Dynasty Warriors/Characters/The Shu Rulers

A list of the rulers of the Shu Kingdom in the Dynasty Warriors series.

---

Liu Bei

"The Greatest Good"

"We must fight on, for there are many who are in need of our assistance!"

Voiced by: Moriya Endo (Japanese), Dave B. Mitchell (English)

Born: 161
Died: June 10, 223
Japanese spelling: Ryuubi

Age: 31
Height: 5'8 1/2" (174cm)

The leader of Shu forces and sworn brother to Zhang Fei and Guan Yu. He is a virtuous and benevolent man who wants to restore peace in the land. He is normally polite and modest to anyone he meets.

Empathetic with the common folk, he easily gains the people's trust and support. This particular trait makes him a feared adversary to his enemy Cao Cao.

---

• Berserk Button - Killing all refugees in Chang Ban is enough to put him in Hyper Mode. Guan Yu being killed by Wu is enough to make Liu Bei replace all thought of virtue or even opposing Wei with KILL WU KILL WU KILL WU
• Big No - Guan Yu's death was enough to make Liu Bei want to attack Wu -- though he managed to calm down enough to apologize for the impulse -- but hearing about Zhang Fei's death immediately afterward drove him over the edge.
• Cool Horse - Hex Mark
• Dan Woren - DW4-5
• Despair Event Horizon - After he fails to avenge his brothers at Yi Ling -- and fell from his ideals in the attempt -- he falls ill and dies in the Shu story.
• Dual-Wielding - His dual sword moveset beginning with DW6, which is accurate to the novel.
  • Rulers Prefer Swords - Single broadsword from DW2-5
• Flanderization - See Berserk Button.
  • Only for "hurting the people" -- "KILL WU" is perfectly accurate to the novel.
• Foe Yay - With Cao Cao, though it takes on a distinct "naivete vs. pragmatism" bent in 7.
• Freudian Trio - With Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. Ego, leading the trio.
• Heel Realization: Zhuge Liang snaps him out of his Roaring Rampage Of Revenge in DW8 in the Shu Historical Route by reminding him how far he sold out his own ideals to do so.
• Honor Before Reason - A recurring theme in his Dynasty Warriors 7 characterization, particularly regarding the affairs of Jing and Yi Provinces.
• Hotter and Sexier - From DW6, he loses his facial hair and looks much younger and more handsome. Now players can see why Sun Shang Xiang would switch allegiances for him.
  • Doubles as a strange sort of (probably unintentional) Fridge Brilliance when you remember that before this, Shang Xiang would nearly always remain with Wu, yet now she tends to join Shu instead...
• The Messiah
  • Played more reluctantly in Dynasty Warriors 7, as the civilians following him and his refusal to abandon them are the reason he was intercepted at Changban. Years later, when he's the guest of Liu Zhang in Yi Province the people are claimed to desire his rule, but Liu Bei refuses to take this to a logical conclusion, so Pang Tong leads Huang Zhong and Wei Yan in forcing the issue by "rebelling" on Liu Bei's behalf.
  • DW8 further plays with this, with Liu Bei reluctantly rebelling against Liu Zhang, feeling obvious guilt for doing so.
• Oblivious to Love - Has no idea how Sun Shang Xiang feels about him. Consider this dialogue taken from a DW7 Conquest Mode stage:

Liu Bei: My lady, didn't you say you like riding?
SSX: Certainly. But do I need my own horse? Perhaps we could... share?
Liu Bei: My lady... If you don't have a horse, I can certainly acquire one for you.
SSX: Oh, never mind. Sometimes you can be really thick,you know...

• • Makes slightly more sense when considering Liu Bei's penchant for virtue and that theirs was (originally) a political marriage.
    • Seems to have gotten something of a clue as of Dynasty Warriors: Next.
• Rain of Arrows - His Tome Special in DW6.
• Reluctant Warrior - Oh yes. He IS The Messiah after all...Just don't push his Berserk Button.
• Roaring Rampage of Revenge - The deaths of Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, his sworn brothers for almost half of their lifetimes, result in his ordering a punitive expedition against Wu that culminates in the Battle of Yiling.

Liu Shan

"The Inheritor of the People"

"Hmm... I wonder if I really should be putting myself in such danger."

Voiced by: Taiki Matsuno (Japanese), Steve Staley (English)

Born: 207
Died: 271
Japanese spelling: Ryuuzen

Height: 5'5" (165cm)

Liu Bei's son and heir, becoming the second and last Emperor of Shu. Liu Shan is a a young man with a mountain of expectations hefted onto his shoulders. Eager to prove himself, he rushes to meet whatever problem comes his way.

However, since he hardly spares a thought to his consequences and his reactions to them are late, there have been rumors of his idiocy spreading as a result.

---

• Adaptational Badass - Far more competent than in the source material.
• Actual Pacifist/ Apologetic Attacker - "Sorry I cannot take it easy on you."*ZAP*
  • Or "Can you please give in?"*ZAP* Both of which are said in a very gentle tone of voice.
  • When you kill him in one of Cao Pi's legendary battles, he says: "If only we could go back to happier times..."
• Die for Our Ship - For fans of Guan Ping with Xing Cai.
• Dissonant Serenity - Always wears a calm and blissful expression no matter the circumstance.
• Foe Yay - With Sima Zhao.
• The Hero - DW7's story mode for Jin pulls this out of left field and turns him into the savior of Shu's people, rather than the Suck Sessor he is in canon.
  • Done in a muted fashion in DW8, where he obviously is trying to arrange Shu's surrender before it's people are utterly destroyed, being wise enough to realize they cannot resist forever.
• Nice Hat: The same as worn by Chinese emperors in fact.
• Obfuscating Stupidity - Implied in his Legend Stage, as he plays a crucial role in stopping Zhong Hui and Jiang Wei's rebellion. ^[1]
  • Taken further in DW8, where in both the Historical and Hypothetical routes he surrenders Shu to Wei, with the implication he was very aware the constant grind of battle was wearing his people down, so he decided to surrender since he saw the eventual writing on the wall.
• Oh Crap - Defeat Xing Cai in a battle where he's present and he'll start to panic.
• Pretty in Mink - The trimmings on his longcoat at least.
• Puppet King - DW7 very strongly implies that Jiang Wei and other Shu generals reduced him to this and used their authority to force the country into constant Hopeless War, which was one of the main reasons he surrendered as soon as he saw Sima Zhao for himself and recognized him as a honorable man. A somewhat inversion of the novel version, where the eunuch Huang Hao was the puppeteer who'd keep ordering Jiang Wei's campaigns to be ended before he could defeat Wei.
• Puppy Dog Eyes
• Royal Rapier - His Weapon of Choice
• The Scrappy / Suck Sessor - Played with in DW7. He's mostly presented as a compassionate ruler that unlike his father, knows that giving up is the right thing to do, if only on one important occasion. Scenes outside of the story mode play with his Scrappy status slightly.
  • In the epilogue of Jin's story, it's mentioned that he was seen as a disgrace to his father and was showered with ridicule and jeers.
• Self-Deprecation - Is fully aware of his own limitations and shortcomings. Upon being defeated by his father, he even says that it could be the best thing to happen to his legacy.
• Spell My Name with an "S" - Prior to DW7, his NPC name was always Liu Chan in localized versions. This changed along with the style of romanizing location names.
• Stepford Smiler

1. ↑ Under the guise of finding his old toys, he finds the Juggernauts. Under the guise of meeting with old friends, he rescues an imprisoned officer.