Dynasty Warriors

Dynasty Warriors (真・三國無双, Shin Sangokumusō, literally translated as "True ・ Three Kingdoms Unrivalled") is a series of tactical action games created by Omega Force and Koei. The award-winning series is a spin-off of Koei's turn-based strategy Romance of the Three Kingdoms series, based loosely around the Chinese historical text Records of the Three Kingdoms, from which it derives its name in Japanese.

The first game titled Dynasty Warriors, Sangokumusō in Japan, is a fighting game and different from the rest of the series. All English titles are a number ahead of their Japanese counterparts due to the English localization of naming Shin Sangokumusō, a spin-off of the previously mentioned Sangokumusō game, as Dynasty Warriors 2.

It is Koei's most successful franchise. Including its many spin-offs, 18 million copies of the Dynasty Warriors series have sold worldwide by 2011.

Main series

The first Dynasty Warriors (Sangokumusō) is a traditional one-on-one fighting game, released in 1997 for the PlayStation. Its gameplay style is reminiscent of Virtua Fighter and Tekken with the addition of weapons and some exotic moves.

Dynasty Warriors 8

Dynasty Warriors 8 (真・三國無双7, Shin Sangokumusō 7, known in Japan as Shin Sangokumusou 7) is a hack and slash video game and the eighth official installment of the Dynasty Warriors series. It is developed by Omega Force and published by Tecmo Koei. The story is based on the Chinese writer Luo Guanzhong's historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The game was unveiled on October 30, 2012 via Jump Magazine and released on February 28, 2013 for the PlayStation 3 in Japan. On April 3, 2013, it was confirmed by Tecmo Koei that there would be an overseas release for both North America and Europe in July 2013. It was released on both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 for both physical and digital release. The option of English and Japanese voice overs also return, where there is also an option to change the subtitles to English, French or German.

Eastern Wu

Wu (222–280), commonly known as Eastern Wu or Sun Wu, was one of the three major states that competed for supremacy over China in the Three Kingdoms period (220–280). It previously existed from 220–222 as a vassal kingdom nominally under Cao Wei, its rival state, but declared independence from Wei and became a sovereign state in 222. It became an empire in 229 after its founding ruler, Sun Quan, declared himself 'Emperor'. Its name was derived from the place it was based in — the Jiangnan (Yangtze River Delta) region, which was also historically known as "Wu". It was referred to as "Eastern Wu" or "Sun Wu" by historians to distinguish it from other Chinese historical states with similar names which were also located in that region, such as the Wu state in the Spring and Autumn period and the Wuyue kingdom in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. It was called "Eastern Wu" because it occupied most of eastern China in the Three Kingdoms period, and "Sun Wu" because the family name of its rulers was "Sun". During its existence, Wu's capital was at Jianye (present-day Nanjing, Jiangsu), but at times it was also at Wuchang (武昌; present-day Ezhou, Hubei).

Three Kingdoms

The Three Kingdoms (AD 220–280) was the tripartite division of China between the states of Wei (魏), Shu (蜀), and Wu (吳), following the Han dynasty and preceding the Jin dynasty. The term "Three Kingdoms" itself is something of a mistranslation, since each state was eventually headed not by a king, but by an emperor who claimed legitimate succession from the Han dynasty. Nevertheless, the term "Three Kingdoms" has become standard among sinologists. To further distinguish the three states from other historical Chinese states of similar names, historians have added a relevant character: Wei is also known as Cao Wei (曹魏), Shu is also known as Shu Han (蜀漢), and Wu is also known as Dong (or Eastern) Wu (東吳).

In a strict academic sense, the period of the Three Kingdoms refers to the period between the foundation of the state of Wei in 220 AD and the conquest of the state of Wu by the Jin dynasty in 280. The earlier, "unofficial" part of the period, from 184 to 220, was marked by chaotic infighting between warlords in various parts of China. The middle part of the period, from 220 and 263, was marked by a more militarily stable arrangement between three rival states of Wei, Shu, and Wu. The later part of the era was marked by the conquest of Shu by Wei (263), the overthrow of Wei by the Jin dynasty (265), and the conquest of Wu by the Jin (280).

Dynasty

A dynasty (UK /ˈdɪnəsti/, US /ˈdaɪnəsti/) is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a feudal or monarchical system but sometimes also appearing in elective republics. The dynastic family or lineage may be known as a "house"; this may be styled "royal", "princely", "comital", etc. depending upon the chief or present title borne by its members. Historians consider many sovereign states' histories, such as Ancient Egypt, the Carolingian Empire and Imperial China, within a framework of successive dynasties. As such, the term "dynasty" may be used to delimit the era during which the family reigned and to describe events, trends, and artifacts of that period ("a Ming-dynasty vase"). The word "dynasty" itself is often dropped from such adjectival references ("a Ming vase").

Until the 19th century, it was taken for granted that a legitimate function of a monarch was to aggrandize his dynasty: that is, to increase the territory, wealth, and power of his family members. The longest-surviving dynasty in the world is the Imperial House of Japan, the Yamato dynasty, whose reign is traditionally dated to 660 BC.