Battle of Wuzhang Plains

The Battle of Wu Zhang Plains (五丈原の戦い) is the final battle of Zhuge Liang's northern campaign. In the Dynasty Warriors series, this stage often acts as the final battle between Shu and Wei. The battle usually gets a special cinematic in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms series.

Role in Games

Dynasty Warriors

In most titles of the series, an ailing Zhuge Liang leads the Shu army at Wu Zhang Plains. Wanting to uphold his promise to Liu Bei before he passes away, he often orders his armies to charge into an offensive in an attempt to gain an upper hand over Wei. The only obstacle that splits the armies is a single thin river. Zhuge Liang coordinates his army briefly but loses his life to his illness. A shooting star signals his death, which is correctly read by Sima Yi. Sima Yi orders his army to charge the withdrawing Shu troops. In order to recover from the loss, Jiang Wei takes command of the army. Jiang Wei may take the time to use Zhuge Liang's inventions to aid Shu's fleeing soldiers. Wei is taken aback and retreats. From here, the fate of either army is left to the player.

Dynasty Warriors 2 has Liu Bei and Cao Cao clashing here due to a deadlock caused by their forces. With the Five Tiger Generals and Shu's other key officers alive and well, the Wei army faces them on four fronts. Their objective is to besiege Liu Bei's heavily fortified position and counter ambushes or other ploys caused by Zhuge Liang. To do so, the army attacks the west and east gates guarded by Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. Once they are gone, the Wei army can proceed to demolish the other troops. Shu's strategy is to use their talented generals and the forts to converge on Cao Cao's forces.

As opposed to Wei being outnumbered, Shu is the force who is outnumbered in Dynasty Warriors 3. Both sides feature more siege weapons into the conflict to counter the other. Shu's case this includes their supply train of Wood Oxes and Wei's invention is catapults. In Shu's version of the stage, Sun Li taunts Wei Yan to move, causing the Shu general to let the defenses slack. Zhao Yun is also present for the defense against Wei's assault. The goal of their scenario is to keep the Wei generals at bay and weaken the large army. Wei's version of the stage has Zhang He present and three reinforcements on the wing. They desire to break through Shu's fortified position while keeping an eye out for any ambushes they encounter.

Dynasty Warriors 4 is similar to the previous incarnation but includes more events. Shu's newest weapons in the battle are Zhuge Liang's invention, the arbalest, and his wife's concoction, the Juggernauts. The newer events in Shu's version of the stage includes taunting Sima Yi to lower his morale and Zhuge Liang faking his death. With this momentum, they end Wei. Wei's version of the stage has them focus on destroying Shu's supplies. If they previously won the Battle of Jie Ting, Sima Yi will taunt Ma Su here and lower the general's morale. Sima Yi doesn't fall for Zhuge Liang's death ruse and Wei prevails over Shu. Unlike Liu Bei in the Shu scenario, Cao Cao will not arrive to assist the player, so if Sima Yi dies, the battle is lost, unless the player uses Cao Cao.

In Dynasty Warriors 5, Zhuge Liang presses for an offensive while protecting the army's supplies. In a few scenarios, he lives to command the rest of the battle but he dies otherwise during the battle. Jiang Wei takes over and orders a retreat. As the Wei army nears the center of the map, Jiang Wei unleashes the arbalests and has Shu counter. Wei's scenario has Sima Yi focus on defense since he senses Zhuge Liang's desperation to end the battle early. Once Zhuge Liang dies, his army charges and continues onto the main camp after tearing down the arbalests. Zhong Hui's catapaults also attack the Shu main camp.

Shu's version of the stage in Dynasty Warriors 6 focuses on defense. Zhuge Liang feigns distrust for Wei Yan, and it appears that the general is fleeing to join Wei. In reality, it's a plot to lower Wei's guard and Wei Yan leads a group of soldiers to attack the enemy main camp. When Xiahou Ba rushes into the canyon, Shu's troops lets loose a rockslide and springs an ambush. After they take the four bases controlled by Wei, they gain the momentum they need to end the battle. Wei's version of the stage is similar to Shu's version, except that Wei orders a full assault. Sima Yi notes the unease that Zhuge Liang has for Wei Yan and writes a letter to have the Shu general defect. If it reaches him, Wei Yan will desire to kill Zhuge Liang and momentarily joins Wei. He continues on his rampage until Liu Bei personally convinces him to calm down.

In Dynasty Warriors 7, this battle is the last battle for Shu's story mode and is split in two parts with both having Jiang Wei as the featured character. Jiang Wei is still having doubts about his ability to command the army, so Zhuge Liang assists him in battle. The first part is about their movement across the mountains, needing to capture bases in order to advance. After Jiang Wei learns of Zhuge Liang's illness he takes full command of the Shu forces to face the enemy. After clearing the mountains the Shu army goes for a full assault against the Wei. In this battle the player needs to avoid traps laid by the Wei army from arbalests to field mines. The player also needs to defend the main camp and allied officers. After the enemy main camp is surrounded, the gates will open and the player will have to defeat Sima Yi for a victory.

In Conquest Mode, the battle can be played in Wei's Scenario as one of Sima Yi's Legendary Battles.

Warriors Orochi

In Warriors Orochi, Nobunaga is satisfied with the simultaneous rebellions caused by Sun Ce and Cao Pi. He decides to personally join the battle against Orochi by trapping Da Ji. Though he appears to be outmaneuvered by the sheer numbers of his enemies' army, Shingen and Kenshin arrive to reinforce the west and eastern flanks. Masamune unleashes his riflemen on Nobunaga's troops and resists them until his defeat. Da Ji tries to counter Nobunaga by brining out her reserve troops. While she is forced to flee after her defeat, her loss contributes to the weakening of Orochi's army.

The Shu army leads a campaign to end the resurrected Orochi here in Warriors Orochi 2.