Koei Tecmo has finally updated their Dynasty Warriors 9 official website with newly revealed designs for five returning characters: Cai Wenji, Ding Feng, Wei Yan, Zhang Jiao, and Zuo Ci. Read on to check the biographies of each character introduced.
Cai Wenji
Cai Yan, who has the courtesy name Wenji, is the daughter of Cai Yong, a Han scholar who served Dong Zhuo but was also a friend of Cao Cao. Cai Wenji herself was also famous as a poetess. When China fell into chaos after Dong Zhuo’s murder, Cai Wenji was abducted by the Xiongnu tribe to the north and was made a concubine to one of their kings. However, Cao Cao was able to bring her back to her homeland peacefully by sending gold to the Xiongnu, and Cai Wenji would spend the rest of her lifespan in Cao Cao’s Wei premises.
In one of the predictable but still disconcerting decisions, Cai Wenji does not retain either of her Harp which had been assigned to her since Dynasty Warriors 7 or the Erhu Violin which she used on her DW debut in Dynasty Warriors Strikeforce 2. Instead, she is now given the Whip, the same weapon type which is also assigned to Diaochan and Zhenji.
Ding Feng
Ding Feng (courtesy name Chengyuan) is a long-living Wu general. Of all the unique Wu characters appearing in Dynasty Warriors series so far, he lived the longest until the year 271 (9 years before the Three Kingdoms era ended in 280). Despite his scary face and huge posture, Ding Feng in Dynasty Warriors series is depicted as a natural poet who loves enjoying beautiful sceneries.
Ding Feng’s weapon is being reverted back from Ring Blade to Knuckle Gloves, the first weapon type assigned to him when he made his debut in Dynasty Warriors 7.
Wei Yan
Wei Yan (courtesy name Wenchang) was a Shu general who, together with Huang Zhong, went to serve Liu Bei after the latter had defeated their previous liege Han Xuan. Although Zhuge Liang warned about his possible rebellious nature, Liu Bei still accepted him to join his army. In Dynasty Warriors series, Wei Yan has been depicted as a berserker who keeps chopping his enemies. His strength, looks, and speech made him feared by enemies and allies alike.
Wei Yan still retains the Double Voulge, a weapon that has been assigned to him in almost every DW games save for the controversial Dynasty Warriors 6.
Zhang Jiao
Zhang Jiao (who does not have a courtesy name) was the leader of the Taiping-dao sect who used his religious teachings to form the Yellow Turbans faction and rebel against the Han dynasty, in a historical episode that would be depicted as the Yellow Turban Rebellion at the beginning of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms novel. His farsighted speeches and unique presence emanate a religious peculiarity from him.
He is still retaining the Monk Staff which has been faithfully assigned to him in every Dynasty Warriors games. Expect his moveset to include a multitude of magic attacks.
Zuo Ci
Zuo Ci (courtesy name Yuanfang) was a master Taoist who was also known as Master Black Horn. He could trigger supernatural miracles, and he was noted in both history and the ROTK novel to have performed a multitude of mockery magics that enraged Cao Cao. In Dynasty Warriors series, he is depicted as a supporter of the benevolent Liu Bei.
This marks Zuo Ci’s first continuous appearance after he made his debut in Dynasty Warriors 5 and returned in Dynasty Warriors 8 after previously missing in Dynasty Warriors 6 and 7. However, he no longer uses the Paper Charms and is instead being assigned the Monk Staff, the same weapon given to Zhang Jiao right above.
Dynasty Warriors 9 will be released on PlayStation 4 in Japan and Asia on February 8, 2018. Although a Western localization for North America and Europe that adds Xbox One and Steam has also been announced, there is still no release date announced yet with just a Western release timeframe of early 2018 for the time being.
[Source: Koei Tecmo]
