Dynasty Warriors - Top 10 Tragic Characters

[@Megumi_Bandicoot]

To me the most tragic character is Cao Zhen. He was one of Wei’s most successful generals and repeatedly defeated Zhuge Liang, but the RoTK novel wrote him into a loser and gave all of his achievements to Sima Yi. And that’s how history and the media treated him since then.

[@TheNightowlGaming]

Damn that is tragic, hopefully one day they do him justice and make him playable maybe give him a unique story, thatd be cool

[@Blahto_realToto]

He' still getting slandered in Koei's ROTK game but at least he has high leadership stat, which is 90. xD

[@oleksandr_teys]

Sun Ce had very tragic story in a way. He just started his own kingdom, just take a rule from his killed father and died from a plot. And Zhou Yu his lost his best friend, tried his best to help his friend's brother, but been overvelmed by Zhuge Liang and died young.

[@TheNightowlGaming]

For sure I can see the argument for being put in that situation is tragic, but I think the character himself is not a tragic character, I think the characters on the list have a tragic story and character arc, but Sun Ce has only a tragic story, hopefully that makes sense 👍

[@GrubKiller436]

Bro, imagine if Sun Jian and/or Sun Ce was still alive. I think the Wu kingdom would've done even better than with just Sun Quan.

[@Pure_Havoc]

My #1 would be Xun Yu. Imo, he pretty much build Cao Cao's army and was responsible for his rise to power. Because he was loyal to the Han and against Cao Cao's decision to become Duke/Chancellor/PM, he fell out of favor. RoTK say Xun Yu commited suicide after receiving an empty box from Cao Cao. I don't think that happen historically and I think DW9 stick with it.

[@TheNightowlGaming]

That's true, I didnt even think about Xun Yu definitely a tragic story for sure

[@danielgaines9935]

According to the Books, Three Kingdoms, upon recieveing the empty box from Cao, he took his own life because he knew the empty box from Cao was that his life was over. At least more of less.

[@Blahto_realToto]

the same with his cousin Xun You. He's also against Cao Cao becoming Duke.

[@LetsPlayerAshe]

Nah I really loved this one too I felt so bad for bruh when Cao Cao basically threw him away

[@X1erra]

I never really saw what happened to Yu Jin other than being an amazing commander. Truly a tragic loss to his name and pride, all in one fell swoop.

[@TheNightowlGaming]

Yeah very tragic indeeeed

[@Themultiroleman]

Cao Pi added fuel to the fire. Yu Jin, whose hair was graying, was summoned to an audience with Cao Pi, and Yu Jin collapsed and wept upon seeing him. Cao Pi comforted Yu Jin and ordered him to be sent off as an emissary to Sun Quan, but before doing so had to honor Cao Cao at his mausoleum in Ye. Cao Pi had had men paint murals beforehand, and the murals depicted the battle of Fan Castle with Pang De angered at Guan Yu's victory, and Yu Jin surrendering. After seeing the mural where Yu Jin was portrayed as a coward in contrast to the heroic Pang De, Yu Jin became sick and died.

[@Chengyuan79]

@@Themultiroleman Cao Pi was known to be more ruthless than Cao Cao after his ascension. He wanted to shame Yu Jin, likely for political reasons (generals and commanders under him better not surrender, or you get the same treatment). There is no other reason why he literally ordered Yu Jin to visit the tomb, and also drew details of his surrender there.

[@GrubKiller436]

@@Themultiroleman Yu Jin did not become sick and die from that. It's extremely likely that the story of Cao Pi setting up that mural was entirely folklore and did not happen in real life.

[@GrubKiller436]

@@Chengyuan79 The claim that Cao Pi had murals painted to shame Yu Jin, leading to Yu Jin's illness and death, is not supported by historical evidence. This story appears to be more of a legend or dramatized account rather than a documented historical fact. Historical records, particularly those from the "Records of the Three Kingdoms" by Chen Shou and the "Book of Wei," do not provide evidence of Cao Pi commissioning murals to shame Yu Jin. The sources do note that Yu Jin faced some political and military challenges, but the specific incident of murals causing illness and death does not have strong historical backing. This story is more likely to be a part of folklore or fictional embellishment rather than verified history.

[@Ruwinka]

i think zhen ji is also a tragic character. guo nuwang blamed her and cao pi lost favor on zhen ji and killed her. zhen ji was a really kind and good women in real life. hope guo nuwang is in hell as not only she killed zhen ji she even put rice husks to her mouth so zhen ji can never talk again in her next soul as well as cover her eyes so that she can never see again in her next soul. Guo nuwang did terrible things to zhenji even after zhenji's death.

[@TheNightowlGaming]

Yeah I read about that although some people say thats speculation and she died peacefully, but if it is true its definitely tragic

[@jonathandiaz2249]

Amazing video, your Top 10 vids remind me why i got into Dynasty Warriors and loved it since i was a kid. Even looking back into the older games and how the series grown all put together in your channel its great stuff here. Makes me wanna go back and play the older games again too.

[@TheNightowlGaming]

I appreciate the kind words very much!

[@OathofthePeachGarden]

This is gonna be hype. Good top 10 idea!

[@TheNightowlGaming]

🔥🔥

[@Bastion70]

Even before Jiang Wei joined Shu he was abandoned by the Wei Officers and the leader Xiahou Mao to which he was removed from command so Jian Wei going to Shu was largely Weis fault. Xu Shu is even more tragic when the mother thing was a ploy by Cao Cao to get him away from Shu and Liu Bei. Basically he was a prisoner of Wei they had Control of him but he never did a thing for Wei. And Xu Shus mother was upset with him that he fell for Cao Caos ploy. For me though it's Liu Yu he was genuinely good person was so loved by the people that he had no issues getting 100,000 civilians to fight against Gonsun Zan and Liu Yu ordered that no property was to be burned or damaged we fighting Gonsun Zan and pillaging was not allowed either. Unfortunately the first rule and the inexperience of the army lead to its defeat and Liu Yu would be later killed by Gonsun Zan.

[@TheNightowlGaming]

damn that sucks, dont know about liu yu too much

[@monaeblackeaglequeen8974]

Zhen ji has a tragic life too! I love all these characters

[@TheNightowlGaming]

She does!

[@juliuswatcher1157]

A few "two cents" on some of the chaarcters in this list: Zhuge Dan: This one, like some, falls in the reason of his downfall being kinda weak due to changing real life or Romance of Three Kingdons moments to fit the chaarcters being moe noble. In this, it always irked me how he downspiral starts by hating/disliking of Sima Zhao due to the lost agaisnt Wu caused by Dan flawed plan and Zhao not calling out the problem or his fallings, cause it would be "a bother" or something like that (in short, lack of communication). Kinda unique of DW7 showing his fall from integrity by killing Wen Qin (in the game, implied they had a mutual agreement alliance, while Dan only being used in futher games) just because of his comparision to Zhao. Lu Bu: Pretty much the definition of "he reap what you show". He was a powerful warrior, but due to his mentality of only the strongest will prevail, he ended up backstabbing everyone he worked under. The contrast of mighty warrior and underwhelming execcution fits. I just wished the series started working more on his daughter, Li Lingqi, since she gave a good moment by saving her in his DW8 ending and she is a sad character. Yuan Shao: Agreed, not only that but I have the feeling they started to make him more of a idiot as well (example: Warriors Orochi 3 plot of him having former Orochi soldiers in his ranks that planned to backstab him). There is an argument that it was the later games trying to play his more indecisive or bad decisions choosing from historical events during his older yeras leading to Guan Du, but they coould've done it in a better way. Wei Yan: I've heard that the Zhuge Liang's distrust was more of a fictional invention, while in real life that was not the case (at worst, Zhuge probably just didn't agree with Wei Yan suggestion of taking more risks). In any case, the games have yet to do proprer on the "supposed" betrayal, due to the conflict nature of Wei Yan and Ma Dai in game characters vs ROTK. At worse, they always come to the excuse of Wei Yan not wanting to retreat or preventing allies from doing so; but even in the more recent games his scenario or Ma Dai have they talking things through so it is kinda weird for him to die like this. Liu Shan (a long orant): This one I have the major gripe and the only one I have hard time symphatizing with. My issue starts with the fact of the games, from DW7 onwars, simplifying Shu's downfall. They make it look lik they aree wasting resources in hopeless battles, when in actuality, there were a decent number of times they actually had sucess, but couldn't exploit the advantages due to the internal corruption within Shu forcing they retrat due to deniying supplies or reinforcements. This happned because after Zhuge Liang and his two chosen sucessors, Jiang Wan and Fei Yi, died; Liu Shan pointed Jiang Wei as chief in military operations and Huang Hao as chief in internal matters. Who was Huang Hao? A eunuch that Liu Shan brefriended and that was corrupt. This was the guy that, for his own greed and interest, denied Jiang Wei relief, and even, sometimes, actually sent messages under Liu Shan request (which were fake) ordering Jiang to return from the front to the Shu's capital, making Shu lose all the progress made. He also the guy that conviced Liu Shan not to send relief during the Wei invasion thorugh witchcraft and "future" readings. Funny how the games exclude Liu Shan being a fool post Zhuge's death as one of the causes and then put all the blame on Jiang Wei fallings and being too pushy, with the exception of DW9 (even in that game they have Huang Hao being a Villain with a Point trope, by blaming Jiang's endeavors agaisnt Wei a true waste of resources and motive for Shu's decline) . What I proably consider even worse is that in DW7 and DW7XL they made Liu Shan actually quite smart, who hides it to prevent being seen as a threat (in his unique stage, he, under simple words and "stupid" motives in battle, leads his Jin allies to acquire Juggernauts, rescue Shu prisioners who can help them, and even bait Jian Wei); but somehow he doesn't seems to do anything that would prevent Shu for going under before Wei's Invasion or actually trying to get the kingdom to surrender and spare the lifes of the other Shu characters alive at that point if he aadmitted the end was clear (funny how leaving his closer to his pre DW7 potrayal would have made it better in my eyes, at least that versions is a way over his head ruler trying to keep the dream alive as better he can, but realize the end as inevitable). And those are the true characters I feel that are more tragic: the remaining Shu officers that either die or worse: Yue Ying that lost her husband and is trying to guide the next generation; Ma Dai that had to kill his former friend/ally (Wei Yan) and keep going on long after Ma Chao died; Guan Sao and his wife Bao Sanniang, the former following his fallen father and brothers spirits and the latter being at her husband side (the games usually potray those two as too adorable); Guan Yingping for the same reasons as Suo but add the cute Bao on her on way; and Xing Cai, that went from the courageous daughter of Zhang Fei fighting to her last breath to Liu Shan loyal above all else wife that in the end is force to fight her former Shu allies since Shan decides to accompany he suppression of Zhong Hui's rebellion (the one of all of them I would choose as true contribution for this thread in regards to the video) . People may like or symphatize with Liu Shan due to him trying to live to his father benevolence and being "pushed" by Jiang Wei, but I see way more problems here because of the series trying to make him sympathetic and without blame which prevents me to feel sorry for him despite being a tragic character. Jiang Wei: Agreed. They probably did him dirty because they needed Shu to have a bad guy figure to the Jin's faction, which you plays as, to defeat due to him following to the extreme his idealism (being a "imbecile" how the Sima family would put). Kinda repating what I said above, but I hate his treatment and overall blaming by taking away the other side of Shu's corruption. Despite pushing Liu Shan he still is loyal to his liege, to the point I cannot help to wonder that they made actually believe that his and Liu Shan will s one and the same and have illusions of the reality that almost break when Shan gives any hint of opposiiton.

[@TheNightowlGaming]

What an interesting perspective and points on the characters, some which I didnt know. It's always nice to learn more about these characters and I seem to find out more and more with comments like these. Very interesting perspectives with the Shu characters and with the way the game portrays them its almost hard to believe what you say about them, but Im sure there is merit to almost every source of information for every character, theres just so much it's hard to pinpoint the absolute truth behind some characters. Great comment!

[@minhnguyenquang7220]

Agreed, the source material actually respected Jiang Wei and mourned his death. He died as a loyal and heroic Shu general, in ROTK when the soldiers that killed Jiang Wei they discovered that his bile was huge. Implying that he got guts, both physically and metaphorically. Should be number 1 in my opinion, a bright prodigy of Zhuge Liang whose downfall is caused by his own kingdom's corruption. In a sense, it's some sort of karma that after he betrayed his kingdom of Wei (even though his Wei commander betrayed him first), his kingdom then betrayed him as well. In a way, he's similar to Zhou Yu, who's also a prodigy that's well versed in the martial and strategical arts. Those 2 are really high up on my list, with the likes of Fa Zheng, Guo Jia, Xun Yu, Chen Gong etc... I supposed strategists just inherently lead a tragic lifestyle.

[@Sorain1]

Huang Hao sounds like a great opportunity for a 'later in time line Dong Zhuo' type figure. He's corrupt and directly leads into the downfall of a kingdom due to the things he gets up to.

[@emmanuelsanchez6016]

Jiang Wei was tenacious with his northern campaigns after Zhuge Liang died historically. He launched up to 12 failed campaigns against Wei, depending on what source you get his bio from. They didn't depict how toxic he was in DW3-DW6, but you get to it from DW7-DW9. The toxicity of his persona wasn't a later invention. It was just brought to light at the later series. Even Liao Hua historically criticized the northern campaign. "One who does not refrain from using military force will end up burning himself.'" Historically, his story is tragic. He was unable to keep the dream of uniting the Han Dynasty going. In the end, as an old man, he supposedly died fighting while having a heart attack.

[@TheNightowlGaming]

jeez thats rough, but hey at least he had passion

[@Drogot]

Xiahou Yuan is in my opinion very sad because such a cool character dies because his bow is broken

[@TheNightowlGaming]

Haha yeah DW7 was a good death for him, very well done

[@drelove9169]

Wei Yan had a record of betraying unworthy leaders. When zhuge liang was dieing he planned for ma dai to kill him because he foresaw him starting a rebellion in shu. This is according to the three kingdoms novel where all this is based off of.

[@TheNightowlGaming]

100% yeah definitely tragic

[@GrubKiller436]

The novel is completely fictional, and all of its events differ massively from documented historical texts.

[@shivapersaud7178]

I love your vids! Been binging them a lot lately!

[@TheNightowlGaming]

Appreciate the kind words very much!!

[@ciaranburke6252]

Number 1 should be Sun Quan losing his farther and brother so soon and being forced to be leader giving his sister the Liu Bei to make sure that they stay allies and being forced into a position not only to attack Cao Cao in Chi Bie but also He Fei which they took extreme casualties but also the fact that he lend Liu Bei Jing and never got it back from them which led him to betraying Shu and killing Guan Yu causing a war between them and making his bond with his sister toxic and that killing Guan Yu also led to the death of Lu Meng as well as down the line the deaths of Lu Su and Zhou Yu was all caused because of Shu in hindsight that’s why I believe that Sun Quan not only should of been on the list but number 1

[@TheNightowlGaming]

Mmm I can see the argument! Yes he has a similar place of people like Liu Shan and Sima Zhao, but I think where they differ is Sun Quan within history and the game made choices to put himself in bad situations. Yes Liu Bei/Guan Yu are dumb for not giving back Jing but to kill Guan Yu? And incite everything after that? That's his fault, also with him pushing Lu Xun to take his own life is kind of crazy in itself as well, towards the end of his reign he became much more unreasonable and arrogant and I think that attributes to alot of his tragicness, most of it was self inflicted, imo!

[@kendonl.taylor5111]

​The Nightowl What really happened was, Guan Yu insulted a Eastern Wu official and took a food depot without permission.

[@Themultiroleman]

@@kendonl.taylor5111 It only got even worse. Tried to install administrative personnel in Jingzhou? Guan Yu kicked them out. Negotiations with Lu Su? His subordinates Zhou Cang and Guan Ping caused a scene (it may have all been orchestrated). Marriage alliance? "How can the daughter of a tiger marry the son of a cur?" Yeah. Guan Yu started being more of a douchebag as the novel progressed. He also underestimated Lu Xun and Lu Meng, and treated Fu Shiren and Mi Fang like trash. This led to the loss of Jingzhou, his army, his subordinates and eventually his life.

[@kendonl.taylor5111]

@@Themultiroleman I was talking about the Historical version of Guan Yu and Zhou Cang is a fictional character.

[@Dragonsking4]

I always got confused about the whole “lending Jing” bit. Liu Bei was stationed in Jiang Xia for awhile which I believe was Liu Biao’s territory. I know the battle in Jing was messy and Liu Bei’s forces claimed the Jiang Ling area, after which, they took southern Jing. Given that Liu Qi was serving Liu Bei and would’ve had a more rightful claim so to speak, if Liu Qi passed on rights to Jing, that would be that.

[@mathewhosier9739]

I thought they ruined the series with dw9, it was just such a massive disappointment, i hope they do a modern take on the older games with dw10, and go back to stages instead of open world, that was the biggest mistake

[@TheNightowlGaming]

Hopefully!

[@ekamandalaputra5517]

I don't blame them for trying to make a new formula because if it's always the same as before repeatedly, then it will be boring. Boring = no player and no customer.

[@DarthBodya]

Prince Liu Chong, real Emperors uncle Liu Hong and gread uncle on Liu Xian(who taked by Cao Cao). He was crosbow expert and benevolent ruler of lands Chen and Xuchang(Cao Cao's capital of Wei). He was protecting his lands from Yellow turbans, help coalition with supplies vs Dong tyrrany. Unfortunally, he got beef with Yuan Shu, who proclaime himself as Emperor and demand supplies from Liu Chong. Ofc get middle finger from Emperors uncle. Yuan Shu hired Zhang Kai as assassin. First he poisoned Luo Jun, Liu Chong right hand and adviser. Then Yuan Shu attack Prince on Luo Jun's funeral. Without Prince Liu Chong protection, his lands devoured by chaos and been easily taken by Cao Cao. Koei never mention this character in their games, probably because he got almost same as Liu Bei.

[@TheNightowlGaming]

Yeah i wondered why they never did but he's in TW

[@sdlock83]

No love for Sun Shangxiang huh? She was torn between her husband (Liu Bei in Shu) and her birth family (in Wu), and ended up drowning herself in the river when she heard of Liu Bei's death.

[@TheNightowlGaming]

Damn, and nah in history she was quite brutish especially when she was in Jing? Trying to steal Liu Shan and let her bodyguards do whatever

[@MultiGamer600]

You said exactly my same thoughts about Yuan Shao. It's not just his in-story character that makes him tragic, but also how they totally ruined him both design and personality after the PS2 era.

[@TheNightowlGaming]

Exactly

[@Bdr000b0]

A side of lu bu we didn't get to see, is some of his historical interpretation They say he was kind to women and to his men and fallowers. Some accounts mentioned him as the only sane person at that time he was cruel when delivering justice, but understanding to the need of the people.... hence his countless betrayals that were infused with his personal agenda.

[@TheNightowlGaming]

Ohhh thats cool

[@theonlyfl]

Loved Xu Shus hoodie 🥲🤕

[@TheNightowlGaming]

yeee

[@HighPriestFuneral]

Your clips of DW9 actually makes me want to play more of it when I get the chance, I guess I was so disillusioned from the gameplay that I felt the stories would become cookie-cutter, but you showed some excellent scenes here dealing with individual characters. I agree with most of your list, that said I find your reasoning for Jiang Wei to be strange. That is historical. Jiang Wei was a zealot who lost himself in his desire to follow the dreams of the dead, there were so many in the Shu court that were against the campaigns and how much damage it eventually did to the kingdom at large. Sure he did accomplish some things. I've read some analysis recently that made me rethink whether his campaigns were truly all failures or not. The only reason he wasn't portrayed that way in DW2-5 is because the story never went past Wu Zhang Plains. Xu Shu's story in DW8 was fantastic, the implication that he would have burned willingly at Chi Bi if he isn't rescued adds a tinge more darkness to it all. I am also shocked to not see Xun Yu on the list. A man who saved Cao Cao time and time again because he believed that Cao Cao could restore the Han. Blind to his lord's ambitions and ultimately being betrayed, despite everything he accomplished. This to me is one of the most tragic stories of the era.

[@TheNightowlGaming]

Yeah I didnt even think about Xun Yu, but yeah with Jiang Wei as someone else pointed out, because of Huang Hao and how some of the game portrays him, he gets the short end of the stick more often than not and I think that he isnt as bad as people think, yes he definitely put himself in that position but there were moments within his history where if he had support, maybe things would have been different 🔥

[@Chengyuan79]

Hi. Just want point out that Xun Yu's "betrayal" happened only in RTK, and not in real history. Cheers. 😅🙏

[@mathewhosier9739]

I'm sorry but dw9 ruined the series imo gameplay wise, dw8 XL CE is just such a better game

[@HighPriestFuneral]

@@Chengyuan79 Eh? Xun Yu was against Cao Cao taking the rank of Duke, and then he "mysteriously dies" shortly after and Cao Cao takes the rank. I'd call that a betrayal in my view.

[@Chengyuan79]

@HighPriestFuneral it's the novel that cao cao send him a message. There are no records in actual history, we'll, records. 😅

[@OathofthePeachGarden]

I agree with this list, but I will say despite how much I love Lu Bu, he was really asking for it. He was cruel, stubborn and treacherous. To his own men, as well, and ignoring Chen Gong was a fatal mistake and his backstabbing behavior caught up with him. Was it tragic? Somewhat, especially considering such a great warrior should deserve something better... But he didn't help himself with his behavior in the end either. Hot-head! I still get hyped up when I see team Lu Bu though (Lu Lingqi, Zhang Liao, Chen Gong, Lu Bu) I love DW8XL

[@OathofthePeachGarden]

Also wait, is Yuan Shao voiced by english dub Kakashi? 👀 No shot. How did I never hear this. Kakashi is a favorite of mine.

[@TheNightowlGaming]

Yeah definitely but just because of how he was presented to see him go out like that was always tragic, he could of made his death honorable but nah.. lol

[@TheNightowlGaming]

Yep! I talk about that in my video analysis of Yuan Shao! Sasuke was Sun Ce & Zhang He (from older games) The 2nd Hokage was Lu Bu! Iruka Sensei was Guo Jia Minato was the generic privates and peasants in some games Xiahou Dun;s VA was in Naruto playing alot of random characters like the bridge builder from Naruto Raikage was Cao Ren (I think!) and a bunch more, it's pretty cool!

[@Themultiroleman]

Wait till you read of Zhang Liao before he served Cao Cao. In contrast to Lu Bu, who pleaded for mercy, Zhang Liao cussed Cao Cao endlessly and refused to surrender. Cao Cao was pissed off enough to bring a sword and wanted to decapitate him personally. Zhang Liao responded by sticking his neck out and welcoming death. Liu Bei 刘备 and Guan Yu 关羽 intervened and pleaded for Zhang Liao to be spared. Impressed by Zhang Liao's righteousness and courage, Cao Cao then put down his sword and personally unbound Zhang Liao. Cao Cao unbound Zhang Liao, and Zhang Liao then became one of Cao Cao's most able general in the years to come.

[@Themultiroleman]

@@OathofthePeachGarden DW6 yes, but DW7 had him voiced by Christopher Corey Smith.

[@xKazeshi98x]

Damn, ma boy Xu Shu made it to 2nd on your list :v I wasn't expecting much, considering how there are quite an amount of tragic ends, but seeing someone place his struggle so high up on the list is an unexpected surprise

[@TheNightowlGaming]

Yep, his struggle I would say is pretty tragic and he wouldve stayed in shu if he could ya know, plus the way he's portrayed in the game is just so tragic

[@Gichou014]

I kinda like how characters became more dark, ambiguous like Liu Shan, Xiahou Ba or Jiang Wei. It adds so much depth to the game, not everyone has to be good or heroes like Zhao Yun (which for me is such a one note character btw), I personally love those changes and those characters

[@TheNightowlGaming]

i agree!

[@Themultiroleman]

Some examples I disagree with based on info with the novel. Lu Bu: Prior to his capture he has betrayed both Ding Yuan and Dong Zhuo. Granted the latter had it coming, but Ding Yuan is another story. He also betrayed Liu Bei by taking XuZhou from him (Zhang Fei drew a wedge against them but still). For all his fighting valour, Lu Bu became a coward in the face of death. When Lu Bu was under siege, he chose to stay by the side of his wives and not listen to his advisor, Chen Gong. He was also ill-tempered to his men, their low-morale fueling resentment for their leader. This reached a boiling point when he ordered Hou Cheng executed for wanting to celebrate a minor victory. The punishment was reduced to 50 lashes, but by then his subordinates had enough. While Lu Bu was asleep, they stole the Heaven Scorcher Halberd 方天画戟 and bundled Lu Bu over to Cao Cao. While Chen Gong and Gao Shun accepted death with dignityy, Lu Bu asked Cao Cao to allow him to surrender and he would be at Cao Cao's service. However Liu Bei quickly reminded Cao Cao of the fate of Lu Bu's previous masters, and Cao Cao ordered Lu Bu executed without hesitation. Lu Bu's treacherous nature bit him in the ass. Zhang Fei: Some of his comeuppance are caused by his own actions. He got drunk and abused his subordinates for quite some time. As mentioned above, his drinking habits caused Liu Bei A LOT of trouble back in the Lu Bu days, and since then it has festered for quite some time. After Guan Yu died, Zhang Fei ordered Zhang Da 张达 and Fan Jiang 范疆 to prepare mourning clothes for his entire army within 3 days. Both of them pleaded that it was impossible to accomplish. Zhang Fei put down an ultimatum: that they would be beheaded if it was not done in 3 days. Fearing for their lives, Zhang Da and Fan Jiang cut off Zhang Fei's head while he was asleep and surrendered themselves to the Kingdom of Sun Wu 孙吴. However, Sun Quan offered Zhang Fei's killers as a peace offering, to which Liu Bei rejected. Zhang Fei was both a fierce fighter with brawns and brains, but his hot temper, alcoholism and arrogance doomed him. Yuan Shao: During the Hulao Gate campaign, Yuan Shao refused to send a contingent to aid Cao Cao in his pursuit against Dong Zhuo. Instead he and the other lords were partying in the ruins of Luoyang when Cao Cao arrived in defeat. A rift has already been formed between the two, and during the Guandu campaign Yuan Shao had a force many times larger than Cao Cao (500K to Cao Cao's 70K), but yet he suffered a terrible loss. Cao Cao analyzed Yuan Shao as being unwilling to listen to his advisors, stubborn, and tolerating general disunity under his rule, as he not only tried to imprison Tian Feng, but also Xu You for trying to counsel him. Xu You's advise could've won GuanDu for Yuan Shao, but when Xu You defected to Cao Cao, it solidified Cao Cao's victory. Yuan Shao survived the battle, but subsequent defeats irreversibly weakened his army. After his death, Hebei was fragmented; which allowed Cao Cao to conquer the divided lords piecemeal. The kicker was that Yuan Shao's sons also died soon after (Yuan Tan was killed by Cao Cao, while Xi and Shang were executed by Gongsun Kang and their heads were sent to Cao Cao as a gesture of friendship to Cao Cao). More tragic characters would be Ma Chao, Zhen Ji and Lu Xun. Ma Chao lost HIS ENTIRE FAMILY before joining Liu Bei, save for Ma Dai. Zhen Ji was forced to commit suicide when she fell out of favor with Cao Pi. Lu Xun fell into disfavour of Sun Quan due to his support for Sun He 孙和 as crown prince. Sun Quan removed Lu Xun from office and had him reprimanded on many counts. Lu Xun died soon after from illness. For Jin, it'll be Wen Yang. After the 3 Kingdoms were reunited, Zhuge Dan's maternal grandson, Sima Yao (司馬繇), bore a grudge against Wen Yang for the downfall of his maternal grandfather so he falsely accused Wen Yang of plotting a rebellion with Yang Jun. Wen Yang was arrested and executed along with his family in 291.

[@TheNightowlGaming]

Love this comment! So, yes the 4 you mentioned definitely had tragic ends except Ma Chao! In the games alot of there info is skewed for positive lightness, the zhenji death is speculation, I believe there are multiple theories to her death that being one of em, but within the games she is not a tragic character. Ma Chao is the complete opposite of tragic in the games and then ofc his history is quite brutal but I definitely understand him losing his whole family could be tragic, but I believe Ma Teng might be the one to blame for that for trying to assassinate Cao Cao, if I remember correctly? And with Lu Xun in the games again he's not shown to have any disfavour with Sun Quan at all, so within the games he maintains a high prestigious presence at pretty much all times. And then for the 3 you mentioned I already gave my reasons in the video, wont repeat em here for redundancy purposes but I can see an argument for pulling out Zhang Fei, I just like that he has a redeeming quality towards the end of his story 🔥🔥

[@Themultiroleman]

​​​@@TheNightowlGamingClose. The Emperor wanted Cao Cao gone, and among the participants of a secret blood edict were Ma Teng, Liu Bei and Yuan Shao among a few names. Ma Teng was snitched on by a gatekeeper because he wanted to bang the governor's wife. Teng, Tie and Xiu were killed, while Ma Chao was stationed in Xiliang and plotted revenge. The game glosses over the history for some parts, like Sun Quan and Lu Xun having a falling out so not much is portrayed for palace intrigues. At least Zhang Fei was loyal to Liu Bei to the end and had a heart of gold. Lu Bu and Yuan Shao OTOH don't.

[@TheNightowlGaming]

@@Themultiroleman Absolutely, and that's insane Teng got snitched out cause of that wow

[@Wilsontripplets]

To me Ding Yuan is justified under the context of Dong Zhuo having the emperor and offering a better(ish) life and to personally serve the emperor through Dong Zhuo.

[@Themultiroleman]

@@Wilsontripplets True, though it eventually doomed Lu Bu later on when Liu Bei (an advisor in the historical sense) brought up those betrayals to Cao Cao later on. His previous betrayals made him unlikeable to Zhang Fei too, as the latter wanted to kill him at the first opportunity available.

[@guilianosoesman6888]

First of awesome vid bro big thanx but no wen Yang still love vid

[@TheNightowlGaming]

Appreciate the kind words!!

[@guilianosoesman6888]

@@TheNightowlGaming appreciate the vid lol

[@lifewithouthope7120]

Have you heard of "The Ravages of Time"? It is a manhwa drawn and written by Chen Mou. It delivers a different look on the Three Kingdoms and if you haven't read it, I highly recommend it.

[@TheNightowlGaming]

I havent heard it, sounds interesting!

[@lifewithouthope7120]

Sorry, I made a mistake here. I mean manhua (Chinese comic), not manhwa (Korean comic). Sometimes I got confused about them. Sorry about that :(

[@TheNightowlGaming]

@@lifewithouthope7120 Its all good!

[@Azzaroni]

Solid list 🔥🔥

[@TheNightowlGaming]

Big up!

[@uraninezak]

Bro you didn't even honorable mention Sun Shangxiang. Her history is tragic, her in game story is tragic, and the character assassination Koei has done to her is tragic. She used to have a personality outside of being Liu Bei's waifu.

[@TheNightowlGaming]

True true, I just didnt think of her, I forgot Xun Yu too who was treated bad, lot of tragicness in the game lol

[@azureascendant994]

From a historical perspective Zhang Ji, Zhen Ji and Sun Shang Xiang are the most tragic of the female characters. Of the male characters the most tragic is Guan Yu. A loyal man betrayed. You should do a video on the factions. A faction that deserves a spot in DW are the 12 eunuchs of the imperial court. They'd make an interesting faction of villains. Edit: Oh, You did that already.

[@TheNightowlGaming]

Haha yeah I did! And Zhang Ji? Ive never heard of her, and Guan Yu is an interesting one, in the games he is portrayed really well and in history he kind of does it to himself by pushing the limits of his own abilities and the patience of Wu, did he deserve to be killed for it, no I dont think so and because of the error that Wu made honestly I think is what spirals the three kingdoms down and really puts it in Weis favor allowing them to really dominate until Jin becomes a thing

[@azureascendant994]

@@TheNightowlGaming By some scholars opinions people say that Guan Yu was probably also betrayed by Liu Bei because he thought Guan Yu was going to defect and join with Cao Cao. Interesting theory. I meant to say Xiahou Ji not Zhang Ji.

[@azureascendant994]

@@TheNightowlGaming I guess it worked out posthumously for Guan Yu considering his raise to godhood.

[@tommydixon4871]

Amazing top 10 in the video and i agree 💯 dynasty warriors have a special place in my heart with the history of the three kingdoms ❤️❤️

[@TheNightowlGaming]

Awesome! Glad you liked it!

[@Mochachanxx]

I like Xu Shu And this solid list🔥 (But I think number 1 is Xun Yu)

[@TheNightowlGaming]

Yeah Xun Yu definitely had a tragic end, didnt even think of him lol

[@Mochachanxx]

@@TheNightowlGaming it's okay bro👍

[@thehoodedwalker4027]

Zhenji should be here. She was forced to commit suicide by Cao Pi.

[@TheNightowlGaming]

Allegedly, there are also other sources that say she died peacefully, and in the game she is not tragic at all 😁

[@LetsPlayerAshe]

It’s also funny with Yu Jin that folks thought he was actually conspiring against them I forgot the exact mission it happened but it was before Chibi I think

[@TheNightowlGaming]

Oh snap didnt know that

[@LetsPlayerAshe]

@@TheNightowlGaming yeah it’s a hidden mission that once you click to follow you get close and you’re supposed to question him

[@karabomafa5609]

DW 3-5 Yuan Shao was such a great character.. He was so serious

[@TheNightowlGaming]

So much better in the earlier game

[@HighPriestFuneral]

I wouldn't call him "serious", but his noble elegance felt natural, rather than forced.

[@karabomafa5609]

@@HighPriestFuneral Yea I fully agree... Even his look was better

[@gh0rochi363]

He used to be my favorite Other Character. Now he's my least favorite.

[@kamarrawlings6285]

To me I think Guan Yu’s end was more tragic than Lu Bu’s. Lu Bu basically had this coming with his constant betrayals and killing people close to him. Guan Yu was betrayed by his own people because of how capable he was in battle and for shu to unify the land.

[@TheNightowlGaming]

For sure, some people would say he deserved it too cause of the arrogance he had and treating his men poorly towards the end, but I can definitely see it

[@monaeblackeaglequeen8974]

Xu shu is so beautiful and shy love him ❤💚💚

[@TheNightowlGaming]

He;s dope!

[@Themultiroleman]

The worst part was how Cao Cao held his mom hostage in XuChang and got Cheng Yu to forge a letter to get Xu Shu to come to XuChang. Knowing that Xu Shu is a very filial son, Cao Cao summoned Xu Shu's mother and wanted to win her over, so that she could convince Xu Shu to hop over to his side. Unexpectedly, Xu Shu's mother cursed and insulted Cao Cao, so much so that Cao Cao ordered her executed for her insolence. Cheng Yu quickly intervened and instead ask Cao Cao to treat her like a guest. Cheng Yu then wrote a false letter, in it Xu Shu's mother uses loneliness and old age to convince Xu Shu to return to her side, which happens to be in the Wei Kingdom. Xu Shu reluctantly decides to leave Liu Bei and thus went over to Cao Cao's camp. However, upon seeing her son arrive in Wei Kingdom, Xu Shu's mother was enraged! She repeatedly scolded Xu Shu for being so stupid as to have fallen for such a simple ploy, at the same time giving up the opportunity to serve a noble such as Liu Bei. She leaves the room in anger, while Xu Shu ponders in disappointment. Within minutes, a maid alerts Xu Shu to terrible news. In a final act of defiance, Xu Shu's mother hangs herself, and thus Xu Shu is deeply overcome with sorrow. Real dick move on both Cao Cao AND Cheng Yu's part.

[@TheNightowlGaming]

@@Themultiroleman Yeah the tragedy for Xu Shu was just endless, so tough

[@Themultiroleman]

@@TheNightowlGaming Hey, at least the hypothetical paths gave him a happy ending.

[@keyblademasterclark]

This was one of those lists where I wasn't really sure who to expect other than Liu Shan. I personally would have put Sun Shangxiang on here since her marriage to Liu Bei was supposed to solidify the alliance between Wu and Shu, but due to Guan Yu's presence in Jing Province, raiding Wu supplies after the province had been divided, and Wu's betrayal she has to watch as that alliance breaks. IDK how she felt about Liu Bei in the book or in actual history, but in the games she genuinely loved Liu Bei so watching the kingdom she once called home betray her husband's trust must have been heart breaking. Not only that, but consider the conflict she felt in her heart between her husband and her brother. She gets married off early on in 8XL and is only playable for Wu during a couple of stages. Honorable mentions to Zhou Tai for his moveset in 9 not being nearly as good as previous entries and having all of ONE playable mission in 8XL, Lu Bu for being nerfed in 9, and Diao Chan for having to put up with that tyrant Dong Zhuo

[@TheNightowlGaming]

SSX would definitely be a good case !

[@danielbudiono7232]

every characters had their own tragic story. the difference is how koei wanted to develop the characters.

[@TheNightowlGaming]

Exactly, everyone should have a good development of their story

[@Chengyuan79]

My reflections after watching this video ... almost "every characters had their own tragic story" indeed~! 😔🙏 DISCLAIMER - Buddhist here. Seeing life as it is.

[@zmbmad2854]

Jesus Christ almighty...Jiang Wei...I agree with him being on this list, and now I have a better understanding on why I dislike his character from DW 6-9 as opposed to him in DW 3-5. I also remember telling you that I would be replaying all of the DW games that I own to see where I feel Xiahou Dun went wrong for me personally. First I will say that as a character, with each new game he gets better. More backstory as well as more fleshed out interactions with other characters that show you where he stands. So there is nothing wrong with him as a character. On a gameplay perspective...again this is just my personal opinion. I think it started to go a bit wrong with DW 6. A weapon change from his scimitar to a two handed club was a bit weird for me, and despite my efforts, I could not really get used to it. From 7 onwards, new things got added like switching weapons as well as ex-attacks. These I got used to but after playing around with him holding a variety of different secondary weapons, they just didn't feel like they were his. Yes, any weapon works but I just like him using his scimitar, also from 7 and 8 I liked the ex-attacks he has as well as the range of motion with his base as well as charge attacks. Then there is 9...I don't like the combat in that game. I always try to use the movest that have been......INGRAINDED into my thumbs that I just don't like the combat gameplay whenever I do jump into it. And not just for Dun but for every character! IT just...!!!!! Ok. I don't like 9's combat. I'll leave it at that. Honestly, 9 did all the characters wrong in terms of combat gameplay for me but it started with 6 and the weapon swap. Sorry for the long winded rant but I said that I would try to find out why Dun felt wrong for me, and this is it.

[@TheNightowlGaming]

No that's perfectly fine! I love reading and discussing anything DW related. Definitely agree with DW6 and DW9 remarks, his mace in the game was underwhelming slow not for me and DW9 the combat definitely took a hit, the moves were fine, the system was bad

[@Themultiroleman]

Jiang Wei got screwed over by the Shu court, especially Liu Chan when he was suckered by the eunuchs and shamans. Post-Zhuge Liang, the only MVP was Jiang Wei, but each time he'd be screwed over by the Shu court he was trying to protect.

[@LetsPlayerAshe]

On the topic of Liu Shan I kinda see both sides. On one side I understand Liu Shan wasn’t ready nor did he want to lead Shu, but it also seemed kinda selfish. I think it’s similar to Aang, except I give him a pass because he was a kid. Both had the position and power to achieve peace but ran from it. I get Liu Shan didn’t want to lead but he needed too. It was his role. I get it was a forced role, but man the land needs peace. But I also understand the thing of “if you’re not ready why do it? Why put your military at risk of having a leader who isn’t fit?” Which definitely makes sense too. Idk it’s always hard discussing these things because you can really just go around in circles. Also I’m glad I found your channel because I found a love for Dynasty Warriors again and man I forgot how in depth and amazing the story and games are

[@TheNightowlGaming]

Awesome, welcome to the community! And yeah I can totally understand your point and see both sides for srue

[@ceresbane]

In the stories Zhang Fei was portrayed as a rather cruel commander who would often get drunk and violent with his him. And his death essentially culminates in having spent years dealing with his crap. His men in the end decided to kill him because he was threatening their lives. He was especially bad during that time because he was angry with mourning over Guan Yu. So lots of his own men would be beaten to a pulp by him or on his orders. I've always thought Zhang Fei should never have been given a generalship. He should have stayed with Liu Bei as a bodyguard, where Liu Bei could keep him in line.

[@TheNightowlGaming]

True probably would've helped control his outbursts for sure

[@Chengyuan79]

Just chipping in - Zhang Fei is/was a very good commander too. Chang Ban is historically accurate. But think Liu Bei saw what you said too, and surprised everyone when he made Wei Yan the 1st commander of Hanzhong instead of him. I find Zhang Fei's end ... tragic, yes. While I wont want to debate if his stabbings are deserved because of his cruelty towards his soldiers, been stabbed like this is ... tragic.

[@ViveLeEmpereur]

IMO the Jiang Wei portrayal in later games is way better, because that's really what he was like in history. They could maybe try to make him appear more competent, but the constant resource draining campaigns were really his legacy in the end. To his credit, Jiang Wei died in the most badass way possible historically. He was extremely old, but he died fighting hand-to-hand. On the topic of Wei Yan, I think you give him too much of a pass. While he wasn't launching a coup to take power or something, his actions were clearly mutinous and insubordinate. The real backstory with Wei Yan is that while Zhuge Liang was alive Wei Yan was constantly bickering with Yang Yi, who was a very efficient logistics officer. Zhuge Liang tried to mediate between the two, but as soon as Zhuge Liang died all bets were off. Wei Yan burned some plank roads of Shu-Han, which was a destructive and rebellious act. Wei Yan and Yang Yi then both basically took a shot at power, each accusing the other of rebellion, and Wei Yan was killed in the power struggle. Ironically, Yang Yi lost in the power struggle anyways, because Zhuge Liang had appointed others to higher posts as part of his will. Yang Yi became indignant and was first demoted to commoner, and ultimately committed suicide. I do agree Wei Yan's death was tragic (and so was Yang Yi's) but Wei Yan's death is partly tragic because of Wei Yan's own irresponsible and self-aggrandizing actions, coming from a man who was one of Shu-Han's best generals. If he had kept his ego in check and been able to set aside his differences with Yang Yi, he wouldn't have had to die. The real tragedy imo is the flaw in his character (and the terrible Dynasty Warriors portrayal of him lol). I really like the rest of your list. I'm glad they added Yu Jin to the series. And yeah they did Yuan Shao dirty.

[@ViveLeEmpereur]

Wei Yan's and Yang Yi's Sanguozhi biographies are both translated in English on the Internet so I would advise giving them a read. I feel that Wei Yan's actions were clearly rebellious, even if it wasn't the kind of rebellion where he was seeking to overthrow the government or something. What he was trying to do essentially was topple the chain of command Zhuge Liang wanted after his death, gaining control of the army and disobeying the orders of officers like Yang Yi whom he felt he should not have to answer to. If he had succeeded, he would have likely killed Yang Yi and possibly others in the army and taken control of it. In plotting this course, he destroyed roads of Shu-Han, and was reviled as a traitor. His own men abandoned him for his actions. Yang Yi, funnily enough, was trying to achieve the same thing, essentially wanting to succeed Zhuge Liang following his death and becoming discontent once he wasn't chosen to do so. But Yang Yi was not openly as destructive as Wei Yan and basically met his end mainly for expressing his discontent.

[@TheNightowlGaming]

This is really interesting to learn about, you said it's from Sanguozhi's biographies? Are they easy to find online to read cause I would love as much information on each of the characters as possilbe, if you have a link thatd be great, idk if youtube will let you post it, but I should be able to see it in the withhold comments

[@ViveLeEmpereur]

@@TheNightowlGaming Dunno if my reply went through or not, but if not, try looking up three states records on google and that will get you to the right place. You'll know if you see a website that has sgz biographies of a bunch of characters.

[@Sorain1]

Funny enough, this is the one case where I'd love for a Dynasty Warriors 10 to just, completely scrap Wei Yan's portrayal and do a more historical take on him. Specifically because Zhuge Liang (and Yang Yi, who would likely be at most a unique NPC) having to mediate between Wei Yan and Yang Yi and then the ensuing disaster is both a worthwhile beat to hit, and leads to an obvious pair of hypotheticals. (One in which Wei Yan 'won the rebellion' and one in which he is forced back into line by someone in Shu, realizing his error.) Plus, one thing that's been done over time is giving more depth to characters, the one with the most gap in depth between the ROTK/Historical and the in game portrayal is by far Wei Yan at this point.

[@ViveLeEmpereur]

@@Sorain1 DW Origins is a perfect chance KOEI has to right the wrongs they made with Wei Yan. I agree with you.

[@calebmaybin6896]

Sun ShangXiang was tragic in that she's used by her brother in a political wedding that ended in tragedy and drowns herself in the end.

[@TheNightowlGaming]

Yeah but she was also very brutish when she transferred over even trying to steal liu shan

[@nemesis3587]

Interesting topic 😀historical route has so many tragic stories. Yuan Shu's downfall, Wang Yi losing her children, Zhen Ji's fall from favor, SSX's true story and lets not talk about Xiahou Ji (seriously she should removed from roster). And honourable mention for Cao Mao, he was just 16 years old, he tried to take control but at the time Sima clan took all the power and that tragic teenager slaughtered. Ironically Sima descendents faced far worse fates. Another honorable mention is Emperor Shao older brother of last Han emperor, he deposed by Dong Zhuo and later forced to drink poison, cruel and sad end. Lastly Cao Ang and Cao Anmin (Cao Cao's eldest son and nephew), they died with Dian Wei, Young prominent warriors. Cao Ang even gave his horse to his father. 1-Liu Shan: He is not a good leader for sure but blamed for everything is ridiculous. Zhuge Liang's plan makes no sense in first place and despite all the odds, he still supported Jiang Wei. He called coward for preventing massacre. What people did expected? He doesn't have army to prootect capital (thanks Jiang Wei for another strategic blunder) and if he resisted Deng Ai destroyed them. I'm not fan of Shu kingdom but the game nailed his character, even historians judges him more fairly resently. 2-Cai Wenji: She is one of my favorites, I love instrumental weapons, I love Zhen Ji's flute but Cai Wenji's harp has better moveset. She is my ace character in Warriors Orochi 3, her musou wipes out enemies. I love her character design, her faint smile, innocent face, she is awesome. Her real life story is so tragic. 3-Wei Yan: Another reason for my dislike of Shu. This guy's unfair threatment is legendary. I actually like his barbaric character the game made for him and I like his moveset. His real historical life is a tragic one. Another note is if you betray your kingdom in DW Empires 8 you got traitor achivement and his portraid they used for this achivement 😄. 4-Xiahou Ba: He barely escaped from Sima clans purge and forced to serve his father's killers. That just showed how chaotic this era is. 5-Cheng Gong: Funnily they have one f the best tragic story but they never could use it. Game under used him, ROK version is not that good too but histrical version is really good. He was Cao Cao's first advisor, their ideas clashed and Chen Gong choose Lu Bu. Even after Lu Bu's downfall, Cao Cao still want him to return (even begged accrding to some rumors) but Chen Gong refused and choose execution. Another rumor is Cao Cao wept for his old friend. That's my choices, Xiahou Yuan and Dian Wei's deaths in DW7 are most emotional scenes but they are not tragic characters.

[@Themultiroleman]

For Wei Yan this was what transpired. Wei Yan - He was known for the rescue of Huang Zhong 黄忠 from execution at the city of Chang Sha 长沙. Wei Yan got pissed off by Han Xuan 韩玄's distrust of Huang Zhong and decided to take matters into his own hands. He killed Han Xuan, rescued Huang Zhong, then surrendered the city to Liu Bei. Huang Zhong went on to become one of Liu Bei 刘备's most important generals. If not for Wei Yan, there would be no legend of Huang Zhong. Zhuge Liang suspected Wei Yan was bad news, but Liu Bei pleaded on his behalf. Of course, a rift was already formed. Wei Yan was very vocal in his objections towards Zhuge Liang's strategy, but Zhuge Liang brushed him off. When Zhuge Liang tried to lure Sima Yi into a fire trap, he trapped Wei Yan there and kept him as collateral. After his death, Zhuge Liang knew Wei Yan would stir shit up. Therefore he tipped off Wei Yan's partner Ma Dai 马岱, and laid a trap. In the midst of open revolt, Wei Yan challenged Shu Han's forces and shouted "Who dares to kill me?". Ma Dai happily decapitated him from behind.

[@TheNightowlGaming]

Awesome comment! Lot of tragic characters in the series and it's awesome to read about everyones individual passion for this game and series, so awesome 🔥

[@Chengyuan79]

@@Themultiroleman hi. Know that you are quoting from Romance of Three Kingdoms. Try to read the actual historical records like 三国志. You will not be disappointed at how much more we all have missed out. Cheers. 😅🙏

[@Lovesickcupid31]

I think DW7 sun Quan is a good shout, mainly because he loses most of he's friends and family the more the story of wu progress in the game.

[@TheNightowlGaming]

I could see that

[@reinhardofavercland7448]

Lu Xun also had a tragic ending, although it has never been shown in the game. Long story short, he was considered a great hero after his contribution at the Battle of Yiling. However his interference on the dispute between Sun Quan's sons irked Sun Quan. In the end, he committed suicide.

[@TheNightowlGaming]

Yeah but in the games they dont cover it, so I left him out

[@doubleocbh]

刘禅Liu Shan is the least tragic in history. He failed his faithful retainers and his son, Liu Chen, and listened to Huang Hao, he prioritize hedonism and women over politics. He even said 乐不思蜀 to Sima Zhao. “I am happy here, why should I miss Shu?”. Perhaps that is his tactical disguise. He really know how to enjoy life, for which I would not say it is tragic 😅

[@TheNightowlGaming]

yeah perhaps, but also with hiim being so young and being thrown into a position that he technically didnt even want. So yes him indulging in women and selfishness is definitely bad, but it's not too crazy to see happpen because he didnt want those responsibilities in the first place.

[@bigmoe3661]

I feel like members of shu have been robbed of their achievements in game vs actually hysterical marks. Mostly after guan yu’s death

[@TheNightowlGaming]

Yeah especially someone like Wei Yan dude got completely revamped

[@wiselkhzhang7853]

How is Wang Yi or Yuan Shu not on the list or even honourable mentions? Wang Yi’s family getting killed by a guy who talks about justice, and Yuan Shu’s ending with him on his death bed and eating an orange while crying.

[@TheNightowlGaming]

I could see that, Yuan Shu not so much dude had it coming lol Wang Yi I could see it, she's so strong in terms of her will in the games I didnt even think about her

[@wiselkhzhang7853]

@@TheNightowlGaming I get that Yuan Shu deserves his ending in DW9 but I still felt bad for him. And I think it may reference either the novel or history, Yuan Shu died of starvation due to being unable to eat the food his soldiers were eating and his last request was to have some honey water.

[@TheNightowlGaming]

@@wiselkhzhang7853 Oh yeah I did read about that, which is tragic but idk entitlement ususally leads to tragic ends

[@wiselkhzhang7853]

@@TheNightowlGaming True but you can’t help but feel sorry for the guy in his ending.

[@NBChan_16]

Why not included Liu Bei? Basicly he is making allies and getting betrayed. His sworn brother are killed, when he starting his revenge, he lost. And give so much cry for the person he left

[@TheNightowlGaming]

Nah I dont think he's that tragic, I could kinda see it, but some of the things that happened, similarily to Sun Quan, was self inflicted

[@Chengyuan79]

Ahem. Liu Bei is the one who left or outright "betrays" people like Yuan Shao (people tend to forget this one) and Cao Cao and his own clansmen Liu Biao (his army is not allowed into Xiangyang for good reason) and Liu Zhang especially. Borrowed Jing province from Sun Quan and refused to return it. Invaded Sun Quan for his personal revenge (there is a reason those expensive bamboos officially recorded Zhao Yun petitioning his lord so) and caused so many good men to be lost or killed (ok, this one is tragic in this sense, and the man at fault is ... drumrolling ... Liu Bei`! 😅

[@gh0rochi363]

​@@Chengyuan79in the novel Liu Biao have Jing to Liu Bei, so really Liu Zhang was the usurper.

[@MotleyM1381]

How are Dian Wei and Sun Ce not on this list??

[@TheNightowlGaming]

Dian Wei died protecting Cao Cao, he had an honorable death he is not a tragic character, tragic death, yes, tragic character no. Same thing with Sun Ce, his death was tragic and the games do it pretty well, but himself as a character is not a tragic character. The only tragic thing about the character is his VA and weapon changes. But for the most part he is a pretty fulfilled character who doesnt meet much tragedy in his story till the end 👍👍

[@TheNightowlGaming]

If you're looking for top tragic deaths, here ya go: kzbin.info/www/bejne/j2O9mGaqh551kNk&ab_channel=TheNightowl

[@MotleyM1381]

I see your point but they had sad endings to their lives. Besides Lu Bu they really stood out to me.

[@safwanmannaa3527]

Imo Zhuge Dan ranks higher than #10. Still, this doesn't mean I don't like these lists. They are great. Also, excellent OST selection!

[@TheNightowlGaming]

Thank you thank you!!

[@karabomafa5609]

The Sun lineage pretty much 😂

[@TheNightowlGaming]

😂😂

[@Themultiroleman]

After Sun Quan died, everything went to fuck. Sun Deng was a good ruler, but he died early. His SUCKsessors were inept, tyrannical and the entire Wu Kingdom degraded to palace strife. By the time Sun Xiu got his shit together, it was too late.

[@HeyMan1624]

Can you explain what happened to Cai Wenji? I don't know much about her, so it took me by surprise that she ended up on this list.

[@TheNightowlGaming]

She got kidnapped and was enslaved for years by a barbaric tribe before Cao Cao paid a ransom to free her

[@RolandTheLight]

Not gonna lie I always feel bad for Lu Bu, being such a strong character and end up like that. But I guess it makes sense since he was a good warrior, but apparently not the best commander. Still sad, wish we could see more of him or get more hypo route games. This is why I do like Warriros Orochi since you can see more of Lu Bu. That was sure a tragic death for Zhang Fei, very sad. Actually when Cao Cao were dying I almost cried out on his ending. I do really like how they made cutscenes in 9. Even as bad as Zhang Fei was to his men, it sure were sad. About Yuan Shao thats an interesting observation...I guess they made him more ignorant because he basically lost because he was ignorante and were so full of his family name. And to make him and Cao Cao look different. Through its a bit sad when in 9 Yuan Shao sure were sad about Cao Cao betraying him. About Liu Shan...maaan thats tough. I still feel like he did what he should have done. Shu were not able to keep the war going, but people portrait him as a complete fool who just ruined the kingdom. Kingdom were done for a while by the time he surrendered and I feel like thats a very couragous thing to do. To do whats best for the people, rather then a dream you cannot achieve. I honestly dont like how community and KT themselves treat the character, mocking him and giving him a bench as a literal weapon... And about Jiang Wei I agree that its a bit too much, but I guess they sure wanted to show off how Jiang Wei were just pressed into this. Like he got a weigh of Zhuge Lians ambitions on himself and just refuse to give up. Which is a bit sad... Xu Shu and Yu Jin were the perfect chose for top 2 ones through. Would also say that I find Yuan Shu's ending as another one that is pretty tragic one. A man had ambition and in the end everyone just turned away from him and only Sun Ce who also basically betrayed him stayed around. Not to mention that I believe he either died on the road to Yuan Shao or a bit later after reaching him. A bit sad and 9 did shown that well. Also sorry for the wall of text, just some thought lol!

[@TheNightowlGaming]

@@RolandTheLight never mind the walls of text! Haha glad you enjoyed the video and love the angles you see for these characters, these lists are always subjective so not everyone agrews

[@demonfromhell2022]

Liu Shan did the right thing even it means he is a coward. Peace is when no war, no suffering and no more deaths. Liu Shan is following the law of war.

[@TheNightowlGaming]

Yep I can agree to that

[@mjml6238]

I think Zhuge Liang and Guan Yu must be on the list

[@TheNightowlGaming]

I could see that, but not ad bad ss these 10

[@Sun.ce.214]

I never got the hate that liu shan got. he was put in a really bad place he didn't ask to be put in. his ending was definitely heart breaking. xiahou ba is another one considering how young he was. really enjoyed the video!

[@Wizkid_Utopia]

...Shu's a tragic group.

[@TheNightowlGaming]

Yea...

[@obitoxshinobi8978]

i would have kept on fighting for SHU n Zhao Yun n Jiang Wei would have been my best friend lol idk about Cao Wenji but Zhenji is tragic too she commited a suicide

[@TheNightowlGaming]

tru tru

[@Reacted1991]

man you need to watch the 2010 three kingdoms tv series it will make you see these characters in a new light also if your interested I made the english audiobook of the rotk if you want to listion to the direct source material

[@TheNightowlGaming]

Yeah i need to watch it

[@Reacted1991]

@@TheNightowlGaming really good show had some of the best depictions of alot of these characters best cao cao liu bei and sima yi hands down

[@Reacted1991]

@@TheNightowlGaming you should review it or share your thoughts if you end up watching it

[@foryou-cu4io]

Brother what about Zhao Yun and Ma Chao

[@TheNightowlGaming]

def not tragic in the games

[@Anx23]

I feel like it’s tragic that they’re the best spear warriors. Like why??

[@gokucomeback]

I can’t wait for dynasty warrior 10. Supposedly it will be released in September 2nd 2024

[@TheNightowlGaming]

uhh I dont think so, the newest one will be out 2025

[@a.trance6997]

Buddy is from a different timeline, lmfao.

[@austin2Kool]

Liu Shan is useless I didn’t like this character at all. The later dynasty warrior games made it seem like he was thinking for his people and stuff but everyone I meet seems to hate him. Even the ones who have read the books says he is a kitten born from a tiger.

[@TheNightowlGaming]

for sure his methods definitely werent well received by many

[@cantstopmygo420]

Pang Tong 🥲 rip

[@vickyfarhan95]

I'm always happy whenever I see the death of any Shu generals (except Pang Tong, Zhuge Liang, Yue Ying, and Fa Zheng). Zhang Fei and Ma Chao will always be my least favorite Shu general although I'm not keen on any Shu general 😅😅

[@TheNightowlGaming]

Lol probably cause of their history right? Thats understandable lol

[@vickyfarhan95]

@@TheNightowlGaming not only from history but their interpretation in Dynasty Warriors series, tbh

[@mathewhosier9739]

Dw9 was just so bad gameplay wise I just couldn't get into it, dw8 xl ce is just a much better game

[@eternal_seokjin7441]

7 caught me off gurard I laughed, unfitting for this video xD

[@eternal_seokjin7441]

I'd personally argue against some recommendations about Sun Ce, I just think he's too happy to even know what sadness is or move on really easily, he's like DW's equivalent of Kirby (weird, I know) contagious wholesomeness. I also disagree with Dian Wei, cuz he died doing what he loved, defending his lord and serving him, same could apply with other generals. But I'd argue for Zhou Yu and Lu Xun. For Zhou Yu, he got injured at Nanjun, held that injury for a year without rest and treatment and then gone into full on mental breakdown which always ends him in a bad mental state then either blames it on Zhuge Liang or himself, and then he fuggen dies. His anxiety doesn't help at all. Prolly goes to Cai Wenji for his weekly therapist consultation 💀 As for Lu Xun, it's more on history (which is inapproriate to be in DW), but Sun Quan death threated him to depression then death. Lu Kang was like "The f*ck you do to my dad?" and Quan's like "I'm sorry" well it's too late ya nosey ass. Not to mention Lu Xun is looked down upon by other officials most of the time.

[@TheNightowlGaming]

😂 Not exactly the response I wanted, but in a way he went from kinda respectable to laughable which is sad in itself lol

[@TheNightowlGaming]

100% I can definitely see both of them, both they're both presented so nobly and awesome in the games it was hard to see them as tragic And I can see Sun Ce being like Kirby definitely contagious energy 😁

[@Themultiroleman]

@@eternal_seokjin7441 Zhou Yu was trolled by Zhuge Liang and was too fixated on Jingzhou. After Chibi he felt like he should have a slice of the Jingzhou pie, but Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang kept trolling him to no end. 1st attempt? Got wounded in Nanjun and tricked by Zhao Yun. 2nd Attempt via Marriage alliance? Rescued by Huang Zhong and Wei Yan. Last attempt had him use the pretext of seizing Chengdu but he needs his army to use Jingzhou as a resupply hub. Zhuge Liang saw through the ruse and dealt Zhoou Yu a crushing defeat.

[@michel4rthur]

Nah Guan Yu and Zhang Fei dying was actually justified

[@TheNightowlGaming]

Still tragic to watch like damn they got dragged, but yah I know whatchu mean