Guan Suo

Guan Suo (関索, onyomi: Kan Saku) is Guan Yu's fictional third son and the younger brother of Guan Ping and Guan Xing. He is a famous subject for Beijing opera who wedded four exotic wives. Three Kingdoms fiction may use Guan Suo as their archetype hero for Shu to expand the romanticized lionhearted perception of Guan Yu or the empire.

Prior to his playable Dynasty Warriors appearance, he was a Shu NPC since Dynasty Warriors 2. Gamecity's Dynasty Warriors 7 character popularity poll has him at forty-sixth place out of sixty-two characters; he placed sixty-seventh in the Dynasty Warriors 8: Xtreme Legends popularity poll. The latest poll for the eighth installment puts him in seventieth. The character poll for overseas fans puts him in twenty-second place for the Shu division.

Dynasty Warriors
Usually appearing beside his father, Guan Suo is a secondary general for Shu throughout the Dynasty Warriors series. Depending on the title, he may appear as early as Chang Ban and will continue to appear for the later battles for Shu, such as Yi Ling and Nan Zhong.

For his playable appearance in Dynasty Warriors 7, Guan Suo is Guan Yu's biological son who accompanies his father and older brother in Shu's version of Fan Castle. He prepares the troops for the castle assault. When they are surrounded by enemy troops, he tries to protect his father during their escape. Reaching a cliff overlooking a river, Guan Yu decides to sacrifice himself for his son's safety by pushing Guan Suo into the raging waters below. Guan Suo returns to Shu and appears in Yiling in an attempt to avenge his father's death. After the battle, he appears again in Jin's Story Mode to continue defending Shu. Like other surviving warriors for Shu, he dies in battle during their final defense at Chengdu.

His first Legendary Battle entails his escape from Wu, continuing from Fan Castle in Story Mode. As he fights for his survival in Jing Province, he meets and rescues a mysterious girl who introduces herself as Bao Sanniang. After explaining a bit of his history as he protects her, Guan Suo expects her to return home after the battle. She instead fawns over his heroic charisma and follows him. Guan Suo's second Legendary Battle has Zhuge Liang name him commander of the Southern Campaign in Nanzhong. To not shame his father's name and reputation, Guan Suo works together with Bao Sanniang to pacify the area. After conquering Nanzhong, his third Legendary Battle has Zhuge Liang order Shu to attack Wei in a final confrontation for peace. Guan Suo remarks he can finally avenge his father by defeating Sima Yi once and for all. Upon their victory, he thinks of his late father and older brother and declares he will use all he can muster to protect Shu in their place.

Guan Suo makes his appearance in Dynasty Warriors Next during the Three Kingdoms scenarios. He and Bao Sanniang are charged with defending Changsha in other chapters besides Shu. Wu's scenario has him escape their version of Fan Castle. He dies in a duel with Cao Pi in Wei's Chengdu battle. Jin's rendition of that battle has him and Jiang Wei employ an ambush on Sima Yi. In Shu's version of Fan Castle, Guan Suo helps his family survive and receives warm praise from his father. He survives in this chapter's ending.

In Dynasty Warriors 8 Guan Suo reprises his role from the previous installment. When he and his family are surrounded by Wu forces at Fan Castle, he offers to sacrifice himself so the others can escape. But Guan Yu knocks him unconscious and he is carried away by Guan Yinping. In the hypothetical route, Guan Suo fights alongside his siblings and Bao Sanniang at Nanzhong.

During Wei's storyline in the Xtreme Legends expansion, Guan Suo will guard the flood gates of Fan Castle during Guan Ping's absence, and must be defeated in order to flood the Wu troops. He joins his father's last stand at Maicheng where he will impede Wei's attempts to set ladders at the central cliff. At Xinye, he will appear among the Shu reinforcements who are trying to breach Cao Ren's formation.

In Dynasty Warriors: Unleashed, the player must help a grieving Guan Suo escape from Fan Castle with his surviving siblings. While still in disbelief over his father's defeat, he is reminded to stay alive in order to avenge him in the next battle.

Guan Suo's bond story explores his past as a child who somehow got separated from his parents. Adopted by a loving family, he took an interest in martial arts and trained under Hua Yue at Banshi Cave. As the years went by, his birth mother finally located him, having believed he was still alive all this time. From her, he learns the identity of his father and sets out to meet him.

Although Guan Yu does not initially believe his claims, Zhang Fei convinces him to at least see the mother just to be certain. After recognizing the woman as the wife he left behind to follow Liu Bei, he officially acknowledges Guan Suo as his son and even holds a feast to commemorate the joyous occasion.

Guan Suo's Story Mode in Dynasty Warriors 9 begins with joining the rest of his siblings and Zhou Cang with aiding Guan Yu in attacking Fan Castle, only to find their escape cut off by the Wu forces having reneged on their alliance with Shu and sided with Wei to take back Jing Province by force after Liu Bei gave them the cold shoulder one time too many when they asked for Jing Province be returned diplomatically and were refused. Suo, Xing, and Yinping escape back to Chengdu, but their father, brother, and Zhou Cang perish covering their escape.

Guan Suo, aided by his surviving siblings and the children of Zhang Fei after he was slain by Wu assassins, attempt revenge at Yiling, but their forces are decimated by Zhu Ran's fire attack, forcing them to retreat to Baidi Castle, with Liu Bei passing away shortly thereafter from guilt and grief. With Zhuge Liang now leading them under Liu Shan, Guan Suo aids in defeating a five-pronged assault on Chengdu by Cao Pi, gaining the support of the Nanman people in Nanzhong, and supporting Zhuge Liang in his northern campaigns against Wei at Tianshui and Wuzhang Plains. Some time after the Battle of Wuzhang Plains, Guan Suo, and his wife, Bao Sanniang, pass away, leaving Guan Yinping as the only member of their family to continue aiding Shu until Liu Shan's surrender to Sima Zhao and the Wei/Jin forces.

Warriors Orochi
In Musou OROCHI Z, Guan Suo serves as Guan Ping's replacement officer when players assume the latter's role in one of the original dream stages.

In the original timeline of Warriors Orochi 3, he was heavily surrounded by the serpent army at Mt. Niutou. His whereabouts after the encounter are unknown to the coalition until Nene tracks him down. Bao Sanniang and company return to the past to save him, thus leading to his allegiance in the altered future. As a member of the coalition, he helps Liu Shan pacify the once peaceful Liang Province after learning that the province housed both humans and demons living in harmony. There, where they met Yoshimoto and Motochika and were mistaken as those that would disrupt the peace. When the demon army arrives and begins attacking Yoshimoto, Guan Suo and the others move to stop the demon army. Seeing that their desire of peace will not return in the near future, Yoshimoto and Motochika agree to join the Coalition as thanks for their help.

The Ultimate expansion has him return to Shu after Hydra's defeat. He appears among Liu Bei's forces during Kyūbi's sudden intervention at Liang Province. He also appears among the reinforcements aiding Pang Tong at Mt. Niutou. At Jiange, however, he is deceived by Bao Sanniang into leading a separate detachment of the Shu-Tokugawa army to attack his father. After the battle, he apologizes for causing trouble, but the Coalition forces reassure him that Kyūbi's deception was incredibly powerful. In mirror realm version, Taigong Wang senses the fake Bao Sanniang and orders Guan Yu to fake his death. Guan Suo falls for the ruse and lays down his arms to investigate the matter allowing the Coalition to ambush the fake Bao Sanniang during her attempt to escape.

Guan Suo, like most of Liu Shan's party, is forced to serve Athena against the other humans in Warriors Orochi 4 after the goddess imprisoned the prince. When Liu Shan is freed from imprisonment and arrives at Sekigahara, Guan Suo and the other Shu officers immediately defect and join Guan Yu and Guan Yinping's forces to attack Athena. After the battle, he gratefully joins the Coalition.

After becoming a part of the Coalition, Guan Suo accompanies Xingcai and Pang Tong in investigating a disturbance in the Mystic Realm that has also attracted Athena. To their shock, the revived Orochi X appears and begins attacking both the Coalition and Athena. Although they make it out safely, Athena quickly returns back to her father's army and refuses to cooperate with the Coalition again.

Dynasty Tactics
He can be recruited as an optional general in Dynasty Tactics 2.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Romance of the Three Kingdoms has Guan Suo appear as an officer of Liu Bei's faction prior to the Battle of Fan Castle and is available for use well after the Battle of Wuzhang Plains. Among Guan Yu's children, Guan Suo boasts the highest War stat landing somewhere in the high 80's while his Leadership and Charisma rank in the 70's. In contrast, his Intelligence and Politics stats are roughly below average and fare poorly when compared to his elder brothers. Romance of the Three Kingdoms XI features his wives (from the Hua Guan Suo Zhuan and Hua Man) as extra fictional officers.

100man-nin no Sangokushi abbreviates his Hua Guan Suo Zhuan story in a historical episode event. He begins his journey protecting his mother as he heads towards Jing Province. Along the way, he defeats Bao Sanniang and travels with her. He decides to apprehend the thieving bandit, Wang Linggong, and unwittingly earns the ire of his foe's daughters, Wang Tao and Wang Yue. After he pacifies the sisters, they have faith in his honest intentions and join his journey east. Zhang Fei is unfamiliar with the youth, but he reports that they're under attack by Cao Cao's forces. Guan Suo defeats Zhang Liao and his bravery is recognized by his father.

Development
Since he is a popular subject for various legends and folklore with Chinese locals, Guan Suo was added into the cast. In ode to his name as Hua Guan Suo, the flower ornament was added to his character. He was at first a typical young good looking male, but his muscled arms and physique were fashioned to be in honor of his father. The producer adds that a comical, sarcastic element crept into his design sometime during his development process, so he strays a bit from the pretty-boy image. To contrast Guan Ping's sharp image, Guan Suo was developed with softer edges. His preference for using quick nunchucks is supposed to be the direct opposite of Guan Ping's heavier and slower gigantic sword.

Personality
Guan Suo is a young man who takes his duties very seriously. Compared to his stern father and older brother, Guan Suo is a bit light-hearted and is a little wet behind the ears. Even if he doesn't always believe in himself, he uses earnest effort to overcome any shortcomings he thinks he may have. He seeks to someday become a warrior worthy of his father's name. Born with a handsome constitution, he may unintentionally attract women. He compliments the ladies he encounters, voicing his honest praise without sarcasm or jest as a gesture of politeness. According to the soldiers at Fan Castle, he is extremely popular with the ladies in Shu, but his obliviousness to their affections often ends up hurting them severely. Guan Suo speaks with a relatively modern day dialect in the Japanese script as a contrast to Guan Ping and his father, using courtesy if needed.

Like Guan Ping, he strives to become the spitting image of his father. However, he feels he is inept to follow in his father's complete footsteps. Guan Yu assures his son that he is proud of him, no matter how he decides to raise himself as a warrior and encourages his son to follow his own path in life. Guan Suo shares a close brotherhood with Guan Ping, as the united brothers' vigor is viewed as the pride of Shu's army. For his Warriors Orochi appearance, he becomes one of Yoshimoto's kemari buddies. In the fourth installment, Magoichi becomes jealous of Guan Suo's popularity with women and is frustrated by the youth's denseness in finding a romantic partner. Kyūbi is put off by Guan Suo's genuine compliments towards her beauty and remarks that he is "truly frightening".

Although they met by pure coincidence, Guan Suo is happy to have met Bao Sanniang since she offers him light-hearted optimism and support, while simultaneously being oblivious to her romantic affections. While he continues to struggle with his self-image and expectations for his future, Guan Suo is confident that he is at least strong enough to protect her from danger. Her enthusiasm in battle inspires him to try harder as well.

Voice Actors

 * Grant George - Dynasty Warriors 6 (English-uncredited)
 * Spike Spencer - Dynasty Warriors 7~8 (English-uncredited)
 * Hiroaki Miura - Dynasty Warriors 7~9, Warriors Orochi 3~4 (Japanese)
 * Maxwell Chase - Dynasty Warriors 9 (English)
 * Xiao She - Dynasty Warriors 9 (Chinese)
 * Masahito Yabe - Youkai Sangokushi (Japanese)
 * Yugo Sekiguchi - Sangokushi Hadou (Japanese)

Quotes

 * See also: Guan Suo/Quotes


 * "If my father were here I know that he would be proud of me."


 * "You've grown so much stronger! How about we see who's the strongest, huh?"
 * "Of course! We'll train together, and someday reach the same heights as our father."
 * Guan Ping and Guan Suo; Dynasty Warriors 7


 * "I will defend Shu and honor my dead father and brother!"
 * "If it isn't Guan Yu's son... But none will ever replace your father, boy."
 * Guan Suo and Cao Cao; Dynasty Warriors Next


 * "Brother, you seem distant again. What's on your mind?"
 * "Oh, it's you, Guan Suo... I was just wondering... Will we be able to grow beards like Father's?"
 * "Hmm... Yeah, I think it'll happen eventually."
 * "I thought so. I wonder if long beards like that will suit us though..."
 * Guan Suo and Guan Xing; Dynasty Warriors 8


 * "Master Guan Suo, I have seen you in action! You have strong, skillful legs."
 * "Thank you. I still have a long way to go, however..."
 * "That's where I come in! Let's start your special training right away!"
 * Yoshimoto and Guan Suo; Warriors Orochi 3


 * "So as I said, I'm Magoichi Saika, the most handsome man round these parts. Come and I'll buy you a drink, and we can talk."
 * "Thank you very much, Master Magoichi."
 * "So tell me, Guan Suo, do you often have women chasing after you, screaming out your name? That's surprising. You're a good-looking guy. Me, all I have to do is step outside, and... See, here they come! Oh, and from the other direction as well! And from over there-- they can't get enough of me!"
 * "You're right... You're incredible, Master Magoichi."
 * "Huh? They're shouting "Lord Guan Suo!" Hey, they're all here calling out your name..."
 * "I'm sorry, did you say something, Master Magoichi?"
 * "You... Have you not even noticed?"
 * "Noticed? Noticed what?"
 * "He doesn't even know what he's got... Well, whatever. Let's forget about them, and get that drink, Guan Suo!"
 * Magoichi and Guan Suo; Warriors Orochi 4

Gameplay

 * See also: Guan Suo/Movesets

Weapons

 * See also: Guan Suo/Weapons

Dynasty Warriors 8
Guan Suo still uses the nunchaku as his default weapon in this title. But starting in Dynasty Warriors 8: Empires, his new weapons of choice are the sabatons.

Chinese Fiction
In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Guan Suo is the third son of Guan Yu. He doesn't appear until Zhuge Liang begins his campaign against the Nanman. He explains that:

"After the fall of Jingzhou, I was hidden by the Bao family from where I wanted to go to the River Lands to ask the First Ruler for a revenge against my father. But I fell in illness, which was long and severe, and I only just recovered. I was then travelling towards Chengdu to meet with the Latter Ruler, when I met the army in the south expedition. I know that vengeance has been taken upon the murderers of my father. And now I want to present myself to the Prime Minister."

Zhuge Liang sent word of his arrival to the court and gave Guan Suo a post as Van Leader. He made several contributions in the southern campaign, but was not referred to in the novel again after the surrender of Meng Huo.

In 1967, eleven volumes of stories were discovered in a grave dating from the Ming Dynasty in the Jiading District, Shanghai. Four of the volumes centered on Guan Suo, which described his history while loosely based in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms setting. These four volumes have been transcribed and compiled into what is now known as Hua Guan Suo Zhuan (花関索伝). While the state of the original text is difficult to decipher, it is generally believed that these tales were a collection of hearsay and gossip made in an attempt to expand Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

After Liu Bei, Zhang Fei, and Guan Yu swore their brotherhood to one another, the Hua Guan Suo Zhuan says that they decided to make their family ties official. They did so by inviting every member of their biological families to a banquet in order to kill them. As Zhang Fei raced toward Guan Yu's family, he saw a single pregnant woman named Hu Jinquan -also argued as one of Guan Yu's mistresses. Not having the courage to strike her down, he allowed only her to escape. She returned to her home with the Hu family and gave birth to a boy.

When the boy was seven, he was stranded from his mother and was picked up by Squire Suo. Two years later, Squire Suo was told by his master to adopt the boy into his family and the boy was named Suo Tong. Suo Tong was taught by Squire Suo's master, Master Huayue, until he was eighteen. As he was coming home one day, he bravely fought off bandits in the mountains. His master was aware of his potential and Suo Tong left his master to make a name for himself. He reunited with his mother, who told him that he was actually Guan Yu's son. Although his father from the Hu family looked nothing like the famed general, Suo Tong decided to honor his mother's story. From then on, he called himself Hua Guan Suo to honor the prominent male figures in his life. Wanting to reunite with his father, Hua Guan Suo made his way to Xichuan. During his journey, he killed Song Jingang and married his three wives.

One day, Pang Tong and Zhuge Liang had a dream regarding Hua Guan Suo. Pang Tong conducted a divination that revealed that a prominent general would have a new third son and Zhuge Liang concluded that general would be Guan Yu. Meanwhile, Yao Bin, a vassal of Wu, surrendered to Guan Yu. Guan Yu accepted the general and they became sworn brothers. Yao Bin, however, disguised himself as Guan Yu and stole Guan Yu's horse on the same night to escape. Guan Yu was alarmed by the betrayal and a manhunt for the fugitive spread throughout Liu Bei's army. Yao Bin had met Hua Guan Suo on the road and tried to pass himself off as Guan Yu. Hu Jinquan saw through the ruse and Zhang Fei arrived shortly to inform them of the situation. With this knowledge, Hua Guan Suo pursued Yao Bin and cut him down. During their pursuit, Cao Cao's army attacked Guan Yu and Hua Guan Suo helped his brother and Zhao Yun to claim victory. Upon meeting his father, Guan Yu couldn't believe Hu Jinquan's story. Hua Guan Suo was upset and threatened to join Cao Cao's troops to force his father to accept him, but Guan Yu eventually believed Hu Jinquan when Zhang Fei supported her. He was then designated as Guan Yu's third adopted son.

Hua Guan Suo continued to fight beside his father's forces until he fell ill. He and his wives were transported to Yunnan to recover until Jiang Wei visited him to inform him of Guan Yu's death. Hua Guan Suo was then brought to Master Huayue and his illness was cured. He led troops to avenge his father and uncle, encountering Lu Xun and Yan Zhao. Suffering defeat, he lost his brother, Guan Ping, and Zhang Yi. In despair, he fainted and met his father's spirit in the spiritual realm. Gaining his father's permission to use the blade at his grave, Hua Guan Suo eventually found it, killed Yan Zhao, and captured Lu Xun. He also captured Lu Meng and killed the two generals who betrayed his father, Mi Zhu and Mi Fang. Sacrificing Lu Xun and Lu Meng before Guan Yu and Zhang Fei's graves, he avenged his family.

Soon after, Liu Bei died of illness and Zhuge Liang decided to resume his training in hermitage. Hua Guan Suo succumbed to illness as well and his wives and subordinates disbanded. Although the original story allegedly ends here, different editions expand the story to have Hua Guan Suo instead die in battle during the Nanman campaigns or during Shu's later fall. He sometimes only succeeds in defeating Lu Meng in certain editions.