members of the federation.
Eventually, he was slain by Lu Bu himself during the Diao Chan incident,
which is fully explained in my Lu Bu Acquisition FAQ, which can be found on
www.gamefaqs.com.
GONGSUN ZAN –
Drops: Life Up +10
Found in: HLG
Gongsun Zan was Liu Bei’s fellow classmate when they both studied under
Zheng Xuan and the Imperial Officer, Lu Zhi. Since then, they had become
great friends. Shortly after the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Gongsun Zan
recommended Liu Bei for government service, which was cut short due to the
corruption of the eunuchs. They fought side by side at the battle of Hu Lao
Pass, since Gongsun Zan was one of the lords called upon by Cao Cao, and Liu
Bei joined in the fight under the banner of Gongsun Zan. If it were not for
him, Guan Yu would have never been able to fight and slay Hua Xiong, and
Zhang Fei would have never been able to prove his valor against Lu Bu.
After the Confederation fell apart, Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shao declared war
on each other for supremacy of the north. Yuan Shao soon gained the
advantage, and had managed to trap Gongsun Zan in a tower of his own
creation. During the siege, some of Gongsun Zan’s troops were surrounded by
the enemy and cried for help or reinforcements, but Gongsun Zan refused to
send any. This disgusted most of his army, who flooded over to Yuan Shao’s
side. Eventually, through the usage of a subterranean tunnel, the base of
the tower was set on fire, completely trapping Gongsun Zan and his family.
With no other avenues open to him, he immediately slew his children and
hanged himself.
B. PRIME MINISTERS
Note: All Prime Ministers will drop a Defense +8 powerup.
ZHUGE LIANG -
Drops: Defense +8
Found in: CBN, YL, and WZ
In Luo Guanzhong's novel, Zhuge Liang was portrayed to be the craftiest and
most intelligent man in the history of history. His name first appeared
when Liu Bei was accosted by a recluse, who informed him that, with the
power of Sleeping-Dragon and Blooming-Phoenix, Liu Bei could restore order
to the empire. Eventually, after his short-lived warleader, Xu Shu, was
forced to defect to Cao Cao, Xu Shu explained to him that Sleeping-Dragon
was Zhuge Liang - a brilliant scholar who lived atop Sleeping Dragon Hill.
Liu Bei went to visit this scholar three times before actually met him face-
to-face. Impressed with Liu Bei's dedication and humility, Zhuge Liang
agreed to fight for Liu Bei's cause. It was he who actually designed the
theory of the "Three Kingdoms," claiming that, with Cao Cao in the north and
Sun Quan in the Southeast, Liu Bei would have no choice but to migrate to
the Southwest in order to develop a kingdom. However, despite all of his
brilliant schemes, Zhuge Liang never permanently gained a parcel of land
from the other two kingdoms, and was subsequently driven to complete
exhaustion shortly before his premature death. Details behind his death are
explained above in Chapter III of this FAQ under the Wu Zhang section.
SIMA YI -
Drops: Defense +8
Found in: WZ
Sima Yi was once a banished officer who eventually went on to become Wei's
answer to Zhuge Liang. Although no man had ever equaled Zhuge Liang in
intelligence and wit, Sima Yi most likely came the closest. It was his
defense that prevented the success of many of Zhuge Liang's northern
campaigns. Eventually, it was his family that overtook the kingdom of Wei
when he eliminated Cao Shuang in order to establish a new dynasty - the
dynasty of Jin. So, despite all of his losses and humiliations throughout
the novel, it was Sima Yi who could boast the last laugh. After his death
in the year AD 251, he passed his legacy onto his two sons, Sima Shi and
Sima Zhao.
C. PLAYABLE GENERALS
Note: All playable generals will always drop a +4 powerup, except for Sun
Shang Xiang, who drops a Life Up +10 and Lu Bu, who drops an Attack +8.
SHU GENERALS:
GUAN YU -
Drops: Attack +4
Found in: YTR, HLG, GD, CBN, YL, and WZ
Guan Yu was the middle brother of the famous Peach Garden Oath. His
strength and fighting skill were matched only by his younger brother Zhang
Fei, but his intelligence was unrivalled among men of his valor. The weapon
that he used was actually a weapon that he himself had invented - the "Blue
Dragon Blade." Weapons of similar design are now named "Guan Blades," which
are named in honor of his original weapon. He first gained notoriety in the
battle of Hu Lao Gate, where he issued his famous challenge - Hua Xiong, who
was one of Dong Zhuo's generals, boasted that he could defeat any of the
federation's fighters. Guan Yu poured himself a cup of heated wine, and
proclaimed that he could take Hua Xiong's head even before his wine became
cold. He then rode out to meet him in battle, and with one stroke, Hua
Xiong was slain, much to the disbelief of the federation's officers. As
time grew on, however, Guan Yu became less stoic and more arrogant. Because
of his refusal to relinquish the district of Jingzhou to Sun Quan, Guan Yu
was ambushed by a surprise attack facilitated by Lu Meng. Despite their
attempts to retreat, he and his son, Guan Ping, were subsequently beheaded
in the aftermath of the battle at the age of 58. It is notable that Guan Yu
is still the symbol of Chinese virtue and heroism - even in modern day
China, where he is still considered to be a god of war.
ZHANG FEI -
Drops: Attack +4
Found in: YTR, HLG, GD, CBN, YL, and WZ
Zhang Fei was the youngest brother of the Peach Garden Oath, but he was
also, by far, the strongest. His exploits were chronicled way back in the
first chapter, where he defeated Deng Mao with one strike of his spear -
marking the first casualty among the Yellow Turban Rebels. (His famous
spear was named the "Octane Serpent Spear," and it was a spear that had a
twisted blade that resembled a coiled snake.) Despite his fierce, undying
loyalty to Liu Bei, Zhang Fei was prone to many mistakes - both tactical and
temper-induced. He was not an especially intelligent man, but he grew to
learn more and more as he learned from other strategists who worked under
Liu Bei. However, his more glaring errors came from his incredibly short
temper and his chronic abuse of alcohol rather than his own stupidity. He
was the one who single-handedly caused the relationship between Lu Bu and
Liu Bei to turn completely sour due to his mistrust. However, his beating
of Lu Bu's father-in-law incited Lu Bu to make a night raid on Xuzhou,
forcing Liu Bei out of the city. His most notable loss of temper was
actually the one which facilitated his own death. Remorseful over the death
of Guan Yu, Zhang Fei organized his troops for total war against Sun Quan -
he also ordered that his troops where white armor for mourning purposes.
Two of his subordinates, Fan Jiang and Zhang Da, claimed that it would be
impossible to make white armor in so short of a time span. For their
"insolence," they were beaten severely with fifty lashes. Realizing that
their only option for survival was to assassinate Zhang Fei, they waited
until the general slept after a night of heavy intoxication. Afterwards,
they crept into his chambers, stabbed him to death with their daggers, and
cut off his head as to show proof of his death to Sun Quan.
ZHAO YUN -
Drops: Attack +10 (CBN), Attack +4 (Everywhere else)
Found in: CBN, YL, and WZ
Zhao Yun was once a young officer under Yuan Shao's command, but was forced
to defect over to Gongsun Zan when he realized how unbelievably petty he
was. Once he was under Gongsun Zan's service, however, he immediately
realized that his new lord was equally as small-minded. Liu Bei had met
with Zhao Yun during a skirmish between Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan, and they
immediately became close friends. Soon after Gongsun Zan was utterly
defeated by Yuan Shao's forces, Zhao Yun wandered through He Bei, in search
of Liu Bei so that the two could reunite. He eventually came across him
after slaying Pei Yuan Shao (a former Yellow Turban who agreed to fight
under Guan Yu, but was cursed with the terrible luck of attempting to raid
Zhao Yun's camp). When the two were reunited, Zhao Yun became a permanent
general under Liu Bei's command. One of his most heroic feats was the
rescue of Liu Bei's son, which is chronicled in full detail in Section I,
under the information pertaining to the Baby of Chang Ban. His valor and
honor allowed him to become one of Liu Bei's illustrious Five Tiger
Generals. He was also the last of the Five Tiger Generals to die, since he
died of natural causes at the rather ripe age of 72.
MA CHAO -
Drops: Attack +4
Found in: YL and WZ
He was Ma Teng's first son, and was sent to live with the western barbarians
at an early age in order to develop his fighting ability. He made his first
appearance in the novel by fighting valiantly at the battle of Hu Lao Pass,
since his father was a member of the federation. However, Ma Teng was also
a participant in the famous "Girdle Decree," which called for Cao Cao's
assassination. When Cao Cao found that Ma Teng was a conspirator, he set up
a trap that successfully killed the warlord from Xi Liang. Embittered by
his father's death, Ma Chao, along with Ma Teng's close friend, Han Sui,
gathered the armies of Xi Liang to march towards Cao Cao's capital in the
name of revenge. Ma Chao scored many victories in his cause and got as far
as Chang An, but he eventually fell victim to one of Cao Cao's plots - most
likely because he lacked an advisor. As a result of the plot, Han Sui and
Ma Chao became involved in a fierce argument and an eventual fight - which
led to Han Sui permanently losing an arm in the scuffle. With his armies in
turmoil, Ma Chao had to cease his attack on Cao Cao, but he still craved
revenge. Eventually, he was convinced to join Liu Bei's cause and became
one of the Five Tiger Generals of Shu so that he could continue his pursuit
of Cao Cao. After continuing his valiant reputation under the flag of Shu,
Ma Chao never achieved his revenge and died much later - a victim of illness
during Zhuge Liang's southern campaigns against the Man tribe.
HUANG ZHONG -
Drops: Attack +4
Found in: YL and WZ
Huang Zhong was once a general for Liu Biao, but after Liu Biao's death, he
turned his service over to the minor protectorate, Han Xuan. When Liu Bei
had sent Guan Yu to attack Han Xuan's province of Chang Sha, Huang Zhong was
at the ripe age of 60, yet he still held the peerless reputation of being
the best archer in all of China. Guan Yu challenged Huang Zhong to fight,
and for an entire day, neither general could attain an advantage. The next
day, Guan Yu thought to use a special horseback technique to best his foe,
but during the battle, Huang Zhong's horse had failed him by bucking him
off. Instead of killing him outright, Guan Yu spared Huang Zhong's life and
ordered him to get another horse so that they could finish the battle. He
did so, but neither general backed down during their fight. That night,
Huang Zhong decided that, in order to defeat Guan Yu, usage of his bow and
arrow was absolutely necessary. However, he was torn between showing mercy
towards Guan Yu and loyalty towards his lord. The next day, in order to
prove his skill at archery, Huang Zhong launched an arrow that intentionally
struck only the base of the plume on Guan Yu's helmet, which was Huang
Zhong's method of retribution for the mercy that was shown to him earlier in
the battle. Realizing that Huang Zhong missed intentionally, Han Xuan sent
Huang Zhong to be executed - however, the execution was cut short by the
intervention of Huang Zhong's fellow general, Wei Yan. Eventually, Huang
Zhong became joined Liu Bei's entourage to become the fifth Tiger General of
Shu. One of Huang Zhong's greatest achievements for Shu was at the Battle
of Dingjun mountain, where he had ensnared Xiahou Yuan in a clever trap that
was supervised by Fa Zheng. During this battle, he gained notoriety by
slaying Xiahou Yuan himself with one swing of his blade. Even during his
golden years, Huang Zhong still fought valiantly for Liu Bei, until he died
of an arrow wound at the battle of Yi Ling - he was 75.
JIANG WEI -
Drops: Defense +4
Found in: WZ
Jiang Wei hailed from Jicheng, and was once an officer of Wei before he had
come across Zhuge Liang during his northern campaigns. During Zhuge Liang's
planned ambush on Jiang Wei's forces, he was rather surprised to see Jiang
Wei successfully execute a counter ambush that placed Zhao Yun's unit in
danger. In addition, Jiang Wei was able to match Zhao Yun in power and
skill with his spear. Since he had not often come across an enemy officer
who had bested him in strategy on the battlefield, Zhuge Liang made it his
goal to convert Jiang Wei to the armies of Shu by using Jiang Wei's filial
devotion against him. By simultaneously attacking Jicheng and the important
grain stores of Tianshui, Jiang Wei was forced to head back to Jicheng to
ensure the safety of his mother. During that time, Zhuge Liang had released
his prisoner, Xiahou Mao, and gave him false information by telling him that
Jiang Wei agreed to surrender to Shu in place of his release. Xiahou Mao
then returned to the nearest Wei city and informed the officers of the news
of Jiang Wei's betrayal - soon after, Jiang Wei tried to return to Wei and
was only greeted by arrows from his former allies. With no allies to turn
to, and Shu's troops following him closely, Jiang Wei could not avoid
capture. Zhuge Liang then approached him and said, "Long have I sought a
worthy person to impart the knowledge that I have acquired throughout my
life. I have found no one until this moment, so you are the one." Jiang
Wei then became Zhuge Liang's disciple, and thus held the rank of Prime
Minister upon Zhuge Liang's death (as was illustrated in Section III).
Unfortunately, although Jiang Wei excelled in civil affairs, his constant
military campaigns only succeeded in sucking his kingdom dry. He died,
making a last ditch effort to restore Shu-Han, but his heart failed as his
endeavors did. He committed suicide at the age of 59.
WEI GENERALS:
XIAHOU DUN -
Drops: +4 Attack
Found in: YTR, HLG, GD, CBN, CBI, HF, and WZ.
Since Cao Cao was originally a member of the Xiahou family, Xiahou Dun, as
well as any other member of the Xiahou family, was a direct relative of Cao
Cao and all of his heirs. Xiahou Dun had been a member of Cao Cao's
entourage ever since the beginning of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, and was
known as a fierce and able warrior. As mentioned before, Xiahou Dun lost
his eye to Cao Xing's arrow, but he was still able to angrily retaliate by
shoving his spear through Cao Xing's face. Throughout his years of service
for Cao Cao, Xiahou Dun had achieved many victories, which helped to lay the
foundation for the Kingdom of Wei. He died of illness almost immediately
after Cao Cao's death, at the age of 63.
DIAN WEI -
Drops: +4 Attack
Found in: GD, CBN, CBI, HF, and WZ
Dian Wei was a soldier who once fought under Zhang Miao, but because of a
vicious disagreement, Dian Wei killed a dozen of his fellow soldiers before
fleeing from his former post. Xiahou Dun had spotted him hunting a tiger
one day, and had presented him to Cao Cao upon his return to Chen Liu. One
time, he had brought a severed head into a marketplace, forcing many
civilians to keep their distance, since many were afraid to approach him -
daring exploits like these soon garnered him the nickname, "Evil Comes."
His weapon of choice was not a giant axe, but a pair of heavy spears that he
used quite frequently on horseback. Despite his short life span, Dian Wei
was still able to accomplish many great feats - during one battle, when Cao
Cao was forced to flee from Lu Bu's archers and cavalry, Dian Wei
volunteered to halt their pursuers. Grabbing a handful of battle-axes, he
asked his subordinates to notify him when the enemy troops were ten paces
away. After they shouted out, "Ten paces!" Dian Wei then asked them to
notify him when the enemy was five paces away. Once his followers shouted
"Five paces!" Dian Wei then turned around and flung all of his battle-axes,
and all of them hit their mark. Unfortunately, Dian Wei died at an early
age in a night raid perpetrated by Zhang Xiu. Prior to the battle, the
foreign warrior, Hu Che Er, told Zhang Xiu that the best way to defeat Dian
Wei would be to steal his twin spears and to make sure that he was drunk.
That night, Hu Che Er managed to succeed in both of his plans, thus making
Dian Wei vulnerable to his attack. However, Dian Wei was not ready to go
out without a fight - in order to ensure Cao Cao's safe retreat, Dian Wei
battled for as long as he could. Despite his drunkenness, he was still able
to fight off several soldiers using any weapon he could find, including the
soldier's cheap swords, and even the soldiers themselves! Eventually, his
wounds accumulated and Dian Wei grew weak from battle. Soon after, he was
stabbed sharply in the back with several spear thrusts, and died soon after
- he was only in his late 30's.
(Note: Historically, Dian Wei did not participate in ANY of the eight
battles that were recreated in DW2.)
XU ZHU (Xu Chu) -
Drops: Attack +4
Found in:
Xu Zhu was a common villager who lived in the vicinity of the province of
Qiao. One day, while Cao Cao was chasing a group of Yellow Turbans who were
fleeing from battle, a humongous man rode out into the battle and simply
snatched their leader, He Yi, and carried him off under his arm. Dian Wei
managed to follow He Yi and witness this strange occurrence. He asked the
rather large man whether or not he was a Yellow Turban, and Xu Zhu replied
that he was not, but he had managed to imprison hundreds of them near his
dwelling. Dian Wei then asked him if he could bring them out, and Xu Zhu
refused and instead, issued a challenge, which angered Dian Wei. The two
fought into dusk, stopped for the night, and then continued the fight the
next day, trading vicious blows even after their horses were completely
exhausted. Cao Cao finally caught up with the two pugilists, and ordered
Dian Wei to back down from the fight in order to lure his opponent into a
pitfall trap that was set up the previous day. Sure enough, Xu Zhu fell
into it and was brought before Cao Cao, who asked the fighter to identify
himself. He explained that his name was Xu Zhu, and that he had spent a
great deal of time protecting his village and his family from the sudden
onslaught of Yellow Turbans. Cao Cao then asked if he would be willing to
join his cause, and Xu Zhu enthusiastically agreed. From then on, he became
an invaluable tool as Cao Cao's bodyguard, but he was also prone to bad
judgement and a nasty temper. When Cao Cao's friend, Xu You, had boasted
that he alone toppled Yuan Shao's kingdom, Xu Zhu reacted by killing him
outright. Xu Chu is also well known for his famous fight against Ma Chao
where he became notorious by his nicknames, "Marquis Tiger" and "Tiger-
Lust." He died after many years of meritorious service, but details behind
his death are not illustrated in the novel.
XIAHOU YUAN -
Drops: Attack +4
Found in: YTR, HLG, GD, CBN, CBI, HF, and WZ
Xiahou Yuan was a relative of Cao Cao, but he was most notable as the cousin
of Xiahou Dun. The two Xiahou cousins both rivaled each other in terms of
strength, cunning, and strategy, but Xiahou Dun narrowly edged out his
cousin in all of these categories except for archery, which was a skill that
Xiahou Yuan excelled at. Regardless, Xiahou Yuan was a brilliant commander
in his own right, and his experience stemmed all the way back to the
Confederation period, where he was a lieutenant for Cao Cao during the
battle of Hu Lao Pass. Xiahou Yuan was well known for his surprise attacks
and battlefield plots, but it was a surprise attack facilitated by Fa Zheng
and Huang Zhong that led to his eventual death. During the Battle of
Hanzhong, both Huang Zhong's and Xiahou Yuan's armies were camped near
Dingjun Mountain - only Xiahou Yuan's forces had taken a completely
defensive position. Xiahou Yuan received a notice that inflated Xiahou
Yuan's ego, causing him to want to switch his defensive stance into one of
offense. However, Zhang He was there to give Xiahou Yuan advice, and he
personally felt that a defensive position really was best. Fully utilizing
Fa Zheng's advice, Huang Zhong tried all sorts of tactics to goad Xiahou
Yuan into attacking him so that he could fall into an ambush, but each
tactic was successfully countered by Zhang He's good advice. Eventually, Fa
Zheng succeeded in occupying a small hill west of Dingjun Mountain - from
which, Huang Zhong was able to completely reconnoiter the enemy camp. Soon
after the occupation, Fa Zheng advised Huang Zhong to only attack after he
saw the waving of a red flag. Meanwhile, Xiahou Yuan felt that he had no
choice but to attack Huang Zhong, lest their position be completely
revealed. Despite Zhang He's desperate attempts to stop him, Xiahou Yuan
rode out with his troops, ready for battle. Acting against common sense,
Xiahou Yuan and his troops exhausted themselves trying to lure Huang Zhong
into a fight. When Fa Zheng saw how fatigued they were, he began to wave
the red flag, signaling Huang Zhong's full ambush. Xiahou Yuan's troops
were besieged from all sides, and Huang Zhong himself rode out into battle
and successfully sliced Xiahou Yuan in two.
ZHANG LIAO -
Drops: Attack +4
Found in: HLG, GD, CBN, CBI, HF, and WZ
Throughout his early years of service, Zhang Liao was merely a victim of
circumstance who was forced to serve two other masters before he was
employed by someone of virtue. His first master was Ding Yuan, Lu Bu's
adopted father who was promptly assassinated after Dong Zhuo used Red Hare
to bribe the great warrior. Strangely enough, Zhang Liao was on assignment
in the west at that time, and returned only to find his former master slain.
With nowhere else to go, Zhang Liao served Dong Zhuo, and then was forced to
serve Lu Bu directly after Dong Zhuo was assassinated. After Lu Bu's defeat
at White Gate Tower, Zhang Liao was captured and brought before Cao Cao to
have his fate decided. After Lu Bu pleaded like a coward to have his life
spared, Zhang Liao exhibited his unsurpassed honor by insulting Cao Cao in
order to force his own execution. Cao Cao was ready to place Zhang Liao
under the blade before Guan Yu burst in, pleading on Zhang Liao's behalf,
stating that Zhang Liao was an honorable warrior. Cao Cao agreed, and Zhang
Liao soon became a loyal and dependable retainer for the Kingdom of Wei. As
mentioned before in Sections I and III, Zhang Liao drove off 100,000 troops
at He Fei with the help of Yue Jin, Li Dian, and only 800 of his men. Zhang
Liao survived through the transition of power between Cao Cao and Cao Pi,
but eventually died in battle at the age of 56 from an arrow wound caused by
the Wu officer Ding Feng.
WU GENERALS:
ZHOU YU -
Drops: Defense +4
Found in: CBI, HF, and YL
Soon after Sun Jian's premature death, Sun Ce was given the responsibility
to resume the dream of pacifying the South Land so that he could avenge his
father's death. Soon, the numbers of his army began to grow rapidly, but he
still lacked an exceptional advisor to direct him in military and civil
affairs. Just then, his childhood friend and sworn brother, Zhou Yu,
appeared with his own band of troops ready to support the Sun family. From
then on, Zhou Yu stayed with the Suns as an advisor to both Sun Ce and his
younger brother, Sun Quan. Throughout his years of service, Zhou Yu had
gained the reputation and notoriety of being an extremely brilliant,
handsome, and noble warrior. In addition, he also bore the honor of being
married to the second most beautiful woman in all of China.
However, in addition to these positive traits, Luo Guanzhong also wrote his
Zhou Yu character with another set of traits - that of a fiery temper and a
jealous nature. In fact, this jealousy that he exhibits throughout the
novel is what eventually kills him as his death is subtly and indirectly
caused by Zhuge Liang besting him time and time again. His death begins
during a battle against Cao Ren, where Zhou Yu sustains a severe arrow wound
that was also infected with poison. The wound was dressed and ready to
heal, but was suddenly reopened when he angrily discovered that Zhuge Liang
had secretly snatched the two very provinces that he was fighting Cao Ren
for. Zhou Yu's wound was reopened a second time when he became angry at the
fact that his plot to capture Liu Bei (during the Lady Sun incident which
will be explained later) had been foiled by Zhuge Liang. And, finally, Zhou
Yu experienced his final humiliation at the hands of Zhuge Liang after a
failed attempt to bait Liu Bei into expanding westward so that the armies of
Wu could reclaim Jingzhou. As a result of this final provocation, Zhou Yu
eventually died of his open arrow wound. His final words were, "If the
Heavens created a Zhou Yu, why did they also create a Zhuge Liang. Zhou Yu
was 36 when he died.
LU XUN -
Drops: Defense +4
Found in: CBI, HF, and YL
Soon after Sun Quan succeeded Sun Ce in the duty of protecting the South,
many able advisors and warriors flocked to him in order to offer their
services - among them was Lu Xun of Wujun. Lu Xun was a brilliant scholar,
but not exactly an able warrior, which unfortunately led to a bit of
controversy when Lu Xun succeeded Lu Su as commander in chief. Despite the
grumbles among the jealous Wu officers, Lu Xun proved them wrong time and
time again with every victory he achieved for his lord, Sun Quan. Most
notable of these victories was his brilliant triumph at Yi Ling, where he
decimated the forces of Liu Bei with minimal loss due to his mastery and
thorough knowledge of Sun Tzu's "Art of War." Despite his notoriety, Lu
Xun's death is lost in the shuffle of Luo Guanzhong's novel, since the
latter half of his life, as well as his demise, were not explicated by the
author.
SUN SHANG XIANG -
Drops: Life Up +10
Found in: HF and YL
Sun Shang Xiang (better known as Sun Ren or simply Lady Sun) was never a
warrior who participated in the battles between the Three Kingdoms, but she
was very war-like - a tomboyish sort who enjoyed collecting weapons and
other war-related items. When Liu Bei stubbornly held on to Jingzhou, Zhou
Yu tried absolutely every trick he could think of to win the province back,
but each failed attempt gradually led to his death. Since Lady Gan had died
so recently at the Battle of Chang Ban, Zhou Yu realized that Liu Bei would
still be stricken with loneliness and grief, so he decided to arrange a
marriage between Lady Sun (Sun Quan's sister) and Liu Bei. However, Zhou Yu
had an ulterior motive for this marriage arrangement, and it involved luring
Liu Bei to the Wu capital for the wedding, where he would be captured for as
long as the kingdom of Shu held onto Jingzhou. Therefore, if Liu Bei
refused to return Jingzhou, he would be summarily executed. Zhuge Liang saw
right through his plan, and sent the trusty Zhao Yun as a personal guard for
Liu Bei, as well as a set of three silken bags for Zhao Yun to open during
crucial moments during the trip. The first bag was opened immediately upon
reaching the capital - the instructions within the bag ordered Zhao Yun to
contact the State Patriarch, who in turn contacted Lady Wu, Sun Shang
Xiang's mother. Lady Wu was shocked to hear that her daughter was to be
betrothed to Liu Bei behind her back, so she ordered that Liu Bei appear </pre><pre id="faqspan-4">
before her so that she could determine whether he was a worthy enough
suitor. Naturally, she was charmed by Liu Bei's honor and humility, so she
gave the wedding her blessing, much to the annoyance of Zhou Yu.
With the capture/assassination plot not going exactly as planned, Zhou Yu
decided to use a different approach - instead of capturing Liu Bei by force,
he decided upon capturing Liu Bei with luxury instead. He built a lavish
palace for Liu Bei and his new wife, and the two lived happily there, with
Liu Bei not giving a single thought about Jingzhou. At the end of the year,
Zhao Yun opened the second silken bag, which ordered him to tell Liu Bei
that Jingzhou was currently being invaded by Cao Cao. With his civic duty
rekindled, Liu Bei was forced to flee from Wu and return to resume his duty
in the west - only this time, he vowed to triumphantly bring his new wife
back with him. Zhao Yun, Liu Bei, and Lady Sun traveled back towards Shu,
but were stopped by two of Wu's generals, Xu Sheng and Ding Feng. With no
obvious course of action to take, Zhao Yun finally opened the third bag and
handed the contents to Liu Bei - within the bag was an outline of Zhou Yu's
plan down to the very last detail. Liu Bei then explained Zhou Yu's scheme
to his new wife, who was very shocked at Zhou Yu's actions. With her charm,
cajolery, and angry threats, Lady Sun proclaimed that she had royal
authority and was therefore able to persuade the two generals to stand aside
and let them pass. After which, the two fled happily back to Shu, and Liu
Bei retained Jingzhou for another day.
Unfortunately, their happiness did not last long - Zhang Zhao, Wu's advisor,
utilized one more strategem to reclaim Jingzhou by sending a forged letter,
stating that Lady Sun's mother was terminally ill, and that she wanted to
see her grandson, Liu Chan, before she died. Once Liu Chan would be in
their possession, Sun Quan would then be able to use him as a bargaining
chip to regain Jingzhou. So, Lady Sun fell for this ruse, and immediately
took the young prince and headed off for Wu - however, Zhang Fei and Zhao
Yun luckily caught wind of this, and decided to stop Lady Sun from doing
anything rash. They allowed her to return to Wu, but Liu Chan stayed with
his father - as a result, Lady Sun and Liu Bei were permanently separated.
Several years later, she died by drowning herself after assuming Liu Bei's
death from his humiliating defeat at the Battle of Yi Ling.
LU MENG
Drops: Defense +4
Found in: CBI, HF, and YL
Lu Meng was among the groups of warriors and advisors (including Lu Xun) who
had flocked to Wu when Sun Quan ascended to the throne. At first, Lu Meng
was quite an able warrior, but at Sun Quan's recommendation, he abandoned
the way of the sword and spear in order to learn the subtle intricacies of
strategy and war. Thus, Lu Meng became a very capable advisor for Sun Quan
after Zhou Yu's passing. With a little help from Lu Xun, Lu Meng was
instrumental in the reclamation of Jingzhou. It was Lu Meng's idea to dress
up Wu's army in white robes and garments, so that they would look like
common merchants instead of soldiers. With these disguises, Lu Meng's force
infiltrated Jingzhou and secured the signal beacon along the shore, which
ensured that Guan Yu would not obtain advanced warning of their attack.
Afterwards, Lu Meng gave his men strict orders not to murder or loot from
any of the villagers - the penalty for such a crime was automatic death.
During a rainy day, one of Lu Meng's friends actually stole a hat to keep
himself from getting wet. Lu Meng witnessed this, and despite their
friendship, he was forced to behead this soldier as an example for the rest
of the army. Such was the discipline that Lu Meng enforced.
Eventually, the disguised soldiers infiltrated far enough into Jingzhou to
launch their surprise attack, which obliterated much of Guan Yu's army.
During their capture of the city, Lu Meng ordered that all civilians were
not to be harmed so as to insure that their peaceful way of life would
continue, despite this sudden coup. As Guan Yu retreated into the nearby
town of Maicheng, he became enraged at this sudden turn of events, and vowed
to kill Lu Meng, even from beyond the grave. Eventually, Lu Meng's force
had Guan Yu trapped and cornered, leading to his eventual capture. With no
desire whatsoever to serve Sun Quan and Wu, Guan Yu and his son were
beheaded. Soon after, Sun Quan decided to hold a banquet to glorify Lu
Meng's achievement, but during the banquet, Lu Meng was suddenly possessed
by the spirit of Guan Yu. While Lu Meng was possessed, he shouted, "After
subjugating the Yellow Turbans, I wandered for nearly 30 years. But, now I
have been overcome by your base plots. If I was unable to kill you as I
lived, then I shall gorge upon the flesh of my enemy when I am dead by
taking the life of this bandit, Lu Meng. I am Lord of Hanshou, Guan Yu!"
After which, Lu Meng fell over, dead, with blood oozing the seven orifices
of his face.
TAISHI CHI -
Drops: Attack +4
Found in: CBI, HF, and YL
Taishi Ci made his first appearance near the beginning of the novel, where
he rescues the governor Kong Rong in Beihai from a minor Yellow Turban
uprising. Because Kong Rong had been very hospitable towards his mother
when she visited the city of Beihai, Taishi Ci immediately set out to repay
the favor by dashing towards the city once he heard the news of the Yellow
Turban outbreak. His first duty was to head for Ping Yuan to request help
from Liu Bei’s forces. Soon after obtaining the assistance of the three
brothers, the Yellow Turban uprising was no more. After the battle, Taishi
Ci became an officer of Liu Yao, but his skill and strength went
unappreciated. During Sun Ce’s battle with Liu Yao, Taishi Ci spotted the
Wu Prince visiting a nearby temple. In spite of the possible danger, Taishi
Ci rode towards him, planning to capture or kill him, and thus score a
victory for his lord. Taishi Ci and Sun Ce fought each other with neither
gaining the upper hand. The battle was only stopped when Liu Yao received
word that Zhou Yu had captured his city while everyone else was distracted
by the duel. With nowhere left to go, Liu Yao sought refuge with Liu Biao,
but Taishi Ci still desired revenge for the loss by assembling a small army
of about 2000 undisciplined hillmen. However, his troops were easily bested
by a simple fire tactic, and Taishi Ci was subsequently captured by Sun Ce’s
forces. Sun Ce then treated him with overwhelming respect and humanity, so
Taishi Ci happily joined the forces of Wu.
After years of faithful service, Taishi Ci finally succumbed to the armies
of Cao Cao during the first battle of He Fei. He had set up a plot by
instructing Ge Ding (who was a disgruntled servant of Zhang Liao’s) to
infiltrate the enemy camp and set a fire in order to throw Zhang Liao’s
troops into confusion. Ge Ding succeeded in making the bonfire, but didn’t
do a very good job of it, since the bonfire was quickly extinguished and he
was quickly beheaded. Zhang Liao then decided to use this trick against
Taishi Ci by making it seem as if the plot was successful. When Taishi Ci
saw how confused Zhang Liao’s troops were, he rushed into the opened gate,
unaware that he was rushing into a trap. When he reached Zhang Liao’s camp,
he was pierced with many arrows before managing to escape. That night, he
died of his grievous wounds at the age of 41, still remorseful over the fact
that he could not use his talents to the fullest.
GAN NING -
Drops: Attack +4
Found in: CBI, HF, and YL
Gan Ning was a former pirate, who eventually joined the services of Liu
Biao. However, Liu Biao saw him as nothing more than a useless rogue, so he
migrated over to the services of Huang Zu. While he was with Huang Zu, Gan
Ning succeeded in killing one of Sun Quan’s generals, Ling Cao, with a well-
placed arrow. However, when Gan Ning was considered for promotion, Huang Zu
refused, citing that Gan Ning would never be anything more than a pirate –
this made Gan Ning deeply resentful of Huang Zu. Desiring to defect over to
Sun Quan, Gan Ning surrendered himself over to Lu Meng, and promised
unswerving loyalty to Wu in return for forgiveness and fair treatment. Gan
Ning’s first duty for Sun Quan was the ambush and subsequent slaying of Gan
Ning’s former employer, Huang Zu. With an enormous amount of rage, Gan Ning
finally tracked Huang Zu down, shot him in the back with an arrow, and
immediately beheaded him before anybody else could even touch him. With
that business out of the way, all seemed peaceful with Gan Ning, but there
was still the problem of Ling Tong, who was Ling Cao’s orphaned son. Ling
Tong still burned in anger at Gan Ning, who had just recently killed his
father in battle, so Sun Quan tried to distance them as far away from each
other as possible by sending Gan Ning to defend Xiakou. He then tried to
appease Ling Tong by offering him a promotion, which worked for the time
being.
The feud finally ended at the second battle of He Fei, when Gan Ning
successfully executed his night raid with only a hundred horsemen
(illustrated in Section III). The next day, Ling Tong rode out into battle
to face Yue Jin in combat. During the duel, Cao Cao secretly told Cao Xiu
to kill Ling Tong with an arrow to ensure Yue Jin’s victory. The arrow
missed Ling Tong, but hit his horse instead, which immediately bucked its
rider off in pain. Just as Yue Jin moved in for the killing blow, Gan Ning
shot an arrow that hit Yue Jin in the face, allowing Ling Tong to escape.
From then on, the rivalry was forgotten, and Gan Ning and Ling Tong became
sworn brothers. Gan Ning then died several years later in the battle of Yi
Ling at the hands of Shamoke, the Barbarian King of the Man tribe.
Shamoke’s forces had surrounded Gan Ning, forcing the warrior to flee – but,
while Gan Ning rode away on his horse, Shamoke shot an arrow that hit Gan
Ning in the back of his skull. Afterwards, he dismounted from his horse and
rested at a nearby tree where he subsequently died. It has been said that
the hundreds of crows that were on the tree surrounded his body as if to
defend it from harm.
(Note: Curiously enough, Huang Zhong, Xiahou Yuan, and Gan Ning are not only
clones of each other in the game, but they also coincidentally possessed the
greatest archery skills of their period.)
OTHER PLAYABLE GENERALS:
LU BU –
Drops: Attack +8
Found in: HLG
For more information on Lu Bu, please consult my “Lu Bu Acquisition FAQ” on
www.gamefaqs.com.
DIAO CHAN –
Drops: Defense +4
Found in: HLG
Diao Chan’s purpose is also illustrated in my “Lu Bu Acquisition FAQ,” but
I’m going to fill in the blanks with the following information from the
novel:
Diao Chan was a beautiful handmaiden who was also the adopted daughter of
the Imperial Minister Wang Yun. Wang Yun was constantly driven to the point
of tears when he witnessed how the formerly great Han Dynasty had
degenerated into the mess that it became, thanks to the greed of the Ten
Eunuchs and the cruelty of Dong Zhuo. Wang Yun knew that Dong Zhuo would be
easy to deal with as soon as Lu Bu was out of the way, but he could not
figure out exactly how to do that until he saw Diao Chan. When he saw Diao
Chan’s beauty, he realized the she could become the tool to divide Lu Bu and
Dong Zhuo, and somehow turn them against each other. His first step was to
present his daughter to Lu Bu as a personal handmaiden for the great
warrior. Lu Bu immediately fell in love with her beauty, and profusely
thanked Wang Yun for bequeathing her to him. A few days later, Wang Yun
presented Diao Chan to the Prime Minister, Dong Zhuo, and offered her as his
own personal handmaiden. Dong Zhuo also fell deeply in love with her, much
to the chagrin of Lu Bu, who had assessed the situation. On the way back to
his home, Wang Yun was stopped by Lu Bu, who asked him why Diao Chan was
sent to the Prime Minister’s abode in his private carriage. Wang Yun lied
to him, saying that Dong Zhuo had caught wind of the upcoming marriage, and
had wished to see her personally so that he could personally betroth her to
his adopted son. Naturally, Lu Bu was happy until he discovered that Diao
Chan had spent the night in Dong Zhuo’s personal quarters – this upset Lu Bu
greatly. He crept to the side of Dong Zhuo’s bedroom to spy upon his love,
only to see her in great sadness (Diao Chan had sensed Lu Bu peeping in on
her, so she feigned sadness by wiping fake tears from her face).
The intensity of the battle between Dong Zhuo and Lu Bu peaked during the
infamous “Phoenix Pavilion” incident - on that day, Lu Bu had agreed to meet
with Diao Chan in the Phoenix Pavilion to discuss his feelings and their
current situation. When she arrived, she explained to him that she was
willing to kill herself, since she had no control over the fact that the
Prime Minister had “stolen her away,” which enraged him even further. To
top it all of, she threatened Lu Bu’s manhood by telling him, “In the
seclusion of the harem, I had heard stories of your prowess that excelled
above all others. I had no idea that you would be the sort of person who
could be content under the dominion of another!” Lu Bu felt incredible
shame, but it was interrupted when he saw Dong Zhuo hurtling towards them.
Suspecting that the two were having an affair behind his back, Dong Zhuo
chased his adopted son all over the courtyard until he ran into his advisor,
Li Ru. After composing himself, he then asked Diao Chan what Lu Bu was
doing with her. Feigning great shame, she confessed that Lu Bu threatened
to have his way with her, almost forcing her to jump into the pond to drown
herself. Obviously, Dong Zhuo was infuriated with his adopted son, but Lu
Bu was probably more infuriated at his adopted father. After running into
Wang Yun, Lu Bu finally decided to assassinate Dong Zhuo at Meiwo in return
for the many infractions against his honor. Sure enough, Dong Zhuo was
killed, and Lu Bu obtained control of the capital, if only for a little
while. What happened to Diao Chan, you ask? Well, little is written about
her from this point on, but it’s assumed that she becomes Lu Bu’s concubine
and lives with him until his death at White Gate Tower. In fact, most
skeptical historians completely discount the existence of Diao Chan,
claiming that a woman was never the cause of the rift between Lu Bu and Dong
Zhuo.
D. NON-PLAYABLE ADVISORS
Note: All non-playable advisors all look the same, are always dressed in
robes, and will always drop a Defense +2 Shield.
SHU ADVISORS:
MI ZHU –
Drops: Defense +2
Found in: CBN
Mi Zhu was a high-ranking official under the service of Tao Qian. Mi Zhu
was once a scion of a wealthy merchant family, but became dedicated to
charity work after a certain event changed his life. While he was returning
home by carriage, a beautiful lady was traveling alongside the road, and
asked Mi Zhu for a ride. Mi Zhu granted it, and during the whole carriage
ride, he did not once look in her direction. After a few miles of travel,
she reached her stop, but before getting off, she said, “I am the fire
goddess of the South Land, and I was sent by the Supreme Being to burn your
house, but I was so overcome by your generosity that I feel I must warn you
of my coming deed. Go now and retrieve your valuables before I arrive
tonight!” Mi Zhu gladly did, and just as the goddess said, his house burned
down that very night. After which, he became dedicated to relieving the
pains of the poor and sick, which led him to a magistracy position under Tao
Qian.
It was he who made the suggestion of requesting assistance from Kong Rong
and Tien Kai when Tao Qian’s province of Xuzhou was under attack from Cao
Cao’s forces (Cao Cao was embittered and enraged over the fact that one of
Tao Qian’s subordinates had senselessly killed his father). After Liu Bei
was given the Protectorship of Xuzhou, Mi Zhu faithfully remained with him
and the kingdom of Shu until the end of his life.
SUN QIAN –
Drops: Defense +2
Found in: CBN
Right before Liu Bei finally accepted the responsibility of becoming
governor of Xuzhou after Tao Qian’s death, Tao Qian had recommended the
services of a young Sun Qian who lived in Beihai. When Liu Bei finally
became protector, he, along with Mi Zhu, became Liu Bei’s principal
advisors. Like Mi Zhu, Sun Qian also stayed with Liu Bei and Shu until the
end of his life.
WEI ADVISORS:
JIA XU (Jia Xue) –
Drops: Defense +2
Found in: HLG, GD, CBI, and HF
He was an advisor to both Li Jue and Zhang Xiu. While Zhang Xiu defended
his territory against Cao Cao, only Jia Xu’s brilliant strategies gave them
a fighting chance. Eventually, Zhang Xiu was overrun by Cao Cao’s superior
armies, leading to their eventual surrender. However, Jia Xu then signed on
with Cao Cao to continue his work as a military advisor.
XUN YOU –
Drops: Defense +2
Found in: GD, CBI, HF
Xun You was recommended by his uncle, the equally famous and equally
brilliant strategist, Xun Yu. It was he who gave Cao Cao great advice
during the battle of Guan Du, and it was also he who advised Cao Cao to
assist Yuan Tan against his brother Yuan Shang for control over the Yuan
family line. His theory stated that they would both be easy to overcome
since the two brothers would most likely exhaust themselves from their petty
battles. In addition, during Cao Cao’s seize of Yuan Shang’s Jizhou City,
Xun You advised the drowning of the city by digging a channel that spanned
17 miles. He achieved the element of surprise by having the workers hardly
work on it during the daytime, but then work 10 times as hard at night. By
the next morning, the channel had become 20 spans deeper and subsequently
had succeded in flooding the city. Xun You went on to become one of Cao
Cao’s most trusted strategists.
CHENG YU –
Drops: Defense +2
Found in: GD, CBI, HF
Cheng Yu hailed from the eastern region of Yanzhou, and was recommended by
the advisor Xun Yu. When Cheng Yu first joined Cao Cao’s entourage, he
started off by immediately recommending the services of Guo Jia – who went
on to become Cao Cao’s most trustworthy adviser during his war with Yuan
Shao. Cheng Yu was rumored to be a rather large man – almost 7 feet tall!
Some say that although he excelled in civil and political affiars, he was
also very argumentative and hard to get along with. Despite these faults,
he remained loyal to Cao Cao until his death.
OTHER ADVISORS:
ZHANG BAO –
Drops: Defense +2
Found in: YTR
As mentioned previously, Zhang Bao was Zhang Jiao’s brother, and was given
the title “Lord of Earth” prior to the Yellow Turban Rebellion. He
successfully executed his magical windstorm, but was forced to flee from
Imperial Forces into the city of Yangcheng. There, he was betrayed and
beheaded by one of his officers, Yan Zheng.
ZHANG LIANG –
Drops: Defense +2
Found in: YTR
Zhang Liang was Zhang Jiao’s second brother, and was given the title “Lord
of Human” prior to the rebellion. After Zhang Jiao died, he combined his
own forces with those of his brothers, but was still unsuccessful against
Huangfu Song. He was subsequently killed in the Battle at Quyang.
LI RU –
Drops: Defense +2
Found in: HLG
While Lu Bu was Dong Zhuo’s right hand in battle, Li Ru was his right hand
in politics and strategy. Although he was wise in many aspects, he was also
heartless and cruel in many others. It was he who encouraged the deposition
of the young emperor in favor of his younger brother, it was he who advised
Dong Zhuo to plunder the people of the city in order to increase the
imperial stores, and it was also he who advised Dong Zhuo to move the
capital to Chang An, razing the former Imperial capital of Luoyang behind
them.
Li Ru saw through the plot to use Diao Chan as a spike to drive between Lu
Bu and Dong Zhuo – only he could do nothing to prevent the inevitable
disaster. Frustrated, he said, “We are dead people – slain by the hands of
this girl!” Li Ru was eventually caught by Wang Yun and publicly executed
with Dong Zhuo for his crimes against the empire.
JU SHOU –
Drops: Defense +2
Found in: GD
Ju Shou was one of a number of Yuan Shao’s advisors who received severe
punishment for good service. While in prison (for merely giving his good
advice), Ju Shou foresaw the burning of Wu Chao Supply Depot, and ran off to
tell Yuan Shao. But, Yuan Shao stupidly ignored his advice and sent his
advisor back to prison in tighter chains. When Cao Cao succeeded in
invading Guan Du, Ju Shou was released and placed into Cao Cao’s custody.
Although he was treated well, Ju Shou stole a nearby horse and tried to get
away before he was recaptured by Cao Cao’s men. His rude behavior angered
Cao Cao, so he was immediately put to death. Afterwards, Cao Cao was
overcome with remorse, stating, “I have slain a faithful and righteous man.”
Cao Cao then buried Ju Shou at Guan Du with a tombstone that bore the
inscription: “This is the tomb of Ju Shou the Loyal and Virtuous.”
E. NON-PLAYABLE OFFICERS
COMING SOON!
V. FAVORITE EDIT MODES
-----------------------------------
ALSO COMING SOON!
VI. MORE FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
-----------------------------------
COMING SOON IN v. 1.0!!!!!!!
VII. SPECIAL THANKS
-----------------------------------
Go to...
www.threekingdoms.com for providing me with the actual novel when I couldn't
find my own copy at Amazon.com
www.3kingdoms.net for all of the info that couldn't be found in the book
Koei, for not only making DW2, but for making those wonderful RoTK games,
which are truly an invaluable resource
Eidos for making Fate of the Dragon, which also provides a great deal of
information that saved me a lot of time without having to do actual research
The Dynasty Warriors 2 Message Board for providing some interesting
discussion.
And finally, you, for reading this.
Copyright 2001
Eugene Huang
a.k.a. NekkiBasara
[email protected]
If you copy this document illegally, I swear that I shall hunt you down to
the ends of the earth.
Thanks for reading it.
