Dynasty Warriors 5

Dynasty Warriors 5 (真・三國無双 4, Shin Sangoku Musou 4) is the fifth numbered installment in the Dynasty Warriors series. So far, it's the title with the most amount of characters and number of spin-offs. The game's characters, visuals, and fighting style are also the most publicized versions to date.

Gameplay

 * The Musou Token is a new item that activates Musou Rage. The player can pick it up on the ground by killing certain soldiers, breaking certain boxes or by getting 100 K.O.s when wielding a fourth weapon. To activate it, press R3 (right analog stick). Upon activation, characters will gain a full musou bar, double his/her attack and defense and become immune to flinching from normal attacks. They can also use True Musou regardless of health, and will glow a gold color for the entire duration of the Musou Rage. To counter the effects, the Musou Token's effects only last for about 15 seconds.


 * Evolutionary attacks add an additional three attacks to a moveset. When using a weapon who's informational screen has a blue, swirling dot on it and also having a full Musou bar, players can press an additional three times after, , , , , . The first two additional attacks are regular, and the last attack's purpose is to clear crowds.


 * Dynasty Warriors 5 adds a Weight system to weapons. Weapons' weights are classified as being Light, Medium, and Heavy. Light weapons are faster compared to the other types, but have weak damage - Only at 75% capacity. Medium-weighted weapons have average speed and power, with 100% attack power. Lastly, Heavy weapons make the character attack slower, but with a 125% damage percentage.


 * Instead of the original multiple bodyguards that would accompany the player during a battle, only one bodyguard is available to have. Bodyguards are classified into grades that affect their stats, and can also have elements and abilities added to them.


 * Orbs are obtained through special conditions instead of randomly receiving them. Also, levels for the Orbs are unapparent in this game.

Characters
The game retains all characters from the previous installment and adds six new characters. This makes it so the game has forty eight characters, holding the largest cast in the entire series. The new characters are:


 * Shu: Guan Ping, Xing Cai
 * Wu: Ling Tong
 * Wei: Cao Pi, Pang De
 * Other: Zuo Ci

Stages

 * Battle of Xi Liang [Dong Zhuo Forces vs. Yellow Turbans]
 * Battle of Ji Province (Yuan Shao Forces vs. Yellow Turbans]
 * Battle of Liang Province [Dong Zhuo Forces vs. Allied Forces]
 * Struggle for Nan Zhong [Meng Huo Forces vs. Allied Forces]
 * Battle of Nan Zhong [Yellow Turbans vs. Nanman Forces]


 * The Yellow Turban Rebellion [Han Forces vs. Yellow Turbans]
 * Battle of Si Shui Gate [Allied Forces vs. Dong Zhuo Forces]
 * Battle of Hu Lao Gate [Allied Forces vs. Dong Zhuo Forces]
 * Battle of Chang Shan [Yuan Shao Forces vs. Gongsun Zan Forces]
 * Battle of Jing Province [Sun Jian Forces vs. Liu Biao Forces]
 * Battle of the Wu Territory [Sun Ce Forces vs. Allied Forces]
 * Battle of Wan Castle [Cao Cao Forces vs. Zhang Xiu Forces]
 * Battle of Xia Pi [Cao Cao Forces vs. Lu Bu Forces]
 * Battle of Guan Du [Cao Cao Forces vs. Yuan Shao Forces]
 * Guan Yu's Escape [Guan Yu Forces vs. Cao Cao Forces]
 * The Trials of Sun Ce [Sun Ce Forces vs. Yu Ji Forces]
 * Battle of Xia Kou [Sun Quan Forces vs. Huang Zu Forces]
 * Battle of Chang Ban [Liu Bei Forces vs. Cao Cao Forces]
 * Battle of Chi Bi [Allied Forces vs. Cao Cao Forces]
 * Escape from Chi Bi [Allied Forces vs. Cao Cao Forces]


 * Battle of Tong Gate [Cao Cao Forces vs. Allied Forces]
 * Battle of Cheng Du [Liu Bei Forces vs. Liu Zhang Forces]
 * Battle of He Fei [Wei Forces vs. Wu Forces]
 * The Invasion of Nan Zhong [Wu Forces vs. Nanman Forces]
 * Battle of Mt. Ding Jun [Shu Forces vs. Wei Forces]
 * Battle of Fan Castle [Allied Forces vs. Shu Forces]
 * Battle of Yi Ling [Shu Forces vs. Wu Forces]
 * Conquest of Nan Zhong [Shu Forces vs. Nanman Forces]
 * Battle of Tian Shui [Shu Forces vs. Wei Forces]
 * Battle of Jie Ting [Shu Forces vs. Wei Forces]
 * Battle of Chen Cang [Shu Forces vs. Wei Forces]
 * Battle of He Fei Castle [Wei Forces vs. Wu Forces]
 * Battle of Bai Di Castle [Shu Forces vs. Wu Forces]
 * Battle of Wu Zhang Plains [Shu Forces vs. Wei Forces]

Expansions

 * Dynasty Warriors 5: Xtreme Legends
 * Dynasty Warriors 5: Empires
 * Dynasty Warriors 5 Special: Xbox 360 and PC version of the game that combines elements with the original game and Xtreme Legends (excluding the Edit Mode and Destiny Mode features). Sports higher res graphics and includes the Japanese and English tracks. Exclusive to Eastern regions in Asia.


 * Completing Musou Mode with all of the characters unlocks all achievements to a total of 1,000 points. Every character except Zuo Ci is 20 points. Zuo Ci's ending grants 60 points.

Spin-Offs
The games listed below either use character visuals or movesets from this title.
 * Dynasty Warriors Vol. 2
 * Dynasty Warriors DS: Fighter's Battle (simplified and stylized versions)
 * Dynasty Warriors Mahjong
 * Dynasty Warriors: Online/BB
 * Warriors Orochi series

Related Media
Koei published a series of trading card game (「真・三國無双 4」トレーディングカードゲーム) based on Dynasty Warriors 5 on July 29, 2005. The cards are illustrated by Hiroyuki Suwahara. Starter box (53 cards) cost 1500 yen, while booster pack (10 cards) cost 280 yen. Available starter box including Wei set, Wu set, Shu set.

There are total 266 cards in the game, including 36 commander, 160 general, 35 strategy, 15 trap, 20 item. Booster pack include 10 cards from the set of 266.

Meister Japan created mini replicas of the game's weapons. They can be seen here, here and here.

Allusions

 * Alternate costumes for the new characters later appear in Warriors Orochi 2.
 * A particular fighting scene in The Restless caused quite a stir with movie goers, many claiming that it copied too many actions from this game's intro sequence. Though the director denied the claim, it was a somewhat popular topic for its time.