Dynasty Warriors 3/Musou Mode

The series's staple of providing a cinematic experience in Musou Mode began with this game; it is a severe contrast to the simple beat-em-up presentation from the previous title. Characters must now fight in stages vaguely synonymous to their Romance of the Three Kingdoms counterparts when they are selected within this mode. Most characters fight seven battles; Liu Bei, Cao Cao, and Sun Jian have ten stages. Pre-rendered cutscenes and filler battles are now included to fill in missing gaps between major stages.

Other characters aren't playable within this mode until the Xtreme Legends expansion.

Character Specific Requirements
Certain characters can be unlocked from this mode.


 * * can be unlocked by starting the game with a Dynasty Warriors 2 save file.


 * Zhuge Liang, Wei Yan *, Ma Chao *  - Clear Musou Mode with any Shu character.
 * Liu Bei, Huang Zhong - Clear Musou Mode with two Shu characters.
 * Jiang Wei - Clear Musou Mode with Zhuge Liang.
 * Pang Tong - Ensure his survival during Shu's Assault on Cheng Du.
 * Sima Yi, Xu Zhu *, Zhen Ji *  - Clear Musou Mode with any Wei character.
 * Cao Cao, Xu Huang - Clear Musou Mode with two Wei characters.
 * Xiahou Yuan - Defeat him at Battle of Mt. Ding Jun.
 * Zhang Liao - Defeat him in the Battle at He Fei.
 * Lu Xun *, Da Qiao *  - Clear Musou Mode with any Wu character.
 * Taishi Ci - Eliminate Liu Yong before defeating Taishi Ci during the Assault on Wu Territory.
 * Sun Jian, Sun Ce - Clear Musou Mode with two Wu characters.
 * Sun Quan - Trigger the following events in the Battle at He Fei on Wu's side: Taishi Ci's death, Sun Quan jumping over the bridge, Zhang Liao's attack, and Gan Ning appearing as reinforcements during Sun Quan's counterattack.
 * Lu Meng - Ensure his survival during Wu's Battle at Fan Castle.
 * Gan Ning - Defeat him in Wei's Battle at He Fei.
 * Xiao Qiao - Clear Musou Mode with Zhou Yu or Da Qiao.
 * Diao Chan - Defeat her in the Battle at Hu Lao Gate.
 * Dong Zhuo - Defeat him and Diao Chan during the Battle at Hu Lao Gate.
 * Lu Bu - Score at least 1,000 K.O.s during the Battle at Hu Lao Gate.
 * Yuan Shao - Defeat Yan Liang and Wen Chou during the Battle at Guan Du.
 * Zhang Jiao - Defeat Zhang Jiao, Zhang Liang, and Zhang Bao during the Yellow Turban Rebellion.
 * Meng Huo - Defeat him seven times during the Nanman Campaign.
 * Zhu Rong - Defeat her during the Nanman Campaign.
 * Fu Xi - Clear Musou Mode with Liu Bei, Cao Cao, and Sun Jian.
 * Nu Wa - Clear Musou Mode with every other female character.

Alternatively, players may opt to unlock all characters in the English version of the game by inputting the following code on the menu screen: R2 (thrice), L1, undefined, L2 (thrice), R1,. The code sequence for the Japanese version is, R1, undefined, L1, undefined, R2, , L2.

Xtreme Legends Musou Mode
Other characters (minus Fu Xi and Nu Wa) have their own unique "what-if" scenarios. Each stage adds twists that vary from character to character, and even filler battles are treated as respectable story battles. Players can unlock a fireworks display during the ending scene by clearing the game with certain officers as well as those from the original Musou Mode.

The stars in the chart below indicate the respective difficulty level for each scenario. The more black stars there are, the harder the stage.

Lu Bu

 * 1) The Battle at Hu Lao Gate (Dong Zhuo's Forces vs Allied Forces)
 * 2) The Battle at Guan Du (Dong Zhuo's Forces vs Cao Cao's Forces)
 * 3) The Battle at Wan Castle (Dong Zhuo's Forces vs Allied Forces)
 * 4) The Battle of Chang Ban (Dong Zhuo's Forces vs Liu Bei's Forces)
 * 5) The Siege of He Fei Castle (Dong Zhuo's Forces vs Wu Forces)
 * 6) Diao Chan's Escape (Lu Bu's Forces vs Diao Chan's Forces)
 * 7) The Battle at Chi Bi (Lu Bu's Forces vs Dong Zhuo's Forces)

Diao Chan

 * 1) The Battle at Hu Lao Gate (Dong Zhuo's Forces vs Allied Forces)
 * 2) The Battle at Guan Du (Dong Zhuo's Forces vs Cao Cao's Forces)
 * 3) The Battle at He Fei (Dong Zhuo's Forces vs Wu Forces)
 * 4) The Battle of Mt. Ding Jun (Dong Zhuo's Forces vs Shu Forces)
 * 5) The Battle at Yi Ling (Dong Zhuo's Forces vs Shu Forces)
 * 6) The Battle at Chi Bi (Lu Bu's Forces vs Dong Zhuo's Forces)
 * 7) Diao Chan's Escape (Diao Chan's Forces vs Lu Bu's Forces)

Dong Zhuo

 * 1) The Battle at Hu Lao Gate (Dong Zhuo's Forces vs Allied Forces)
 * 2) The Battle at Guan Du (Dong Zhuo's Forces vs Cao Cao's Forces)
 * 3) Raid on the Rogue Fortress (Dong Zhuo's Forces vs Bandits)
 * 4) The Battle at He Fei (Dong Zhuo's Forces vs Wu Forces)
 * 5) The Battle at Tong Gate (Dong Zhuo's Forces vs Ma Chao's Forces)
 * 6) The Battle at Wu Zhang Plains (Dong Zhuo's Forces vs Shu Forces)
 * 7) The Battle at Chi Bi (Dong Zhuo's Forces vs Lu Bu's Forces)

Yuan Shao

 * 1) The Battle at Hu Lao Gate (Allied Forces vs Dong Zhuo's Forces)
 * 2) The Battle at Guan Du (Yuan Shao's Forces vs Cao Cao's Forces)
 * 3) The Battle at Chang Ban (Yuan Shao's Forces vs Liu Bei's Forces)
 * 4) The Battle at Fan Castle (Yuan Shao's Forces vs Allied Forces)
 * 5) The Battle at He Fei (Yuan Shao's Forces vs Wu Forces)
 * 6) The Battle of Jie Ting (Yuan Shao's Forces vs Wei Forces)
 * 7) The Battle at Wu Zhang Plains (Yuan Shao's Forces vs Wei Forces)

Zhang Jiao

 * 1) Battle of Ru Nan (Yellow Turbans vs Han Forces)
 * 2) The Mountain Bandit Campaign (Yellow Turbans vs Rogues)
 * 3) The Battle of Chang Ban (Yellow Turbans vs Han Forces)
 * 4) Surprise Attack on Liu Biao (Yellow Turbans vs Han Forces)
 * 5) The Battle at Chi Bi (Yellow Turbans vs Han Forces)
 * 6) The Battle at Yi Ling (Yellow Turbans vs Shu Forces)
 * 7) The Nanman Campaign (Yellow Turbans vs Nanman Forces)

Meng Huo

 * 1) The Nanman Campaign (Nanman Forces vs Shu Forces)
 * 2) Assault on Cheng Du (Nanman Forces vs Liu Bei's Forces)
 * 3) The Battle at Chang Ban (Nanman Forces vs Shu Forces)
 * 4) The Battle at Yi Ling (Nanman Forces vs Wu Forces)
 * 5) Assault on the Wu Territory (Nanman Forces vs Allied Forces)
 * 6) The Siege of He Fei Castle (Meng Huo's Forces vs Wei Forces)
 * 7) Battle of Ru Nan (Nanman Forces vs Allied Forces)

Zhu Rong

 * 1) The Nanman Campaign (Nanman Forces vs Shu Forces)
 * 2) Wu Navy Skirmish (Nanman Forces vs Wu Forces)
 * 3) The Battle at Chi Bi (Nanman Forces vs Wei Forces)
 * 4) The Battle at Hu Lao Gate (Nanman Forces vs Dong Zhuo's Forces)
 * 5) The Battle at You Ting (Nanman Forces vs Wu Forces)
 * 6) The Battle at He Fei (Nanman Forces vs Wu Forces)
 * 7) The Siege of He Fei Castle (Zhu Rong's Forces vs Allied Forces)