Dynasty Warriors 8

Shin Sangoku Musou 7 (真・三國無双7) is the eighth installment of the Dynasty Warriors series. It is based on the seventh title's system and visuals.

First print incentives include Sangokushi 12 costumes for Zhao Yun and Sun Shangxiang. The game's pre-order bonuses are smartphone pouches designed after characters from the Three Kingdoms and Jin. The Treasure Box edition of the game includes an original soundtrack, a 3D crystal file, and an illustration book.

Gameplay

 * Story Mode is like the previous game but is similar to Dynasty Warriors 4 with additional "what if" stories. For example if players save a character who is meant to die in a certain stage, they will live past their historic death date and participate in battles later on in the story, altering it due to their presence. Also, the stories of the Three Kingdoms will begin at different points rather than starting at the same event.
 * The weapon switch system returns including all previous weapons from Dynasty Warriors 7 and its expansions. New EX weapons and jump charges are also being included as well.
 * Characters have three Musous:, R1 + , and +  (aerial). The first two have distinct purposes: one is for crowd control and the other is for dealing with stronger individuals. Characters have three musou bars in stock.
 * A level up system similar to the one from Dynasty Warriors 6 will be used in this game.
 * Holding L2 allows players to call and ride their current horse automatically.
 * There is a new weapon elemental system: 天 (Heaven), 地 (Earth), and 人 (People). These three properties have a triangular relationship which determines their affinity with one another. A weapon of any type can randomly receive any elemental affinity.
 * Heaven has an advantage over People.
 * Earth has an advantage over Heaven.
 * People has an advantage over Earth.
 * Weapon seals from the previous title are replaced with a new tempering system used for customizing and crafting weapons.
 * New weapon affinities provide different effects depending on the weapon type used by the player and their opponents.
 * Storm Rush - Enables player to break enemy guard and attack rapidly. Hits as long as the opponent's weapon affinity is worse and their vigor gauge is depleted. However, the bonus effects gradually fades every time the player attacks.
 * Variable Counter - When facing an opponent with the advantageous weapon affinity, the player can perform a counterattack to blow surrounding enemies away whilst switching weapons.
 * Awakening Musou - Activated after meeting specific conditions, this effect greatly increases the player's stats and allows them to perform an Awakening Musou attack. If the attack is used to defeat multiple enemies, it will turn into a True Awakening Musou, which causes the fallen to drop better stat-increasing items. During this state, the player's musou stacks will merge into a single gauge reminiscent to those seen in past titles.
 * A new type of difficulty setting allows players to perform various combos with a single button.
 * Downloadable content so far includes costumes.

Characters
Over 70 playable characters will be in this title. The new characters revealed so far are:
 * Yue Jin
 * Li Dian
 * Lu Su
 * Zhang Bao
 * Guan Xing
 * Guan Yinping
 * Jia Chong
 * Zhang Chunhua

Related Media
A voice actor event using this game's visuals and characters is scheduled to take place in Tokyo on March 3, 2013. The event's title is Shin Sangoku Musou Seiyuu Ranbu 2013 Spring.