has long been a well-known name in the hack-and-slash community. Created by Koei with its first installment in 1997, it continues on to this day with a tenth main title on the way and no signs of laying the franchise to rest. An astounding feat, considering it's been telling the same story for t🍰he last twenty or so years with the same characters.

Related
Dynast🐈y Warriors: Origins - 10 Best Battle Arts꧅, Ranked

The best Bat𒉰tle Art attacks to decimate the enemy ar𝓰mies.

But that, in part, is Dynasty Warriors' exact charm. We've all grown attached to the clans, attached to the characters; have watched the same victories, experiences the same losses, and have learned the same histories multiple times on end, yet we still willingly play on with each new title under its name released. Hits-and-misses; successes, this is the rank of the main ga🧜mes in the series we've loved the most and loved the least.

10 Dynasty🐭 Warriors 🦂

Dynasty Warriors 1 Gameplay
dynasty-warriors-tag-page-cover-art_upscayl_2x_ultramix-balanced-4x.png
Dynasty Warriors
Action
Systems
Released
February 28, 1997
ESRB
T // Animated Blood and Gore, Animated Violence ও
Developer(s)
Koei

It's not because it's the first or because we were blessed with the marvelous graphics of the PlayStation. Dynasty Warriors 1 ranks the lowest on this list actually because of its standard fighting concept. Player-versus-player games were popular during the time of its release; Koei hopped right on the bandwagon with interest and dropped a neat idea - famous historical leaders and warriors 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:meeting one another in combat.

There wasn't any particular plot in this game, and ♐there wasn't character development or characters and factions to grow attached to. You idly enjoyed beating your opponent up as you would in Tekken or Street Fighter. This simple joy of its simplicity, however, was really no different from any other versus game, so in comparison to the sequels in the franchise that would spin Dynasty Warriors in a new direction altogether, it seats itself securely at the lowest rung of the series' great ladder.

9 Dynasty Warriors 9 𒆙

Dynasty Warriors 9 Gameplay Zhao Yun Shu
mixcollage-12-feb-2025-06-53-am-2599.jpg
Dynasty Warriors 9
Action
Hack and Slash
Systems
Released
February 13, 2018

WHERE TO PLAY

SUBSCRIPTION
DIGITAL

ESRB
𝓰 T For Teen // Alcohol Reference, Mild Language, Violence 𓄧

Dynasty Warriors 9 is the source of split opinions and discourse. The cutscenes are 🌄stunningly done and the character designs were elevated without being over the top. It even sought to bring us an open world. However, it's nothing like the Dynasty Warriors once known.

Missions to carry out on the side, items to craft, crops to farm, hunting to be done - the sound of it alone is a severe deviation from any stan♒dard hack-and-slash where we're put on a map, pointed towards an enemy, and told to wipe them out. Unfortunately, the stories in this particular title felt lackluster; the gameplay felt as if there were no stakes; that we were playing along, following a story with outcomes of the battles already set in stone. As such, its favor among long-time fans of this series is low.

8 𒐪 🤪 Dynasty Warriors 6

Dynasty Warriors 6 Diao Chan Zhao Yun Gameplay Shu
mixcollage-08-jan-2025-02-06-pm-9762.jpg
Dynasty Warriors 6
Hack and Slash
Action
Systems
Released
February 19, 2008

WHERE TO PLAY

PHYSICAL

ESRB
ജ t⛦ // Violence

Zhao Yun and the rest of the ensemble might have had some of their best looks in this installment, but for all the gorgeousness of the cutscenes, graphics, and maps, much else fell short. This isn't to say the game was bad. Perhaps expectations were too high after the very loved Dynasty Warriors 4 and 5, and memorable Dynasty Warriors 3 - the game where the foundations of the franchise truly b🐭lossomed and thrived.

The armor and gear appeared overly fantastical for the warring era, iconic weapons special for individuals such as Sun Shang Xiang's twin razor blades and many others were all replaced by the same standard bows, spears, chain whips, and swords with the exact same move sets. The individuality of each character in terms of gameplay disappeared entirely. Some officers were removed from the game completely without reason like Ling Tong, Zhu Rong, and Xing Cai. At times, even the hordes of enemies were almost too large, overcrowding se💮ctio✨ns of the map in spillage.

7 ♐ Dynaꦬsty Warriors 2

Dynasty Warriors 2 Wei Wu Shu Gameplay
mixcollage-07-jan-2025-08-46-am-5623.jpg
Dynasty Warriors 2
Hack and Slash
Systems
Released
October 26, 2000
ESRB
t // Animated Violence
Developer(s)
💫 Omega Force 🌠

This was the start of what would go on to make Dynasty Warriors one of the most iconic, distinctive franchises ever with endless spinoffs, crossovers, and DLCs. Gone was the player versus player gameplay, replaced by open maps, crowds of enemies surrounding you, and you thusly beating them into the dirt with your selected character of choice. Koei made the choice to have us s🥃top fighting one another and fight as retainers and warriors under the Wei, Wu, and Shu Clans for unification and rule instead.

They ꦯgave us a horse, weapon, a Musou Attack, bumping music heavy with trance elements, percussion, and electric guitar💎s, and put us on a map filled with red to demolish.

There's actually little to find fault with. Koei's first mainline hack-and-slash, and it delivered. The fighting was smooth, the hits felt li🧜ke they hurt, the enemies were a challenge, and we were given objectives to complete across the map to claim victory - or face a loss. Really, this cheri🃏shed childhood iteration was what pulled many players in.

6 ✱ Dynasty Warriors 3 ꧋

Dynasty Warriors 3 Gameplay Da Qiao Wei Wu Shu
mixcollage-08-jan-2025-02-18-pm-4109.jpg
Dynasty Warriors 3
Hack and Slash
Systems
Released
November 26, 2001
ESRB
t // Mi𒀰ld Language, Violence
Developer(s)
Omega Force 🦄 🅠

Difficult to win, charged-up and fun. Dynasty Warriors 3 genuinely felt like168澳洲幸运5开奖网: it was us against the entire army; and only us who could lead our forces to victory. The items we equipped mattered. The survival of our allies on the field was vit𓄧al. Plans needed to be carried out. We were told to protec༒t catapults and rams and destroy enemy supplies and equipment, and whether we succeeded or failed affected our outcomes.

Many of us probably spent multiple tiꦦmes running for our lives and breaking open pots in a panicked search of food with a red healt🌺h bar, trying to avoid troops and screaming to ourselves as Lu Bu pursued, out of genuine fear we would die and lose.

An excellent sequ𓆉el to the second game, with fantastic music, more developed gameplay, and further explored characters, only outdone in its cut scene storytelling by the Dynasty Warriors 7 listed above.

5 ༺ Dynasty Warriors 7 ♊

Dynasty Warriors 7 Gameplay Zhao Yun Shu
mixcollage-13-feb-2025-08-31-am-3793.jpg
Dynasty Warriors 7
Hack and Slash
Systems
Released
March 29, 2011

WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL
PHYSICAL

ESRB
t // Alcohol Reference, Mild Language, Mild Suggestive The☂mes, Violence ❀

After the strange happenings of Dynasty Warriors 6, the advent of Dynasty Warriors 7 looked to restore some of what was lost. Songs were expertly remastered, returning the vibes of 2 through 5, the extravagant design of the characters was dialed down𝔉, and we were given the off-splinter Jin Clan from the Wei Clan, expanding on the history the six prior games in the series had told.

Its shining factor, though, was its story. There was a focus on the creation of 7 to depict the history, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:☂wars, and losses of the Three Kingdoms Era in a more realistic manner. War felt like war. Characters were lost. Cutscenes were beautifully directed, and we watched the ide📖als our heroes fought for in the previous games come to an end, not with Wei or Wu or Shu unifying China, but with the Jin Clan instead. Of all the Dyn🦂asty Warriors games, it's the most emotionally impactful.

4 💎Dynasty Warriors 4 𝕴

Dynasty Warriors 4 Gameplay Wei Wu Lu Xun Sun Ce
mixcollage-08-jan-2025-02-14-pm-8029.jpg
Dynasty Warriors 4
Hack and Slash
Systems
Released
March 25, 2003
ESRB
🤪 t // Mild Language, Violence
Developer(s)
✱ Omega Force

Dynasty Warriors 4 is the game you get asked about and say, 'Aw yeah. That one was good!' even if you don't remember the exact reason why. Was it the superb battle music? Th🍷e developed maps with detailed graphics where previous titles lacked? The cutscenes that incorporated the thrill of fiery battles, desperate retreats, familial bonds, and the power of friendship? Probably, most likely, yes. It definitely was.

The formatting in clan and character selection was made organized and the storylines refined - it felt like a direct extension of Dynasty Warriors 3, equally exciting, with belove🐟d characters who'd been given clean, new looks. Strategic plans changed the tides in waves on the battlefield. You hunted down officers, you built bodyguards for maximum survivability; set fleets on fire. Every captured stronghold was an advance to victory. And the red horse. The red horse we all wanted to unlock to p🃏retend we were Lu Bu. Truly a replayable gem in the series!

3 𝓀 🅰 Dynasty Warriors 8

Dynasty Warriors 7 Gameplay Zhao Yun Shu
mixcollage-13-dec-2024-06-45-pm-1997.jpg
Dynasty Warriors 8
Hack and Slash
Systems
Released
July 16, 2013

WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL
PHYSICAL

ESRB
t

Though it cranks the wonderful story emphasis down a 🎶bit from its direct predecessor, Dynasty Warriors 8 handily delivers some of the strongest gameplay diversity in the long-running franchise. The game, by the end of its🦋 post-launch support period, carried a nigh-unbelievable amount of content. It's the ultimate version of the "classic" Dynasty Warriors formula.

Gone is Dynasty Warriors 7's emphaꦫsis on historical accuracy, too, so that's either a plus or a minus depending on your taste. Or, if you're like us, you love that this era of the series gave us something stellar for each of the con✱flicting approaches to narrative!

2 🎶 Dynasty Warriors: Origins

Xia Hou Dun close up brandishing his weapon.
mixcollage-12-feb-2025-03-34-am-1540.jpg
168澳洲幸运5开奖网: Dynasty Warriors: Origins
3.5/5
Released
January 17, 2025

WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL

ESRB
Teen // Violence, Mild Language, U𓆉se of Alcohol

Is the franchise's far-and-away biggest spinoff truly mainline? We're going with yes. may star a singular protagonist, and its (spectacularly) revamped gameplay mechanics do feel distinctly separated from everything that's come before it, but it's clear that the developers have regarded this title as the ultimate evoluꦕtion of the nine numbered installments.

Combat is far more𒁏 dynamic. Tactics feel even more integral to your success than they ever have in the games' Empires expansions. The cutscenes look fantastic, the music is largely superb, and watching your lead character grow into a hero is a memorable experience. We still love one older title even more, but Origins is a bold new start for the series, and one heck of a course correction after the underwhelming Dynasty Warriors 9.

1 ꦆ Dyꦫnasty Warriors 5

Dynasty Warriors 5 Gameplay Zhao Yun Ling Tong Shu Wu Wei
mixcollage-08-jan-2025-02-12-pm-1819.jpg
Dynasty Warriors 5
Hack and Slash
Systems
Released
March 29, 2005

WHERE TO PLAY

PHYSICAL

ESRB
t // Use of Alcohol, Violence 𒊎

Here it is. The cream of the crop of other creams of the crops that were 3 and 4. These were the character designs and backgrounds that stuck around for years after its release and used in the successful crossover, Warriors Orochi, where the worlds of Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors collided. 5 became the first memorable impressioꦿn of Dynasty Warriors for those who had only played Samurai Warriors prior and brought it new fans, and for good reason.

The perfect amount꧋ ofꦇ new characters was introduced, with appearances heightened but retaining the feel of classic warriors in a warring era. An iconic opening, nifty voice acting, and a soundtrack of wailing guitars and driving percussion to set the mood with each new mission, drop in morale, and sabotaged plan. There's not much else to say on it. It's the love-child of Dynasty Warriors 3 and 4 with only the best features passed down.