Liu Bei

Liu Bei first appeared in the Dynasty Warriors series in Dyansty Warriors 2. He is emperor of the Shu kingdom and, during the majority of battles featured in his Musou Mode, he fights alongside his sworn brothers, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. He's historically Sun Shang Xiang's husband but this is rarely mentioned during the games' story. His heir is Liu Chan who also appears as a non-playable character.

His arch-nemesis and primary opponent is generally Cao Cao, as the latter believes the former to be a potentially great leader and his most obvious threat to absolute control of China. In the Dynasty Warriors series, he is 31 years old.

Role in Games

 * "My lord is not selfish enough to place his own life above the freedom of his vassals."
 * -Zhuge Liang

Dynasty Warriors
Liu Bei, like Sun Jian and Cao Cao, participates in the battles against the Yellow Turbans and Dong Zhuo, and many of the games recreate with a cutscene the dramatic duel between he and his oath brothers against Lu Bu. In the games, Liu Bei fights mainly against Cao Cao, with the exception of his distant relative Liu Zhang, who he battles for control of the region of Shu. However, his final battle is against Wu, not Wei, at Yi Ling. After swearing vengeance for Guan Yu's death at Fan Castle, Liu Bei decides to destroy Wu, but fails and dies shortly afterwards. Liu Bei is also the only character in the game who can kill his own wife in Musou mode; this is sometimes a requirement to obtain his final weapon.

Warriors Orochi
In Orochi's story for Warriors Orochi 2, which serves as a prequel to the series, Liu Bei and his men tried to escape from the snake demon. He would not abandon his people and this inevitably slowed him down. Though his vassals and allies from Nanman try their best to assist him, Liu Bei is captured by Orochi and held prisoner. To ensure their lord's safety, many of his men reluctantly serve Orochi. During Warriors Orochi, he is held captive for the majority of Shu's story.

In Warriors Orochi 2, Liu Bei resumes his role as Shu's leader. In order to prevent the rogue Da Ji from causing more chaos, he makes it his mission to stop her. Though they fail in their first attempt, he and his men befriend the mystic Taigong Wang.

Kessen
Liu Bei is one of the protagonists in Kessen II. Like the novel, he is a minor lord who is generous and benevolent to those around him. He is in love with Diao Chan, a dancer he met during one of his army's banquets. He befriends Cao Cao during the Yellow Turbans rebellion but is soon betrayed by him three months later. During a raid at his home, Diao Chan is kidnapped and Liu Bei is forced to retreat. Though hesitant to start a war, he raises an army to save his lover. He remains faithful to his lover despite numerous advances from other women.

Later in the game, Liu Bei learns that his quest to end Cao Cao defies the will of heaven. Heretofore, calamities strike the land and the people suffer. Undeterred, he eventually breaks heaven's will and wins against Cao Cao. In the battle's aftermath, he's finally reunited with Diao Chan. He hears his enemy's desire for a peaceful world, a goal that Liu Bei swears to carry out. In Wei's ending, he goes missing after the final battle and Diao Chan looks for him. They peacefully reunite in the game's epilogue.

Character Info

 * "Liu Bei? He and I were students together. He was always quite gentle. That's pretty much all he was."
 * ―Gongsun Zan, after Zhao Yun asks what he knows about Liu Bei.

Personality
Liu Bei is portrayed in a similar manner as his novel counterpart. He is a virtuous and benevolent man who wants to restore peace in the land. He is normally polite and modest to anyone he meets. Empathetic with the common folk, he easily gains the people's trust and support. This particular trait makes him a feared adversary to his enemy Cao Cao.

Though he has earned the respect of many subjects, Liu Bei often doubts his own abilities as a ruler and warrior. He is prone to angst and doubt if there are too many deaths on either side of the field. He sometimes lacks emotional restraint as he will lose his temperament and sound judgment if his younger brothers are routed or killed. He thinks highly of his brothers and always addresses them by their style names in the Japanese script.

Appearance
He originally appeared as a less expensively-dressed man than either Sun Jian or Cao Cao, but as the game series progressed he has been featured in more illustrious outfits. He was given a dramatic redesign for Dynasty Warriors 6 without any facial hair, causing some people to initially mistake his design with a normal peon.

Voice Actors

 * Dan Woren - Dynasty Warriors 4~5, Dynasty Tactics 2 (English)
 * Jason Frankovitz - Dynasty Tactics (English)
 * Moriya Endo - Dynasty Warriors, Warriors Orochi, and Dynasty Tactics series (Japanese)
 * Tōru Furuya - Kessen II (Japanese), Romance of the Three Kingdoms drama CD series

Quotes

 * "Those who stand in the way of virtue shall fail."
 * "Let us show this devil once more the strength of human hearts!"
 * "I fight in the name of virtue" (1000 KO saying)
 * "Shang Xiang and I may have been forced down different paths, but our feelings were true! And the bond that we share shall never be broken! Not by anyone!" -Liu Bei Dynasty Warriors 5

Fighting Style
Liu Bei fights with a fairly standard style with his longsword, but with slightly above average stats in basically all fields. Like Cao Cao and Sun Jian, Liu Bei is a good character for beginners, but continues to be an effective and reliable all-around fighter when used by more experienced players. He is also one of only three characters to have a special horse as a NPC, the Hex Mark (the other two are Lü Bu and Guan Yu, who ride Red Hare).

In Dynasty Warriors 6, Liu Bei turns into a quick combo character. His dual swords allow him to juggle and corner his opponents faster than before, which turns him into a good offensive fighter. Fortunately, his long combos allow him to quickly fill up his Renbu gauge, something that he arguably relies on to deal more damage. However, his defense continues to suffer and he lacks attacks that help deal with the opponents who surround him from all directions. Therefore, he is best as a solo dueling character as he can finish off an enemy general relatively quickly.

Weapons
Starting in Dynasty Warriors 6, he wields the "Swords of Fate", a pair of twin swords which were forged for him during the Yellow Turban Rebellion.

4th Weapon

 * 4th Weapon: Gold Moon Dragon
 * Element: None
 * Base: 40
 * Attributes: Speed +20, Musou Gauge +70, Mounted Att +44, Mounted Def +52, Luck +22
 * Stage: Yi Ling (Liu Bei’s Forces)
 * Precious Item (location: Northeast side of Sun Quan’s camp).
 * Requirements: Defeat Sun Shang Xiang.

Requiremeants for obtaining Liu Bei's fourth weapon

 * Stage: Battle of Ru Nan
 * At the start of the battle, defeat Li Dian before you (Liu Bei) meet with Zhao Yun. Once that is done, meet with Zhang Fei next and wait till Xiahou Yuan appears then eliminate him before Guan Yu arrives. Afterwards, defeat all of Cao Cao's generals in any order before Liu Pi arrives which is exactly in 10 minutes.

Requirements for obtaining Liu Bei's fourth weapon

 * Stage: Battle of Yi Ling
 * Defeat Ling Tong, Gan Ning, Lu Xun, and Sun Shang Xiang.

Historical information

 * "Gentle Ignorance cannot change the world."
 * -Cao Cao

Liu Bei was a powerful warlord and the founding emperor of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms era of China. Having risen up from the commoner class, he was initially a small player in the massive civil war leading up to the collapse of the Eastern Han Dynasty. In 214, using the stratagems of his chief advisor Zhuge Liang, Liu Bei conquered Yizhou (益州, present day Sichuan and Guizhou) and at last established the foundation for Shu Han. In 221, Liu Bei declared himself emperor in an effort to carry on the lineage of the Han Dynasty. He was succeeded by his son Liu Shan, who eventually surrendered to Cao Wei in 263.

Romance of Three Kingdoms
In the 14th century historical novel by Luo Guanzhong, Liu Bei was portrayed as a virtuous and charismatic man who rose from a humble straw weaver to emperor. His many experiences were dramatized or exaggerated by the author to advocate the Confucian set of moral values, such as loyalty and compassion. However, it is this novelized character of Liu Bei that had become much more commonly known in Chinese folklore, Chinese opera and other art forms. Several of the most famous stories about him usually include his sworn "brothers" Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, particuarly the Oath in the Peach Garden, where the three swear an oath of loyalty to one another and vow to make China a great nation again, and the Battle of Hulao Gate, where the Three Brothers work together and against all odds manage to defeat the unstoppable warrior Lu Bu.

This loyalty to his brothers is most evident when both Guan Yu and Zhang Fei are slain, and a distraught Liu Bei goes on a warpath to avenge them. The grief-striken Liu Bei refuses to heed the advise of Zhuge Liang, and this war leads to the eventual downfall of Shu.