Zhao Yun

Zhao Yun is a Shu general, and is one of the Five Tiger Generals. Playable since the original Dynasty Warriors, Zhao Yun is a prominent Shu character and has become the Dynasty Warriors mascot, appearing on the covers of the mainstream Dynasty Warriors games and as the example character in the manuals' screenshots.

Dynasty Warriors
Zhao Yun originally served the warlord Gongsun Zan, an ally of Liu Bei who fought with him at Hu Lao Gate. After Gongsun Zan's death, he entered the service of Liu Bei, being drawn to the man's character and ideals. He fought an onslaught of Cao Cao's men at the Battle of Chang Ban, cutting through the enemy lines to retrieve Liu Bei's son Liu Chan. Liu Bei was so upset at Zhao Yun's endangerment that he threw his infant son on the ground for having caused Zhao Yun danger; this action was said to have caused Liu Chan's incompetence as a ruler later in life.

During the course of events in-game, Zhao Yun appears in many battles past his death. His first appearance in the Shu storyline is during the Battle of Chang Ban, which is also his most important appearance. He and Zhang Fei are the lead generals in repelling Cao Cao's men, hoping to give Liu Bei a chance to escape to safety. They succeed, although Liu Bei's forces are scattered.

In Dynasty Warriors 3, he later appears as one of the three possible Shu officers to reinforce Sun Quan's army at Chi Bi, the other two being Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. In later games when more Shu officers appear, he is usually among them. He also fights alongside Liu Bei and Pang Tong in his successful campaign to take over the kingdom of Shu from Liu Zhang at Cheng Du. Later, when Liu Bei invades Han Zhong, he provides reinforcements at Mt. Ding Jun, leading to a crucial victory against Xiahou Yuan and Zhang He. Despite being dead in the original novel, he reinforces the Shu army at the Battle of Jie Ting as well, although the battle ends canonically in failure for Shu. Finally, Zhao Yun is present at the major battles of Yi Ling and in earlier games, Wu Zhang Plains, despite being dead in the novel at the time of the latter. He and Zhuge Liang tried to persuade Liu Bei not to fight against the kingdom of Wu, and instead cooperate with them against Wei. Liu Bei refused, and Zhao Yun was killed during the campaign.

Warriors Orochi
In Warriors Orochi 2, Zhao Yun is not seen until the second battle in the Shu story mode. At the Battle of Saika Village, Zhao Yun arrives as reinforcements for Ieyasu Tokugawa along with Wei Yan. During this battle, he fights alongside Wei Yan to prepare for the fire attack on the central garrison. At the Battle of Koshi Castle, Zhao Yun is the commander of the forces attacking Kiyomori Taira. However, when he reaches and defeats Kiyomori, he finds that he is too late to stop the resurrection of Orochi.

Kessen
Zhao Yun appears as a general for Shu in Kessen II. He is a loyal captain for the Han empire and knows that Liu Bei is the last Han descendant. He helps the lord escape from Cao Cao and accompanies him when they meet Zhuge Liang. In a desperate outburst to recruit the strategist, Liu Bei shouts that he only cares about getting back Diao Chan. Once he realizes that Liu Bei only cares about a woman and not the revitalization of the empire, Zhao Yun leaves in disgust.

During his lonesome journey across the country, he overhears the townsfolk favoring Liu Bei's leadership. After some consideration, Zhao Yun raises a peasant army and recruits Jiang Wei. With this army, he returns to Shu, convinced that it's more important to serve a lord that makes the people happy.

Appearance
Zhao Yun's appearance has changed from game to game since Dynasty Warriors 3. In the original Dynasty Warriors, Zhao Yun was a purple-clad spear-wielder. In Dynasty Warriors 2 and 3, he was a young, lightly built man wearing light armor of a blue-green tint. In Dynasty Warriors 4, his face appeared much older and stockier, but his appearance was changed back the its Dynasty Warriors 3 style for Dynasty Warriors 5. In Dynasty Warriors 6 however, Zhao Yun receives the most drastic of his costume changes. He now wears entirely silver armor, with even his hands being a part of the armor. He also has a light blue scarf that is supposedly clamped from the shoulder part of his armor.

In Warriors Orochi, his alternate costume uses Yukimura's color palette.

Fighting Style
Zhao Yun fights with a spear, like several other Shu characters. He is a quick and nimble fighter of average strength. His battle cries are high-pitched and energetic, and his footwork is active. He attacks opponents with sweeping strikes and short jabs, and his musou attack is a downward diagonally-spinning attack followed by a horizontal swing of the spear to clear out enemies.

Zhao Yun is one of 13 playable characters to appear in Dynasty Warriors Advance for Nintendo's Game Boy Advance and can wield a halberd, a scythe, or a spear. He is one of the stronger Shu generals.

Quotes

 * "These natural disasters are not caused by Liu Bei! Cao Cao built a government against the will of the people! That's the cause!"
 * Zhao Yun returning to Liu Bei; Kessen II

Musou Stages
Having been a playable character since the original Dynasty Warriors, Zhao Yun is a participant in most main Shu battles during musou mode. His most important battle is the Battle of Chang Ban, where he is a lead general and hero. Zhao Yun fights with the Liu Bei/Shu forces in all battles unless noted otherwise.

Dynasty Warriors 3

 * 1) Battle of Chang Ban - major battle
 * 2) Battle of Chi Bi - fights on the Allied (Liu Bei/Sun Quan) side
 * 3) Assault on Cheng Du
 * 4) Battle of Mt. Ding Jun
 * 5) Battle of Yi Ling
 * 6) Nanman Campaign
 * 7) Battle of Wu Zhang Plains

Dynasty Warriors 5

 * 1)  Battle of Yi-Province - fights under Yuan Shao
 * 2)  Battle of Hu Lao Gate - fights under Gongsun Zan & Allied Forces
 * 3)  Battle of Chang Ban
 * 4)  Battle of Cheng Du
 * 5)  Battle of Yi Ling

Dynasty Warriors 3

 * Element: Fire
 * Basic +43, HP +74, Att +25, Def +52, Musou Gauge +80
 * Stage: Chang Ban (Liu Bei’s Forces)
 * Supply Team (starts: entry point by Zhang He, moves: Northeast).
 * Requirements: Defeat Xiahou Dun, Zhang Liao, and Zhang He. In addition to this you must also wait for Cao Cao’s reinforcements to arrive (Cao Cao arrives at the 80 minute mark) and for Liu Bei to say, “Cao Cao, so you want to end it here at Chang Ban?” (occurs at the 78 minute mark); after this happens fight anyone around Liu Bei with Zhao Yun, causing a cut scene in which Yun tells the enemy soldiers not to harm his lord. (This event can not be triggered by all characters, only Zhao Yun and some other Shu officers and cannot be triggered if Liu Bei has already reached his destination by Liu Qi’s ships). You must finish everything before Liu Qi arrives with reinforcements and the requirements may be fulfilled in any order (the supply team arrives after completion). It is suggested that you defeat Zhang He last (so you are close to the supply team).

Requirements for Obtaining Zhao Yun's 4th Weapon

 * Stage: Battle of Bo Wan Po
 * Requirement: Follow Zhuge Liang's instructions for this battle as Zhao Yun and make sure the Shu strategist enters the castle where Cao Cao is.
 * Strategy
 * It is important that Zhao Yun defeats all the generals of each trap Zhuge Liang has. Also, if you wish to make sure he gets the weapon, defeat the generals on the inside of the castle.

Requirements for Obtaining Zhao Yun's 4th Weapon

 * Stage: Battle of Cheng Du
 * Requirement: Go to the Western Gate in Castle Luo, then defeat Liu Xun and the captain of the guard. Then go out at the Northern Gate.

As the mascot
Zhao Yun is the most prolific Shu character, appearing on the Shu side of every battle in earlier games and in most battles in later ones (except for personalized battles like Fan Castle and Tong Gate). He is also the focus of the games' manuals and introductory movies, as well as the character that the character-select cursor starts on in most games.

Historical information
Zhao Yun was a major military general during the civil wars of the late Han Dynasty and during the Three Kingdoms era of China. For most of his career, Zhao Yun served the warlord Liu Bei, playing a part in the establishment of Shu Han. In literature and folklore he is lauded as the third member of the Five Tiger Generals.

Due to the limited historical records, many facts about Zhao Yun's life remain unclear or unknown. The original records in Chen Shou's Records of Three Kingdoms are only a couple of hundred words long. Pei Songzhi's annotations provide a relatively clear, though still incomplete picture of Zhao Yun's life.