DW8 Character Appearances - Page 2

I know quite a bit about the time period and I can't even really recall what role Xu Shu played. A very, very silly choice. My ignorance of course is a terrible reason not to include someone, but as you suggest, there's so many better choices. Fa Zheng, Qiao Zhao, etc... Riverlands generals. I also would very much like Huang Hao to be added to push into the later era: he would give Liu Shan someone to be an idiot with, would make a great villain, and would give Jiang Wei a good internal rival (with Deng Ai playing the external rival)

I would have preferred Ma Dai to have his looks and weapon and Xu Shu to have Ma Dai's weapon and looks...I don't know...I think that Ma Dai is better suited to look Assassin's Creed style lol.

I agree that the Guan girl, Sanniang and others are worse adds than Xu Shu, but then again, I think that Xu Shu is not as relevant as to have an unique character...I mean, if Xu Shu is relevant enough to be an unique then people like Hua Xiong, Yan Liang, Wen Chou, Tiang Feng, Han Sui, Gao Shun, Yan Yan, Zhang Ren (both of them, the riverland general and the eunuch) and many more are worth an unique too.. why not give an unique to "others" that are important...like Yuan Shu, Ma Teng, Gongsun Zan and other warlords... Chen Gong for god's sake! he'd make an awesome character just as he did in the 2010 ROTK series!

Oh and Huang Hao, well, I hated the guy but have to agree that he'd make a good add plotwise and would make Lui Shan the idiot he actually is and not the innocent peace loving guy that they portrayed in DW7

Perhaps the promised "What If...?" scenarios will lead Xu Shu into interesting directions he never had a chance to pursue? I like his character design at least.

Speaking of design, let's take a look at Jin (so far; Deng Ai and Zhong Hui are still hidden) :



Top row: Sima Yi, Zhang Chunhua, Sima Shi, Sima Zhao, Wang Yuanji
Bottom row: Wen Yang, Xiahou Ba, Zhuge Dan, Guo Huai, Jia Chong

• I really like the use of purple to unify the Sima family
• I may have Lord of the Rings on my brain, but the only two armored warriors seem Dwarven (Xiahou Ba) and Elvish (Wen Yang) in armor style.
• Zhuge Dan's snakeskin sleeves are a fantastic detail! Very subtle, hints "traitor." This is how you reference an animal Koei! *glances at Moth-man Pang Tong and Gator-guy Wei Yan in DW6*
• Jia Chong's full-black costume stands out against the light-colored comrades, but I suppose it is suitable. Since he oversees the final battle of the Three Kingdoms, he is sort of the era's undertaker.

Looks like I'm playing catch up. In regards to Xu Shu, let's be realists here: they included him because he can contribute to the Shu circle-jerk. His biggest point, the one Koei keep touting for him, is that he was the one who suggested Liu Bei go stalk Zhuge Liang. After DW4 there hasn't been a new Shu character who holds up on their own, aside from Liu Shan (which is kind of funny when you think about it); their inclusion and personalities revolve directly around another. Even Ma Dai just seems like he's Ma Chao's bumbling servant, and then he fades into the background. I think they've just given up on the idea of having new Shu characters who are interesting in themselves. Hopefully Xing and Bao can change that.

Right, appearance thread. Where'd I leave off...

DW7 Sun Jian Tier
Lu Bu - Basically perfect. I wouldn't mind a little more colour, but I ain't complaining about it.

God Tier
Han Dang - Come at me. I actually like this look a lot; in a world of ostentatious PCs, Han Dang decides to relax a little, keep it simple, without going too simple. Some scale-mail, a lovely little piece to go over it, some decorative chains, a bit of rope to tie the boat, and a hand-towel for cleaning it; all he has to do is get it back off of Huang Gai. It's simplistic whilst still having a personal touch, and with enough additions to please the eye. It's good. I don't really like his dumbass hair, though.
Yue Ying - There she is. I really love this; they've managed to take her to how she should be whilst still evolving her, rather than just copy-pasting her old look. I'm not fond of the collar or hairpiece, but they've got the tone down perfectly. Mrs. Dragon is back.
Sun Quan - "You have a very nice coat, Ding Feng." "It is yours, my lord." "No, I woul-" "I insist." "... uh, okay." So that's where it went. I think they've worked it onto him nicely. He's bland enough that it works with his personality and lack of ego, whilst still making him look like the boss. Very nice.
Zhuge Dan - A good evolution of his previous, rather bland look. There are a lot of cool touches in there, the gauntlets and the snakeskin, and a very nice use of colour and trim. Impressive.

Emperor Tier
Dong Zhuo - I like the designs and colours, but the cape and how they played with the mid-section just looks... stupid. Which works on some levels, but then he's meant to be a feared bastard, whereas he's more of a cartoon villain.
Ding Feng - A definite improvement over the Matrix coat and kung fu outfit available in 7. A great little median of warrior and poet. A few odd choices mixed in, though.
Zhou Tai - I should like this a lot more, and want to, but he looks too top-heavy (especially considering he's meant to be one of the (if not the) fastest in the game) and the cape is just unnecessary. It feels like they said, "Let's just make him look really bad-ass without thinking about it too much." And he does look bad-ass, but I don't think that's enough on its own.
Jiang Wei - Some nice design choices, but nothing special. He's always been rather bland, which I suppose works for him and later-Shu in general.
Wen Yang - A bit like Zhou Tai; too much plate armour for a faster fighter, and the helmet and hair are a bit too anime. Seems more Basara than Musou. Still bad-ass, though.
Jia Xu - Pretty much just an improvement on how he already was. It looks good. Nice colours and the usage thereof.

General Tier
Puberty Bieber Xiahou Ba - Very meh. He looks a lot bulkier, I imagine for the sake of the siege lance, and the greaves are strange, but it ain't exactly bad.
Guo Hai - Meh again. It looks alright, but isn't special. I do like the lighter colours, though.
Xu Shu - I guess it kinda works since he was a strategist and all, but I couldn't agree more with what Mobius said, even if the outfit's just Chinese Altair.
Huang Zhong - "So, the kids are wearing curtains, eh? I'll show them! This is how you wear a curtain!"

Peasant Tier
Xiao Qiao - Par for the course.
Taishi Ci - Oh the pain. Woe is me. I really don't like doing this, but... god damn. He's mix-and-match. I appreciate what they were trying to do with the sleeves, but they took it a bit too far, and with the pauldrons. The bright white and the gleaming steel of the chest-plate with the deeper, darker reds and browns just doesn't work. And the feathers in the helmet are nothing but odd; I'm half expecting his head to catapult away Angry Birds style. I like that they're trying something different, since I think they got the tank-style perfectly in 7, and I like how it's got elements of his older style as well, and I want to like it, I really do, but it just doesn't look good. Hopefully they keep down the same path but execute it better next time.
Wei Yan - I like the ideas behind his armour, being mostly covered in animal skin and furs with the teeth and claws and such, but the execution is rather poor. The mask and hair are just straight up bad all around.
Pang Tong - With a yohoho, and a bottle of rum. Or is he line-dancing? I like the eccentricity of Pang Tong, and that isn't really prevalent here, aside from in the pirate hat, which looks less eccentric than it does silly.
Lian Shi - It's an improvement, but a very small one. It's hard to see her as the mature, matriarch character they try to play her as when she's dressed like a prostitute. All they've done is made her seem like a higher-class prostitute.
Guo Jia - Bishie fan service catwalk bullshit.

Shit Tier
Diao Chan - Faaaan-serrrrvice. It's hard to take someone seriously as the epitome of elegance and beauty when her tits and ass are hanging out like that. There's seductress, and then there's... whatever the hell this is.
Yuan Shao - He looks like a folk-tale fairy. I've started to really dislike his look, and how he's treated as a character in general; he was once the sanest, most honourable voice in the capital, who stood up and tried to get shit done the right way whilst everyone else was being retarded. He may end up letting his ego get to him later, but to portray him as some kind of posh, stuck up, noble twat caricature through and through just doesn't sit right with me I guess. He was much better back in the day.

Oh yes

LOVE Zhang He's new look.

Gotenks Did you play DW7? Zhang He had his claws in that. It's a deadly moveset. His EX-attack is a drill attack that drag whole units of enemies up into the air - once you're airborne Zhang He can execute an S-chain in the air on the helpless enemies, then use a T to crash back to the ground, stunning all the enemies long enough to drill cannon them back into the air. Its nuts

quote

Lu Meng - I like to think that DW5 Lu Meng was an alcoholic, then in 6 he became homeless and lost everything, in 7 he got a job and started going to AA, and now he's doing well, he's been promoted, and his ex is letting him see his kids again. Good for you, Lu Meng. Stay on the right path

This, so much thks. DW3 and 4 was the best so far though. I do loved his DW7 Jump Musou; that was fun.

Highlights;
Zhao Yin, Yue Jin, Sun Jian, Lu Meng, Gan Ning, Sun Ce, Guan Yu, Zhang Chunhua, Sima Shi, Wang Yuanji, Jia Chong, Yue Ying, Zhuge Dan, Wei Yan, Wen Yang, Dia Chan (I'm a boob man), Zhou Tai,Taishi Ci, Lu Bu, Yuan Shao, Zhang He, Xu Huang, Lian Shi (yup - but it is otherwise tasteful outside of looking like Diana Doll).

I hate how Pang De lost his Pole Axe to XDuns big club, and ZLiao despite DW5 4th/DW4 11th weapons design being unique to him, and identifiably so, as did Sun Quan.

Newest update brings Deng Ai, Zhong Hui, Cai Wenji, Ma Chao, Ma Dai, and Xu Zhu. Gotta say, I'm pretty underwhelemed by all of them. Cai Wenji is the best of the bunch, but, meh...