Sima Yi

Sima Yi is a Wei strategist. He first appeared in Dynasty Warriors 2. Perceptive and sly, he desires to use his talents to someday rule the land. His sons are Sima Shi and Sima Zhao. He generally acts as the rival to Zhuge Liang and Jiang Wei.

In the Dynasty Warriors series, he is 24 years old and his height is 177 cm (close to 5'10"). He is three centimeters taller (approximately 5'11") in Kessen II.

Role in Games

 * "I didn't think you were a mere slave to power."
 * ―Mitsunari Ishida; Warriors Orochi

Dynasty Warriors
Sima Yi is a scholar who thoroughly believes in his intellect. He appears sometime after Chi Bi as the master strategist of Wei. After Cao Cao's death, he is often depicted as the leader for Wei and appears in many of the series's decisive battles. He stars in Zhuge Liang's Northern Campaigns, and he is known in most titles to see through Ma Su's plot at Jie Ting. He also correctly reads the sign of his rival's death at Wu Zhang Plains and orders the army to charge. Depending on the title, he may then live to suppress the remnants of Shu and Wu.

His Legend Mode in Dynasty Warriors 4: Xtreme Legends takes place at Mount Qi. Thinking that Wei Yan will feed him with inside information, Sima Yi is lead into one of Zhuge Liang's traps. Surrounded by archers and trapped in a fire attack, he is saved by rainfall. With the heavens on his side, he fights his way through perilous odds, which forces Zhuge Liang to issue an all-out attack. Slaying the Shu generals, Sima Yi is able to escape safely.

In Dynasty Warriors 5, Sima Yi was born from a prestigious family and studied his life to become a renowned scholar. Summoned by Cao Cao to join Wei, Sima Yi demonstrates his skills as main strategist at Fan Castle and ask Wu for reinforcements. He serves Cao Pi after his liege's demise and kills Ma Su at Jie Ting. During the conflict, he meets Zhuge Liang and deems the Prime Minister to be his greatest threat. However, when his rival perishes at Wu Zhang Plains, he fears nothing while he crushes the other two kingdoms. With Wei as the land's ruler, it's implied that he plans to overthrow his master in due time.

His Legend Mode in the Xtreme Legends expansion pairs him with Cao Pi and Xu Huang. The trio work together to punish the traitor, Meng Da, at Xin Castle. While he holds himself within the castle's walls, he forces several Wei generals to fight their master. Sima Yi notes their weakened resolve and orders his allies to spark mutiny among Meng Da's troops. Striking the final blow against Meng Da, the defector accuses Sima Yi for false loyalties before he dies. The strategist replies that he is only biding his time.

Cao Cao summons for Sima Yi's talents before the Battle of Chi Bi in Dynasty Warriors 6. Originally bored and unimpressed by the land's chaos, he becomes fascinated by Zhuge Liang's tactics and his experience in battle. As he spends more time with his master, Sima Yi begins to form his own ambitions and image for the land. Consumed with his inner desires, he loses interest with his rival and works to destroy the other two kingdoms. Although ordered to keep watch in Han Zhong for rebellion, Sima Yi stages a coup d'état at Xu Chang with Zhang He and others. Upon murdering Cao Cao, his lord expresses his wishes to make a land for the people with his dying breath. Sima Yi, though acting uninterested, complies with his master's ideals to an extent during his rule.

Dynasty Warriors 7 has Sima Yi appear as a minor character during the Three Kingdoms Story Modes as a supporter for Wei. During Wei's story, he appears as a strategist for Cao Cao during the conquest for Han Zhong. Feeling no remorse for Xiahou Yuan's death, he oversees the alliance with Sun Quan for the sake of slaying Guan Yu. He acts as the main commander at Fan Castle, directing Xiahou Dun's set of objectives on the field. During Shu's Story Mode, he appears as the commander at Wu Zhang Plains. Sima Yi also joins the defense at Dong Kou in Wu's Story Mode.

In Jin's Story Mode, he begins as Wei's Grand Commander. Shu, Wu, and Wei have lost many heroes due to the war, and their conflicts have lead to an uneasy stalemate. Sima Yi feels the land has become worse than before due to people constantly repeating the same tiring mistakes, deepening the warfare that continues to plague the land. He feels his talents should be used to attend to the wavering situation, but his duty instead dictates he attends to fruitless internal rebellions. Frustrated by witnessing generals act in the endless monotony, he spares no mercy to Gongsun Yuan or Wang Jian when they attempt to plead for forgiveness, having them executed for their crimes. Reminiscing of his past battles with Shu, he realizes that Zhuge Liang was the only man worthy to face his intelligence. With his rival gone, Sima Yi feels his role in the wars are futile and withdraws his support for the current Wei emperor, Cao Fang. His retreat from politics allows Cao Shuang, Cao Fang's other influential supporter, to gain prominence in the court. When Cao Shuang orders a half-cocked invasion in Shu, Sima Yi entrusts his son, Sima Zhao, to stop it in its tracks. His son's stunning performance and Cao Shuang's incompetence to try to deal with rumors of Jiang Wei's invasion lead to his family gaining a better reputation with those in Wei.

Coping with the fact that there are none living in the world who can match his intelligence, Sima Yi decides that it's his new goal to at least end the cycle of stupidity he despises. After Sima Shi reports that his father is suffering from an illness that doesn't allow for visitors, Sima Yi decides to use this opportunity to kill Cao Shuang. Abhorring Cao Shuang's selfish desires and petty excuses for Wei's future, he has the Grand Commander executed and reclaims his title. Not soon afterwards, Sima Yi and his sons march out to deal with Jiang Wei's invasion at Mt. Niu Tou. They return to learn of Wang Ling scheming with Wu in an attempt to lower the Sima family's favor to Cao Fang. Sima Yi leads his family to quickly deal with the threat and repels Wu's attempted invasions. Their efforts further instill the Sima family's reputation as an unshakable pedestal in Wei. The constant string of battles take their toll on his body, finally making Sima Yi bedridden with the illness he stubbornly kept hidden from his family. After he passes on the right to lead the family to Sima Shi, Sima Yi dies.

His first Legendary Mode lets players control his side of Wu Zhang Plains present in Shu's Story Mode. Sima Yi's second Legendary Mode has him pit a contest between his family and the entire Zhuge family to prove who has the heftiest brainpower between them.

Warriors Orochi
In the first game, Sima Yi serves Orochi faithfully, gladly breaking his bonds with Wei. He can join the Samurai forces during one of their gaiden stages. If the player successfully executes the two fleeing officers, therefore ruining Sima Yi's trap, he will be in awe of the coalition's genius and joins their cause.

In Warriors Orochi 2, Sima Yi works for Masamune's army. During the Samurai storyline, he faces the Sakon's forces at Chang Ban and is outwitted by Shingen. Impressed by Shingen's tactics, he decides to accompany them. In other faction story modes, he will survive to serve Orochi X.

Kessen
Sima Yi is a confident and talented magician for Wei in Kessen II. He serves as a strategist and adviser for Cao Cao. He is first seen strutting into Cao Cao's throne room midway through the game, wondering why he can't find the "great hero of the land". He bluntly ventures that Cao Cao is the cause of the land's natural disasters as they continue due to the conqueror's selfish desires. He states that the lord will lose to Liu Bei if this continues, which gets an angered response from Cao Cao. Sword drawn to the offender, he growls for his name to which Sima Yi politely bows and introduces himself. Cao Cao likes the sorcerer's fearless nature and recruits him on the spot. His battle strategy is one of the best ways to fend off an angry Ma Chao.

Personality
Originally introduced as a calm and gloomy strategist, Sima Yi eventually became a man who is more arrogant and conniving. He is known for his maniacal laughter and insulting friend and foe alike as "Fool!" or "Imbecile!" He doesn't truly believe in Cao Cao but is always eager to exploit every opportunity given to him. Prideful of his intellect and believing that he has an unsurpassed wit, he regards Zhuge Liang as a worthy opponent.

While usually known to be contemptuous and seemingly shallow, Sima Yi can also be easily humiliated when he can't predict the results of his actions. This mainly occurs during the spin-off titles in the Dynasty Warriors series, such as the mahjong title and Dynasty Warriors 6: Empires.

He trusts Zhang He's versatility for his plans and relies on him during the later parts of the Three Kingdoms period. In recent titles, he shares a loosely trusted partnership with Cao Pi and the heir refers to him by his style name. Sima Yi is fascinated with Cao Pi's abilities and generally finds him a better ruler than his father.

Character Symbolism
Sima Yi's fans are named to contrast Zhuge Liang's throughout the Dynasty Warriors series, the most obvious example being the black fan he wields as his third weapon. His fourth weapon is originally named after Qiongji, a mythical beast in legends. One of its key aspects is its hatred for hating just or righteous people. Should the members of an argument be confronted by the beast, it decapitates the one who is morally correct and shred their bodies to pieces. For the unjust ones, the qiongji hunts for them and thinks fondly of them. Since one description of its appearance is a tiger with wings, Sima Yi may be designated with the beast to contrast Zhuge Liang's nickname as a dragon.

His level 11 weapon is named Suanxing, which is a name for the three-legged bird in Shan Hai Jing. Within Chinese mythology, these birds are a symbol for the sun and were once responsible for dictating the path of ten suns in the sky. When all ten suns happened to pass over the land simultaneously, the lands were set ablaze. Since the birds travel west to make the sun set, it conflicts with his rival, whose same ranked weapon pairs him with Qinglong of the East. Alternatively, it may be a reference to Sima Yi's relationship with Wei and his gradual departure from it.

The English translations for his claws in the sixth title are accurate, but they omit the personification attached to them from their original names. Within the Asian ports, each weapon is affiliated with a character that may be used for sound or musical rhythm. In other words, his weapons are meant to invoke the imagery of people screaming in agony, as though Sima Yi were conducting a "symphony" to their suffering.

In the Asian ports of Warriors Orochi, Sima Yi personal item is Sima Fa or The Methods of the Sima, one of the seven military classics of ancient China. Sima Xing is not one of the argued authors of the work though Sima Ranju, a general of the Qi state, is among them. Whether he actually wrote the histories and theories within the documents are still unknown.

Voice Actors

 * Lex Lang - Dynasty Warriors 4 (English)
 * Richard Cansino - Dynasty Warriors 5, Warriors Orochi series (English)
 * Kyle Hebert - Dynasty Warriors 6~7 (English)
 * Ralph Lister - Kessen II (English)
 * Choi Byeong Sang - Dynasty Warriors 2 (Korean)
 * Lee Won-Jun - Dynasty Warriors 3 (Korean)
 * Jeong Myeong-Jun - Dynasty Warriors 4~5 (Korean)
 * Tsuyoshi Takishita - Dynasty Warriors and Warriors Orochi series (Japanese)
 * Hirohiko Kakegawa - Dynasty Tactics series (Japanese)
 * Shinichirō Ōta - Kessen II (Japanese)
 * Rokurō Naya - Romance of the Three Kingdoms drama CD series

Quotes

 * See also: Sima Yi/Quotes


 * "Foolishness! You're saying that... the land can survive without the Han or the Emperor?"
 * "What good does your knowledge do you? Have you never questioned the antique structures of the past?"
 * Sima Yi and Cao Cao; Dynasty Warriors 6


 * "Haha! Did you really think you could defeat me with such infantile tricks? Imbeciles!"
 * "Imbeciles!"
 * "I'm not saying it."
 * Sima Yi, Masamune, and Mitsunari at the Battle of Xia Pi; Warriors Orochi 2


 * "Lord Cao Cao, observe those around you. You have more loyal commanders than the sky has stars. They have pledged their lives to you yet you do not realize this. No, you're only thinking of yourself. Your glory, your supposed greatness."
 * Sima Yi; Kessen II

Ground Moveset

 * undefined: Sends out a single ice orb which later explodes.
 * , undefined: Puts fingers to forehead with another hand facing his fan, causing the fan to levitate into the air.
 * ,, undefined: Fires a single, purple beam of energy.
 * ,, , undefined: Hops back with his fingers to his forehead and another hand facing the fan, causing the fan to rapidly vibrate distorting vision. Then glides forward with the fan still vibrating.
 * ,, , , undefined: Curves arm over an arc, producing a large purple ball to appear.
 * ,, , , , undefined (undefined, undefined, undefined): Fires purple beams of energy in different directions.
 * A rapid succession of purple lasers. Last shot of lasers shoots five lasers. In his True Musou version, he creates a yin-yang shockwave around himself and levitates himself off the ground to activate it.


 * , : Jump, then sends his fan downwards.
 * , undefined: Sima Yi jumps, then slams into the ground creating a shockwave.

Horse Moveset

 * undefined: Sima Yi leans to each side, and strikes.
 * ,, , , , : Three attacks to the right side, three to the left.
 * Repeating strikes to all sides until the Musou gauge empties.


 * Warriors Orochi
 * ,: An airdash that makes him temporarily invincible. Sima Yi twirls himself in the air for his dash.
 * R1: Using some musou, he lets loose an ice storm around him.
 * direction + R1: Hurls a quick blast of energy in front of him.


 * In Warriors Orochi 2, his secondary special changes to a block of ice being hurled forward.

Ground Moveset

 * string (Renbu ∞): Steps to the right and left, slapping horizontally with his wires. Lowers himself to thrust his wires forward before spinning into four overhead slaps of his wires. Whips his wires to the front three times and spins to have his all of his wires extend, hitting foes to his sides twice. Ends the cycle by waving his right-handed claw in front of him as he slowly walks forward, sending seven diagonal airwaves forward.
 * undefined string (Renbu ∞): Stabs with one set of wires forward. Hooks again with the same set and follows with his other claw's wires. Creates a small explosion from his threads before emitting a large freezing shockwave around him.
 * undefined (held): Spins around twice, letting both of his claws unleash their iron wires as he pivots. Spins miniature ice balls forward on higher Renbu levels.
 * Series of wire slaps depending on Renbu level. During the finale, he unleashes all of his wires in the area in front of him, stunning foes. He then poses, which unleashes a freezing shockwave around him.


 * , : Momentarily ducks his head and swipes once with both hands, letting loose wires from all of his fingertips.
 * , undefined: Hovers slightly in the air. Lands and smacks the ground with one set of wires.
 * Dashing : Swings his right claws with the wires slapping foes in its path.
 * Dashing undefined: Comes to a stop with both arms outstretched. Wires from both of his claws hit both of his sides.


 * Grapple attack : Unleashes wires forward with his right hand. If it connects, he uses the strings to latch onto his foe and drags them closer. As they draw nearer, he stabs them with his right-handed claws. He stays there for a moment before he discards them from his weapon by pushing their shoulder aside.
 * Grapple attack undefined: Has his hands snap over his chest, letting the wires from both hands hit forward. If it connects, he extends his threads and spins his foe within them by waving his arms. His foe spins for a few more moments before he decides to cut the strings loose.
 * Deadlock attack: Latches wires into an opponent, lifts them into the air, and smashes them to the ground.


 * Special attack: Rockfall: lets loose giant boulders of land on the enemy and, when used near a cliff or an area with elevation differences, the rocks fall down and slide on the ground.

Horse Moveset

 * string: Uses his right-handed claw to slap its wires into foes. Number of strikes varies on Renbu levels.
 * undefined: Unleashes both sets of wires at once, reaching from both sides of his saddle to stick momentarily to the ground.
 * faster version of the string that ends with a undefined attack.

Dynasty Warriors 7
Sima Yi is affiliated with the feather fan in this appearance. When he is equipped with it, he can perform a unique attack exclusive to him. When he performs his musous, he will automatically use the weapon in his attacks.


 * EX Attack: ,,undefined,undefined: Summons five waves of lightning which will radiate from Sima Yi.
 * Musou 1: : Paralyzes the opponents in front of Sima Yi and finishes with an explosion to knock them back.
 * Musou 2:, R1 + : Shards of ice rain down on his opponents.

Dynasty Warriors
In Dynasty Warriors 6, Sima Yi's weapon of choice are gloves that protrude long and thin wires from his fingertips. Despite the claws' small and fragile appearance, the wires that protrude from them have good range. He gains a good amount of crowd control attacks, especially during higher Renbu levels, and relies considerably less on magic than before. In some ways, he resembles a long range character, as his attack efficiency is somewhat weakened while he is close to his opponent. However, this setback can be bypassed if the player has mastered when to properly evade.

Weapons

 * See also: Sima Yi/Weapons

Historical Information
Sima Yi began his career as Secretary of Literature under Lord Cao after the pacification of the north. His first military assignment was against Zhang Lu in Hanzhong. Sima Yi’s strategies were a success and Lord Cao was greatly impressed.

After Cao Cao, and his son, Cao Pi passed away and Cao Rui stepped up to the throne, Zhuge Liang started his expeditions to the north. In 227, Meng Da attempted to defect back to Shu. After hearing this, Cao Rui sent Sima Yi to Xincheng to stop Meng Da from defecting. The battle killed Meng Da in the process and Sima Yi was gives much praises. Starting from the year 228, Cao Zhen led the defense against Zhuge Liang while Sima Yi led the strategies for the battles.

In the year 230, Cao Zhen passed away and Sima Yi took command against Zhuge Liang. Also in 231, Sima Yi finally faced Zhuge Liang's armies in battle. Sima Yi was mocked by his generals during the battle for not facing Zhuge Liang's men directly in battle. Furious, Sima Yi sent his men but was defeated easily. Sima Yi didn't falter and waited for Zhuge Liang to retreat. Indeed, Zhuge Liang retreated due to lack of supplies and Zhang He was sent by Sima Yi but was killed at Mumen Trail after being ambushed by Zhuge Liang's men.

In 234, Zhuge Liang began his final expedition to the north and met Sima Yi's men at Wuzhang Plains. During this time, Zhuge Liang sent a message to Sun Quan to attack Hefei in which Sun Qun accepted. Zhuge Liang attempted to force Sima Yi out of the Wei's main camp but none of the attempts worked. Sima Yi's men were getting impatient and Sima Yi requested to Cao Rui to engage the Shu forces. In response, Cao Rui sent one of his strategists, Xin Pi, to tell them to be patient. In time Sima Yi sensed that Zhuge Liang wouldn't live long due his rival's attempts of forcing him out of the camp. Sun Quan was defeated at Hefei due to a mysterious plague causing his men to fell to illness. Wu's defeat caused Zhuge Liang stress and fell to illness in Autumn 234 and died weeks later.

Sima Yi sensed his rivals death and quickly attacked the Shu's Forces. Even though they were quickly charging to the Shu's main camp, Sima Yi felt that Zhuge Liang's death was fake and ordered his men to go back to camp and Shu retreated safely.

During the Reign of Cao Fang; Sima Yi was appointed as Prime Minister and received the Nine Dignities from Cao Fang. Sima Yi placed his sons Zhao and Shi in high positions and took away power or killed anyone who still supported the Cao Family. Also duing Fang's reign, Sima Yi started a rebellion which caused Wei's regent, Cao Shuang, to step down. Sima Yi took position as regent later on and his sons, after his death, gave high contributions to Wei including Shu's fall during Sima Zhao's reign in 263.

Sima Yi died in 251 AD. Fourteen years later his Grandson, Sima Yan, usurped the throne and established the Jin Dynasty.