Dynasty Warriors 2 Extras FAQ (FAQFAQ) Version 0.7 April 20, 2001 By Eugene Huang a.k.a. NekkiBasara chockydonutman@hotmail.com DISCLAIMER: This FAQ is the sole property of Eugene Huang and can not be reprinted without his consent unless you ask real nice. In the event that you do not ask real nice, or if this FAQ is taken without my permission, strict legal action will be taken. You have been warned. If this FAQ is viewed elsewhere besides on GameFAQS.com, we recommend viewing it under Microsoft Word. Usage of other text viewing programs may cause headaches and irritation (due to poor text alignment). Writer does not assume any responsibility for any injuries that are sustained while viewing this FAQ with any other text viewer. You have been warned once again. Thanks for understanding. i. FOREWORD ----------------------------------- WHY AM I WRITING THIS FAQ? I've noticed that several people on the message boards these days have questions that just aren't answered or even addressed on some of the FAQs on GameFAQS. Either that, or the questions are not answered in quite enough detail. This is the reason that I am writing this FAQ - although answering questions on the Message Boards is fun, it would be much more efficient to have these questions readily answered through this Extras FAQ, or FAQFAQ. So, anyway, here we go. CONTENTS ------------------------------------------------- I. ITEMS AND POWERUPS a. SAVE POINTS (AND LIFE RECOVERY BUNS) b. +10 LIFE UPS c. THE BABY AT CHANG BAN d. THE LUMINOUS SWORD e. INCREASING THE VALUE OF POWERUPS II. INITIATING CUTSCENES AND OTHER EVENTS III. LEVEL STRATEGIES IV. OFFICERS LIST AND THEIR POWERUPS V. FAVORITE EDIT MODES VI. MORE FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS VII. SPECIAL THANKS I. ITEMS AND POWERUPS ------------------------------------------------- There are a ton of items and powerups in this game, but there are also many many more crates and pots to sift through in order to find them. This guide will show you where to find some of them in each stage. I won't list where to find the common ones, or give descriptions of what they do (since that information can be found in your instruction manual, or at any of the other FAQs here), but I will list the ones that are much more rare and tougher to find. As a general rule, keep these in mind: - All food items are found in pots, while all other items are found in crates. - When you see a group of pots or crates all located in one area, one of them MUST have an item - All personal bodyguards of every general drop +50 Life buns when they die. All Guard Captains have valuable food items (+200 Life or All Recovery Potion) - Named generals that are playable (with exception to all rulers and two advisors) drop either +4 Attack or +4 Defense. All non-playable advisors will drop +2 Defense, while most other non-playable generals will drop +1 or +2 Attack - Of course, all Gate Captains drop +1 Defense by default A. SAVE POINTS (AND LIFE RECOVERY BUNS) If you own the Japanese version of this game, you're out of luck, since you are not given the option to save within the level. On the other hand, most levels in the American version of this game contain 5 save points that are contained in crates which are scattered throughout the map. Please note that most of these save points are found in lone crates - usually not accompanied by other crates and pots. Please also note that there is usually a Life Recovery Bun somewhere within the immediate vicinity of most save points (sometimes they are slightly farther away). Be on the lookout for them, and remember their locations as well. No stage has more than 5 save points, and no less than 3. Here's a list of where to find them all. YELLOW TURBAN REBELLION - There are a total of 4 confirmed save points in this level. The first two are in lone crates behind both of the second gates. Therefore, once you defeat Cheng Yuanzhi or Bo Zhang, there should be a save point in a crate behind the gates that open. The third save point is found in a lone crate at the mouth of the valley in which Zhang Bao summons the magical wind. It's located near Zhang Man Cheng's starting point, so it shouldn't be very tough to find. The Life Recovery Bun that accompanies it is found near a set of boxes and crates in between Zhang Bao's valley and the alternate pathway you take to fight He Yi. The last save point is in a lone crate under one of the pagodas close to Zhang Jiao's mountain fortress (it's on the lower level that you fight in before you run up the ramp to fight Zhang Jiao himself. There is also a Life Recovery Bun in a pot under another pagoda, as well as a lone crate in the center of the courtyard, which contains a 10-second Full Musou powerup. HU LAO GATE - I have only managed to find 3 save points in this stage, and there may very well be only 3 on this stage. If any of you have been able to find anymore, please let me know by e-mailing me via the address at the top of the FAQ. I'm certain everybody has found the first save point - this one is at the top of Fan Shui gate, towards the eastern section of the wall. The second save point is found most easily if you take Cao Cao's route. Go to the gate which is opened by defeating Niou Fu - once you go through the gate, the Save Point is in a lone crate to your right. The third save point is also fairly easy to find - it's at the bottom of Hu Lao Gate - you can get it even before the gate is even opened. It's in a crate found in a nook to the right of the gate entrance. The Life Recovery Bun that accompanies this save point is found at the top of the gate - in a pot on the western section of the gate. The only other Life Recovery Bun that I can remember of is found near Yuan Shao's central gate - notice that in the northern section of the map, there are two gates which seem like they are stuck together. There should be a Life Recovery Bun somewhere near the gate on the left. GUAN DU - There are 5 save points here, and all of them are located within or at the entrances the 5 fortresses in this stage. Two of them are found somewhere within the two castles - near the starting points of both Dian Wei and Liu Yan. Two of them are also found within Liu Bei's fortress and Yuan Shao's fortress. Liu Bei's save point is found near the western gate of his fortress, while Yuan Shao's is found near the entrance of his southern gate. The last one is found at the gate that you must open in order to gain access to the Wu Chao supply depot. CHANG BAN - I believe that there are only 3 save points here - once again, let me know if I am wrong. The first one is at the northern end of the village (the village on the south side of the map). Look for a line of crates and pots for this one. The second one is found near Cao Cao's southeastern gate - right where Liu Bei begins to fight Li Dian at the start of his retreat. There is also a Life Recovery Bun in a pot in the immediate vicinity. The last one is in a set of crates and pots near the northeastern area where Liu Bei's reinforcements arrive by sea. Once again, there is a Life Recovery Bun in the vicinity, so be on the lookout for it. CHI BI - There are 5 on this stage. The first one is near Sun Quan's starting point - a bit to the northwest, in a crate somewhere along the coast. The second one is east of the first one - in a crate that is also somewhere along the coast, on the eastern half. There is also one near Cao Cao's starting point, in a crate on the western side of his camp. One can also be found in Dian Wei's starting point, and the last one is found at the small campfire near the area where Lu Xun makes his entrance. Check around the gate on the eastmost side of the map on the northern coast, just slightly north of Cao Ren's starting point. HE FEI - There are actually 5 save points on this stage, although some are a bit tough to find. One is near a bridge on the western side of the map - look for a watchtower that's on one end of the bridge. The save point should be in the crate near the eastern side of the watchtower. The next one is very close to Yu Jin's starting point, near the southern gate of Cao Cao's fortress. This one is also close to a bridge. The third one is in a clump of boxes that is directly west of Zhang He's starting point. The pot there also contains a Life Recovery Bun, I think. The fourth one is in the vicinity of the ungodly brawl that occurs between Taishi Ci, Xu Zhu, and Cao Ren. Look for a lone crate somewhere in the southeastern area of the map - if my memory is correct, it's also somewhere near a bridge. And finally, the last one is found in that very narrow valley - the one that leads right to Zhang Liao's starting point if you're battling in the center of the map. Note that there is a Life Recovery Bun placed in the immediate vicinity - open only if NEEDED, since you're going to need a save point before AND after you battle Zhang Liao. YI LING - 5 here. Look for the first one near Lu Meng and Guan Yu's starting point in the northeast side of the map. The box should be in the vicinity of the coastline, which should be close to Sun Quan's northeast gate (there should also be a Life Recovery Bun nearby). The second one is near the southern section of that central area where Ma Chao, Huang Zhong, Taishi Ci, and Gan Ning duke it out. There might be a Life Recovery Bun found in some other section of the Central area, but I'm not too sure. The third one is found in the northwestern entrance to Zhuge Liang's maze, which is on the western side of the map. The Life Recovery Bun that accompanies this save point is actually found in another pathway to Liu Bei's army. Look around to the eastern entrances to Liu Bei's camp for a pot containing the bun. The fourth one is found quite near Sun Shang Xiang's starting points, in the outskirts of Sun Quan's camp. Look for a lone crate to the right of the easternmost fence in the area. The last one is in the northern section of Zhang Fei's camp, near a watchtower in that area. It's somewhat close to the southeastern entrance to Zhuge Liang's maze. WU ZHANG - 5 here as well. Two of them are quite easy to find - they're at the gates that are guarded by Guan Suo of Guan Yu's army and Lei Tong of Zhang Fei's army. The next one is in a crate near one of Cao Cao's eastern gates - the one that is north of the river. Look for a lone crate in the vicinity. If memory serves me correctly, the fourth one is somewhere in the northwestern area of the map, close to Zhang Liao's starting point. Once again, look for a lone crate in the area. The last one is easy to find - it's at the foot of the valley where Sima Yi throws his avalanche upon you - look for a crate that is quite close to a pot containing a Life Recovery Bun. B. +10 LIFE UPS I've posted this topic before on the GameFAQS message boards, so I'm pretty much just going to cut and paste this information verbatim: There are two ways you can get a +10 life up - the first is to find it in a pot somewhere in each stage. Every stage has a +10 life up - it's just a matter of knowing where they all are. Here are all of the locations: YELLOW TURBAN REBELLION - Once you've gone through Cao Cao's second gate (the gate that opens once you defeat Cheng Yuanzhi), head north all the way to the top of the screen. Go up the steps to the top of the wall and go all the way to the right - the lone pot there contains a life up. HU LAO GATE - On the eastern side of the top of Fan Shui Gate, in a pot next to the save point. Go up the steps and head right if you don't already know where it is. GUAN DU - In Wu Chao Supply Depot. Right before the path bends, the pot containing the +10 Life Up should be near the right-hand wall. CHANG BAN - Find Cao Cao's gate on the east side of the village. The life up is very close to there - head due south (towards Cao Cao's starting point) and look for a few pots along the wall. CHI BI - This is found in the northeasternmost corner of the map amongst a collection of boxes and pots. It's very close to the bridge north of Lu Xun's starting point. HE FEI - Right in between Xiahou Dun and Lu Xun's starting point, there is a tiny island with two bridges on the east and west side. Go to the northernmost tip of the island to find a pot with the life up. YI LING - This pot is somewhere near the center of Zhuge Liang's maze. It's a lot easier to find if you're an officer of Shu, as opposed to an officer of Wu. WU ZHANG - Right near the point of conflict between Ma Chao and Dian Wei, there is a tiny village. Look for a group of houses that forms a "U" shape. The entrance to the "U" is blocked by a thin tree. Go past the tree and break open the pots to find a +10 Life Up and a +50 Recovery Bun (You know what to get first). The second way is to get a +10 Life Up is to defeat a general that drops it. All generals that are lords, or are relatives of lords (excluding Cao Zhang and Liu Feng) drop +10 life ups. However, this does not include lords who are the main enemy of a level. For instance, you can get a +10 life up from Cao Cao while fighting against him in the Yellow Turban Stage, but you won't be able to get one battling against him in Wu Zhang Plains. Here's a complete list of generals, as well as where you can defeat them: Liu Bei - Yellow Turban Rebellion, Hu Lao Gate, Guan Du Gongsun Zan - Hu Lao Gate Cao Cao - Yellow Turban Rebellion, Hu Lao Gate Cao Pi - Chang Ban, Chi Bi, He Fei, Wu Zhang Sun Jian - Yellow Turban Rebellion, Hu Lao Gate Sun Shang Xiang - He Fei, Yi Ling C. THE BABY AT CHANG BAN Many people have noticed a baby that is featured in the item list, above a caption reading, "?????" Simply put, the baby is a special item that can only be found in the battle at Chang Ban. To find him, simply wait until Cao Cao's reinforcements arrive. Afterwards, head to the village towards the south of the map. Now, check along the western wall of the village and keep going until you find a well surrounded by several crates. Open all of the crates there - the baby should be in one of them. Please note that the crate containing the baby will appear only after Cao Cao's reinforcements arrive, so going to the well beforehand will only leave you confused. So, what does the baby do? Well, the only bonus you get is an extra 2000 points which is added to your score at the end of the level. Other than that, the baby is pretty much useless. If you're curious as to what a baby is doing in the middle of a battlefield, here's the background story: During the battle of Chang Ban, Zhao Yun was out searching for Liu Bei's wife, Lady Mi (who happened to be officer Mi Zhu's sister) and their child, Liu Chan. Eventually, Zhao Yun approaches a well and finally finds Lady Mi, who is quite wounded from battle. Yet, the baby she holds in her arms still appears to be fine. Zhao Yun offers to assist both Lady Mi and her child to safety, but Lady Mi would hear none of it. Claiming that she would only be a burden upon their escape, she instead hands only the child over to Zhao Yun so that he may be placed under the mighty Zhao's protection. Knowing that Zhao Yun is worthy of protecting the child even against the most insurmountable odds, she then throws herself into the well, preventing Zhao Yun from even attempting to protect her. Zhao Yun then carries the young child under his breastplate with one arm and rides off to bring him back to Liu Bei. Along the way, he defeats and kills several important generals and several thousand soldiers - even with his debilitated fighting ability hindered by the handicap of protecting the baby. Bruised and bleeding from battle, Zhao Yun finally reaches Liu Bei and presents his son to him. Seeing Zhao Yun's injured body infuriates Liu Bei, and so he grabs the child and throws him upon the ground, exclaiming something to the effect of, "It was because of you that I might have lost my most faithful retainer! I can have other sons, but there can only be one Zhao Yun!" Epilogue: When Liu Chan grew older, it appears that the damage he received from being thrown upon the ground may have caused a sharp decrease in his intellect (his father's negligence towards his upbringing may have also been a factor). While Liu Chan inherited his father's kingdom upon the death of Liu Bei, Chan could not even come close to Liu Bei's intellect, charm, political savvy, or even his judge of talent. The heir of the kingdom of Shu turned out to be a complete and total moron who whittled his kingdom away through his weak-willed administration and his drunken and carefree behavior. He made tremendously bad decisions under the horrendous advice of his most trusted eunuch, Huang Hao, and he eventually handed the kingdom of Shu over to the kingdom of Wei towards the end of the Three Kingdoms period. A majority of historians believe that he alone is the cause of Shu's eventual downfall. D. THE LUMINOUS SWORD You may have noticed that, along with the baby, there is also a picture of a sword in the Instruction Manual that hovers over the caption of "?????" This item is, in fact, the Luminous Sword, which offers a very valuable Attack +10 power up to whoever is good enough to find it. The sword was, in fact, a very famous legendary sword that was fabled to be able to cut through steel as if it were butter. This is the story behind it: Prior to the battle of Chang Ban, Cao Cao had handed the Luminous Sword over to the care of his relative, Xiahou En. Because he was entrusted with such an important task and such a valuable item, Xiahou En was arrogant enough to believe that he could defeat anybody with the sword. After accosting Zhao Yun during the battle, he challenged him to a duel, and lost - quickly and badly. Zhao Yun, realizing the sword's value, picked it up with him and kept it as a prized find. There are three ways in obtaining the Luminous Sword. The first is playing as a Shu general in the battle of Chang Ban. Defeat Xiahou En as soon as Cao Cao's reinforcements arrive, and the Luminous Sword is yours. Be careful - make sure that you are the first to defeat him, since he is such a weak character. If he runs into any of your allies, chances are that he will be dead very soon. The second way to get it is to play the battle of Chang Ban while working for the forces of Wei. To get the Luminous Sword in this stage, you must be able to defeat Zhao Yun, and believe me, this task is MUCH harder than simply defeating a sissy-pants like Xiahou En. In this stage, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhao Yun have all been given "Lu Bu-like" stats, making the task of facing just one of them, let alone all of them, a difficult task. The third method is to fight in the battle of He Fei under Sun Quan's forces. In this stage, defeat Zhang Liao to obtain the sword. While Zhang Liao never owned the sword in history, the power up you get for defeating him is justified. During the battle of He Fei, Zhang Liao once warded off 100,000 enemy soldiers by utilizing only 800 of his men. E. INCREASING THE VALUE OF POWER UPS Here is a tip that allows you to level up your characters much more quickly and efficiently. Have you ever gotten tired of cruddy generals only dropping crud items like +1 Attack swords or lowly Gate Captains only dropping +1 Defense shields? Well, you can change the quality of the power up you receive simply by increasing the combo that you kill your enemy with. For instance: If you perform an 8-hit combo on an enemy gate captain, then he will drop a +2 Defense shield instead of a +1. If you perform a 16-hit combo, then he will drop a +4 Defense instead. And finally, if you perform a 24-hit combo, he will drop a +8 Defense instead - the highest amount of Defense possible in a power up. The same applies for lowly generals. For instance, if you hit Pei Yuan Shao (from the Yellow Turban Stage) with a 24-hit combo, he will drop a +8 Attack sword instead of a +1. Also, please note, that getting these combos does not automatically double the value of the power up. For instance, hitting Zhou Yu with an 8-hit combo does not garner a +8 power up. That would be too easy. In order to get that +8 defense, you need to hit him with a 24- hit combo, just like you would a normal Gate Captain. Simple? And finally, using high-hit combos on generic soldiers will always result in an automatic minor item. So, if you finish a generic soldier off with an 8- hit combo, then they will leave either a +5 Arrow set or a +50 Life Up, which is chosen randomly. However, you may notice that if you use higher- hit combos to finish them off, then the value of the item will not increase. Unfortunately, I'm not exactly sure how this system affects those soldiers who already drop minor powerup items, since I do recall getting a Life Recovery Bun from using a 16-hit combo on a soldier once. If anybody knows the exact circumstances that are required for these rare items, let me know. So how do you get such high-hit combos? Well, here are a few proven methods: - Use your Musou attack. Even in the early stages, using your extended Musou attack (by holding down the circle button) after hitting S,S,S (Square, Square, Square) will almost always guarantee you an 8-hit combo, depending on the character. However, if you're using a character like Taishi Ci, whose Musou attack doesn't cause juggles, then it's best to hit your opponents off of a wall so that he bounces back into your attacks. Also use this technique when using the Liu Bei/Sima Yi clones, since killing your enemy with a Musou attack causes him to be catapulted away from you. If there is no wall nearby, then try and make it so that the enemy has just enough life left so that you can fit at least 8-hits in before he dies. - Use your Musou arrow barrage (Hold down R1, aim, and then press and hold circle). Once again, in the early stages of development, an arrow barrage will almost always garner you an 8-hit combo against your opponents, provided that you had enough arrows in your supply. Later on, when your life meter increases, it's possible to get 16-hit combos off your enemy, but they usually have to be at very close range. In addition, I find that raising the aim of your bow just a little bit during the barrage seems to help with the juggling. Watch your enemy's health carefully as well - once it's completely depleted, your opponent will drop like a stone. Try to lower the aim of your bow once that happens so that you can catch your opponent in mid-fall. - Infinite Combos. I don't use these combos often because I simply don't have the time and patience to practice them. However, I do know that Lu Xun's is probably the easiest infinite combo. To perform this, press S,T (Square, Triangle) to launch your opponent in the air, and then repeat S,T infinitely. Some people have been able to get 99-hit combos with this, but not me. - Infinite Combos Part 2. You may notice that the game has several subtle nuances that allow you to get extra hits by accident. For instance, when an enemy is defeated with a non-power move (such as the first, second, or third hit of an S,S,S,S attack), he will stagger to the ground instead of getting knocked away. In this case, try to keep him standing for as long as possible by poking him with your weapon one or two times. Also, your allies can assist you with these combos as well, by keeping your enemy standing with their sword pokes as well. It also helps if you're doing this against a wall or mountain. - Mounted Combos (or Horse Massacres). This is by far the easiest way to obtain infinite-hit combos. To do this, first you must make your opponent follow you into a corner (with a horse very close by) and knock him down. Afterwards, you simply get onto to your horse and repeatedly run him over in the corner, repeatedly slashing until you get the desired number of hits - sadistic, but fun. There is a catch, however - your attack level must be significantly higher than your opponent's defense in order to be able to run him over in the first place. Even if you knock a powerful opponent down, attempting to run him over with your horse will only result in being stopped in your horse's tracks. - There is a Jump + Slash combo that some people on the GameFAQS message boards use, but I am currently unaware of the exact procedure to attain it. If anybody out there has any additional infinite combos that they would like to share, please e-mail me at chockydonutman@hotmail.com or post them on the GameFAQS website. II. INITIATING CUTSCENES AND OTHER EVENTS ------------------------------------------------- You may have noticed that, several times during the battles, sometimes certain events will occur. Most of these events are based on events in the novel, and have been subtly recreated into the battles to make the game much more enjoyable. Here's a list of most of the cutscenes and other events, as well as the instructions on how to trigger them: YELLOW TURBAN REBELLION ----------------------- *All of the following scenes are obtainable only if you play on the side of the Imperial Forces. Zhang Bao's Magic Wind: To initiate this cutscene, any soldier fighting for the Imperial forces (including your character) must set foot in the valley to the north that leads to Zhang Bao. BACKGROUND: The event depicted is based on Chapter 2 of the novel. In it, Zhang Bao cites a few magic incantations and summons a fierce wind that deters the Imperial Forces. To counter this, Zhu Jun performed an animal sacrifice which forced the wind to cease. Zhang Liang's Avalanche: To trigger this scene, any soldier fighting for the Imperial forces (including your character) must set foot in the valley that leads to Zhang Liang. This valley is reachable by going down the alternate pathway that is guarded by He Yi. Past He Yi is a fork in the road - take the first left, and then make a right. This path should lead to Zhang Liang's valley, causing the rocks to start falling. This event did not occur, by the way, since there were very little words spoken about Zhang Liang in the novel. The Appearance of Zhang Jiao: If any Imperial soldier (including your character) reaches any of the two ramps that lead to Zhang Jiao's fortress, then a scene will be triggered showing Zhang Jiao summoning a ball of fire leading to an explosion. BACKGROUND: In the novel, Zhang Jiao obtained great wisdom power when he was given a book titled "The Way of Peace." It was this wisdom that inspired him to lead the people into rebellion in the first place. HU LAO GATE ----------- *The following scenes are triggered only if you are fighting for Yuan Shao's forces. Lu Bu's Arrival: Once your character obtains 100 kills, Dong Zhuo will say something to the effect of "Lu Bu, bring me that fool's head!" Any information about Lu Bu's background may be obtained from my Lu Bu Acquisition FAQ found at www.gamefaqs.com. Xiahou Dun Loses an Eye: If you're playing as Xiahou Dun, all you have to do is approach Xu Rong's gate - once you do, a cutscene will show a stray arrow hitting Xiahou Dun in the eye. BACKGROUND: While Xiahou Dun really did lose an eye to an arrow in reality, this scene is quite anachronistic. Xiahou Dun actually lost his eye while chasing the armies of Lu Bu years after the Battle of Hu Lao Gate took place. The details of this event are found in Chapter 18 of the novel - in it, one of Lu Bu's officers, Cao Xing, shot an arrow at Xiahou Dun to protect their retreat. The arrow happened to catch Xiahou Dun in the eye, causing him to scream in pain. He then proceeded to pull the arrow out of his eye socket and exclaimed, "Essence of my father, blood of my mother, I cannot throw this away!" During that period, a man's body was considered to be the greatest treasure of all since it contained the essence of all prior ancestors. Thus, to merely discard a part of your body was considered to be a great sin (this is why nobody ever cut their hair in those days). That is why Xiahou Dun put his own eye into his mouth and swallowed it, effectively demonstrating his filial piety. Bowmen Appear at Fan Shui Gate: This event is triggered by the first allied soldier (usually one of Liu Bei's) to approach the entrance to Fan Shui gate. Basically, you'll see a line of bowmen picking off some of Liu Bei's many lesser soldiers. There's not much historical context to this event, by the way. Dong Zhuo's Surprise Attack: This event did not really happen in the novel - it's just an extra obstacle that the programmers placed in order to make this level just a bit more challenging. Everyone who's beaten this level knows what it is - basically, a legion of Dong Zhuo's forces will suddenly appear to the rear of Yuan Shao. If Yuan Shao's morale is low (which it usually is), then it's up to you to rescue his sorry ass. If you ignore his girlish cries for help, then expect to see the message "HQ is in trouble! Need assistance immediately!" very, very often. If I were hazard as guess as to what it is that triggers this scene, it would probably be a morale trigger. Basically, if your overall morale rises to a certain point, then this scene is triggered. There are many other events in this game which are like this. Finally! Hu Lao Gate!: This event is triggered once your character approaches the entrance to Hu Lao Gate. Very similar to the "Fan Shui Bowmen" event, except that your character is the only one who can trigger it. *The following scenes are triggered only if you're fighting for Dong Zhuo's forces. Lu Bu Moves to the Front Lines: I'm not certain as to how to obtain this one - I believe it occurs when Yuan Shao's forces make it past Fan Shui Gate. Lu Bu's Rebellion: This scene is yet another event that is not accompanied by a cutscene. To trigger this, Diao Chan forces must be scattered. Once this occurs, Lu Bu will go ballistic and suddenly turn against Dong Zhuo, blaming him for idiotically placing Diao Chan on the front lines. For more information on the relationship between that wacky trio of Lu Bu, Diao Chan, and Dong Zhuo, consult my Lu Bu FAQ found on www.gamefaqs.com. In fairness, once Lu Bu rebels, he will not move or make any advances towards Dong Zhuo - he'll just stand there and wait for you to attack him, which is very understandable. After all, it's tough enough to face Guan Yu and Zhang Fei at the same time - adding Lu Bu to the mix is just plain unfair. Please note - this event cannot be triggered if you are playing as either Lu Bu or Zhang Liao. Rather than deal with the headache that would be caused if your unit were to suddenly rebel, the programmers just decided to delete the possibility of that event if you happen to fight under Lu Bu's flag. GUAN DU ------- *Unless otherwise specified, the following cutscenes are available only while playing under Cao Cao's forces. The Reunification of the Three Brothers: Note that in Guan Du, all three Brothers of the Peach Tree Oath are in this level, but are in opposite sides. Both Liu Bei and Zhang Fei fight for Yuan Shao while Guan Yu fights for Cao Cao. Basically, once Guan Yu happens to come across either one of his brothers during the battle, then the brothers of the opposing side will retreat. Therefore, if you're fighting on Cao Cao's side, both Liu Bei and Zhang Fei will retreat as soon as they make contact with Guan Yu. Likewise, if you are fighting on Yuan Shao's side, then Guan Yu will make a hasty retreat as soon as he meets up with either one of his brothers. BACKGROUND: I suppose you're wondering how all three brothers ended up on opposing sides. Well, the original events of the novel have been greatly changed in order to adapt to the level design, but the idea is still there. To get more info on this event, consult chapters 24-26 of the novel. If you're too impatient, then here's a synopsis: Shortly after Cao Cao had gained control of Emperor Xian and attained the rank of Prime Minister, a small group of Han loyalists (including Liu Bei and Ma Teng, Ma Chao's father) secretly plotted his assassination under orders of the Emperor himself. The assassination was thwarted, however, so Liu Bei fled back to his province of Xuzhou. Cao Cao knew that Liu Bei was an accomplice to the assassination, so, in revenge, he sent an army to capture him. Liu Bei and Zhang Fei sallied to meet up with Cao Cao's overwhelming number of Imperial troops while Guan Yu was ordered to guard the city. Zhang Fei attempted to ward off their advance through a night raid against Cao Cao's camp, but Cao Cao had luckily received a premonition that warned him of the attack in advance. Zhang Fei's night raid turned out to be a complete failure as both he and Liu Bei were separated in the confusion. Liu Bei, being blocked off in all directions, fled northward to the refuge of Yuan Shao, Cao Cao's enemy to the north. The whereabouts of Zhang Fei were unknown. Meanwhile, Cao Cao attacked Guan Yu and the city of Xuzhou. Guan Yu refused to surrender until Cao Cao's officer Zhang Liao (whose life, if you recall, was once spared by Guan Yu) approached him to convince him. After speaking with Zhang Liao, Guan Yu decided to surrender under three conditions: 1) He would willingly serve in the name of the Emperor, and not Cao Cao 2) Liu Bei's family would be well protected and off-limits to anyone in Cao Cao's army 3) Once the whereabouts of Liu Bei were discovered, Guan Yu would be allowed to retire and immediately head out in search of him Cao Cao did not like these conditions, but he had no choice to accept, lest a great man like Guan Yu be prematurely erased from the world. While under Cao Cao's service, Guan Yu received many gifts and was the guest of honor at many banquets, yet he was not involved in many battles. Cao Cao feared that, if Guan Yu were to perform any extraordinary deeds for him on the battlefield, then all of the debts incurred from his many gifts would be paid in full. However, at the Battle of Baima, Cao Cao came across one of Yuan Shao's greatest generals, Yan Liang, who had killed two of Cao Cao's generals, and had easily defeated Xu Huang, wielder of the Giant Axe. Realizing that nobody else could defeat such a man, Cao Cao summoned Guan Yu to deal with Yan Liang, despite the fact that it might allow Guan Yu to repay his debt. Guan Yu promised to bring back Yan Liang's head, and a few minutes later, Yan Liang's head was dangling from Guan Yu's horse. Needless to say, this infuriated Yuan Shao when he discovered that it might have been Liu Bei's brother, Guan Yu, who had so effortlessly killed one of his greatest warriors. Yuan Shao threatened Liu Bei's life, but Liu Bei had volunteered to find out for certain whether or not Guan Yu was truly under Cao Cao's service. In the next battle, Liu Bei was sent with Yuan Shao's other great general, Wen Chou, to avenge Yan Liang's death. This time, Wen Chou's army unwittingly fell victim to one of Cao Cao's clever ruses, but in the confusion, Wen Chou managed to escape death at the hands of both Xu Huang ad Zhang Liao. Unfortunately, he was not able to escape death at the hands of Guan Yu, who had chased him down and slaughtered him with one blow. However, during the retreat, Liu Bei was able to catch a glimpse of Guan Yu, giving him definite proof that he was working under Cao Cao. That night, Liu Bei sent a letter to him, informing Guan Yu of his whereabouts. Thus, Guan Yu packed up all of his belongings, readied Liu Bei's family, and informed Cao Cao of his departure while leaving all of his gifts behind. Cao Cao could not help but keep his word, so he had no choice but to wish him farewell. So, where was Zhang Fei during all of this? Well, during his retreat from his failed night raid, he came across a small town named Gucheng. He tried asking the magistrate for grain, but was refused - so, in anger, Zhang Fei drove away the officials and took the city for himself. When Guan Yu finally found him during his travels northward, Zhang Fei charged towards him with his horse and attempted to kill him for his supposed betrayal, since he had gotten word that Guan Yu was under Cao Cao's service. After explaining the situation, however, Guan Yu was forced to prove his loyalty by easily killing one of Cao Cao's officers. After the situation had cleared, both brothers agreed to head north to reunite with Liu Bei. So, going by the novel, Zhang Fei is really not supposed to fight alongside Liu Bei at the Battle of Guan Du. The Death of Yan Liang: This does not lead to a cutscene (although it really should), but you should use this information to your advantage when playing this level. Yuan Shao will only attack Cao Cao's main castle until Yan Liang is defeated. Once he is defeated, Yuan Shao's main force will begin the push from his fortress, initiating the following cutscene: Yuan Shao Arrives: Once Yuan Shao's forces reach the front of Cao Cao's castle walls, there will be a short cutscene showing Cao Cao surveying Yuan Shao's humongous army. BACKGROUND: In the novel, Yuan Shao's army outnumbered Cao Cao's by a considerable number, but it was Cao Cao who eventually won the war due to several factors. First of all, Cao Cao had troops who were better trained, but more importantly, he had many able advisers who were cunning and were on Cao Cao's wavelength, like Guo Jia, Xun You, Xun Yu, and Cheng Yu. On the other side, Yuan Shao was a petty and shortsighted man who disagreed with everything that his most intelligent advisers suggested. The mistreatment and mistrust that he exhibited towards his subordinates forced one of his officers, Xu You, who happened to be a childhood friend of Cao Cao's, to betray Yuan Shao, resulting in the Wu Chao Supply Depot ploy (which will be mentioned later). Catapults/Archers Appear: After Yuan Shao arrives at Cao Cao's castle, a few minutes will pass before either a unit of catapults or several units of archers appear. One poster on the GameFAQS message boards claims that this variable is determined by the overall morale of your force. For instance, if Yuan Shao's morale is greater at the time of this cutscene, then hordes of archers will appear. However, if Cao Cao's morale is greater, then a unit of catapults will appear, which will do far more damage to your forces. The catapults are always accompanied by a Catapult Captain who drops a +1 Attack powerup, if I'm not mistaken. By the way, the catapult (otherwise known as a "Stone- launching Weapon" or a "Rumbler") makes its first appearance in the novel here at the Battle of Guan Du. The Burning of Wu Chao Supply Depot: In order to initiate this scene, you need to infiltrate Wu Chao Supply Depot by defeating Han Meng, and then defeat Chun Yuqiong to burn the depot to the ground. Once he is defeated, a cutscene begins, showing Yuan Shao in distress over the loss of his supplies. Afterwards, your troops will get a HUGE morale boost, giving you enough strength to make a counter attack on Yuan Shao's forces. If you want to beat this level in the easiest way possible, make sure that you initiate this event. Likewise, if you're playing under Yuan Shao, then you have no choice but to experience this event, since it is one of the many morale-triggered events in this game. Once your morale reaches a certain point, the event will take place, resulting in two occurrences. First, Chun Yuqiong and all of his forces will be defeated. In his place will be Jia Xu, one of Cao Cao's advisors, with a small force of his own. Secondly, Zhang He and Gao Lan will defect from your forces and will instantaneously fight for Cao Cao, thereby increasing the difficulty of the level enormously. The only way to defeat this level without experiencing this event, by the way, is to defeat Cao Cao as soon as possible (which is pretty hard to do without a maxed-out character). BACKGROUND: In the novel, just like in the level, the burning of Wu Chao was the turning point in the war between Cao Cao and Yuan Shao. Cao Cao's supplies had been completely exhausted, leaving him to ponder the possibility of retreat. Meanwhile, Xu You, who had been so fed up with Yuan Shao's idiocy, decided to defect to Cao Cao and assist him in his attack. He knew that the solution to the supply problem could be found at Wu Chao, or to be more specific, Chun Yuqiong. Xu You knew that Chun Yuqiong was a notorious drunkard, and would thus be vulnerable to a very stealthy attack. Thus, Cao Cao sent out a small force (consisting of men dressed in Yuan Shao's uniforms) to infiltrate the Supply Depot and burn it down. Since Chun Yuqiong and his men were heavily drunk at the time, they didn't notice that they were under attack until it was too late, resulting in their speedy capture. To prove to Yuan Shao that he was incapable of hearing, smelling, or doing anything to prevent the raid, Chun Yuqiong was sent back to Yuan Shao without ears, nose, or hands. Needless to say, he was executed soon after. By the way, most of the Battle of Guan Du is described in Chapter 30, while the rest of Cao Cao's battle against the Yuan family occurs in chapters 31- 33. CHANG BAN --------- Cao Cao's Reinforcements: Since I have not come across any evidence that proves otherwise, we can assume that this event is triggered by morale. However, regardless of how low your morale is, Cao Cao's troops will still arrive if you wait long enough, so it must be a combination morale/time trigger. Once Liu Bei's morale reaches a certain point, or once a certain amount of time passes, Cao Cao's reinforcements will arrive from the northwestern and southwestern gates. Included in the reinforcement squad is Cao Cao, Cao Pi, Cao Zhang, Cao Hong, and Xiahou En in the southwest as well as Xiahou Dun and Xiahou Yuan in the northwest. Zhang Fei Protects Chang Ban Bridge: If you aren't playing as Zhang Fei, then this scene will most likely initiate just as long as Zhang Fei is still alive. However, if you ARE playing as Zhang Fei, then you need to do the following to activate the cutscene: 1) You must be on a HORSE (very important) 2) You must be waiting on Chang Ban bridge, which is in the southeast corner (just north of Cao Cao's southeast gate) 3) You must wait there until one of Cao Cao's troops approaches the bridge If all of these conditions are met, then the event will begin. This scene also happens to be my favorite cutscene in the game, as well as one of the best scenes in the novel. In fact, the actual event in the novel is very similar to the event in the game. BACKGROUND: Back when Guan Yu had just defeated Yan Liang while he was still under Cao Cao's service, Cao Cao marvelled at Lord Guan's strength and skill in battle. In reply, Guan Yu had noted that his brother, Zhang Fei, had the ability to mow through hundreds of enemy soldiers and take the head of the enemy commander as easily as picking someone's pocket. Cao Cao was shocked by this statement, so he ordered his officers to write a note on their sleeves that would remind them to be careful if they were to eventually come across Zhang Fei. Much later, during the Battle of Chang Ban, Zhao Yun had just defeated several generals and was about to bring Liu Chan back to his father. Relieved, he came across Zhang Fei at Chang Ban Bridge, who promised to watch his back. Soon after, a horde of Cao Cao's greatest generals, including Xiahou Dun, Xiahou Yuan, Zhang Liao, Xu Zhu, Li Dian, Cao Ren, Zhang He, and Yue Jin pulled up to the bridge. Zhang Fei stood there and just glared at them all. Some of them were frightened by Zhang Fei's power, while others were afraid that this may have been one of Zhuge Liang's clever tactics. As soon as the standoff began, Zhang Fei spoke, "I am Zhang Fei of Yan; who dares to fight with me?" Many of Cao Cao's officers still remembered Guan Yu's words of warning, and many were terrified to challenge him, or even move at all. Impatient, Zhang Fei repeated his words, "I am Zhang Fei of Yan; who dares to fight with me?" Seeing some movement in the rear of Cao Cao's forces, he then shouted, "What mean you? You will not fight nor do you run away?" The sheer force of his voice caused Xiahou Jie, one of Cao Cao's officers, to fall off of his horse in sheer terror, where he eventually died. The death of Xiahou Jie proved to be a catalyst for wholesale panic amongst Cao Cao's troops, as they all scrambled and trampled over each other to get away from Zhang Fei and save their own lives. Cao Cao was so stricken with fear and lacking in self- control that, as he was running away, his headgear had fallen off, leaving his long hair streaming behind him. By the way, this event is described in Chapter 42 of the novel. Also, I'm not sure whether this event is attainable if you're playing on Cao Cao's side. Can anybody fill me in on this? Liu Bei's Reinforcements: Once Liu Bei successfully retreats to the northeast to gather his forces, then a group of reinforcements led by General Liu Qi will arrive soon after. I'm not exactly sure what exactly triggers this event (it could be time- released, it could be morale, or it could be Liu Bei's positioning), but all I can say that it is almost certain, just as long as Liu Bei is safely positioned in the northeast. Similar to Yan Liang's death, the arrival of Liu Bei's reinforcements signals his attack towards Cao Cao's main forces. However, instead of heading south, Liu Bei will move his main army west instead, and thus apprehend Cao Cao from the rear. Please note - this event will not occur if you are playing under Cao Cao. Once Liu Bei reaches the northeast corner of the map, he will retreat indefinitely instead of regrouping for retaliation. Liu Bei's retreat will also lead to an automatic loss for Cao Cao, so be especially vigilant about preventing Liu Bei's retreat. CHI BI ------ Zhuge Liang Summons the Southeast Wind: To initiate this cutscene, you must simply kill 100 enemy soldiers. After this, you are treated to a scene that shows Zhuge Liang changing the course of the wind. Please note that, if Cao Ren still survives, then Lu Xun and his forces will appear behind Cao Ren from the eastern gate (the one on the northern shore). If Cao Ren's forces are scattered before you reach 100 kills, then Lu Xun will not appear. Please note that this cutscene appears under different circumstances if you're playing under Cao Cao's forces. Unfortunately, I'm not exactly sure of what those circumstances are. BACKGROUND: In Chapter 49 of the novel, slightly before the battle of Chi Bi, Zhou Yu had suddenly become stricken with illness. Zhuge Liang, who had been with them to secure an alliance between Liu Bei and Sun Quan, offered to help cure the advisor. After speaking with him, Zhuge Liang realized that the only thing that could cure Zhou Yu was a southeastern wind that would aid the plot of burning down Cao Cao's naval forces. Using a magical book that he had acquired (which was called "Concealing Method"), Zhuge Liang set up an altar in order to make sacrifices to the winds, and so after the third watch on the third day of sacrifice, a southeastern wind began to blow. Cao Cao's Navy Burns: The only condition that is required to make this cutscene occur is the survival of Huang Gai. After Zhuge Liang summons the wind, Huang Gai will make a mad dash towards the eastern block of Cao Cao's ships. After he makes his rounds and pays a visit to all of them, the cutscene will begin, signaling the burning of all of Cao Cao's ships. Executing this cutscene is strongly recommended if you're fighting under Sun Quan, since it deals such an incredible blow to Cao Cao's morale. You will also be able to see this scene if you happen to be fighting for Cao Cao's army, so, if you wish to prevent this cutscene, you must kill Huang Gai as soon as possible. After which, Sun Quan will exclaim with disbelief about how impossible it was to see through Zhou Yu's plan. BACKGROUND: Reading chapters 46-50 will give you more detailed information about the circumstances surrounding the Battle of Chi Bi. Prior to the battle, Huang Gai, who was a longstanding general under the rule of the Sun family, participated in a ruse with Zhou Yu so that he could defect over to Cao Cao's service. So, after having a "disagreement" with Zhou Yu, Huang Gai was sentenced to severe physical punishment. Now, with the fresh scars to prove his dissension, Huang Gai went along with Kan Ze to ask for a position under Cao Cao. This was step one of their plan. Step two involved one of Liu Bei's brilliant strategists, Pang Tong, who was also known as "Fledgling Phoenix." Pang Tong had gained notoriety as being a rival of Zhuge Liang, who had studied alongside him during their scholastic period. Pang Tong volunteered his services to Cao Cao, who was happy to enlist the help of such a wise strategist, since his name was already known across most of China. Pang Tong noticed that Cao Cao's army was not used to naval warfare, since many of them were getting seasick, so the strategist then suggested that Cao Cao chain his entire navy together so that the boats would not rock nearly as much. Cao Cao was delighted to hear such an idea, so he immediately commissioned his blacksmiths to create great chains of iron. Step three involved the aforementioned wind that Zhuge Liang had summoned. After the wind was summoned, Huang Gai used the flammable substances that he had gathered onto Cao Cao's ships to create a gigantic blaze. Since all of the ships were chained together, not one of them was spared from the fire, forcing many of Cao Cao's soldiers to abandon their ships. Cao Cao narrowly escaped death himself - the details of this event are described somewhat in the next cutscene. Cao Pi Rescues His Father: I don't know the exact details on how to trigger this cutscene, but from my experience, this cutscene almost never occurs if Lu Xun appears after Zhuge Liang summons the wind. Thus, in order to get this cutscene, you must defeat Cao Ren before you obtain 100 kills. If there's anybody who has evidence that counteracts this, then please let me know. Anyway, after this scene, Cao Pi and Jia Xu will arrive to provide reinforcements and delay Sun Quan's advance while Cao Cao attempts his retreat. Please note that even if Cao Cao retreats, you can still win the level by default. Please also note that this scene will only occur if you're playing under Sun Quan's forces. BACKGROUND: Historically, Cao Pi never rescued his father from death at the battle of Chi Bi. However, there is an interesting story behind Cao Cao's retreat found in Chapter 50. When Zhuge Liang began to plan the ambush of Cao Cao's retreat, Guan Yu wondered why the strategist had not included him in the battle plans. Zhuge Liang feared that Guan Yu would show kindness to Cao Cao (due to Cao Cao's previous kindness towards him) and allow him to pass. However, Guan Yu promised that this would not be the case, and offered to guard Huarong pass. Zhuge Liang knew that Cao Cao's death was not fated for the near future, so he commissioned Guan Yu to guard the pass. Sure enough, as Cao Cao was retreating, he traveled to Huarong pass where he met up with Guan Yu. Lord Guan, who still remembered Cao Cao's kindness, could not help but let him go, allowing us to see a rare occurrence in which Guan Yu did not keep his word. Thus, Cao Cao was once again lucky enough to escape death for the umpteenth time. HE FEI ------ Here are the only events of He Fei that I have personally witnessed: Zhang Liao's arrival: During the battle, Sun Quan will order Cheng Pu and Han Dang to cover the wings of the battle and support the skirmishes in the northwest and southeast. Once the area clears, Cao Cao will exclaim, "The enemy lines have thinned! Go now, Zhang Liao!" On this cue, Zhang Liao will come into the battle with maximum morale - couple that with the fact that he has almost Lu Bu-like stats, making him a very, very formidable opponent. BACKGROUND: As explained before in the Luminous Sword section of this FAQ, the reason why Zhang Liao is so powerful in this stage is because, in the novel, Zhang Liao (along with Yue Jin and Li Dian) defended He Fei against Sun Quan's multitude of troops using only 800 men. It has been said that, because of Zhang Liao's brutal defense of this territory, the mere mention of his name caused children to cease crying. By the way, this information is mentioned in chapter 67 of the novel. Gan Ning's ambush: This event only occurs after Zhang Liao begins his attack against Sun Quan's main camp. After this cutscene, Gan Ning's force will arrive from Cao Cao's eastern gate, and will thus begin battle with Yue Jin's army. When Gan Ning appears, you may notice that Zhou Yu says, "Cao Cao may have Zhang Liao, but we have Gan Ning!" (even though Zhou Yu was supposed to be dead before the Battle of He Fei) BACKGROUND: This is the reason why that particular quote is in this game. In chapter 68, shortly after Zhang Liao's successful defense of He Fei, Sun Quan requested that one of his generals make a raid on Cao Cao's reinforcements to He Fei. Ling Tong, who was Gan Ning's hated rival (due to the fact that Gan Ning had killed his father in battle), volunteered to take 3000 horsemen to initiate battle with Zhang Liao. Gan Ning then boasted that he could do the same with only 100 horsemen. Sun Quan, not willing to risk sending Gan Ning with so few soldiers, decided to allow Ling Tong to lead the attack. When Ling Tong met up with Zhang Liao, the two dueled each other to a standstill. Sun Quan was forced to send Lu Meng to escort their forces back to the main camp. Afterwards, Gan Ning made the same promise as before - that he would perform a night raid with only 100 horsemen that would send Cao Cao's forces into utter confusion. Sun Quan gave him permission, and Gan Ning claimed that he would take no merit for his deed even if he lost only one soldier. That night, Gan Ning's forces crept through the night, wearing white goose plumes so as to distinguish each other from the enemy. The night raid was a complete success, as none of Cao Cao's forces knew who was attacking them or how many of them there were. Gan Ning returned triumphantly to the camp, leading Sun Quan to happily exclaim, "Cao Cao may have his Zhang Liao, but I can match him with my friend Gan Ning!" Reinforcements for Sun Quan: Once Zhang Liao appears, he will go straight for Sun Quan's main forces, since Han Dang and Cheng Pu are busy at the other corner skirmishes. If Zhang Liao's forces begin to directly threaten Sun Quan, a cutscene will occur, showing Sun Quan in danger. After this, several ships will appear on the horizon, meaning that reinforcements have arrived. Once these reinforcements arrive, Cao Cao will use this as a trigger to perform an army attack with his main forces to converge on Sun Quan. So, basically, this cutscene will trigger the mobilization of Cao Cao's army. (Note - an identical cutscene will occur for Liu Bei in Yi Ling under the exact same conditions) YI LING ------- All of these events take place in Chapter 84 of the novel. Lu Xun's Idea: If you're playing under Wu forces then you may notice that Lu Xun will say, "I have an idea! We'll raid the rear of Zhang Fei's camp!" as soon as Yan Yan (one of Zhang Fei's lieutenants) is defeated. Likewise, Lu Xun will make a similar quote, "Zhang Fei! His guard is slipping!", if you happen to be fighting under Shu forces (I don't know the exact circumstances needed to trigger this quote - all I know is that it will eventually happen just as long as Lu Xun is kept alive. By the way, these aren't really events - these are just warnings that let you know that Zhang Fei's camp will soon be burned to the ground. The Razing of Zhang Fei's Camp: If you are playing for Shu forces, you may already know that this event is nearly impossible to prevent if you aren't playing as Zhang Fei. Basically, in order to prevent it from occurring, you must rush towards Lu Xun and kill him as soon as possible. If you don't, then the event is inevitable. If you're playing under Wu forces, then this event is as equally as impossible to initiate if you aren't playing as Lu Xun. Notice the small little pathway in the southwest corner of the map with the two gates? Well, if you're playing as Lu Xun, all you have to do is rush through that pathway and go into Zhang Fei's camp from the rear. Afterwards, the event will begin. However, if you aren't playing as Lu Xun, then the event is close to immensely hard to initiate (especially if you're playing as somebody like Lu Meng or Zhou Yu, who are on the other side of the map). If you're interested in attempting this, then here's a step-by-step process: 1) Immediately at the start of the level, go to the mouth of the pathway and defeat Yan Yan as soon as possible. If you don't initiate the "Lu Xun's idea" event mentioned above or if you take too much time in defeating Yan Yan, then Lu Xun will most likely not attempt to go through the pathway. He will instead tangle with Zhang Fei's forces to the north, meaning that it will impossible to pry him away from battle. If this occurs, then restart. By the way, the best general to attempt this with is any member of the Sun family (Sun Jian, Sun Quan, and especially Sun Shang Xiang), since their starting points are the closest to Lu Xun. 2) Go all the way to the end of the pathway and defeat the gate captain who is just west of the rear of Zhang Fei's camp 3) Back track to the pathway entrance, and take out any soldier that you see, especially the gate captain to the south. 4) Once the pathway is clear of enemies, escort Lu Xun to the rear of Zhang Fei's camp (easier said than done), which will initiate the scene. What makes this especially difficult is the fact that, during Lu Xun's trek up the pathway, you're most likely going to run into Zhang Bao on the way. Zhang Bao will most likely appear in two different places - within Zhang Fei's fencing, or he will block the pathway from the west. If he is found within the fencing, try to divert his forces as far northward as you possibly can. If Lu Xun's forces see a battle occurring to the north, then they will most likely abandon their mission and engage Zhang Bao's forces instead (PRIORITIES, PEOPLE!) If Zhang Bao is blocking your path from the west, then defeat him as soon as possible as you pray that Zhang Fei doesn't follow him. Most likely, Zhang Fei will follow his son wherever he goes (he has a kind of Jaws - Baby Jaws thing going), so you're out of luck if this happens. If Zhang Fei blocks the pathway to the rear of his camp, then you have no choice but to restart. Another method you can try is to engage in battle with Zhang Fei to the north once the pathway has been cleared. Only attempt this if you're doing this for fun and not for points, however, since you'll most likely lose bodyguards as a result of this if they're too weak. Unfortunately, if your bodyguards are too strong, then they'll probably be able to kill Zhang Fei without you having to lift a finger, so you can't really win either way. BACKGROUND: During the battle of Yi Ling, Lu Xun had successfully executed a plot in which he completely annihilated several thousand of Liu Bei's troops by using a simple fire tactic. Because Zhuge Liang was not there to advise him, Liu Bei had foolishly ignored several of the most basic strategems in Sun Tzu's "Art of War" - mainly, the one that stipulates that a camp should be easily portable to prevent fires from destroying it. Thus, Lu Xun was able to take full advantage of the situation when he set fire to Liu Bei's entire camp - reducing Liu Bei's army of thousands into a mere hundred men. It would have been one of the most humiliating defeats in Shu history, had it not been for Zhuge Liang's eight-array maze. By the way, Zhang Fei was not involved in this razing incident since, at the time of the battle, both he and Guan Yu were both dead. Lu Xun Enters the Eight-Array Maze: If you're playing for the Shu armies, this event will occur after Lu Xun razes Zhang Fei's camp. Once Zhang Fei's forces have been scattered, Lu Xun will make his way northward to Zhuge Liang's maze. As soon as he enters the maze, you'll see a cutscene showing a bewildered Lu Xun, wondering where he is among the haze and the fog. If you're playing as a Wu officer, the triggering of this scene is a little bit different. You don't necessarily have to play as Lu Xun, but you do have to come into the maze without a horse. Once you simply walk into the maze, the cutscene will start with your character instead of Lu Xun. BACKGROUND: After Liu Bei's camp was completely destroyed, the only safe haven for the armies of Shu was Baidicheng. When Liu Bei and a few of his officers eventually reached their rendezvous point, there were only a few hundred men left in his army. Many Shu officers had given their lives at the Battle of Yi Ling, including Fu Tong (who volunteered to be the rear guard) and Shamoke (who was killed by Zhou Tai after a short scuffle). To protect Liu Bei's retreat, Zhuge Liang had set up a safety measure way ahead in advance. On the way to Baidicheng, Lu Xun had come across an odd structure containing several piles of boulders. After asking several of the natives as to the purpose of these boulders, the natives only replied that Zhuge Liang had placed them there during his westward trip. Feeling particularly curious, Lu Xun decided to head inside them with a small escort. Once he entered the structure, he noticed that there were several doors and pathways that were purely meant to obscure one's senses. When the sun began to set, Lu Xun and his escort decided to head back home for safety reasons, only to find that the original entrance had suddenly been closed off by the wind as the surrounding area became clouded with fog and vapor. Lu Xun had finally realized that he had been trapped by his own curiosity and by the superior intellect of Zhuge Liang. The Wu strategist would have eventually died of starvation in the maze, had it not been for a kindly old man that showed him the way out. The old man revealed himself to be Zhuge Liang's father-in-law, Huang Chenyan, who was told specifically by the Shu minister not to assist any Wu general who wanders into the maze. However, because he felt compassion for Lu Xun, the old man decided that his assistance was necessary. Upon leaving the Eight-Array Maze, Lu Xun commented, "This Zhuge Liang is well named Sleeping Dragon - I am not his equal." Reinforcements for Liu Bei: Note: See "Reinforcements for Sun Quan" in the He Fei section. WU ZHANG -------- Surprise Attack on Both Flanks: Frankly, I don't really know what it is that triggers this event (probably morale), but regardless of how it's triggered, the result is always the same. Both Wei Yan and Jiang Wei will spring forth from Cao Cao's Eastern and Western gates (Jiang Wei in the East and Wei Yan in the West) to initiate a surprise attack to support the Shu armies on both flanks. BACKGROUND: I'm not sure if there was really a surprise attack during the Battle of Wu Zhang - this was probably just an attempt by the game programmers to properly introduce Jiang Wei and Wei Yan as characters. If anybody has more information on this, please let me know, since I haven't gotten anywhere near this far in the book. Zhuge Liang's Arrow Ambush: This is triggered as soon as any Wei soldier makes it to the auxiliary pathway that leads to Liu Bei's main camp. The auxiliary pathway is the path you take that is south of the two gates (the ones guarded by Lei Tong and Guan Suo). As soon as a soldier sets foot on one of those paths, the cutscene will begin, signalling the presence of archers on the hill. Sima Yi's Avalanche: Very similar to Zhang Liang's Avalanche all the way back in the Yellow Turban Rebellion. As soon as any Shu soldier sets foot in the main valley that leads to Cao Cao's camp, boulders will begin to fall relentlessly upon any Shu soldier that attempts to pass. Once Sima Yi is defeated, the boulders will cease to fall. A Fallen Star - Zhuge Liang Ascends to the Heavens: To trigger this cutscene, Zhuge Liang must be defeated. Once his forces are scattered, this short cutscene will begin, regardless of which side you're fighting for. Also, please note that Cao Cao's main force will advance to the front as soon as Zhuge Liang's forces are defeated. BACKGROUND: Chapter 104 marks the death of Zhuge Liang in the battle of Wu Zhang Hills. In this chapter, Zhuge Liang is suffering due to exhaustion from his less-than-successful Northern Campaigns. Sensing that his end is coming near, he organizes a council and explains to his officers that the heavens have decreed his approaching death. He names Jiang Wei to succeed him as Prime Minister, and hands him his 24 volumes of strategy as well as plans for a multiple 10-arrow crossbow. Afterwards, he commissions Ma Dai to guard the Shinping Mountains (which he sees as Shu's only weak point) and privately gives special instructions to Yang Yi. In these instructions, Zhuge Liang writes that Wei Yan will betray Shu soon after the Prime Minister's passing. The instructions (kept in a silken bag) order Yang Yi to commission Ma Dai to assassinate Wei Yan as soon as this betrayal occurs. After this, he points to a star in the sky, which appeared to flicker and fade with its light. "That is my star," he explains. He instructs each of his officers to not mourn for him, since mourning would cause the star to finally fall. If Sima Yi were to discover the truth of Zhuge Liang's passing, then an immediate attack would be almost certain. Soon after, the 53-year old Zhuge Liang finally left the Earth - it was said that even the moon dimmed as he ascended to the heavens. That night, a star in the sky with a red glow dipped and rose three times. When Sima Yi saw this, he knew that Zhuge Liang was dead, so he organized an all out attack. However, he was still wary that Zhuge Liang might have organized this as some sort of trick, and that the armies of Wei might be falling into some sort of trap. To be absolutely certain of their success, Sima Yi chose to fight at the van. When Sima Yi arrived at the front, he saw that the camps were abandoned and that all of Shu's troops were retreating. Thus, he knew for certain that Zhuge Liang was dead, so he ordered his troops to hastily annihilate Shu's retreating forces. When the armies began to clash, a bomb exploded as a banner fluttered in the breeze, bearing the words, "Prime Minster of Han, Lord of Wuxiang, Zhuge Liang." In the distance, the Wei troops could see a chariot bearing the figure of Zhuge Liang standing tall with his fan in his hand. Upon seeing this, Sima Yi became panic-stricken and lost all rational thought when he realized that he had fallen into yet another of Zhuge Liang's traps. He and his army blindly ran towards the rear for fifteen miles, trampling their own soldiers in the process. Later, Sima Yi discovered that Zhuge Liang truly was dead, and that the figure he saw was only a wooden statue of the Shu Prime Minister. Thus, it became a saying later that "a dead Zhuge Liang was able to defeat a live Sima Yi." III. LEVEL STRATEGIES ----------------------------------- Many people on the message boards have asked for strategies on how to defeat certain levels. Here are the strategies that I often use to get as close to a clean sweep as possible. Note - here's my definition of a clean sweep: 1) Single handedly defeating all generals and lieutenants (and obtaining their powerups) 2) Single handedly defeating all gate captains 3) Keeping all bodyguards alive And, for an ultra-hard clean sweep: 4) All allied generals and lieutenants must survive Therefore, most of these strategies listed below will assist you in getting that difficult clean sweep: YELLOW TURBAN REBELLION ----------------------- Imperial Forces: This isn't the first level for nothing - it's very easy to beat this level on your first try without dying, even if you've never actually played the game before! But there are a couple of things to look out for if you want to get all the powerups, and if you want to take the easiest path to Zhang Jiao. 1) No matter who you use in this stage, you're going to have follow the same pattern. If you have a horse, then go straight for the gate captains and take them out. If you don't have a horse, go to the lieutenant who protects the gate, knock him off his horse, and steal it. After defeating the gate captain(s), finish off the lieutenant and head out the gate. 2) If you want to get all of the powerups in the stage, head over to one of the other unopened gates (the ones that the other kingdoms are trying to get open) and park your horse in front of it. Afterwards, head up the nearest staircase, take out the bowmen on the top of the wall, and jump down onto the other side of the gate. Take out the lieutenant, wait for the gate to open, and reclaim your horse. Afterwards, take out all of the gates in the area. Repeat this stage for the third and final unopened gate. 3) Take out all of the gate captains and generals that you can, so that you can open the next gates. Once they're open, look for Pei Yuan Shao - he's a little bit to the southeast of Cao Cao's second gate, so take him out before Cao Cao's forces do. Afterwards, finish off the last gate before you defeat Zhang Man Cheng. 4) After Zhang Man Cheng is defeated, head over to the valley that is just north of the gate that you just secured. He Yi should be guarding it, so take care of him first. After he's defeated, head north to the forks in the valley. Keep going east to take the twisting and turning path, so that you can finish off the gate captain at the end of road. Now, head north and finish off Zhang Liang before anybody sets foot in his valley. Once he's taken care of, finish off the Gate Captain to the north. Afterwards, take the quickest route back to Zhang Bao to finish him off (it should be down the valley to the west where Zhang Liang starts the avalanche). 5) After Zhang Bao is defeated, head north and defeat the two gate captains in succession. After this, head over to Zhang Jiao's fortress (make sure you save before you tangle with him) and secure the gate before you run into him. If you have accomplished all of this, then defeating Zhang Jiao should be easy, considering that your allies should be right behind you. If you still have problems with this stage even after reading this, maybe this isn't the right game for you? Yellow Turbans: Fighting for the Yellow Turbans is considerably more difficult than fighting for the Imperial Forces. I wouldn't recommend starting this stage in Free Mode until your character has completed this stage for the Imperial Forces at least once. 1) Unless you're playing as Zhang Jiao, you're always going to start at the same place. This allows you to choose Liu Bei's forces or Sun Jian's forces as an initial target. Who you choose depends upon which stat you want upgraded first - Attack or Defense. If you choose Attack, go over to Liu Bei's forces and defeat both Zhang Fei and Guan Yu, who will give you a combined Attack +8 (without the 24 hit combos). Afterwards, defeat Liu Bei for a +10 Life Up and all the other generals and gate captains for a few petty Defense and Attack upgrades. On the other hand, if you choose to level up your character's defense first, simply defeat Sun Jian's stalwart generals for a couple of Defense +2 upgrades. Once you finish off both Sun Jian's and Liu Bei's sections, head back north to finish off Cao Cao. 2) Cao Cao's generals can sometimes be REALLY tough to find. Sometimes, the real tough guys like Xiahou Yuan and Xiahou Dun will make it all the way through Zhang Bao's valley while the rest of Cao Cao's forces are still in the back dealing with Pei Yuan Shao! Take out all of Cao Cao's lieutenants before finishing off Cao Cao. Also, feel free to take out the random generals like Lu Zhi and Huangfu Song, since they don't command any lieutenants that are scattered around the battlefield. Once everybody else from the Imperial Forces is defeated, He Jin should be as simple hitting your head against a wall. 3) If you're playing as Zhang Jiao, you can follow the above strategies to ensure success (although it's a little harder, since it takes so long for you to get down to the bottom of the mountain). However, for more of a challenging experience, try this: as soon as the level starts, wait about 15-30 minutes for all of the Imperial Forces to defeat your entire army and all of your generals. Once the Imperial Forces gather around Zhang Jiao's fortress, take out as many of them as you can, and work your way down to the mountain. Try to take out all of the gates and all of the generals this way. If you succeed in this, then you should STOP PLAYING THIS LEVEL AND MOVE ONTO SOMETHING HARDER!!! :) HU LAO GATE ----------- Yuan Shao's Forces: Defeating this level would be extremely simple, were it nor for two factors: 1) Lu Bu and 2) that goldarned area behind Hu Lao Gate. As for Lu Bu, he can simply be ignored (you don't get the nifty Attack +8 powerup, however). But, as for that area behind Hu Lao Gate, you've really got a handful of problems to deal with. Read on: Liu Bei's Generals: Obviously, you want to defeat Wang Fang and the Gate Captain as soon as possible. After that, defeat the Gate Captain to the south/west, and assist Yuan Shao's forces by defeating Fan Chou, Hu Zhen, and the nearby gate. If you want all the powerups, head down Sun Jian's path and assist his forces by defeating Zhao Cen and the two gates. After all of those guys are taken care of, take out Hua Xiong, which will open Fan Shui Gate. Sun Jian's Generals: Similar to Liu Bei - defeat Zhao Cen and the initial gate captain. Afterwards, head south to finish the second gate captain around the bend. At the end of the valley, you'll most likely run into Hu Zhen - finish him off, and head to the east to defeat Fan Chou and the nearby gate captain. Assist Liu Bei by defeating the Wang Fang and the two gates. After both of these areas are clear, open up Fan Shui Gate by defeating Hua Xiong. Yuan Shao's Generals: Fan Chou + Nearby gate captain, Hu Zhen, Liu Bei's Area, then Sun Jian's Area (or vice versa), and Hua Xiong, who opens Fan Shui Gate. Cao Cao's Generals: Defeat everybody in your path (simple, no?). Once you pass Niou Fu's gate, finish off the gate captain and head towards Fan Shui Gate. Now here's where all of the paths intersect. The next step for each force is to take out the combined forces of Li Jue, Guo Si, Jia Xu, and the gate to the east. If you want to get everybody's powerup, make sure you defeat Guo Si and Jia Xu before defeating Li Jue. Guo Si can be found in the pathway to the west, past the camp behind Fan Shui Gate. Jia Xu can be found near the Gate area to the east. Once everybody's defeated, only Lu Bu's forces stand between you and Hu Lao Gate. My advice would be to take out Zhang Liao first (since he gives you the Attack +4 - he's in the western path, just a little bit south of Guo Si's starting point. After he's defeated, make sure you take out the gate behind him. Afterwards, go back east and finish off Gao Shun. Once Gao Shun is defeated, finish off Li Ru to the south in order to open up Hu Lao Gate. Once it's opened, SAVE THE GAME. If you're man (or woman) enough to take on Lu Bu, then by all means, take him on. There are only few tips and strategies that I can offer you to assist you in fighting Lu Bu (or any other superior general): 1) Kill all of his bodyguards as soon as possible (very important). 2) Use a continuous string of S,S,S attacks to get the maximum amount of hits without knocking him down. If you're Zhou Yu, you have the advantage of using S,S,S,T,T. However, if you're surrounded by allied troops, preventing Lu Bu's knockdown can be a bit frustrating, what with stray archers and other soldiers accidentally knocking him down. If that's the case, just grin and bear it as he takes his Life Up +200 or, heaven forbid, his Attack x2 powerups, and just start all over again. 3) An alternate method is to block continuously (hold down L1) and perform constant counter attacks (press S immediately after successfully blocking an attack). Since a counter attack is an automatic knockdown, you'll be forcing Lu Bu to use his powerups quicker than he usually would. Once all his powerups are gone, you can knock him down as many times as you want. Once Lu Bu starts dipping into his Defense x2's, then it most likely means that he's completely run out of Life Recovery items. 4) Use arrows if your conscience allows it. Yes, it's cheap and dirty, but it gets the job done. Wait for a clear shot and let the arrows fly. If you're sure you have a clear shot, use the Triangle Charge arrow to do the most damage possible from a single arrow. If you don't have enough arrows, break some of the surrounding boxes and find some more. 5) Say goodbye to your bodyguards. Lu Bu will rip through all of them in 1.2 seconds, and not give a second thought as to how or why. Unless they're highly leveled up, or unless you really take good care of them, then chances are that they won't survive Lu Bu's onslaught. 6) One more thing - NEVER use your Musou attack against Lu Bu unless your Musou juggles (like Zhao Yun's, Xiahou Dun's, or Zhou Yu's). If Lu Bu is still on the ground, then he will very easily counter your Musou attack with his own (especially if his life is in the red), which will most likely kill you with very little effort. Also, be conservative with your Musou - never use it unless you're desperate, or unless you absolutely KNOW that it will finish him off. Ok, so Lu Bu is now defeated. Take a minute to congratulate yourself or pat yourself on the back for a job well done. Savor the Attack +8 sword - you deserve it. If there's still a Save point left somewhere on the stage, use it. If not, trudge onwards to the area behind Hu Lao Gate. The reason why this area is so annoying (like you don't already know...) is because you've got to deal with two officers, as well as two gate captains. Meanwhile, endless amounts of reinforcements are being pumped into the area, meaning that if you aren't dead by now, chances are that your bodyguards are already pushing up daisies. So, how do you avoid that slow ticking death? Well, first of all make sure that the tunnel under Hu Lao Gate is clear of all enemy soldiers. Once the path is clear, any allies that are straggling behind you will be able to rush through the tunnel and assist you against Dong Zhuo. Afterwards, try and take out a gate captain - it doesn't matter which one. Just kill one of them to stop the reinforcements from pouring out. By all means, take out the second one as well if he's nearby. Once the two gates are secured, it's smooth sailing until the rest of the level. Take out Diao Chan before beating the level, since she always drops a Defense +4 powerup. Meanwhile, if you're running out of life, make sure you know where all the powerups are. Outside of Hu Lao Gate, there should be a pot towards the east, which contains a Life Up +200. In addition, the aforementioned Life Recovery Bun is on the top of the Gate, on the west side. Remember, when all else fails, use arrows! Since you have the height advantage, finishing off Diao Chan and Dong Zhuo from the top of the gate is a cinch, just as long as they're standing still! Good luck! Dong Zhuo's Forces: Not much strategy involved here, really. Just pick out the kingdom that you want to eliminate first (probably either Cao Cao or Sun Jian, depending upon whether you want Attack or Defense). Afterwards, cut into the center and eliminate Liu Bei, Gongsun Zan, and finally, Yuan Shao's forces. However, for maximum challenge and powerup, you're going to want to attempt the Diao Chan event. Since Diao Chan is waiting in the front lines outside of Fan Shui gate, keep waiting until she's defeated by enemy forces. Once she dies, Lu Bu will go ballistic and turn on Dong Zhuo, taking all of his lieutenants with him. After this event, it's pretty much you versus the rest of the three kingdoms. All of the Allied Forces will converge upon Hu Lao Gate, and it's your job to prevent them from getting past it to reach Dong Zhuo (unless, of course, you ARE Dong Zhuo). If you fight with all your power and survive, you will assuredly be handsomely rewarded in powerups and points. Once all of the generals are taken care of (including Cao Cao, Sun Jian, and Liu Bei) this will mean that nobody is left to oppose you except Yuan Shao and Lu Bu. You can ignore Lu Bu because he isn't going anywhere. What you need to do now is travel down Sun Jian's path and take out all of the gate captains that you see. Once the gate captains are taken out, use your horse (you'd better have a horse...) and circle around to the rear of Yuan Shao's army so that you can attack the "snake's tail." Eventually, you're going to reach Yuan Shao himself, but make sure to kill all of his soldiers first. I know it's tempting, but once all of his soldiers are defeated, don't kill Yuan Shao yet - instead, go over to Lu Bu and finish him off by using the tips above (if you think you can). Ok, NOW, you can take out Yuan Shao, which should be a walk in the park compared to what you've been through. Consider yourself a DW2 master if you survive this in Hard Mode. You deserve it. GUAN DU ------- Cao Cao's Forces: Your obvious goal here is to defeat Chun Yuqiong, thus initiating the burning of the Supply Depot, which is a humongous blow to the morale of Yuan Shao's forces. But, since it's very difficult to just rush straight into the supply depot, here are a few tips on things to do before you take it over. 1) The most volatile and vulnerable point of conflict is most definitely Baima castle in the northeast. Despite the fact that four of the greatest generals of the period are guarding it (Guan Yu, Xu Zhu, Zhang Liao, and Xiahou Yuan), the castle will almost always be taken over if it is left alone. If you happen to be playing as one of those four generals, your first step is to take out Wen Chou and his lieutenant. If you're playing as someone else, always make this your second step towards winning the battle. Remember that defeating Yan Liang will cause Yuan Shao's troops to converge on Cao Cao's castle, so abandon the area once Wen Chou's forces are scattered. 2) If you're Dian Wei, you should start off by defeating Zhang He and Gao Lan, as well as any other enemy forces that are loitering outside of the castle. If you're wondering where Gao Lan is, he's protecting the gate that is opposite to Zhang He - along the coast of the river, to the north. Once they're taken care of, run over to Baima Castle and help out those in need. 3) Xiahou Dun is always in trouble, since his lieutenant, Xu Huang, is nowhere near him at the start of the battle. Help him out as soon as you can, since he's almost always the first general to die. If you're playing as him, take out Yuan Xi as soon as possible (the general to the immediate west) and try to thin out his forces. As soon as the path is clear, make your way towards Wu Chao Supply Depot - once you defeat both Han Meng and Chun Yuqiong, the battle should be much, much easier. If you're not playing as Xiahou Dun, then try to make his area your second or third point of conflict (after defending the two castles). 4) If you want the extra powerups - defeat Liu Bei and Zhang Fei as soon as you get the chance. Remember - once Guan Yu runs into either of them, both of them will never be seen again. Once all of the fronts have been taken care of, it's time for you to sweep through all of the enemy gates. Once all of the gates are taken care of, sweep through all of Yuan Shao's lesser generals before tackling Yuan Shao himself (which is a very easy task). Yuan Shao's Forces: No matter what you do, the Wu Chao Supply Depot event is COMING, and there's nothing you can do about it. Try to get as much done as possible before this occurs. Most likely, you're going to want to head over to Baima castle to assist both Wen Chou's and Yan Liang's forces. Defeat Guan Yu, Xu Zhu, and Zhang Liao for a MASSIVE Attack powerup. Even without 24-hit combos, defeating those three generals gives you a combined Attack +12, so you should definitely use that to your advantage. Afterwards, finish off the castle by taking out both Xiahou Yuan and Liu Yan. By this time, the Supply Depot Event has most likely already happened. It's up to you and your forces to raise your army's morale by defeating enemy generals one by one. First, go to the Depot and dispose of Jia Xu. Afterwards, head east and take out Xiahou Dun and his oddly placed lieutenant. Now that two fronts have been taken care of, you have only one front left to deal with. Immediately head across the river to deal with the traitorous Zhang He and Gao Lan. If everyone else is defeated, then Dian Wei, along with all of Cao Cao's lieutenants should be an easy task. Speed is more important than anything else in this particular battle. Take out the generals quickly, quietly, and without effort - only then will this stage be easy to defeat. CHANG BAN --------- Liu Bei's Forces: If you're playing Musou Mode for the first time, this level (much like the other two level 3's) is your wake-up call to the difficulty of this game. Without a plan or a strong character, you're really not going to get far. Here's my favorite strategy for tackling this level. 1) Start off by taking out the gate captain who's smack-dab in the middle of the map. Afterwards, take out Yue Jin, who should be lurking around in the area. After this, assist Guan Yu by helping him to take out Xu Huang and his nearby gate. If you're feeling good about yourself, you can go to the south and try to defeat Xu Zhu and Dian Wei before Cao Cao's reinforcements arrive. Once they do, finish up what you're doing and get out. 2) Once the entire central area has been pacified to your liking, assist Liu Bei in his retreat. First, head over to the southeast gate and defeat Li Dian and the Gate Captain there. Afterwards, sweep upwards to the northeast, taking out the three gate captains and Cao Ren (if you're not quick enough, you're probably only going to get two gate captains because Zhuge Liang is a wily fellow). 3) When Liu Bei reaches this point, your armies will settle and await the reinforcements. In the meantime, Zhang Fei is putting up a heckuva fight in the south. Go assist him if you feel like it, although it is a bit dangerous. Your other alternative is to go westward and take out all the gates along the northern rim if the pathway is clear. Your third alternative is to just wait for the reinforcements to arrive - once they do, Liu Bei's army will make the final push. 4) When your armies head southward, try to take out as many of Cao Cao's generals as you can, which should be an easy task with all the backup you're now receiving. Eventually, you and your forces are going to reach Cao Cao - when you do, watch out for Xiahou En and make sure to take his Luminous Sword. Before you finish off Cao Cao, make sure to take out any remaining gates to get the Defense power-ups. Afterwards, finishing Cao Cao should be fairly easy (but whatever you do, don't underestimate him). If you run into trouble, be sure to run around the village and break all of the pots to find life up buns. Cao Cao's Forces: This level probably has the greatest difference in difficulty between the two sides on the battlefield. Yes, playing for Liu Bei is not exactly a walk in the park, but playing for Cao Cao is a walk in the park on top of razor blades. Why? Well, going up against Lu Bu was tough, wasn't it? So, if you were to go up against 3 of them in the same level, it would be incredibly unfair, wouldn't it? Well, that's EXACTLY what this level is because Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhao Yun all received incredible powerups on this stage! So, in this level, two things are going against you - the power of the three tiger generals and the ticking of the clock. Keep in mind that, once Cao Cao's reinforcement's arrive, Liu Bei will make a mad dash for the exit in the northeast, so it's your job to prevent that from happening AS WELL AS defeating the 3 tiger generals. Well, let me just say that it's nearly impossible to get a clean sweep on this battle. Sure, it'll happen every once in a while with a maxed out character (especially with a character like Dian Wei), but you have to be both lucky AND good. In addition, try doing it on HARD MODE. There's really no strategy involved in playing this level, actually - Depending on your placement, take out the tiger general who's closest to you. Afterwards, before Liu Bei retreats, try to take out as many enemy generals as you can, especially Liu Bei's weak advisers who drop Defense +2's (except for Zhuge Liang, who drops a Defense +8). If Liu Bei gets too close to the exit, then hurry up to the northeast to cut him off. If you have no choice, kill off Liu Bei to end the level prematurely. The irony is that killing Liu Bei will probably seem easy, after facing three of Liu Bei's tiger generals in their full fury. CHI BI ------ Sun Quan's Forces: This level can most definitely become THE most frustrating battle, because so many things can go against your goal of a clean sweep. Either a bodyguard dies, or a some punk soldier steals your kill, or you mess up in getting that high hit combo on a gate captain because there are so few horses to go around. Regardless, here's the main strategy I use to get that illustrious sweep: By the way, these tips are universal in that they apply to every single general in Sun Quan's army. 1) First, you're going to want to take out Xiahou Dun and Yu Jin. Why? Because, for some reason, the computer-controlled Taishi Ci in the southwest corner will never defend his gate under any circumstances. I assure you that almost 5 minutes (give or take a minute) into the battle, the southwest gate will be secured by Xiahou Dun's forces, meaning that Taishi Ci will be without reinforcements throughout the rest of the battle and will subsequently give up without putting up a fight. That is why it is absolutely imperative that you protect him by scattering Xiahou Dun's forces as soon as possible. Unfortunately, this task is a little difficult to do if you're playing as somebody that's rooted in the northeast corner, like Lu Xun or Gan Ning, so, unless you're good, you're probably going to have to sacrifice Taishi Ci for the good of the army. 2) Once that's accomplished, head over to the northeast corner and assist Gan Ning in his battle with Cao Ren. I would wholeheartedly recommend defeating Cao Ren before getting 100 kills - since that will cause Cao Pi to arrive at the end of the battle (a +10 Life Up is probably the most valuable powerup in the game) instead of Lu Xun coming in to offer help. However, if you want the battle to end quickly, or if you're not confident in your skills, then by all means, get 100 kills before defeating Cao Ren's forces. 3) If Cao Cao senses that Cao Ren is in trouble, he'll most likely send out both Zhang He and Xu Huang to assist. If that occurs, defeat as many of Cao Ren's forces as you possibly can before they arrive. Once they arrive, systematically defeat Xu Huang and Zhang He (whoever arrives first). Somewhere during your battle with these generals, Huang Gai is going to set fire to Cao Cao's ships, giving your army a morale boost. Once this occurs, it's almost impossible to lose this level. 4) Once the area has been pacified, go and get the +10 Life Up in the northeast corner, and cross the bridge, heading due southwest. From here, you're probably going to want to assist Lu Meng (if he hasn't already been defeated) by attacking Zhang Liao and Yue Jin from behind. It's not going to be an easy task (especially for your bodyguards), but the combined Attack +6 will be worth it. 5) Head to the west and defeat Dian Wei, who's guarding a save point. Once he's defeated, head off to face Xiahou Yuan, who's probably on the verge of defeat. Once he's defeated, take out as many of Cao Cao's lieutenants as you can - Xun You, Cheng Yu, and Cao Zhang. If Lu Xun did not come in to assist you, that means that Cao Pi has probably already arrived - take care of both him and Jia Xu before heading west to defeat Xu Zhu. 6) After defeating Xu Zhu, you must then head northwest and take care of the dreadful and irritating northwest gate. The northwest area is probably the trickiest area in the entire level, simply because all of Sun Quan's forces are being concentrated on keeping Cao Cao at bay in the north, so not enough troops are being committed to the northwest. This makes pacifying it a great deal tougher than any other normal gate, and the bad news is that your bodyguards will most likely suffer because of it. The good news, however, is that once your bodyguards are out of the way, you can rack up your kills in the thousands. But, once again, the bad news is that not many of the soldiers you face here will drop any powerups and life buns for you. Use your Musou OFTEN. In order to get through the northwest area with your bodyguards unscathed, I would suggest rushing through all the enemy troops and defeating the gate captain ASAP before more reinforcements arrive. Once that happens, the enemy forces will rapidly thin out, making it easier to fight your way back out. Once you've accomplished this, head back east and finish off Cao Cao. Make sure you know where all the Life Ups are, in case of an emergency - there's a Life Recovery Bun at the small campsite along the northern wall - it's somewhere in-between Cao Cao's camp and the northwest gate. There's also a minor Life Recovery +50 bun that's located near the eastern fencing of Cao Cao's camp - also don't forget the save point in the area. Cao Cao's Forces: If you want to defeat this the easy way, then simply start out the level by dropping everything to go to the east so that you can defeat Huang Gai. If he's defeated, then Cao Cao's overwhelming forces will eventually overcome Sun Quan - provided that you assist in the war effort by systematically defeating some of their more powerful generals. On the other hand, if you're looking for a challenge (in that you would like to defeat the game without preventing the razing of Cao Cao's ships), here's a simple guide to get you on the right track: 1a) The most notable "hot spot" on this level is the Xiahou Dun vs. Taishi Ci skirmish that occurs in the southwest corner of the map. Your first objective would be to assist Xiahou Dun, since I can assure you that he will be the first casualty on your side if he goes unassisted. After defeating Taishi Ci and his lieutenants, and securing the two gates in the area, start heading eastward to sweep any enemy soldiers you may come across. 1b) An alternate method is to forego Xiahou Dun so that you can concentrate on the eastern front. Ultimately, this means taking out Huang Gai, but you can concentrate your energy against Gan Ning and Lu Xun (once he arrives to the battlefield). If you want, leave Huang Gai alone, and start sweeping westward. 2a) Head eastward and defeat Zhu Huan, who should be all by his lonesome self. Defeat him just before defeating his boss, Zhou Yu, as well as any other generals who might straggle into the battle. Once that's over, head over to the eastern front as quickly as you can to dispose of the generals that are giving Cao Ren and his entourage such a tough time. After that, finish off Lu Meng and any other generals that are hanging around before you begin the final attack on Sun Quan. 2b) Do the exact opposite if you've started in the east. Take out Lu Meng and his three lieutenants as quickly as possible. Afterwards, head over to the west to assist Xiahou Dun (if he hasn't already died). Once you've taken out Taishi Ci, finish off Zhou Yu and any other generals before you take on Sun Quan. 3) A general tip - archers will be a HUGE annoyance in this stage. Take them out if they start to annoy you (which they will). Do this to prevent them from interrupting your combos or killing your bodyguards. Also - if you feel that you're being outnumbered, by all means, PULL BACK! Take out any random soldiers that are holding up the reinforcements behind you. That way, you'll get the support you need to keep yourself alive. Note: use this strategy in any level with overwhelming numbers of archers! HE FEI ------ This is probably one of the nicest levels in terms of design - plus it's not a night battle, meaning that you can clearly see everything on the field. Sun Quan's Forces: Only one thing makes this battle tough, and that's obviously Zhang Liao. And, unlike Lu Bu, you can't ignore him for long because he threatens Sun Quan's forces. You know as well as I do that once Sun Quan is defeated, the level is all over. So, sooner or later, you're going to have to deal with Zhang Liao. But, before that, here's what you should do on this level: 1) Dian Wei and Li Dian are your easiest targets, since their forces are so small, and they have nobody else to back them up. Defeating them should be your first step. Afterwards, you have a choice of supporting either of the two fronts - the northern front or the southeastern front. 2a) Southeastern Front - Nothing much to do that isn't self-explanatory, really. Head over to the southeastern corner and assist Taishi Ci in his fight against Xu Zhu, Pang De, Cao Hong, and Cao Ren. For a clean sweep, defeat Cao Hong before Cao Ren - Cao Hong usually hangs around to the north of Cao Ren. He may be easy to find, but he's not that easy to defeat, considering that all of the enemy soldiers that will surround you due to your lack of backup. After Cao Hong is gone, eliminate Cao Ren as soon as possible. Pang De is a little bit toughter to find, but he's usually on the western edge of the main battle. As soon as you find and destroy him, seek out Xu Zhu to get his Attack +4 powerup. Afterwards, head north to defeat Yu Jin and Yue Jin and the gate captain to the east. Defeating them will result in the opening of the southern gate, which leads to the inside of Cao Cao's fortress. After the gate is opened, I would advise going inside to defeat both Cao Zhang and Cao Pi to open the inner gates to Cao Cao's domain. After this, take out all of the ministers inside the castle (Xun You, Jia Xu, Cheng Yu, I believe) to get their Defense +2 powerups before heading out to assist Sun Quan against Zhang Liao. Remember, if you feel that Sun Quan is being threatened at any time, feel free to leave your current battle to rush back to the southeast and assist him. After all, if he loses, then everyone loses. 2b) Northern Front - There are two ways to go about this. To be secure, you can go ALL the way back to rendezvous with Lu Xun and Lu Meng, so that you can assist them in their fight against Xiahou Dun and Xu Huang. Once they're defeated, get the +10 Life Up and go around to the northwest and finish off the gate captain in the area. Please note that, among the pile of boxes in the area past the two bridges, there is a Full Musou 10 second powerup. If Xiahou Yuan is in the area, use this powerup so that you can get an Attack +8 sword, especially if your character has juggling capabilities. Once Xiahou Yuan is defeated, kill the gate captain in the area to the northeast before heading off to finish Zhang He. Once Zhang He is scattered, the western gate will open, meaning that the same rules apply as the Southeastern Front mentioned above: Cao Pi, Cao Zhang, inner ministers, and then head back out to assist Sun Quan. Once again, if you feel that Sun Quan is under too much of a threat, feel free to head back there prematurely. 2c) Northern Front (alternate) - The alternate method to use (if you're particularly lazy, or particularly quick) is to go straight for Zhang He to open the western gate. Afterwards, follow the same pattern mentioned above (Cao Pi, Cao Zhang, inner ministers) before heading back out to tackle Xiahou Yuan. This is no easy task, because an endless supply of enemy soldiers will be flooding from the gates. So, you'll have to either exterminate Xiahou Yuan quickly, or exterminate the gate captains. Afterwards, finish off Xiahou Dun and Xu Huang (if Lu Xun and Lu Meng haven't already done so) before heading back to Sun Quan to provide assistance against Zhang Liao. 3) Remember - Zhang Liao is no easy task. He's just as powerful as Lu Bu, and he's got the tough bodyguards to prove it as well. Use the strategies mentioned way back at Hu Lao Gate to effectively defeat him. The easiest and quickest way to defeat him, in my opinion, is to separate Zhang Liao from his bodyguards and lure him into that narrow valley with the save point and the Life Recovery Bun. Once he's in the valley, park your horse horizontally across the valley so as to block the passage (to prevent his bodyguards from entering). Now that Zhang Liao is trapped, hit him repeatedly with S,S,S attacks - he'll probably try to run away, meaning that you'll get free hits on him as his back is turned towards you. Eventually, if you're persistent, you'll be able to finish him off without losing a single bodyguard. The toughest part to performing this trick is the luring of Zhang Liao. Sometimes, if Zhang Liao feels that he's too far away from the rest of his troops, he'll turn back and head towards the battle with Sun Quan. This makes trying to kill him extremely frustrating - so I would advise giving up this trick if Zhang Liao insists on staying put. If that's the case, use the guidelines above to finish him off the hard way. 4) Once Zhang Liao is defeated, you can go back to whatever front you fought in to finish what you started, or you can head over and assist the other front. Regardless of what you choose, defeating Cao Cao should be fairly simple as long as these two fronts belong to Sun Quan's army. If your morale is greater than theirs, then this truly gives you the upper hand. When all of the surrounding forces are decimated, fight Cao Cao in the center of the fortress. Unfortunately, there aren't many powerups to be found in the area, so you might have to run outside of the castle in an emergency. Cao Cao's Forces: The strategy for beating this level is very similar to Sun Quan's - Pacify the center, overcome the two wings, and then aim for the enemy commander. 1) Eliminate Zhou Yu's forces, who are threatening Dian Wei. Once he's defeated, move on to the two wings (the northwest corner and the southeast corner). 2) Choose a wing to pacify - Xiahou Dun is in more danger, because he's up against both Lu Xun and Lu Meng (as well as their lieutenants). I would advise assisting them first. Once that area is clear, move onto the next corner. 3) Head to the Southeast to defeat Taishi Ci and his lieutenants. Sometime during the battle, Gan Ning will arrive in that area, so take him out too. Once all the other generals are defeated, head to the southwest to defeat Sun Quan personally. YI LING ------- Sun Quan's Forces: The easiest way to defeat this level is to initiate the razing of Zhang Fei's camp. Since I've made it clear that it is particularly difficult to perform (if you're not Lu Xun), then you're just better off performing an all out attack: Central Area: If you are Gan Ning of Taishi Ci, start out by clearing out all generals and lieutenants in the central area. It's going to be a tough battle, but it's still possible to defeat them all single handedly. Remember that there's a save point in the vicinity, so use it wisely. After the area is clear, head over to the northeast and assist Zhou Yu and Lu Meng in Guan Yu's defeat. Once he's defeated, go straight for Zhao Yun, Wei Yan, and Huang Zhong. Lu Xun will most likely be in trouble by the time this is over, so assist him as soon as possible by defeating Zhang Fei's forces. Once all other areas are cleared, head northwest - either through the maze or through the northern valleys. No matter where you go, Liu Bei should be relatively easy to defeat once all of his tiger generals are down. Northeastern Docks: If you're Zhou Yu or Lu Meng, then you're going to have to take down Guan Yu as quickly as possible. Once he's disposed of, defeat Zhao Yun and Wei Yan before heading off to the Central Area. After the Central Area is clear, head over to the southwest and defeat Zhang Fei. Once he's gone, go to the northwest to take on Liu Bei's army, thus finishing the battle. The Southern Camps: This strategy applies if you're playing as any member of the Sun family. Head over to the Southwest to either defeat Zhang Fei or to attempt the Lu Xun razing event. In any case, when Zhang Fei is defeated, assist Lu Meng and Zhou Yu. After which, pacify the central area before moving on to Liu Bei's main force. Liu Bei's Forces: You can use the same exact strategies that have been listed for Sun Quan's forces in order to be successful in this battle. However, I personally like to use this strategy, no matter who I'm using (except Zhang Fei): 1) First and foremost, assist Guan Yu and Zhao Yun by defeating Lu Meng first, and then Zhou Yu. If left alone, Guan Yu is in the most danger since he is completely surrounded by Wu forces. In addition, if Guan Yu is rescued, chances are that he, as well as Zhao Yun, will be strong enough to make an attack on Sun Quan's force by travelling southward through the eastern pathway. Eventually, they'll push back Sun Quan's forces to the end of the valley, meaning less of a headache for you. 2) If the Zhang Fei camp-razing incident has already happen (which it probably has), then Taishi Ci and Gan Ning might have broken through to Liu Bei's main army. If that's the case, ASSIST HIM ASAP. Once Taishi Ci and Gan Ning have been dealt with, it's time to take on Lu Xun. 3) Most likely, Zhang Fei has perished in the fire. Avenge his death by taking on Lu Xun, who has most likely made it through to Zhuge Liang's maze. Defeat him before moving onto the dwindling armies of Sun Quan in the southeast. 4) Take out all the gate captains en route to Sun Quan's main camp. Defeat Sun Shang Xiang as well as all of the other minor generals in the area. Afterwards, defeat Sun Quan, thus winning the battle for the forces of Shu. The reason why I exclude Zhang Fei from using this strategy is the simple fact that he alone is capable of preventing the camp razing incident by putting an end to Lu Xun as soon as possible. If you manage to do this, then the camp razing incident will be avoided, meaning that your army won't take a mandatory hit in morale. Once Lu Xun is defeated, move onto the central area, followed by a trip to the northeast to assist your brother. Then, you may move onto Sun Quan's camp to finish the level. WU ZHANG -------- This battle is tough to get an ultra clean sweep, considering that there are four fronts to deal with - and chances are, you're already losing three of them. Be quick in this stage, or say goodbye to a beloved general. A horse doesn't hurt either, so ALWAYS have one handy. Believe me, you'll be peeved if you don't. Cao Cao's Forces: The four fronts are as follows: 1) The Western front: Xu Zhu's force vs. Huang Zhong's force 2) The Central-Western front: Zhang Liao's force vs. Guan Yu's force 3) The Central-Eastern front: Xiahou Dun's force vs. Zhang Fei's force 4) The Eastern front: Dian Wei's + Xiahou Yuan's force vs. Ma Chao's + Zhao Yun's force And this isn't even including Jiang Wei and Wei Yan's surprise attack. Basically, you must initially pacify fronts 1 and 4 before moving in on the center. Don't worry, the center fronts will always give in last - it's the weaknesses on the east and the west that you should worry about. Unfortunately, it's difficult to pacify one without losing the other, since it takes so long to get to the other side of the map - so chances are, no matter where you go, one of your generals is going to die. If you intend on defeating Huang Zhong, then both Dian Wei and Xiahou Yuan will sacrifice themselves. Likewise, if you defeat Ma Chao & Zhao Yun, then Xu Zhu will sacrifice his humongous gut. So either way, you lose. Regardless of who perishes, take out the both fronts. Thus, pacify the front that is closest to you before using a horse to travel ALL THE WAY to the other side. Once the second front is taken care of, move onto the center. The central fronts are strong, but they're probably hanging by a thread. Assist the general who needs more help - either Zhang Liao or Xiahou Dun. After defeating both Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, you may have to deal with Jiang Wei and Wei Yan's joint attack (which is threatening your reinforcement gates). Deal with them before moving onto Liu Bei's main camp. Be careful, because Zhuge Liang may be in danger. If an allied general defeats him before you do, then you just lost a very, VERY valuable Defense +8 powerup. If you see that Zhuge Liang is in danger during any portion of the battle, drop everything and take him out personally. Or, you can avoid all of this by defeating Zhuge Liang while travelling from front to front. It's your choice. Once Zhuge Liang is defeated, the doors to Liu Bei's inner camp should be open. Remember, Liu Bei is no easy kill - I have perished many a time at Liu Bei's hands, which can be VERY frustrating, indeed. Utilize the many save points and memorize the locations of all the surrounding life recovery powerups to ensure your victory. Liu Bei's Forces: The same rules for Cao Cao's forces apply to Liu Bei's forces as well, since the four fronts also apply. Basically, you're going to want to pacify the outer fronts and the enemy gates before moving onto the central fronts. Once all four fronts have been taken care of, cross the river into Sima Yi's valley. Dispose of Sima Yi and his lieutenants before taking on Cao Cao himself. Exterminate Sima Yi quickly, so that his boulders don't' take too many of your soldiers' lives. Enter into Cao Cao's main camp and dispose of him - victory for Shu has now been assured. IV. LIST OF OFFICERS AND POWERUPS ----------------------------------- YTR = Yellow Turban Rebellion HLG = Hu Lao Gate GD = Guan Du CBN = Chang Ban CBI = Chi Bi HF = He Fei YL = Yi Ling WZ = Wu Zhang A. RULERS Note: As mentioned before, all rulers who are not enemy commanders will automatically drop a Life Up +10 powerup. LIU BEI - Drops: Life Up +10 Found in: YTR, HLG, and GD (as a general) - CBN, YL, and WZ (as a commander) The very first Emperor of the Kingdom of Shu-Han. With his blood brothers, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, he made an oath to restore and uphold the glory of the latter Han Dynasty. A few years after quelling the Yellow Turban rebellion, he inherited the province of Xuzhou from a dying Tao Qian. Due to frequent battles with Cao Cao, Liu Bei was forced to seek refuge with his relative, Liu Biao. During that period, Liu Bei discovered Zhuge Liang, who soon became his warlord. Constant pressure from Cao Cao forced him to flee westward, where he amassed growing support from the kingdom of Shu. After annexing several cities from Liu Zhang in the southwest, Liu Bei became King of Hanzhong before establishing the kingdom of Shu-Han. Unfortunately, all of Liu Bei's effort soon turned to naught after his death. His heir, Liu Chan, had no leadership skill and was forced to surrender to the forces of Wei. However, due to Luo Guanzhong's depiction of him in Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Liu Bei is now the symbol of virtue in China, despite his many losses. CAO CAO - Drops: Life Up +10 Found in: YTR and HLG (as a general) - GD, CBN, CBI, HF, and WZ (as a commander) He laid the groundwork for what was later known as the Kingdom of Wei. Cao Cao actually belonged to the Xiahou family, but was adopted into the upper nobility by Cao Song, who was a court eunuch. When he was a young boy, someone had once told him that, "In peace you are an able subject; in chaos, a crafty hero" - these words greatly pleased him. Cao Cao first experienced success by quelling the Yellow Turban Rebellion, but his real success came after rescuing the Emperor from the clutches of Guo Si and Li Jue. Once the Emperor was under his control, Cao Cao began to lightly abuse Imperial Authority under his new rank of Prime Minister - however, he still managed to rule the people in a just and honorable fashion despite his paranoid tendencies. After eliminating his enemy to the north, Yuan Shao, by pacifying the regions of He Bei, Cao Cao then set his sights southward to eliminate his adversaries there - particularly the Sun family and his chief rival, Liu Bei. Despite his aspirations towards empire, Cao Cao constantly declined the title of emperor even when his ministers assured him that his supreme leadership would help to pacify the land. He never did become Emperor, and eventually died of a brain tumor at the age of 66. SUN JIAN - Drops: Life Up +10 Found in: YTR and HLG He was a direct descendant of the brilliant strategist, Sun Tzu, and was also the father of Sun Quan. Being of noted birth, Sun Jian was one of the participants in both the quelling of the Yellow Turban Rebellion (which garnered him the Protectorship of Chang Sha) and the attack on Hu Lao Pass. Due to a lack of reinforcements from Yuan Shu (Yuan Shao's less reputable brother), Sun Jian lost many men in the attack on Hu Lao Pass, leading to a bitter quarrel between the two warlords. (It was this dissension that exposed the internal weaknesses of the federation, making the attack on Dong Zhuo a complete failure.) After Dong Zhuo burned Luo Yang, Sun Jian traveled there to inspect the wreckage, and it was there that he came across what appeared to be the Imperial Seal, which granted its possessor undisputed proof of Imperial lineage. When Yuan Shao inquired what it was that Sun Jian found, Sun Jian was forced to tell a lie that attracted the attention of the Heavens. Because of this infraction, Sun Jian was forced to suffer a very premature death - he perished soon after in a battle against Liu Biao at the age of 37. SUN QUAN - Drops: Nothing Found in: CBI, HF, and YL Shortly after the death of Sun Jian, Sun Ce (Sun Jian's first son and Sun Quan's older brother) became the heir and was set to take the reins of power in the South Land. After numerous successes in battle, Sun Ce established the foundation for what would later be known as the Kingdom of Wu. Unfortunately, Sun Ce also experienced a premature death caused by the guilt of ordering the execution of the prophet, Yu Ji. Shortly before his death, Sun Quan was notified by his brother that he was to rule the kingdom in his place. Garnering the help of such strategists as Zhou Yu, Lu Su, and Lu Xun, Sun Quan was able to defend his kingdom for many years after countless battles, but he was unable to expand his territory. Due to its superior defense and clever tacticians, the Kingdom of Wu was the last of the three kingdoms to fall before it was overrun by the armies of Jin. Sun Quan himself fell at the age of 71, after reigning as Wu Emperor for 24 years. Unfortunately, after Sun Quan's death, there was a bitter power struggle for control of the kingdom which led to much turmoil and assassination for many years in Wu. HE JIN - Drops: Nothing Found in: YTR He Jin was an officer of the Han Dynasty with the rather high rank of High Minister, which was greatly attributed to the fact that his sister was one of the emperor's favored concubines. Unfortunately, He Jin did not have the intelligence to match the height of his rank. After the successful campaign against the Yellow Turbans, he set his sights on eliminating the leech-like corruption that had attached itself to the palace during the waning years of the Emperor's life. His first task was the elimination of a group of Imperial eunuchs who had reduced the palace to a haven for greed and corruption for nearly half a century. The eunuchs caught wind of this plot, and thought of a plot of their own. They asked the Empress (He Jin's sister) to falsely summon him to the palace for an imperial audience. Despite the good advice that was given to him by several officers and advisors, He Jin blindly walked into their trap - oblivious to any form of obvious subterfuge. Because of his stupidity, he became a victim of their plot, and was summarily hacked to death at the hands of assassins. ZHANG JIAO (Zhang Jue)- Drops: Nothing Found in: YTR After acquiring the "Way of Peace" from a strange hermit from the South Land, Zhang Jiao began his benevolent quest to help the poor and the sick. However, these acts of benevolence eventually graduated into acts of rebellion. Amassing the help of the poor, the frustrated, the disreputable, and the trodden-on, Zhang Jiao declared himself ÒLord of Heaven,Ó and formed the uprising known as the Yellow Turban Rebellion. While it was his intent to eliminate the corruption within the Han Empire, the rebellion soon became an excuse for riots, pillaging, and lawlessness. Eventually, Zhang Jiao's rebellion was brought to an end thanks to the combined efforts of the country's greatest warlords. He died and was buried before he could be captured, but this did not prevent the Imperial Forces from exhuming his body, beheading it, and then publicly humiliating it. YUAN SHAO - Drops: Nothing Found in: HLG and GD The Yuan family had served the Han Dynasty for eight generations, and Yuan Shao was the last generation to hold a high governing post. In the war with Dong Zhuo, Yuan Shao was unanimously named the head commander in the attack on Hu Lao Pass. After the Dong Zhuo fiasco had ended, Yuan Shao set his sights north to eliminate his rival, Gongsun Zan. After completely obliterating Gongsun Zan's forces, Yuan Shao then focused upon rescuing the emperor once more, since he was now in the clutches of Cao Cao. Citing many examples of treason in an eloquent letter, Yuan Shao declared war on the "rebel" with his forces that greatly outnumbered those of Cao Cao. As mentioned before, Yuan Shao was a petty man who would not listen to reason that disagreed with his own ideas. After many defeats at the hands of Cao Cao's superior strategy, Yuan Shao became gravely ill - thus forcing him to name his youngest son, Yuan Shang, as his successor. Subsequently, Yuan Shang volunteered to challenge one of Cao Cao's generals in combat. Soon after, he was beaten in humiliating fashion - the sight of which caused Yuan Shao to have a stroke that initiated his death. DONG ZHUO - Drops: Nothing Found in: HLG Dong Zhuo was a minor warlord who suffered a defeat in the Yellow Turban Rebellion. Soon after, during the turmoil at the palace, Dong Zhuo decided to take full advantage of the chaos by invading the Imperial Capital, Luoyang. Once he was there, he made many outrageous decisions, including the ousting of the current Emperor in favor of his brother, as well as the burning of the capital of Luoyang. As mentioned before, his success at the battle of Hu Lao Pass was not attributed to his own military genius, but to the political infighting that occurred between members of the federation. Eventually, he was slain by Lu Bu himself during the Diao Chan incident, which is fully explained in my Lu Bu Acquisition FAQ, which can be found on www.gamefaqs.com. GONGSUN ZAN Ð Drops: Life Up +10 Found in: HLG Gongsun Zan was Liu BeiÕs fellow classmate when they both studied under Zheng Xuan and the Imperial Officer, Lu Zhi. Since then, they had become great friends. Shortly after the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Gongsun Zan recommended Liu Bei for government service, which was cut short due to the corruption of the eunuchs. They fought side by side at the battle of Hu Lao Pass, since Gongsun Zan was one of the lords called upon by Cao Cao, and Liu Bei joined in the fight under the banner of Gongsun Zan. If it were not for him, Guan Yu would have never been able to fight and slay Hua Xiong, and Zhang Fei would have never been able to prove his valor against Lu Bu. After the Confederation fell apart, Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shao declared war on each other for supremacy of the north. Yuan Shao soon gained the advantage, and had managed to trap Gongsun Zan in a tower of his own creation. During the siege, some of Gongsun ZanÕs troops were surrounded by the enemy and cried for help or reinforcements, but Gongsun Zan refused to send any. This disgusted most of his army, who flooded over to Yuan ShaoÕs side. Eventually, through the usage of a subterranean tunnel, the base of the tower was set on fire, completely trapping Gongsun Zan and his family. With no other avenues open to him, he immediately slew his children and hanged himself. B. PRIME MINISTERS Note: All Prime Ministers will drop a Defense +8 powerup. ZHUGE LIANG - Drops: Defense +8 Found in: CBN, YL, and WZ In Luo Guanzhong's novel, Zhuge Liang was portrayed to be the craftiest and most intelligent man in the history of history. His name first appeared when Liu Bei was accosted by a recluse, who informed him that, with the power of Sleeping-Dragon and Blooming-Phoenix, Liu Bei could restore order to the empire. Eventually, after his short-lived warleader, Xu Shu, was forced to defect to Cao Cao, Xu Shu explained to him that Sleeping-Dragon was Zhuge Liang - a brilliant scholar who lived atop Sleeping Dragon Hill. Liu Bei went to visit this scholar three times before actually met him face- to-face. Impressed with Liu Bei's dedication and humility, Zhuge Liang agreed to fight for Liu Bei's cause. It was he who actually designed the theory of the "Three Kingdoms," claiming that, with Cao Cao in the north and Sun Quan in the Southeast, Liu Bei would have no choice but to migrate to the Southwest in order to develop a kingdom. However, despite all of his brilliant schemes, Zhuge Liang never permanently gained a parcel of land from the other two kingdoms, and was subsequently driven to complete exhaustion shortly before his premature death. Details behind his death are explained above in Chapter III of this FAQ under the Wu Zhang section. SIMA YI - Drops: Defense +8 Found in: WZ Sima Yi was once a banished officer who eventually went on to become Wei's answer to Zhuge Liang. Although no man had ever equaled Zhuge Liang in intelligence and wit, Sima Yi most likely came the closest. It was his defense that prevented the success of many of Zhuge Liang's northern campaigns. Eventually, it was his family that overtook the kingdom of Wei when he eliminated Cao Shuang in order to establish a new dynasty - the dynasty of Jin. So, despite all of his losses and humiliations throughout the novel, it was Sima Yi who could boast the last laugh. After his death in the year AD 251, he passed his legacy onto his two sons, Sima Shi and Sima Zhao. C. PLAYABLE GENERALS Note: All playable generals will always drop a +4 powerup, except for Sun Shang Xiang, who drops a Life Up +10 and Lu Bu, who drops an Attack +8. SHU GENERALS: GUAN YU - Drops: Attack +4 Found in: YTR, HLG, GD, CBN, YL, and WZ Guan Yu was the middle brother of the famous Peach Garden Oath. His strength and fighting skill were matched only by his younger brother Zhang Fei, but his intelligence was unrivalled among men of his valor. The weapon that he used was actually a weapon that he himself had invented - the "Blue Dragon Blade." Weapons of similar design are now named "Guan Blades," which are named in honor of his original weapon. He first gained notoriety in the battle of Hu Lao Gate, where he issued his famous challenge - Hua Xiong, who was one of Dong Zhuo's generals, boasted that he could defeat any of the federation's fighters. Guan Yu poured himself a cup of heated wine, and proclaimed that he could take Hua Xiong's head even before his wine became cold. He then rode out to meet him in battle, and with one stroke, Hua Xiong was slain, much to the disbelief of the federation's officers. As time grew on, however, Guan Yu became less stoic and more arrogant. Because of his refusal to relinquish the district of Jingzhou to Sun Quan, Guan Yu was ambushed by a surprise attack facilitated by Lu Meng. Despite their attempts to retreat, he and his son, Guan Ping, were subsequently beheaded in the aftermath of the battle at the age of 58. It is notable that Guan Yu is still the symbol of Chinese virtue and heroism - ev