Zhou Yu

Zhou Yu is a character who has been in every Dynasty Warriors title to date. He is Wu's main strategist and Sun Ce's sworn brother. He is married to Xiao Qiao. Akin to history, he is an intelligent man who is known for his good looks and musical talent. At the Battle of Chi Bi, he served as the commander, leading his fleet to victory over Cao Cao's larger forces.

In the Dynasty Warriors series, he is 25 years old and his height is 178 cm (5'10"). His height in Kessen II three centimeters shorter (close to 5'9").

Dynasty Warriors
Zhou Yu is Wu's first strategist and a loyal officer who often first serves Sun Jian. He quickly befriends Sun Ce and the two friends unite to see a land of peace under Wu. Should Sun Ce die in their pursuit of their dream, Zhou Yu will continue to carry on Sun Ce's ambition and guide Sun Quan. A few titles in the series also emphasize his animosity towards Zhuge Liang, particularly at Chi Bi. Zhou Yu often disappears after his role at Chi Bi. In his personal story in Dynasty Warriors 3, he continues to aid Wu by destroying Wei at He Fei and Shu at Yi Ling.

His Legend Mode in Dynasty Warriors 4: Xtreme Legends takes place after Wu claims victory at Chi Bi. With his task finished, Zhuge Liang plans to sail back to Liu Bei. Knowing that the strategist will prove to be a liable threat to Wu's future, Zhou Yu chases him down to slay him. By the time he arrives at the docks, Zhuge Liang has already boarded a boat and bids farewell to Wu. Zhou Yu pursues the sailing boat by land and faces the first three Five Tiger Generals. Blocking the strategist's escape path in the south, Zhou Yu cuts Zhuge Liang down.

In Dynasty Warriors 5, he is a warrior who comes from a prestigious family and is known for his good looks and musical talent. He joins the alliance against Dong Zhuo at Si Shui Gate with Sun Jian. Upon his return to their homeland, he joins Sun Ce to attack Liu Biao. After the elder tiger's death, Zhou Yu gathers more troops for their cause and works with Sun Ce to conquer the land of Wu. Although Sun Ce dies of illness, he continues to guide Sun Quan in his friend's memory. Huang Zu falls soon after and the Wu kingdom is greatly expanded. In due time, Wu clashes with Wei at Chi Bi and deliver a resounding blow to Cao Cao's army. Surviving the conflict, he swears to uphold Sun Ce's dream of conquest.

His Legend Mode in the Xtreme Legends expansion pairs him and Sun Ce to win the hands of their future wives. While arriving to the marriage site, they are challenged by the Two Qiaos to prove their worth. Xiao Qiao instructs Zhou Yu to take the eastern path and must use cunning and strength to bypass her tests. Along the way, he unexpectedly faces loyal soldiers of the Sun family such as Han Deng and Huang Gai. When the ordeal is over, he admits that it was a meager yet interesting lesson since he was also able to prove his might to the Sun family officers.

Sun Jian personally asks him to watch Sun Ce in Dynasty Warriors 6, and the two men first meet at Hu Lao Gate. As his guard, Zhou Yu guides and protects his new friend. Hearing that Cao Cao's main army was returning to Xu Chang, Zhou Yu pleads his friend to withdraw and saves him from a premature demise. As Liu Bei asks for their aid, they join forces to defeat Cao Cao at Chi Bi. Sun Ce's army successfully kills Cao Cao and they are victorious. What Zhou Yu didn't realize is Zhuge Liang's trap, as the Shu strategist uses Wu's efforts so that Shu could steal Jing Province away from them. Though they were allies, Wu reclaims Jing Province and slays Liu Bei at Yi Ling. The land is united under Sun Ce, but Zhou Yu perceives that his friend does not want to spend his time ruling it. Wanting to find more adventure, Sun Ce passes his mantle of leadership to Sun Quan and Zhou Yu leaves together with his friend.

Warriors Orochi
During Orochi's story, he coordinates his kingdom's resistance against the serpent army lead by Zhuge Liang. He tries to lure the enemy into the center of the field where Gan Ning and Zhang Liao wait in ambush. With a large number of generals, he aims to take Orochi's main camp. His tactics are countered when engineers destroy the bridge and he is eventually defeated.

He remains imprisoned until Sun Ce proves his loyalty to the serpent king in Warriors Orochi and resumes his role as Wu's main strategist. In the sequel, he accompanies his wife to Kanegasaki and stage a plot to lure Dong Zhuo away from his hiding place. He will run to his lover's aid if she experiences trouble, even though she has Okuni guarding her. He reports the other factions' activities to Sun Jian after the battle, but his news doesn't convince his lord to march into war.

Zhou Yu shares his dream mode with two other master strategists, Zhuge Liang and Shingen Takeda. They defend He Fei Castle from Sima Yi's army and counter with various tactics. Zhou Yu's role in the battle mainly has him call upon hidden reinforcements lead by Gan Ning, catching Sima Yi in a pincer.

Dynasty Tactics
Zhou Yu acts as one of the starting generals for Wu in Dynasty Tactics. He starts as the army's strategist and often advises his friends on how to proceed. When Liu Bei flees to Wu's ruler for safety, he states that it is fine to keep the general within their care since they can keep an eye on him. Both Zhou Yu and Zhuge Liang agree on the fire strategy at Chi Bi and his plan is a great success. Knowing of Zhuge Liang's Three Kingdom strategy with the conquest of northern Jing, Zhou Yu proposes the Two Kingdom: integrate Liu Bei as a part of Wu and attack Cao Cao together.

If Sun Ce should die during the player's scenario, he will call for Zhou Yu but the strategist is not present for his friend's final moments. During Wei's scenario, he can be slain by Guo Jia at Chi Bi.

Kessen
He is Wu's main strategist in Kessen II but his role at Chi Bi is minimized. Instead of commanding the two armies, he acts as one of the main generals who bides time for Zhuge Liang's fire attack. When Sun Quan betrays Shu, Zhou Yu protests his lord's decision. In Wei's story, he stands by his liege's decision to attack Cao Cao before they are invaded. Before he fights any foe, he plays a short melody on his flute. He has an above-average War rating and can cast ice, fire, and lightning magic.

Personality
Calm and rational, Zhou Yu is a wise expert of strategy who is capable of seeing through most of his enemies' ploys. He was a darker and slightly more arrogant in his first appearance, but he has softened in following titles. He treats his allies with modest professionalism and genuine respect. His devotion to his homeland is unquestionable and his talents are praised with renown.

Since they are often childhood friends, Zhou Yu acts as the voice of reason for the hot blooded Sun Ce. They share a strong bond and both comrades can rely on the other in times of need. In previous titles, he refers to his friend by his style name in Japanese but this was not the case in Dynasty Warriors 6. His mature and serious persona contrasts with Xiao Qiao's naive and cheerful one. While he is also a loving husband, his words of caution are not always appreciated by his wife. Even so, he thinks of her dearly and will not hesitate to come to her rescue.

Character Symbolism
Within many Koei works as well as many fictional Three Kingdoms media, Zhou Yu is attributed to have played a flute. Historically, he was said to have been gifted with musical talent in his youth. A famous passage retorts that he could hear a mistaken note of a group performance even whilst drunk, turning his head directly to the lone performer who missed his/her part. While nothing in historical records notes that he particularly favored the woodwind instrument, flutes have a history of signaling the start of various ceremonies and a war strategist was occasionally given the honor of being the player. His act of playing a flute is likely a romanticized image for him inspired from these two sources - Koei works especially like to tie in this trait with his strategies at Chi Bi.

Zhou Yu's weapon within the Dynasty Warriors series oddly has a couple Japanese names within Asian ports. His second weapon is named Zantetsuken (literally Cutting Iron Sword), a doting term used to praise the hard metals of a Japanese sword. The description implies that the unique methods for forming the blade makes it nearly indestructible, but this legend has been debunked more than once in history. His fourth weapon's name includes another term for Japanese swords, Shinuchi. It is used to describe the best part of a blade to hit multiple times.

The name of his third weapon, the gǔdìng dāo, was a weapon actually noted to have been wielded by Sun Jian within Romance of the Three Kingdoms, though it rarely made an appearance past his introduction. Zhou Yu likely uses a sword within the games due to a later event in the novel, wherein he performed a sword dance at a banquet for Jiang Gan.

All of his weapons in Dynasty Warriors 6 are named after aspects of the sky. In the Asian ports, they take specific inspiration from cloudy times of day during which the sun or moon will illuminate the sky for a picturesque effect (crimson irisation, vermillion morning haze, black misty spring moon). The reference of the light sources creating a brilliant shine may be a subtle nod to Zhou Yu's style name.

Voice Actors

 * John DeMita - Dynasty Warriors 4 (English)
 * Michael Gough - Dynasty Warriors 5 (English)
 * Joshua Seth - Dynasty Warriors 6, Warriors Orochi (English)
 * Cam Clarke - Kessen II (English)
 * Yu Dong Gyun - Dynasty Warriors 2~3 (Korean)
 * Choi Jae-ho - Dynasty Warriors 4~5 (Korean)
 * Takahiro Yoshimisu - Dynasty Warriors and Warriors Orochi series (Japanese)
 * Hikaru Midorikawa - Dynasty Tactics 2 (Japanese)
 * Shō Hayami - Kessen II (Japanese), Romance of the Three Kingdoms drama CD series

Quotes

 * See also: Zhou Yu/Quotes


 * "I cannot forgive those who trouble innocent people!"
 * "The plan was a success! Sun Ce... Wherever you are, are you capable of seeing these flames as well? Let's go! My dream ― and the glory of Wu ― they will be with you for all eternity!"
 * After the fire attack succeeds at Chi Bi; Dynasty Warriors 5


 * "When a tree dies, nature brings it back to the earth. And after its death, a young shoot will grow up from the remains. This too is nature."
 * Convincing Sun Ce to conquer the land; Dynasty Warriors 6

Ground Moveset

 * undefined: Sends out a single fire orb which later explodes.
 * ,undefined: An upwards slash.
 * ,,undefined,(undefined,undefined,undefined): A series of horizontal slashes in which Zhou Yu turns back 180 degrees after every slash, resembling a sort of dance.
 * ,,,undefined,(undefined,undefined): A series of up to three aerial downwards slashes. Zhou Yu turns back 180 degrees after every slash.
 * ,,,,undefined: A upwards gust that sends enemies into the air.
 * ,,,,,undefined: A wide, charged, rightwards sword slash which sends enemies flying.
 * ,,,,,,,,: Performs alternating diagonal slices that cross his left and right. On his fifth and seventh slash, he spins during his attack. His last attack is a horizontal cut that is parallel to his chest.
 * A series of upwards, vertical slashes that resembles a sort of dance.


 * , : Jump, then swipe with sword.
 * , undefined: Zhou Yu jumps, then performs a flip that sends out a cutting wave. From there, he forcefully lands on the ground to create a small quake.
 * Dashing : Breaks his sprint by slashing three times.

Horse Moveset

 * undefined: Zhou Yu leans to each side, and spins his weapon.
 * ,, , , , : Three attacks to the right side, three to the left.
 * Repeating slashes to all sides until the Musou gauge empties.


 * Warriors Orochi
 * R1: Casts a spell that flashes a stream of initing fire in front of him.
 * R1(Counter): A quick slash that goes through enemies.

Ground Moveset

 * string (Renbu ∞): Spins and swings his staff horizontally once. As he spins towards his left, he swings it in the same direction again with his right leg crossing his left from behind. As he steps back to his right, he swings his staff from behind him and swivels to face his front. With his arm high in the air, he then crosses it diagonally in front of him. He begins to turn to his right and twirls his staff. After he pivots to show his back to his foes in front, he twirls his staff behind him. When faces his front again, he delivers a diagonal whack to his right. He performs a spinning kick afterwards and lands with his back to his foes in front. From here, he makes a 270 degree swing as he rises back to his feet. He finishes the chain of attacks by rotating his staff seven times around him and slowly walking forward, hitting any opponent to his left and right.
 * undefined string (Renbu ∞): Lifts the butt end of his staff forward, plants his staff into the ground as an anchor, and lunges forward legs first to deliver a kick. Lands in a crouched position to swing low at the legs. He rises into a hunched position and delivers a quick horizontal swing to his foe's midsection. He distributes the weight of the staff to his left, spinning it with his left hand. As he does this, an energy shockwave emits around him.
 * undefined (held): Ducks low onto his left knee and delivers a low strike to his left.
 * Smacks the ground with his staff three times, spins his staff behind him, poses, and is surrounded by a shockwave. Each time his staff hits the ground, a pillar of fire will erupt upon impact.


 * , : Downwards strike in a 90 degree angle in front of him.
 * , undefined: Plummets his staff into the ground and twirls around it, kicking rapidly until he is upright.
 * Dashing : Sinks low during his run to swing his staff.
 * Dashing undefined: Dips into a sideways flip, kicking with his legs in the air to the right. Lands with a prominent swing.


 * Grapple attack : Begins with a quick swing. If it connects, he follows with two quick blows to stun his foe. He poses with his back to them and, while he is in this position, he simply jabs their shins with his staff's lower end.
 * Grapple attack undefined: Positions his staff defensively in front of him and charges forward. If he connects, he hops onto his foe and pushes them downwards with his weapon. When his back lands on the ground, his foe is trapped between his legs and he quickly kicks them into the air.
 * Deadlock attack: Uses his staff to flip his enemy onto the ground behind him and stands confidently near their head, staff poised in front of him and back towards them. When they struggle for a few moments, he calmly stabs the lower end of his staff into their face.


 * Special attack: True Speed: greatly boosts speed. Leans his upper body forward with his arms crossed while holding his staff in front of him.
 * Dashing : Rapidly spins his weapon on his left and right sides.
 * Dashing undefined: Same as his normal dashing version except he ends the motion with a shockwave.

Horse Moveset

 * string: series of swings to the right. Number of strikes is determined by the Renbu gauge.
 * undefined: raises his bo for a few seconds before spinning it on alternating sides of himself.
 * faster version of the string.

Dynasty Warriors
Zhou Yu's style of fighting is one for any level of player though his true potential is best unlocked with a more advanced player. His main strength lies in the versatility of his attacks as they work well in both a crowd and against an officer. His running attack is good for mowing down groups of enemies and his Musou is good for fighting strong officers one on one. His Musou and a number of his charge attacks also set up ideal conditions for 'juggling' combinations.

Weapons

 * See also: Zhou Yu/Weapons

Romance of the Three Kingdoms
In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Zhou Yu accepted Zhuge Liang's offer of alliance at the Battle of Chi Bi, although Zhuge Liang was his rival of mastering tactics. Unfortunately after that great battle, his destiny wasn't as good as Zhuge Liang's. He was foiled each time by his rival - partially through the efforts of Lu Su- and his frustration resulted in the aggravation of a battle wound, causing his sickness and death.