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Dynasty Warriors 9 (真・三國無双8, Shin Sangoku Musou 8) is the ninth main entry of the Dynasty Warriors series. It was first teased by Kou Shibusawa at 2016 PlayStation Press Conference in Japan and formally revealed during Koei's web program Koei-Tecmo Greatest Ever Line Up Special on December 17, 2016.

Akihiro Suzuki returns as producer and Atsushi Miyauchi as director for the upcoming one-man superhero game, aiming for "renewal" and capturing the atmosphere of Ancient China. The game features an open world, increased realism, and a new "State Combo" attack system to appeal to players. A Mandarin dub is available for the Chinese port and home console versions, and Suzuki is pleased with the positive response from Chinese audiences.

Out of house character designs were done by Kiyohisa Kuroda, Shion Karakuri, Hitowa, Shikimi, Ebila, Shinobu Takayama, Kouto Betten, Toinana, AZ Pt, and himiko.

The Treasure Box edition includes an original soundtrack, a set of character clear cards, and an illustration book. The Omega Force 20th Anniversary Ikki Tousen box contains the aforementioned bonuses plus a set of weapon keychains. The Gamecity Set adds character karuta cards and eight character clear cards that are distinct from the boxed editions. Whoever gets the Digital Deluxe edition shall receive the season pass for all of the normally scheduled DLC, a bundled materials set, a set dedicated to hideouts with ten furniture and a scenario, and three weapons exclusive to this purchase. Select European and Taiwanese outlets are offering a steel box case with pre-orders. Taiwanese pre-orders also include two random cards that can be Guan Yinping, Diaochan, Wang Yuanji, or Lu Lingqi rendered in bathing outfits.

Gameplay[]

  • This game, following Toukiden 2, is the first open-world entry in the series, offering players to explore the battlefield, visit over ten unique cities, and travel three hours.
    • "Interactive Actions" allow for quicker transportation across the terrain and interaction with the terrain. These actions include swimming, using grappling hooks to climb taller obstacles (R1), and riding boats for quicker travel. All characters can dodge-roll, double-jump, and wall jump. All three deplete stamina. Accessories are available that increase the number of jumps a character can do and when they can be performed.
    • Players encounter hostile tribes, animals, and supply units while traveling, offering various benefits. Formidable opponents can be powerful humans or rare animals, dropping loot if defeated.
    • Samurai Warriors: Spirit of Sanada-day and night cycle is implemented. Weather changes in real time during battles and may hamper the enemy's awareness. Weather can be chosen at random but there are some set weather effects during certain battles. Weather such as fog and rain also limits enemy awareness.
    • Tea shops offer healing and stat buff meals, sourced from enemies, hunting, fishing, or requests. Ingredients are collected through lures and traps, improving the player's catch.
    • Series characters wear casual clothing in their respective regions, which can be unlocked for gameplay use by completing requests or facing them in combat training. Certain items may only appear later in Story Mode, require daily bonuses, or require defeating powerful bandit chiefs. Players can also set informal and casual clothing as desired costumes, allowing characters to appear in their normal costumes or purchased DLC costumes.
  • Players can purchase hideaways across China. Once purchased, player characters can invite friendly series characters to their hideaway. If they accept, unique conversations can be unlocked. DLC ordeals unlock unique furniture that can be added to the hideaways and the ability to change the hideaway's exterior appearance.
    • Furniture can be purchased at the trader or ancient coin collector in towns. Ancient coin collectors require a rare coins separate from standard gold. Selections at either store are randomized each visit.
    • Each piece of furniture can customize a hideout to be purely decorative or to serve specific functions. If the player so desires, hideouts can provide a place to cook meals, develop tools, change character outfits, listen to music, review artwork, and/or sleep to recover health and change in-game time. Some extra features, such as weather altar, or a horse stable can be unlocked by winning DLC ordeals.
  • Missions in Story Mode are categorized into normal, critical, request, and ordeals. Completing non-essential scroll missions lowers mission difficulty. Capturing bases with supply lines can also lower difficulty. Ordeals, similar to Challenge Mode, offer high-caliber rewards in three choices.
    • Castle Siege, where a player needs to besiege Yangren Castle and defeat the playable officer hiding within. Enemy troops will be heavy in numbers, and a player needs to protect their Engineer Captains and siege weapons to be able to get into the castle and defeat the target playable officer inside quickly for a larger reward.
    • Master Sniper requires strong archery skills to protect Fan Castle's north gate from attacking forces. Proper use of Explosive Arrows and Dispersion Arrows can damage the gate. Surviving until Lu Bu appears and defeating him wins.
    • The Arena, located in Nanzhong, where a player tests their mettle against other officers to survive as the last one standing. This ordeal awards the best gem crafting scrolls if completed with a high enough score, made better if certain conditions are set before starting the ordeal, multiplying the bonus at the end. Three options available at the Arena include Rampage, Time Attack, and Battle Streak.
  • Ordeals unlocked with the Hideaways DLC consists of five new missions:
    • Lightning Speed, where a player needs to rush through a town defeating all the target officers in quick succession. The town selected for the ordeal is Chang'an, and target officers are usually faction leaders like Dong Zhuo and Yuan Shao joined by playable officers under their command based on the Story Mode chapter the ordeal is attempted on.
    • Standing Firm, where a player has to defend the Changban Bridge and stop enemy soldiers from crossing it. If at least 100 cross, the ordeal is over prematurely. Oil pots and barricades will help make things easier to funnel and wipe out troops, but using Explosive and Explosive Dispersion Arrows are the best option here due to their large blast radius.
    • The Summit of True Might, where a player has to defeat enemy soldiers without falling off the summit of Mt. Tai. Officers will shift back and forth between generic officers and randomly selected playable ones. Surviving up to facing and defeating the playable characters in a powered up state will complete the ordeal. Yan Liang, Wen Chou, and Ji Ling drop power-ups to give player characters a fighting chance if defeated as soon as they spawn.
    • The Indefatigable is a game where players must survive in poison pools without being defeated. The game ends prematurely if the character's health reaches zero. Players face archer attacks, Yellow Turbans, and other characters. A.I.-controlled officers with the player's character are made invincible to avoid being slain and failing the ordeal. Surviving 10 minutes is the best effort.
    • The True New Hefei Castle, available in Story Mode, requires players to quickly navigate through narrow corridors and defeat target officers, avoiding traps and shortcuts. The ultimate target is usually Zuo Ci, but other strategist officers and troops must be dealt with.
  • Characters are granted three stat points when they level up, which the player can then allocate to any of the character's stats. Changes are permanent. Stat points are not shared across characters, and are specific to each character.
  • Ranks are assigned to characters on top of their standard levels. Higher ranks affects the options available to a character at the blacksmith and the remuneration that they can receive from quests. Advanced ranked characters can earn recipes to create stronger weapons.
  • Charges have been replaced with a new system:
Flow Attacks (Square): Basically this game's version of the normal attack string. Quick, normal attacks that can be performed without any special conditions. The Flow Attack string will change depending on an enemy's state: they are different for when enemies are standing, enemies are in the air, enemies are stunned, or when enemies are knocked down. This results in a total of 4 different Flow Attack strings per character.
Reactive Attacks (Triangle): Situational attacks that rely on particular timing and positioning between player characters and enemies. A button prompt will appear above an enemy's head when a Reactive Attack can be performed.
Separating Attacks: When enemies are approaching, create a distance between you and the enemies. Will sometimes stun enemies.
Smash Attacks: Smash airborne enemies down to the ground.
Dash Attacks: Allows you to close in on faraway enemies. Also allows you to pursue enemy that have been sent flying.
Guard Break: Breaks an enemy's guard when they are blocking.
Counter Attacks: Counter an enemy's powerful attack. If successful, you will become temporarily invincible.
Assault Attacks: Deal massive amounts of damage to enemies that haven't noticed the player character sneaking up on them.
Finish Attacks: Deliver a finishing blow after reducing a large portion of an enemy's health, akin to how the Mighty Strike functions in Samurai Warriors 4.
Trigger Attacks: Powerful attacks that affect an enemy's state if successfully landed. Can lead into Flow Attack follow-ups.
R1 + Square: temporarily stuns enemies.
R1 + Triangle: launches enemies into the air.
R1 + X: knocks enemies down.
Special Attacks/Techniques (R1 + Circle): Powerful elemental attacks that are unique to each character. After performing one, the player cannot perform another one until the cooldown ends. The cooldown time can be reduced by landing consecutive attacks without taking damage or by successfully executing Counter Attacks or Finish Attacks. These may or may not be a majority of returning EX Attacks for a majority of characters.
  • Musou attacks can preformed on the ground or in the air. They are an amalgam of a character's previous Musou animations with traits from older titles, via the grounded version being a sequenced attack that can be held down to increase its duration at the cost of the current Musou gauge level, while the mid-air Musou Attacks remain the same.
  • Bow attacks return (down on the directional pad to initiate). Camera is now third-person, and arrows can be used to detonate oil cans from afar. Various types of arrows can also be collected. They also are effective at hunting animals from afar, who would otherwise deal huge damage to the player character if in close combat.
  • An update has also added tranquilizer arrows, so animals can be recruited as bodyguards for the player with various effects. Bigger and "colored" animals tend to have better stats than regular versions, but stats are randomized, even between the same sets of animals.
    • Traps capture animals for battle or hideaways, baited for capture. Purchase capture bait and tranquilizer arrows from dilettante for hunting points.
  • Weapons can be drawn or withdrawn at will in the field (L3). Combo-switching between weapons has been removed, and characters can only wield one weapon at a time. However, characters are still able to freely equip any weapon in the game through the pause menu.
  • Characters have unique Flow Attack finishers and a unique Trigger Attack, or "Unique Attacks", with their favorite weapon (starred weapon).
  • Weapon levels are simplified to three standard tiers: Lower, Middle, and Upper. They can be upgraded by assembling ingredients and visiting a city's blacksmith.
  • Gems can be equipped onto weapons to alter their effects. Aside from adding elemental effects and passive benefits to attacks, gems may add alternative stats and effects to a character's Trigger and React Attacks.
  • Stronger weapons can only be created at the blacksmith and require scrolls and materials. Materials can be found in resource clusters, randomly spawned while traveling, or received as rewards. Most weapon scrolls can be purchased from the coin collector at tea houses in exchange for rare coins.
  • Horses are now mostly much faster than before to compensate for the open-world design. Mounts can be purchased at city stables or earned by completing special events. Horses gain levels by running long distances or by knocking enemies over as they sprint; they have their own parameters available for customization. Red Hare, Hex Mark, and Shadow Runner can be unlocked by clearing Story Mode for certain characters, allowing the horses to be purchased from stables once available.
  • Some battles on particularly large fortifications have become sieges. Similar to Dynasty Warriors 6, this involves the allied army bringing in siege weapons to break down the gates of the fortification to send allied soldiers inside. Updates have improved these mechanics so now some of these sieges add in archer captains and engineer units.
  • Archer captains fire powerful arrows, similar to Bladestorm and catapult, while engineers build siege weapons and defensive fortifications. Both require full circular gauge and grappling hooks, often disabled in battles like Sishui Gate and Baima.
    • Engineer Captains on the defending side will construct catapults and archer towers with Bow Captains in them to defend the castle gate they are guarding. The archer towers have to be destroyed along with the wooden abatis flanking them to allow the attacking force's rams and siege towers through.
    • Engineer Captains plan to build rams, siege towers, and catapults to attack castle defenses. Catapults destroy enemy defenses, while siege towers secure castle walls and corner towers. Rams are protected until they clear the castle.
  • Downloadable content includes scenarios, characters, costumes, and weapons, among other additions.
  • The game comes with a daily bonus that changes every 24 hours at 12 midnight UTC time, but it is usually the following cycle:
    • Sunday: Materials used for synthesis to add additional abilities on to accessories have a better chance of dropping from defeated enemies.
    • Monday: Gold earned from defeating enemies is multiplied by 5.
    • Tuesday: Experience earned from defeating enemies is multiplied by 5. (This also counts towards animal companions and horses while the bonus is active)
    • Wednesday: Materials used for crafting weapons, gems, and accessories have a better chance of dropping from defeated enemies. (This also includes salable items)
    • Thursday: Enemies drop the Book of Musou more frequently upon defeat.
    • Friday: Rare coins (Bubi, Daobi, Yibiqian, and Huanqian) are dropped more frequently from defeated enemies.
    • Saturday: Tranquilizer arrows are more effective when used to capture animals. (This works best when facing the Cursed Stone boss animals and wanting to capture them)

Modes[]

Story Mode[]

Dynasty Warriors 9 is mainly mission-based,with thirteen chronological chapters that follow historical events and Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The Dynasty Warriors 4 mechanic of secondary objectives affecting the difficulty of the final confrontation is in effect. Players also regain the freedom of ignoring secondary missions and charging straight towards the primary objective(s) for ending a battle. Clearing this mode is necessary to unlock characters and upgrade existing features of the game.

Upon selecting a character, players will play through the majority of the character's life and major battles (where applicable), which differs from the Kingdom-based story modes of Dynasty Warriors 7 and 8. Upon completing a story, that character's unique ending will be unlocked.


Free Mode[]

Players can play as unlocked characters in Story Mode, focusing on Dynasty Warriors characterizations, with some endings with historical deaths.

Continue[]

Continue from latest save point.

Gallery[]

Movies, character/item models, sounds, wallpapers.

Encyclopedia[]

Glossary for figures, events, and battles.

Options[]

Difficulty setting and sound options.

Characters[]

Playable[]

Wei[]

Wu[]

Shu[]

Jin[]

Other[]

Unique NPCs[]

Playable through DLC. Xiahouji and Dong Bai reused their designs from Blast.

Differences between ports[]

  • Steam users can receive the first print costumes for free if they have purchased the game within the first two months of its release date. Graphic settings can be 4K compatible. Chinese and Japanese language settings initially caused the game to crash until a later update.

Expansions/Spin-Offs[]

Trophies[]

PS Icon Xbox Icon Name Unlock Method Type Xbox Points
DW9 Trophy 1 DW9 Achievement 1 True Warrior of the 3 Kingdoms Obtain all other trophies. Platinum 90
DW9 Trophy 2 DW9 Achievement 2 Flowers Amidst the Chaos Unlock all of the officers. Gold 80
DW9 Trophy 3 DW9 Achievement 3 The Pinnacle of Might Earn a total of 100,000 KOs. Gold 80
DW9 Trophy 4 DW9 Achievement 4 Veteran Master Raise an officer to the highest level. Silver 30
DW9 Trophy 5 DW9 Achievement 5 Unrivaled Warrior Raise an officer's attack power to 900. Silver 30
DW9 Trophy 6 DW9 Achievement 6 Winged Equine Raise a horse to the highest level. Silver 30
DW9 Trophy 7 DW9 Achievement 7 Golden Palace Earn a total of 90,000 gold. Silver 30
DW9 Trophy 8 DW9 Achievement 8 The Ties that Bind Us Form a bond at the maximum level with 20 officers. Silver 30
DW9 Trophy 9 DW9 Achievement 9 Thronged with Visitors Obtain 10 hideaways. Silver 30
DW9 Trophy 10 DW9 Achievement 10 Legend of Wei Complete the story of Wei. Silver 30
DW9 Trophy 11 DW9 Achievement 11 Legend of Wu Complete the story of Wu. Silver 30
DW9 Trophy 12 DW9 Achievement 12 Legend of Shu Complete the story of Shu. Silver 30
DW9 Trophy 13 DW9 Achievement 13 Legend of Jin Complete the story of Jin. Silver 30
DW9 Trophy 14 DW9 Achievement 14 Storyteller Complete the stories of the kingdoms other than Wei, Wu, Shu, and Jin. Silver 30
DW9 Trophy 15 DW9 Achievement 15 Master of the Hunt Earn a total of 5,000 hunting points. Silver 30
DW9 Trophy 16 DW9 Achievement 16 Extensive Knowledge Unlock all battle entries in the Encyclopedia. Silver 30
DW9 Trophy 17 DW9 Achievement 17 Wanderlust Discover 75% of the locations in the game. Silver 30
DW9 Trophy 18 DW9 Achievement 18 Sun Piercer Defeat 1,000 enemies with bow attacks. Silver 30
DW9 Trophy 19 DW9 Achievement 19 Vandal Destroy 100 structures. Silver 30
DW9 Trophy 20 DW9 Achievement 20 A Gathering of Heroes Unlock 45 officers. Bronze 10
DW9 Trophy 21 DW9 Achievement 21 Helter-Skelter Complete a mission within 1 minute. Bronze 10
DW9 Trophy 22 DW9 Achievement 22 One Warrior vs. a Thousand Defeated 1,000 enemies in a single battle. Bronze 10
DW9 Trophy 23 DW9 Achievement 23 Equestrian Defeat 1,000 enemies while mounted on a horse. Bronze 10
DW9 Trophy 24 DW9 Achievement 24 Sure Shot Defeat 100 enemies with bow attacks. Bronze 10
DW9 Trophy 25 DW9 Achievement 25 Sword Brandisher Defeat 100 enemies with assault attacks. Bronze 10
DW9 Trophy 26 DW9 Achievement 26 Storm and Stress Achieve a 1,000 hit combo. Bronze 10
DW9 Trophy 27 DW9 Achievement 27 Like a Bird Juggle an enemy in the air for 5 seconds. Bronze 10
DW9 Trophy 28 DW9 Achievement 28 Smasher Defeat a powerful enemy. Bronze 10
DW9 Trophy 29 DW9 Achievement 29 Traveler Discover 35% of the locations in the game. Bronze 10
DW9 Trophy 30 DW9 Achievement 30 Interior Decorator Obtain 10 pieces of furniture. Bronze 10
DW9 Trophy 31 DW9 Achievement 31 Collector Obtain 20 gems. Bronze 10
DW9 Trophy 32 DW9 Achievement 32 A Brush with Expertise Obtain a high-class weapon. Bronze 10
DW9 Trophy 33 DW9 Achievement 33 Master of the Martial Arts Obtain 30 weapons. Bronze 10
DW9 Trophy 34 DW9 Achievement 34 Nimble Fingers Perform synthesis 100 times. Bronze 10
DW9 Trophy 35 DW9 Achievement 35 Sworn Friends Form a bond at the maximum level with another officer. Bronze 10
DW9 Trophy 36 DW9 Achievement 36 Hideaway Obtain a hideaway. Bronze 10
DW9 Trophy 37 DW9 Achievement 37 Epicure Eat 100 meals. Bronze 10
DW9 Trophy 38 DW9 Achievement 38 Fisher Catch 30 items while fishing. Bronze 10
DW9 Trophy 39 DW9 Achievement 39 Steady Worker Obtain 30 items by using box traps. Bronze 10
DW9 Trophy 40 DW9 Achievement 40 Sightseer Discover a scenic area. Bronze 10
DW9 Trophy 41 DW9 Achievement 41 Traces of a Hero Complete a story. Bronze 10
DW9 Trophy 42 DW9 Achievement 42 End of an Era Complete a key mission. Bronze 10
DW9 Trophy 43 DW9 Achievement 43 New Allies Unlock an officer. Bronze 10
DW9 Trophy 44 DW9 Achievement 44 Graduation Day Complete the tutorial for one of the kingdoms. Bronze 10


Related Media[]

The game was showcased at China Festival 2017, Three Kingdoms-themed festival in Kobe, and PlayStation Festival 2017 in Osaka. Ten characters were available for play at Jump Festa 2018, with an exclusive vinyl bag available for purchase.

It is one of the titles scheduled to be featured in the Dengeki PS Premium Event 2018 Winter event. Kenji Nojima (Lu Xun) shall be present for the Dynasty Warriors 9 stage event. Voice actor Kanako Takatsuki will play this game for the Dengeki PlayStation Live channel on February 8.

Merchandise based on this game will be available at Comiket 93. The four-disc complete original soundtrack set can be purchased starting February 14, 2018.

Limited edition PlayStation 4 consoles that commemorate this game's release are up for pre-orders. This model includes original peripherals and an original theme.

The second volume of Ryuubi Tokuko wa Shizuka ni Kurashitai, a Three Kingdoms-themed comic serialized by LaLa Magazine, includes Suzuki's commentary for the comic's Guan Yu and the Dynasty Warriors Guan Yu in promotion of this game.

Social game Buki yo Saraba hosted a collaboration event with an original story. The collaboration's duration was December 18, 2017~January 8, 2018.

Xperia is selling phone case covers featuring Wang Yi, Daqiao, Xingcai, Wang Yuanji, and Lu Lingqi.

Tenkaippin, Japanese ramen chain, have Dynasty Warriors posters with a QR code on them for a Zhao Yun donburi bowl giveaway; 88 people living in Japan have a chance to receive it until February 28, 2018. Maruchan is printing Dynasty Warriors 9 characters onto select Red Kitsune or Green Tanuki covers until February 22, 2018. Retweet the Dynasty Warriors character tweets for the campaign for a chance to receive a collaboration sticker featuring both products.

Three quizzes are being held over the Japanese Pony Canyon and Dynasty Warriors Twitter accounts. Answer questions correctly for a chance to win God of War, Zhao Yun collaboration merchandise. Deadline for the final quiz is February 20, 2018.

Japanese gamers are invited to the Omega Force 20th Anniversary Live rock concert, featuring MASA and Hideki Sakamoto. The concert follows the Seiyuu Musou event, where attendees can purchase character song CD sets, Gamecity Deluxe Editions, and various Dynasty Warriors 9 merchandise.

Butai Shin Sangoku Musou Kanto no Tatakai, the second Dynasty Warriors Japanese stage play that is based on the Battle of Guandu, will be held at Tokyo's Zenrosai Hall/Space Zero April 26 to May 1 and May 5~6, 2018 at Osaka's Sankei Hall Breeze.

Lamigo Monkeys, a baseball team from Taiwan, had collaboration merchandise available to fans who pre-ordered tickets for their August 23~27, 2017 games. It is celebrated as the first Warriors sports promotion in Taiwan.

Suzuki demonstrated this game's Hulao Gate at China and Hong Kong in late July 2017. It was one of the PlayStation titles presented at Toy Soul 2017; Suzuki is scheduled to go on stage again at the 2018 Taipei Game Show on January 28, 2018.

Baha Game Crazy streamed the game live on February 5, 2018.

A popularity poll for overseas fans was held on Facebook from August 2 to September 8, 2017. Participants voted for three of their favorite characters per faction before the decisive winners were selected in the final rounds.

  • Wei Poll - From August 2~6.
  • Shu Poll - From August 7~10.
  • Wu Poll - From August 11~14.
  • Other Poll - From August 15~18.
  • Jin Poll - From August 21~24.
  • Semi-Final Poll - From August 31~September 4.
  • Final Poll - From September 7~8.

Due to the popularity of Photo Mode, Twitter users in Japan can win numerous prizes by sharing their screenshots under one of four different themes: scenery, battlefield, hideaway, and free. Prizes include autographed color papers per faction, B2 posters, and badges.

Image Songs[]

Performed by B'z

Trivia[]

  • This is the last Dynasty Warriors game to be released on Heisei era.
  • This is the first Dynasty Warriors game to not feature multiple stages.

See Also[]

Gallery[]

External Links[]

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