Dynasty Warriors 4

Dynasty Warriors 4 is the story of the rise and fall of the Three Kingdoms. You take control of the Kingdoms of Wei, Wu, or Shu and through the use of absurdly powerful heroes attempt to unify the land under one banner. Traverse ancient Chinese battlefields, killing thousands to end the chaos.

Stages
In the game you can play as one of the kingdoms. In each of the Musou Modes you will go through various stages or "Acts".

Yellow Turban War
As the novel starts, it tells the story of how the Han Dynasty slowly begins to lose support from the people and how the land was ripe for rebellion. Among all the trouble, the Zhang Family, (Zhang Jiao, Zhang Liang, and Zhang Bao) took to the field as they lead the Yellow Turbans in a war that stretched over the land. That war was known as the Yellow Turban Rebellion which the Zhang brothers led. The Yellow Turban peasant militia had over hundreds of thousand followers. In respond to this war, various leaders were called forth to put down the rebels.
 * The Heroes of the Yellow Turban Rebellion

One of the many heroes that answer to the call of the war was Liu Bei with his sworn brothers (Zhang Fei and Guan Yu) who vowed to restore the Han Dynasty and die on the same day, same month, and the same year. Although Liu Bei and his brothers were not known throughout the land, there were other heroes who manage to make a name for their own coming of age. Cao Cao once was told that in times of peace he is an able subject, but in times of chaos he is a crafty hero. (In other words, a Hero of Chaos). Near the end of the Yellow Turban rebellion, Zhang Jiao passed away while the rest of his forces were defeat by the Tiger of Jiang Dong, Sun Jian.

After the Yellow Turban Rebellion came to an end, an evil tyrant named Dong Zhuo came into power with the help of his advisor, Li Ru. Although Dong Zhou was powerful, he became more dangerous when Lu Bu, his foster son, joined his side after killing Ding Yuan. With Dong Zhuo in power, many people sought to murder him. Cao Cao himself attempted to murder Dong Zhuo, but failed in doing so. Having no other choice, Cao Cao fled back to his home land and raised the call to arms across the land to form a coalition against Dong Zhuo in a sense of duty. Many able leaders join and came by the many and Yuan Shao was placed at the head to lead the alliance.
 * Dong Zhuo's Reign

At the assault on Si Shui Gate, Sun Jian took up the task to lead the forces into the capital of Luoyang. During that time, Yuan Shu was in charge of the supplies for the army and received word from Sun Jian to send food. Yuan Shu did not heed the answer and Sun Jian was routed by Hua Xiong, one of Dong Zhuo's fiercest generals. As Hua Xiong went about slaying every general that he fought, he pushed close to the allied camp. Later, he was killed by Guan Yu. With the allied forces now closing in on Luoyang, only one other problem stood before them. Lu Bu was at Hu Lao Gate guarding its entrance and he manages to eliminate more than 1000 soldiers before he later was force to retreat by the sworn brothers Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei. With Luoyang left in flames, many of the allied leaders did what they could to restore it then they returned to their own territory to begin their personal battles among each other.

Cao Cao's Rise To Power

 * A Wall of Opponents

After Dong Zhuo was later on murder by Lu Bu and the land was still in chaos, the stage was set for Cao Cao's rise into power. Although he was strong and absorbed 300,000 troops and more than 1 million regular folks, Cao Cao was still in danger of many opponents that surrounded him. One of his opponents was Yuan Shao who eliminated Gongsun Zan and gain all of his armies and power; In fact, Lu Bu also became an opponent for Cao Cao to deal. Liu Bei with his sworn brothers were wandering around the land at the time and were forced to serve Cao Cao due to the uneasy relationship of Zhang Fei and Lu Bu.

Once Lu Bu was defeated, Cao Cao had only a few enemies left in the land to deal with. The biggest opponent Cao Cao faced was Yuan Shao at Guan Du. The details of the battle was compare to Yuan Shao's indecisiveness and to Cao Cao using his army effectively. The battle resulted in a victory for Cao Cao and Yuan Shao later on died. After conquering most of the fiercest commanders in the northern part of China, Cao Cao later on became the northern ruler of China.

With the early passing of Sun Jian, Sun Ce was serving under Yuan Shu during the the time of Cao Cao's rise to power. Although Sun Ce did not have much, he was soon receiving help from various people who once served his father. With Sun Ce and Zhou Yu reunited, they retook back the territories of Wu from various opponents like Yuan Shu and Liu Yong. Unfortunately, Sun Ce like his father met his end at a young age and passed on the Heredity Seal to Sun Quan.
 * Taking Back The Land

War of the Three Kingdoms
After Cao Cao managed to defeat the remains of the Yuan family, he turns his attention to the southern lands of China. During that time, Liu Bei went to pay his visits to Zhuge Liang (Sleeping Dragon) who lived life as a farmer. Although Zhuge Liang was not to willing to join, he decide after much thought to aid the wandering warlord. The plan that Zhuge Liang presents to Liu Bei would follow events leading up to the vision of how the land would be divided. Liu Bei would take over Yi and Jing Province and ally with the Sun family to face Cao Cao together. Even as they spoke of the plan, Cao Cao was already on his towards both the Sun Family and the Province of Jing. Having no other choice, Liu Bei headed for the Chang Jiang river while traveling with hundreds of thousand people who joined him in his cause.
 * Liu Bei's Third Visit

Although Liu Bei with his generals and army were few in numbers, they would have to place their faith in the hands of Sun Quan. After the young Wu ruler defeated his family's enemies and gained more help, Sun Quan was faced with Cao Cao's naval fleet sailing down Chang Jiang river. As Zhuge Liang visited the people of Wu, many sought to go to war while others sought to surrender. In the final conclusion, Zhuge Liang with Zhou Yu's support manage to convince Sun Quan to agree upon an alliance between Wu and Liu Bei. Sun Quan places Zhou Yu in command of the South Land army with Cheng Pu as Vice-Admiral and Lu Su as Assistant Commander.

Although Cao Cao easily out-numbered the kingdom of Wu and Liu Bei's army, he had many problems that infected his army while they attacked the South Land. The first point was how the army was not use to the climate which made the men sick. The second point that was a mistake by Cao Cao was putting his trust to ships. The third point against Cao Cao was that the majority of his army was not use to naval battle. One the the major advantages was regardless if Cao Cao had more numbers than the alliance of Liu Bei and Wu, he had 8,000 men from Yuan Shao's army that was not very loyal and sick men. With many main advantages against Cao Cao, the South Land stood strong. During the battle, Zhou Yu used both treachery and the capabilities of his generals to get the best of Cao Cao; however, due to Zhuge Liang's deft eloquence and speaking, Zhou Yu fore told of a great threat if the Shu strategist is allowed to live. The allied forces victory marks the very beginning of the three kingdoms and it also brought much tension between the north and south. As you play through each kingdom, you will witness strategy, might, ploys, and mindful tactics used against each enemy to win the battle. Pick your kingdom and take control of their destiny. Also, there are other kingdoms avaible such as Yuan Shao and the Nanman tribe.
 * Chi Bi: Naval War of the Three Kingdoms

Image Song

 * Cross Colors
 * Performed by Yuki Koyanagi

Allusions

 * Characters outfits from this game later appear as alternate third costumes in Warriors Orochi 2.