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Japanese logo
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Japanese cover
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Back cover
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Visual comparison between debut and present in celebration of PlayStation's 20th year anniversary
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English ad flyer
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English ad flyer 2
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Japanese ad flyer
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Wallpaper 1
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Wallpaper 2
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Wallpaper 5
Dynasty Warriors 2 is the reimagined sequel to Dynasty Warriors and the first of its kind. The game was originally going to be another fighting title until the producer had been told to do something different. Its development started the battlefield gameplay that is the series' staple to this day.
To represent its creative change, the Asian title adds the Shin kanji character which roughly means "True". The Dynasty Warriors name was retained in the West, leading to the number discrepancies between Western and Asian releases. Its Japanese catchphrase is translated as "The raging spirit of the Three Kingdoms clashes here!".
Being one of the first games released for the PlayStation 2, it was deemed GamePro's best game of the week.
Can't Quit This!!! ~KNOCK'EM OUT~ is the game's image song and had been performed by Japanese music unit m.o.v.e.
Gameplay
Mechanics
The mechanics have been completely overhauled to accommodate the gameplay taking place on a 3D environment where roaming freely within set boundaries is the norm. After selecting a character, the player's main objective is to win battles by fulfilling given goals and avoiding setting off defeat conditions. Defeat occurs if a character's health is fully depleted, the allied commander is slain, or time runs out. Tactical decisions include deciding on which part of the battlefield to prioritize on and aiding allies to keep morale up. To aid with this, message reports will flash on screen and give players an idea of what they ought to do first while aiming for the stage's primary objective.
Health determines how much damage the player can take until their body gives out and dies. Located at the lower left corner of the screen, the health gauge is said to be at a good level so long as it's blue. The gauge turns yellow once the player's health becomes less than half of its original amount. If it becomes dangerously low, the gauge becomes red as if to signify danger. On the other hand, the Musou gauge gradually regenerates on its own so long as the player is in critical condition.
When facing enemies in battle, characters can inflict up to four strikes at a time in a consecutive string, gaining more attack combinations by ending 
hit strings with the charge attack button 
. Normal attacks are quick but merely damage unguarded foes while charge attacks have different properties depending on the button inputs made. Though each character's actions vary, the utility of their attacks remain more or less identical.
: Dubbed as C1. A damaging broad-range attack that has guard-breaking/crushing properties.
: Dubbed as C2. Knocks target into the air for juggling opportunities.- : Dubbed as C3. Dizzies targets so long as they remain grounded, and dizzied victims can be put into a juggle state if hit by normal attacks. If the player is dazed themselves by an enemy's charge attack, they can button mash to recover at a quicker time.
- : Dubbed as C4. Sends the enemy flying away and disperses others along the way. Good for crowd control, but this type of knockback's smashing/dispersion effect can steal KOs or even damage and KO allies in the way of the victim. Causes the victim to also impact walls with this type of hit state.
- : A finishing blow that often knocks away targets. While lacking in other properties, its raw damage more than makes up for any lack of utility, making it work well as a finisher.
If the player taps while moving for a prolonged period of time, their character will perform a dash/running attack. This maneuver can be useful in quickly disrupting enemy lines and may come with different properties for certain characters.
Pressing 
once the Musou gauge is full activates a character's Musou Attack (referred to as the Musou Ranbu in Asian ports), a damaging flurry of blows that provides additional limited invincibility against enemy attacks. The length of the attack is determined by the Musou gauge itself and how long the player holds the button. In harder battles, this move can be exploited to avoid dangerous situations or overwhelm a cornered enemy officer. If the Musou gauge is not completely full, holding can slowly replenish it via making the character enter their guarding animation.
Weapon deadlocks make a return from the previous game. Like before, the player must tap the attack buttons to win and leave their opponents wide open to more hits. However, it becomes harder to pull this off in higher difficulty stages. Deadlocking also occurs if the player's Musou Attack comes into contact with an enemy general's own.
Hold L1 to guard against attacks. Moving the analog or directional pads allows the character to shift-move/strafe, setting the camera to follow directly behind them. It should be noted that moving while guarding may cause players to leave themselves open to attacks, so remaining stationary during an enemy's assault is essential for guarded stances to work. Pressing while suffering from blockstun will cause the character to perform a counterattack, resulting in their assailant being caught off-guard momentarily. Although counterattacks are useful for dueling officers, the player has to properly leverage their usage due to them consuming a portion of Musou.
Stats also play a role in determining the effectiveness of guarding. If the assailant's attack stat exceeds that of the defender's defense, the latter's guard will easily be broken/crushed or ignored entirely. The inverse can happen with a very sturdy character not flinching to attacks unless they happen to be struck from behind, attacked while airborne or targeted with a charge/normal knockdown attack; even then the very latter case only makes them flinch briefly with no way to fully knock them off their feet.
Bow attacks can be done by holding R1 and tapping an attack button. unleashes a normal arrow while fires a paralyzing bolt that dizzies foes. unleashes a continuous string of arrows that continues until the player's supply runs out or the Musou gauge has been emptied. Archery is used to attack foes safely from a distance or target enemy archers placed in high towers. Up to 99 arrows can be held at a time. When the player holds L1, they can also strafe while aiming.
To have characters jump, press 
. This allows characters to hop onto small obstacles and drop into other areas of the map. The button can be tapped for a short hop or held down for a higher jump. Note that certain characters are able to jump higher than others. Tap while in the air to perform an aerial attack that knocks down enemies on the ground.
Horses can be ridden by standing next to them and tapping . They can be acquired by gaining a high-enough rank or stealing them outright from enemies. Most notably, enemies like Guan Yu and Lu Bu will come with Red Hare, the fastest horse in the game, making it a valuable mount for players to go after. Riding on a horse increases travel speed, gives characters mounted and attacks, and makes them invulnerable to most ground assaults. Characters can only run over foes if they happen to be stronger than them stat-wise. Additionally, any downed soldiers while on a horse will not be added to the player's KO count. Because horses tend to disappear if the player strays too far from them, always keep them around nearby when attempting to walk on foot.
L2 displays the names and health gauges of other officers, making it easier for players to tell between friends and foes. R2 toggles between different maps with the default one displaying the whole battlefield and a smaller one used for locating units within the player's vicinity; this makes it easier for two players to navigate the area together. Yellow flashes indicate signs of fighting between different forces.
Battle
Before heading into battle, players may opt to bring bodyguards with them for additional protection; the higher their ranking is, the more numerous and strong their bodyguard troops will be. The player's character is represented by a green arrow, enemy units are colored red, and allied units happen to be blue.
Morale plays a notable role in turning the battle to one side's favor and is indicated by a bar on the top right part of the screen. If the enemy forces have high morale, then allied units surrounded by enemies will most likely struggle if the player does not come to their aid in time. Should the player's forces have high morale, then allied units will likely succeed on their own. It is shifted by defeating major officers and triggering in-game events pertaining to the stage being played. Raising the KO count by multiples of 50 also helps.
All units have their own individual morale which is denoted by a yellow gauge; it decreases if they lose too many allies or increases based on the player's achievements in battle. If the unit's morale gauge is depleted, they lose a star which signifies their morale level. The opposite happens if it gets full. A unit can carry a maximum of 8 stars. This has a cumulative effect on their performance independent from the overall army's morale. In the event that the player accumulates 1,000 KOs, every allied unit will automatically gain 8 stars worth of morale and become nigh unstoppable off-screen. Needless to say, the player's own morale cannot be taken into account.
Some generals are accompanied by sub-officers in battle. While it makes isolating a particular general all the more difficult, defeating their sub-officers first is necessary in order to get any items they may drop. Should the general be subdued first, their followers will instantly retreat.
Boosting stats is done by picking up swords and shields dropped by defeated officers or gate captains. Usually, they add +1 or +2 to the affected stat. However, if an officer is beaten with an 8-hit combo, they will drop a sword or shield that has double the normal worth. This also applies to officers who usually have nothing to drop. These stat-boosting items can get as high as +10. Attribute growth is permanently retained once the player has successfully completed the battle.
Healing items like meat buns or ointments are automatically consumed upon coming into contact with them. Because they eventually disappear over time, players have to pick them up immediately. Nearby bodyguards also benefit from these effects, allowing them to survive longer.
Enemy and allied officers have the ability to heal themselves or raise their own attack or defense whenever their health reaches a certain threshold upon being knocked down by the player's attacks. This makes it hard to deal with them especially in higher difficulty levels. Upon approaching a famous enemy general, the game will quickly play a cutscene event to formally introduce them; this trend is kept all the way to the fourth title.
Gate captains are stationed near exits and happen to be responsible for the flow of troops for both sides. If allies struggle, it may be prudent to defeat the enemy gate captains near them to cut off hostile reinforcements. The flow of troops that come out may or may not be dependent on their leader's current morale.
Interim saving is added in overseas versions and can be done by finding memory card items hidden within crates throughout the field. If the player opts to cancel when opening the save menu, their health will be fully replenished.
Characters accumulate points between stages. Upon gaining a sufficient amount, their "class" advances to the next level which results in stat upgrades for them and their bodyguards. Points are earned in both Musou and Free Mode even when repeating past stages.
Modes
Musou Mode
The story mode in which the player follows a determined string of battles. Background information for each stage is provided in the preparations menu before battle, describing the chain of events leading up to this point. Stage sequences vary depending on the selected character's affiliation. Proceeding through this mode unlocks more characters for players to use. If the player manages to complete this mode once, they will gain access to an alternate introduction screen.
Unaffiliated characters can only participate in Free Mode. Another way to unlock all of the cast is to input the following buttons while on the menu screen: , R1, , R2, , R2, , R1.
Free Mode
Allows any character to participate in several stages in any order. Characters can even join the side they were opposing in their Musou Mode. Initially, only the Yellow Turban Rebellion and Hu Lao Gate stages are available. Playing through Musou Modes unlocks more battles.
To unlock the opposite sides not available in Musou Mode, press and hold and input the following buttons: R1, L1, L2, R2, R1, L1, L2. There is no code for unlocking all stages.
Options
- Game Options - Provides the following difficulty levels: Easy, Normal, and Hard.
- Controller - Changes button configuration according to the player's needs.
- Edit - Reassigns buttons on the game controller.
- Vibration - Turns on analog controller vibration.
- Bow Type - Sets targeting method of bow aiming to either normal or reverse.
- Sound - Adjusts music and sound effects.
- Speaker - Sets the speaker output to either stereo or mono.
- BGM Volume - Adjusts music volume level from 1 to 16.
- SE Volume - Adjusts sound volume level from 1 to 16.
- BGM Test - Allows the player to play different music tracks. Can be unlocked by clearing the game with one officer from all three factions or activating the unlock code. Varying in different regions, the code for the US version is L1, L1, L1, R1, R1, R1, L2, R2 while the one for the Japanese port is R1, R1, R2, R2, L1, L1, L2, L2.
- Records - Displays the player's recorded performance in the game.
- Point - Displays character ranking by points.
- KO Count - Displays character ranking by KO count.
- Clear Time - Displays character ranking by clear time.
- Memory Card - Allows the player to save their progress or load an old saved file.
- Screen Adjust - Adjusts the screen position using the directional buttons. Can be reverted back to its original state by tapping the Start button.
- Opening Edit Mode - Customizes a cinematic movie using different characters. Can be unlocked by unlocking every character in the game or activating the unlock code. Varying in different regions, the code for the US version is R2, R2, R2, L2, L2, L2, R1, L1 while the one for the Japanese port is L1, L2, R2, R1, L1, L2, R2, R1.
Characters
Starter characters are bolded while new officers have a star right next to them. Dynasty Warriors 2 is the first game in the series to designate each of the three factions with their own kingdom colors; Shu is visually represented by the color green, Wei is symbolized by blue, and Wu is associated with red. Characters can be unlocked by clearing Musou Mode or inputting button codes.
Unlock Codes
The following codes can only be inputted at the game's title screen. A sound effect will occur if the code has been done correctly.
- Unlock All Shu Characters - , R1, R1, R1, R1, R1, R2, R2 for both US and Japanese versions.
- Unlock All Wei Characters - , , , , R2, R2, R1, R1 for the US version and , , , L1, L1, L2, L2, L2 for the Japanese version.
- Unlock All Wu Characters - , , R2, R2, R1, R1 for the US version and , , L2, L2, L2, L2, L1, L1 for the Japanese version.
- Unlock All Characters - , , L1, L2, R1, R2, , for the US version and , R1, , R2, , R2, , R1 for the Japanese version.
Gameplay
Miscellaneous
Related Media
A general guide and book for advanced players were published during the game's release.
The game was repackaged alongside its sequel as part of Koei's 2002 Spring Sale. Those who purchased the set received a 2002 clear file.
Regional Differences
The European port comes with some differences that set it apart from the North American and Japanese versions. For one, NPC units have different color sets and can display slightly more units on screen. The heads-up display has also been modified to accommodate the port's higher resolution. Some attacks now have different properties when used against enemies.
Gallery
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External Links
- North American Official Page (English)
- Japanese Official Page (Japanese)
- Japanese Official Website (Japanese)
- PlayStation 2 Archives Page (Japanese)
- Official Game Manual (English)
- 20th Anniversary PlayStation History Topic (Japanese)
- Kongming Informational Website (English)
- StrategyWiki Page (English)
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