Dynasty Warriors is a series of video games created by Koei based loosely around the Romance of the Three Kingdoms epic.

The games in this series are as follows:

  • Dynasty Warriors 2
  • Dynasty Warriors 3
  • Dynasty Warriors 3: Xtreme Legends
  • Dynasty Warriors 4
  • Dynasty Warriors 4: Xtreme Legends

These five games all follow the same basic format - a general from one of the three kingdoms is chosen (Wu, Shu or Wei - however in DW3:XL independent generals can be selected as well) and they play through a number of levels representing certain conflicts in the time of the three kingdoms, eventually defeating both of the other kingdoms and making their own the rulers of China.

The levels themselves follow a third-person beat-em-up format, where the camera is behind the player and they go around killing the enemy forces, while avoiding both the player's own death and one other loss scenario (usually the death of the player's own superior).

The order of events in one of the above full (Musou) games, is this:

  1. Put down the Yellow Turban Rebellion.
  2. Defeat Dong Zhuo.
  3. Defeat the 'other' member of the alliance against Dong Zhuo (i.e. not Wu, Shu or Wei).
  4. Defeat one of the other three kingdoms.
  5. Defeat the last remaining other kingdom.