Yu Jin

Not to be confused with Yue Jin.

Yu Jin (onyomi: U Kin) is a general who served Cao Cao since he first raised an army. In the Record of the Three Kingdoms, he is an established general and is known as one of the Five Generals of Wei. He won success in numerous battles and was known as a majestic and resilient man, but he frightened allies due to his strict disciplinarian behavior. On one occasion, Yu Jin was ordered to take control of Zhu Ling's troops, and met no resistance, as Zhu's troops were too terrified to resist the order.

During the siege of Fan Castle, however, he surrendered to Guan Yu, and was a frail, old man by the time he returned to Wei, long after Cao Cao's death. After he spots murals depicting his cowardice and Pang De's valiant death, he dies as a man filled with regret.

Before his playable Dynasty Warriors appearance, he was a generic NPC since its second installment. In Famitsu's first most wanted Dynasty Warriors character poll, he and Lu Kang tied for eighth place with fans. Fans voted him to third place in the second most wanted poll with 204 votes. The latest poll for the eighth installment puts him in twenty-second.

His character's height in Kessen II is 190 cm (6'3").

Dynasty Warriors
In Dynasty Warriors, non-playable Yu Jin is a general who serves Cao Cao in many battles since the Yellow Turban Rebellion. Dynasty Warriors 2 has him serve as a sub-officer often alongside Yue Jin.

Since the series's fifth main entry, Yu Jin has been stationed at Fan Castle. He usually defends the western gate in the same title. If playing the allied force's perspective, Yu Jin has a special quote if he is defeated in which he surrenders to Guan Yu. Dynasty Warriors 6 has him being a minor general stationed as inner defense. His place as active defense is taken by Yue Jin and Niu Jin at the western gate.

In Dynasty Warriors 7, Yu Jin fights the Shu forces north of the castle in Wei's first part of the battle and usually has the upper hand until the flood attack. If the player does not come to his rescue after the flood attack, a messenger will report Dong Chao and Dong Heng's defeat and the fall of Yu Jin's squad. Even if the player keeps Yu Jin alive throughout the first part, he does not appear in the second part of the battle. If playing the Shu perspective, Yu Jin will arrive as Wei's reinforcements during the first part of the battle.

Dynasty Warriors 8 has Fu Feng, Hu Xiu and him fight the invaders at the northern gates of the castle in Wei's story. The player has the option to rescue the three generals. If they are rescued, Yu Jin expresses his gratitude and stays loyal. If the player ignores the generals or takes too long to rescue them, Yu Jin will defect to Shu and join the siege.

During his playable debut in Xtreme Legends, Yu Jin appears as early as the revenge at Xu Province. With his skills recognized, he continues to participate in several campaigns against Lu Bu and Yuan Shao. The conditions for his surrender at Fan Castle in the historical route remains the same as the eighth entry, albeit with more regret and emotion within his voice lines than his generic counterpart, wanting to assure the safety of his soilders.

He appears in four additional scenarios for Wei. The first has him star at Fan Castle alongside Cao Ren and Pang De. Despite the oppression against them, Yu Jin's two comrades hold the line long enough for him to take advantage of the discord between the Wu and Shu forces. The second scenario is set in Jing Province where he assists Cao Cao and Xiahou Dun's fight against Guan Yu. While the other officers celebrate their victory, Yu Jin maintains his vigilance and leaves the festivities. Cao Cao convinces the hardened general to lighten up and offers a toast in his honor. The third is a hypothetical battle where Guan Yu prevails over Wei at Fan Castle and pushes the defenders back to Xinye. Eager to avenge their loss, Yu Jin and his allies fortify their army's formation to halt the enemy's advance. This time they rout Guan Yu's forces. Yu Jin works with Cao Cao's other officers to find the kidnapped Cai Wenji in the last scenario. While searching for their comrade they encounter many couples who mistake them for kidnappers. Cai Wenji returns to the exhausted men unscathed by the end and is unaware of the unnecessary peril they faced to find her.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms
In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms games, Yu Jin is a decent general with a leadership stat in the low 80's and 70's intelligence and war. He is an all-rounder who does not excel in a special unit type, although spears and cavalry work better on him. He is one of the few Wei generals who are experienced in naval warfare, albeit he is still inferior to the generals of Wu in this regard.

Kessen
Yu Jin is Cao Cao's flamboyant and somewhat bumbling officer in Kessen II. He is described as a man from a highly established family who has mastered several languages. Though the leader of an elite unit, he lacks physical power and is cowardly, skilled at quickly running away from conflict. He joined Wei to learn how to "act more manly". He is often the innocent victim of Himiko's tantrums. Yu Jin or his assassins act as Wei's reconnaissance unit and are quick to report any news to their lord.

Yu Jin leads an entire army of highly trained women. They are adapt swordsmen, cavalry men, and archers, making him one of the stronger offensive units for Wei. In some ways, his army acts as Wei's version of Zhang Fei's unit. At first, Yu Jin mainly acts as a support unit for his assassins by attacking the enemy morale. If given time to develop, he can also assist their offensive attacks with his Charge command. His army is ideal for quickly dispatching enemy sorcerers, as it is equipped with two Iron Walls and many morale damaging tactics.

Unlike Zhang He, Yu Jin speaks in a very feminine manner in Japanese, adopting the stereotypical traits of a comical drag queen, which is somewhat replicated in English. In the character relationship chart for the game, he has a one sided love towards Cao Cao, though it is marked with an ambiguous question mark.

Development
According to Suzuki, Yu Jin is supposed to be the new character "who does a 180" of everyone's expectations regarding his exploits. Since he is often viewed as a crestfallen or despicable person in historical texts or his non-playable appearances, he wanted the playable Yu Jin to stand out as an "upright general who is sure of himself". Suzuki wanted a happy ending for him under this image, although he wonders how the team will fare thinking up stories for him in subsequent titles. Yu Jin's design was based more on his stern facial features rather than his outfit to help convey his sense of duty as a strict officer.

Personality
For his playable appearance, Yu Jin is portrayed as a man who strictly follows the law and emphasizes military discipline. He often uses threats of execution to motivate his subordinates and intimidate his enemies, making him feared by both. Yu Jin shows no hesitation to punish anyone for anything he deems as an inconvenience for the army, even considering punishing Cai Wenji, who he was ordered to rescue (but was then backed down when Li Dian pleaded for her). His strictness, however, often causes many of his men and allies to avoid him, causing him to suffer from loneliness.

Although he does not show it very openly, Yu Jin cares deeply for the soldiers under his care, and he often ensures to make discipline a priority among them to keep them from suffering a humiliating punishment. If he is not saved in DW8's Fan Castle, Yu Jin's first priority upon surrendering is to request that his men be spared from death.

His relationship with Pang De often shows mutual respect between the two. While Pang De respects Yu Jin's strong spirit and calm demeanor, Yu Jin praises Pang De for his readiness to accept death more easily.

Voice Actors

 * Joshua Tomar - Dynasty Warriors 8: Xtreme Legends (English)
 * Cam Clarke - Kessen II (English)
 * Atsushi Miyauchi - Dynasty Warriors 8: Xtreme Legends (Japanese)
 * Daisuke Sakaguchi - Kessen II (Japanese)
 * Itaru Yamamoto - Sangokushi Legion

Quotes

 * See also: Yu Jin/Quotes


 * "You will not like the outcome of this encounter."


 * "Master Yu Jin, I was hoping you could lend me your troops. What do you say?"
 * "I have no objections to that. However, I would like an explanation."
 * "Your troop's coordination is perfect. They are so refined and a thing of beauty! With some training, I shall make them the finest dance troupe anyone has ever seen!"
 * "Hmmm... On second thought, I regret to say that I cannot lend you my troops."
 * Zhang He and Yu Jin; Dynasty Warriors 8: Xtreme Legends


 * "You always look so serious. How about loosening up and having a bit of fun, at least when not in battle?"
 * "Thank you for the advice. However, times of peace are the very moments you need to be preparing for the next battle."
 * "That's a staunch way of viewing things. You'll only scare your own men off with that kind of thinking."
 * "I care not if they dislike me. If it means that more of them will follow you and Master Cao Cao, I am fine with that."
 * "So you willingly accept the role of the bad guy? I don't think I could live like that."
 * Xiahou Yuan and Yu Jin; Dynasty Warriors: Godseekers

Gameplay
Yu Jin is affiliated with the war trident in this appearance. When he is equipped with it, he can perform unique attacks exclusive to him. Upon performing his Musou techniques, he will automatically use the weapon in his attacks.


 * EX Attack 1:, undefined, undefined: Leaps up and stabs weapon to the ground.
 * EX Attack 2:, , , undefined, undefined: Does a criss-cross slicing motion before using the intersection of the trail to perform a strong thrust.
 * Musou - Cauterization (灼絶): : Unleashes a fire pillar and explodes.
 * Alternate Musou - Hell Blade (獄刃): R1 + : Creates and blasts a powerful energy wave.
 * Aerial Musou - Thunder Slash (雷断):, : Hurls a huge bolt of lightning into the crowd below.
 * Awakening Musou:

Weapons
Yu Jin uses the war trident as his default weapon.

Historical Information
Yu Jin originated from the Juping county in the Taishan prefecture. His son is Yu Gui.

When the Yellow Turbans rose in rebellion against the Han, Yu Jin served under Bao Xin who was recruiting soldiers in Juping county. However, he would later come to serve Cao Cao, who was gathering an army to combat Dong Zhuo. Yu Jin was installed as a subordinate of the respecting Wang Lang, and Wang Lang recommended for him to become a general. After meeting and having a discussion with Yu Jin, Cao Cao promoted him to the position of a commander.

The governor of Xu province, Tao Qian, had Cao Cao's father killed and so Cao Cao led a punitive campaign for Xu. Yu Jin served there, as well as during the battle against Lu Bu at Puyang, where he was successful in conquering some few camps as well as the general Gao Ya. He also met success with the quelling of Zhang Miao's rebellion, subduing of remaining Yellow Turban generals including Liu Pi. Yu Jin's accomplishments during the expeditions include defeating Zhang Miao's brother, Zhang Chao, repelling a night-conducted ambush, capturing a multitude of enemy soldiers, and killing four of Yuan Shu's generals.

Zhang Xiu unexpectedly rebelled and led a raid in Wan Castle against Cao Cao. Yu Jin's contingent was the only one defending while his army withdrew, and soon Yu Jin begun an orderly retreat, later reorganizing before a group of naked, injured people came before him. When asked regarding what had happened, the people replied that they were robbed by some Yellow Turban remnants Cao Cao had taken in. They had not been strictly disciplined, so the Yellow Turbans began to grow bolder and so at the time started pillaging peoples.

Angry, Yu Jin met the rebels, denounced them, and attacked, so they ran to Cao Cao, accusing Yu Jin of attacking them without reason. Yu Jin ordered his troops to set up camp for a defense against the pursuing troops of Zhang Xiu, despite pleas to clear his name with Cao Cao. Only when the set-up was complete Yu Jin went to see Cao Cao and cleared up his name. Cao Cao praised him highly and appointed him as Marquis of Continuous Longevity.

Yu Jin would later achieve much in the campaigns to finish off Zhang Xiu and Lu Bu. In the operations against Yuan Shao, Yu Jin volunteered to become the vanguard leader and was greatly praised once again by Cao Cao. Liu Bei rose in rebellion in Xu province, and so Cao Cao mobilized against him, leaving Yu Jin in Yanjin. Yuan Shao attacked Yu Jin while Cao Cao was away, but was unable to take the base over because of Yu Jin's ferocity in defending it. Yu Jin and Yue Jin countered the attacks by raiding the nearby enemy camps, burning over thirty bases, causing two powerful Yuan generals to surrender, and either killing or capturing many. Yu Jin was promoted to Major-General after attacking more fortifications and followed Cao Cao back to Guandu, where he rallied his demoralized men's morale to defeat Yuan Shao.

In 206 AD, Chang Xi, who was both a friend of Yu Jin's and a constant rebel towards Cao Cao, rose up in opposition once again. Yu Jin was able to get Chang Xi to surrender. The other generals wanted to send Chang Xi to Cao Cao for further action, but Yu Jin knew the military code and despite the friendship, had Chang Xi executed. He wept at the man's funeral, and Cao Cao began to fully utilize Yu Jin, promoting him to General of Tiger's Might after he pacified Tonghai. Zhang Liao was able to prevail against the rebelling Chen Lan and Mei Cheng with Yu Jin's aid.

Yu Jin was sent to assist Cao Ren in warding off a general of Liu Bei, Guan Yu, from Fan Castle. The season permitted heavy rain, and the land was flooded. Yu Jin and his soldiers took onto a higher ground, but Guan Yu attacked them with his army on a large boat. The men of Cao were captured, and Yu Jin surrendered, while a fellow officer, Pang De, refused to surrender and was executed. Cao Cao, upon hearing the events, lamented how Yu Jin had been an actively loyal general for more than two decades, yet he failed to honor the duty of dying for one's lord, unlike Pang De.

When the forces of Sun Quan surprised and captured Guan Yu, Yu Jin was released.

The heir of Cao Cao, Cao Pi, usurped the emperor and started the Wei dynasty. Yu Jin, whose hair was graying, was summoned to an audience with Cao Pi, and Yu Jin collapsed and wept upon seeing him. Cao Pi comforted Yu Jin and ordered him to be sent off as an emissary to Sun Quan, but before doing so had to honor Cao Cao at his mausoleum in Ye. Cao Pi had had men paint murals beforehand, and the murals depicted the battle of Fan Castle with Pang De angered at Guan Yu's victory, and Yu Jin surrendering. After seeing the mural, Yu Jin became sick and died.

Yu Jin was known for his extremely strict adherence to military law. He also shared his spoils from the enemy with his men, and many generals, including Cao Cao held him in great respect. However, it has been observed that Yu Jin could not win his soldiers' hearts to the fullest extent.

Trivia

 * Yu Jin is nicknamed "General Gan" (干将军) by Chinese-speaking players due to a spelling error found in one of the trailers for Dynasty Warriors 8 Xtreme Legends.