VGFacts

=Characters=
In the original Dynasty Warriors game for the PS1 (Sengoku Musou in Japan) the game had 3 playable characters for each faction as well as an unassociated faction (Other):

-Shu-
Zhao Yun
Guan Yu
Zhang Fei

-Wei-
Xiahou Dun
Dian Wei
Xu Zhu

-Wu-
Zhou Yu
Lu Xun
Taishi Ci

-Other-
Diao Chan

The game also had 3 unlockable bosses:
Shu: Zhuge Liang (Condition: Beat the game as all three Shu characters - Zhao Yun, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei)
Wei: Cao Cao (Condition: Beat the game as all three Wei characters - Xiahou Dun, Dian Wei, and Xu Zhu)
Other: Lu Bu (Condition: Beat the game as Diao Chan and all three Wu characters - Zhou Yu, Lu Xun, and Taishi Ci)*Wu did not have a boss character associated with its faction.

There were also three special unlockable characters with codes:
Sun Shang Xiang - Played with Zhou Yu's fighting style; based off of the ruler of Wu's sister; unlocked by button sequence.
Nobunaga - Played with Lu Bu's fighting style; based off the 16th Century warlord Oda Nobunaga; unlocked by button sequence after beating the game as Lu Bu.
Toukichi - Played with Cao Cao's fighting style; based off a cartoonish form of 16th century warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi - earlier in life he was known as Kinoshita Tokichiro; unlocked by button combination after beating the game as Nobunaga.

Citations:
http://koei.wikia.com/wiki/Dynasty_Warriors
http://kongming.net/encyclopedia/Guan-Yu
http://kongming.net/encyclopedia/Zhang-Fei
http://kongming.net/encyclopedia/Liu-Bei
http://kongming.net/encyclopedia/Zhao-Yun
http://kongming.net/encyclopedia/Lu-Bu
http://kongming.net/encyclopedia/Diaochan
http://kongming.net/encyclopedia/Dong-Zhuo
http://kongming.net/encyclopedia/Cao-Cao
http://kongming.net/encyclopedia/Xiahou-Dun
http://kongming.net/encyclopedia/Dian-Wei
http://kongming.net/encyclopedia/Xu-Chu
http://kongming.net/encyclopedia/Sun-Jian
http://kongming.net/encyclopedia/Sun-Quan
http://kongming.net/encyclopedia/Zhou-Yu
http://kongming.net/encyclopedia/Taishi-Ci
http://kongming.net/encyclopedia/Lu-Xun
http://kongming.net/encyclopedia/Yuan-Shao
http://kongming.net/encyclopedia/Zhuge-Liang
http://kongming.net/encyclopedia/Lady-Sun
http://wiki.samurai-archives.com/index.p...a_Nobunaga
http://wiki.samurai-archives.com/index.p..._Hideyoshi
http://mandarintools.com/ For translation notes.
http://kongming.net/novel/ On the right side there is a free download of the novel (zipped), contains much of the information I'll be referenceing if you want to read the whole 800,000 novel. :)
http://koei.silvanthalas.com/manuals/psx...rriors.pdf High-Quality scan of the original instruction manual.

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=Stages=
The game was divided into 7 different stages: Chang Ban, Guan Du, Chi Bi (Red Wall), Phoenix Palace, Great Hall-Shang Yong, Wu Zhang Plains, and Hu Lao Gate...
Shu characters Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhao Yun fought at different times of day (Morning, Afternoon, and Dusk) at the Chang Ban stage.
Wei characters Xiahou Dun, Dian Wei, and Xu Zhu fought at different times of day (M, A, D) at the Guan Du stage.
Wu characters Zhou Yu, Lu Xun, and Taishi Ci fought at different times of day (M, A, D) at the Chi Bi (Red Wall) stage.
Unaffiliated character Diao Chan fought at the Phoenix Palace stage.
Wei boss Cao Cao fought in the Great Hall-Shang Yong stage.
Shu boss Zhuge Liang fought in the Wu Zhang Plains stage.
Final Boss Lu Bu fought in the Hu Lao Gate stage.

-Chang Ban (208)-
Historically when Cao Cao (founder of eventual 'Wei' faction) moved his army south he defeated Liu Bei's (later founded 'Shu' faction) forces and chased him southward.  Liu Bei's army staged a rearguard action at the Bowang slope (also called Battle of Dangyang).  During this battle Zhang Fei made a valiant stand at Changban bridge where he used trickery and bravado to stop Cao Cao's army and Zhao Yun rode deep into enemy lines to rescue Liu Bei's infant son.  Guan Yu and Zhuge Liang also participated in the battle on the 'Shu' side of things, including Guan Yu leading an ambush of Cao Cao's forces (at least in the novel version, perhaps not historically).  No Wu officers participated in the battle as Wu was not involved in the war between the Cao and Liu factions, yet.  Wei officers participating included Xiahou Dun, Cao Cao, and possibly Xu Zhu (acting as bodyguard to Cao Cao); Dian Wei had already died in battle by this point.

-Guan Du (200)-
This was a battle between Cao Cao's forces and those of the northern warlord Yuan Shao.  In the battle Cao Cao used guile to outwit Yuan Shao by convincing him that all of his able-minded retainers were plotting against him, while his untrustworthy retainers were actually loyal, Cao Cao also used quickly-built siege engines to great effect and captured Yuan Shao's supply depot to win the battle.
No Wu officers participated in the battle and the only Shu officer to participate in the battle was Guan Yu as he was currently under the care of Cao Cao - having surrendered after Cao Cao conquered Liu Bei in Xuzhou.  Wei officers who participated in the battle were Cao Cao, Xiahou Dun, and Xu Zhu; again, Dian Wei had already died by this time.

-Chi Bi (208)-
The battle of Chibi occurred when Cao Cao continued his southern advance and Liu Bei's forces convinced Suan Quan's state of Wu to ally with them and declare war on Cao Cao to defend the south.  It was a large naval battle where Zhuge Liang is said to have changed the direction of the winds and Zhou Yu set fire to Cao Cao's fleet.  In the battle's aftermath Cao Cao was nearly captured, but spared by Guan Yu in return for letting him leave Cao Cao's service years earlier after Guan Du's completion (this only occurred in the novel, not historically).  All the Shu officers participated in the battle, although mostly in land-based operations; Cao Cao, Xiahou Dun, and presumably Xu Chu in a bodyguard capacity participated in the battle - Dian Wei was still dead (died in 197).  Of the Wu officers only Zhou Yu participated because Taishi Ci died two years before the battle of illness (in the novel he participates in the battle and dies shortly after at the battle of Hefei), and Lu Xun was still a young minor civil official within Wu.

-Phoenix Palace (~192)-
This was a palatial estate in the capital when Dong Zhuo was acting as regent to the young Emperor, Xian.  Lu Bu met Diao Chan here in secret and she claimed to him that she loved him, but that Dong Zhuo kept her for himself as a concubine.  This is part of what led Lu Bu to assassinated Dong Zhuo.

-Great Hall, Shang Yong (-)-
Shangyong was a large commandery/district within Cao Cao's influence after he conquered the Jingzhou territories.  The Great Hall represents his palace in his capital city. In reality his capital was in the commandery of Xuchang, not Shangyong.

-Wu Zhang Plains (234)-
Zhuge Liang led the Shu army north and battle against Wei's forces.  Although the Shu forces made gains they were untenable and after Zhuge Liang's death due to fatigue/stress they were unable to conquer Wei.  No Wu officers participated in these campaigns, and only Zhuge Liang participated in these campaigns as all three Zhao Yun (229), Guan Yu (220), and Zhang Fei (221) were dead by that point (as was Liu Bei for that matter - 223).  No Wei officers participated because they had all died by this point Dian Wei in 194, Cao Cao and Xiahou Dun in 220, and Xu Zhu in 230.

-Hu Lao Gate (190)-
Hulao Gate was the scene of thee major battle between the Anti-Dong Zhuo Coalition and Dong Zhuo's forces that occurred after the battle of Sishui Pass wherein Guan Yu slew the indomitable warrior Hua Xiong in a duel.  Historically Sun Jian killed Hua Xiong in battle and the battle of Hulao Gate never occurred.
In the novel this is the location where Lu Bu defeats Gongsun Zan in a duel and sets him to flight, only for Gongsun be saved by Zhang Fei challenging Lu Bu to a duel.  When Lu Bu begins getting the batter of Zhang Fei, Guan Yu rides in to assist him, when Liu Bei sees that both Guan Yu and Zhang Fei are no matched for Lu Bu he rides out and the three of them fight Lu Bu together.  This had occurred after Lu Bu killed or maimed several of the Coalitions generals in earlier duels, demoralizing the Coalition army.
Eventually Lu Bu became tired and tricked Liu Bei into dodging a feigned attack, using the opportunity to flee back to Hu Lao Gate.  The Coalition forces used the momentum of Lu Bu's flight to take the gate and Dong Zhuo later abandoned the capital of Luoyang and burnt the city to the ground.  Lu Bu would go on to assassinate Dong Zhuo.  No Wu officers participated in this battle (Lu Xun was only 7 years old), although the founder of Wu's father, Sun Jian, did participate but was not in the game.  Cao Cao and Xiahou Dun participated in the campaign, but neither Dian Wei nor Xu Zhu even served Cao Cao, yet.  Guan Yu and Zhang Fei participated in the campaign with their brother, Liu Bei, but Zhao Yun was serving Gongsun Zan at the time and did not historically participate in the campaign (though he is introduced around this time in the Novel); Zhuge Liang also had not joined Liu Bei, yet.  Naturally Lu Bu also participated in the battle.

The secret characters appear in the same stage as the character whose moveset they share: Sun Shang Xiang in Chibi, Nobunaga in Hulao Gate, and Toukichi in Great Hall - Shang Yong.

=Character/Weapons Minutiae=
-Zhao Yun-
Zhao Yun's weapon is called the Spear of Shadow; in the novel Zhao Yun does use a spear, however he also steals Cao Cao's Qinggang [Black Pommel] sword (usually called the Sword of Light in other KOEI games) during the battle of Changban and begins using that afterward as well.

-Guan Yu-
Guan Yu's weapon is called the Crescent Glaive, based on his historical weapon named in the novel as the Green-Dragon Sabre (also called Green Dragon Crescent Blade).

-Zhang Fei-
Zhang Fei's weapon is called the Cobra, based on his historical weapon named in the novel as the Octane-Serpent Halberd (also called just Serpent Lance).

-Xiahou Dun-
Xiahoud Dun's weapon is called the Spectrum Sword. It is a wide-bladed Scimitar, similar to a falchion. Xiahou Dun was known to use both spear and club, but certainly not a Arabic sword that hadn't been invented, yet.

-Dian Wei-
Dian Wei's weapon is called the Battle Ax. It is a battle axe which he couples with a buckler on his other arm. It is inspired by the fact that during a battle when he was stripped of his famous dual halberds he picked up a handful of hatchets and threw them with uncanny accuracy killing over a dozen enemy warriors as they approached him.

-Xu Zhu-
Xu Zhu's weapon is called the Mortal Thorns. This weapon is based off the 'barbarian' warrior Sha Moke's weapon, usually referred to as the Spear of Mortal Thorns in other KOEI Three Kingdoms games.
As with many of KOEI's series regarding the Romance of the Three Kingdoms Xu Zhu's name is misspelled.  The proper Romanization of his name 許褚 is Xu Chu.

-Zhou Yu-
Zhou Yu's weapon is called the Ancestral Sword. It is based off of the sword Sun Quan uses to slice a rock in half in the novel that his father, Sun Jian, had carried - referred to as the Gu Ding Sword (Guding was supposedly a place known for high-quality iron weapons in ancient China), other KOEI games usually refer to the weapon as the Ancestral Sword.

-Lu Xun-
Lu Xun's weapons are called the Phantom Swords. They are a pair of Jian swords, however in the novel Lu Xun is more of a civil official and general and does not participate in much, if any, personal combat.

-Taishi Ci-
Taishi Ci's weapons are called the Steel Tusks and are a pair of rebar-type iron rods. They are based off of Taishi Ci's short-halberds which he wore on his back when he dueled against Sun Ce; in the novel he wielded a spear and after grappling with Sun Ce one of them uses his short-halberd while the other uses Sun Ce's helmet. In the novel they were represented as sickle-bladed polearms, similar to a smaller version of Lu Bu's weapon.

-Diao Chan-
Diao Chan wieleds a pair of clubs called the Enchanted Maces. In reality Diao Chan was a seductress assigned to break Dong Zhuo and Lu Bu apart and she never engaged in any battle.

-Zhuge Liang-
Zhuge Liang's weapon is a white feather fan called the Spirit of Thunder. Zhuge Liang never engaged in personal combat in the novel, but he is famed for always carrying a white feather fan with him; though it was not named.

-Cao Cao-
Cao Cao's weapon is called the Sword of Oracle. It is a Jian sword and is usually called the Sword of Heaven in other KOEI games.

-Lu Bu-
Lu Bu's weapon is called the Halberd of Eclipse. It is based on his historical weapon which appears in the novel - sickle-bladed halberd - the Trident Halberd (also called Sky Piercer). In other KOEI games it is often called the Lunar Spear or the Spear of Eclipse.

=Cinematic Minutiae=
Video Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OoetgABJkvQ
Order: Cao Cao, Dian Wei, Diao Chan, Guan Yu, Lu Bu, Lu Xun, Taishi Ci, Xiahou Dun, Xu Zhu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, Zhou Yu, Zhuge Liang

-Zhao Yun-
Zhao Yun is quietly meditating under a waterfall, but he senses a log coming down the over the waterfall that may have crushed him. He leaps up and grabs his spear, sending an energy wave up the waterfall that splits the log in halves and ascends into the heavens as a blue dragon. The camera then shows him standing there valiantly as the two halves of the log sail down the river away from him.

-Guan Yu-
Guan Yu stands on a precipice overlooking a walled city. After glowing in an aura he transitions to a throne in elaborate garb adorned with yellow curtains, which culturally implies he is the Emperor of China. The cinematic is presumably to reference that in later dynasties he was declared a Chinese God of War. At the end it shows him stroking his beard as a heavenly apparition.

-Zhang Fei-
Zhang Fei is sitting in a room drinking wine from a dish. He runs out of wine and starts looking for vases of wine that aren't empty. He becomes enraged and grabs his weapon, standing up, and twirls it about. He performs a ground-smash technique and destroys all of the ceramics in the room and laughs heartily. This references his heavy drinking in the novel, particularly when he gets drunk as guardian of Xuzhou and loses the city to Lu Bu after punishing his relative in a drunken fit.

-Xiahou Dun-
Xiahou Dun is standing in a desert holding sword at an angle to only see his good eye. There is a flashback to when he was struck in the eye with an arrow and it shows him bloodily pull the eye out before sticking it in his mouth and eating it. He then jams the sword into the ground and walks away. This is a clear reference to the event in the novel where he is shot in the eye with an arrow by Cao Xing, Xiahou Dun then pulled the arrow out of his eye and yelled, "Essence of my father, blood of my mother, I cannot throw this gift away!" and ate the eyeball (he then killed Cao Xing, of course).

-Dian Wei-
Dian Wei's ending has Xiahou Dun ordering rocks be hurled at each of his cohorts. Xu Chu smashes three of them out of the air with his polearm with ease. He then does a double-take when he sees that Dian Wei is easily letting several rocks smash against his forehead and break apart. Every time Dian Wei is hit by one, Xu Chu cringes a bit. At the end Dian Wei taps his head with a stern 'use your head' look.
This feeds into a motif with Xu Chu's ending, because both men acted as Cao Cao's bodyguards at different times and Xu Chu was actually hired by Cao Cao because he managed to fight Dian Wei to a draw in a duel.

-Xu Zhu-
Xu Zhu's ending has him and Dian Wei walking through a forest grove. It follows the same motif as Dian Wei's with them competing to see who is a better fighter. Dian Wei throws a small knife at an apple and knocks it from a tree, after which Xu Zhu strikes the base of the tree with his weapon knocking enough apples lose to literally bury Dian Wei alive in fruit.

-Zhou Yu-
Opens to a crescent moon with a flute playing, then shows several ships sailing through the darkness. Cuts to show Zhou Yu playing the flute interspersed with flags of the Wu nation and a sign of Chibi/Red Wall. He finishes playing the flute and turns around to walk inside on the boat before raising his hand and the night sky become illuminated by fire. The camera turns to show the opposing fleet set ablaze. This is a reference to Zhou Yu arranging the planning and execution of burning Cao Cao's ships at the battle of Chibi. Zhou Yu playing a flute in battle is also a regular motif of KOEI.

-Lu Xun-
Lu Xun is practicing his swordsmanship in a small courtyard when Taishi Ci approaches him and calls out. Lu Xun turns and waves, but is surprised and drops his sword when Taishi Ci throws his heavy metallic rods at him. Lu Xun struggles to hold the heavy weapons but eventually strains to use them vaguely effectively to prove himself. He throws tem up in the air and catches one, when he looks to see where the other one is he gasps. The camera switches to showing Taishi Ci's face close-up as he sweats nervously and his lip quivers, zooming out to show that the other rod is embedded in the wall beside his head.

-Taishi Ci-
Taishi Ci is facing a rock and the camera shows several shots of him breathing heavily, clutching his weapon, and concentrating before lifting his weapons overhead and breaking the rock apart with them. This is likely a reference to when his master, Sun Quan, cleaved a rock in half with his sword on the novel.
-Diao Chan-
Diao Chan's ending references her seduction of Lu Bu and includes him fantasizing about her while she dances for him and ends with her giggling after he has a cartoonish reaction.

-Zhuge Liang-
The camera shows a lit candle and then shows Zhuge Liang praying upon an altar before showing stone statues of Lu Bu and Cao Cao. Zhuge Liang inhales sharply and lightning strikes both of the statues, destroying them. The camera cuts back to Zhuge Liang as he places his fan in front of his face to hide his smug smile.

-Cao Cao-
Cao Cao's ending has an assassin (that looks a bit like Lu Xun in a different costume) pretending to present a gift of tribute. The assassin bypasses Dian Wei and Xu Chu and dodges an attack by Xiahou Dun, but Cao Cao easily cuts him out of the air with his sword. Dian Wei and Xu Chu appear awed by Cao Cao's finesse.

-Lu Bu-
Lu Bu's ending cinematic occurs on his stage, the Hulao Gate, he is surrounded by Guan Yu, Zhao Yun, and Zhang Fei. The entire video is a reference to his famous duel against the Three Brothers (with Zhao Yun taking the place of Liu Bei in the cinematic), except that Lu Bu wins the duel and knocks out or kills all three of his opponents. After he performs his winning stance a large banners flies from the gate overhead saying San Goku Mu Sou, which means 'Unbeatable Warrior of the Three Kingdoms', and is the title of the game in the original Japanese release.

*Special Characters Sun Shang Xiang, Toukichi, and Nobunaga do not have story mode ending cinematics.

=Music Minutiae=
-Nobunaga-
Nobunaga's theme from Dynasty Warriors was reused and remixed for the KOEI game Oda Nobunaga Den; it is the game's battle theme.
DW: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iytI75vSN4
OND: Searching for a copy of the song.

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=Art Minutiae=
The character models from Dynasty Warriors are unlockable costumes in the other KOEI/Omega-Force product, Destrega.

Looking for pictures right now...