10 Video Games That Taught Us Forgotten History
8. Dynasty Warriors series (Three Kingdoms Period)
Most Chinese people know of the heroes of Liu Bei, Sun Quan and Cao Cao, but show a gamer a statue of the bearded, red-faced god of war, and many could tell you his name is Guan Yu.
The Three Kingdoms was a period of civil war in China following the collapse of the Han Dynasty in 220AD. Power struggles and corrupt politicians had weakened the Han, leading to a rise in rebellions, including by the infamous Yellow Turbans.
Their destruction saw court official Dong Zhuo seize the opportunity to assume absolute power as Chancellor. The campaign against him was swift, but resulted in numerous warlords and their armies vying for control – particularly the power-hungry Wei, the opportunistic Wu, and the Han-loyalist faction of Shu.
The story is one that has been told throughout the last 1,800 years in China – and thanks to Koei and their tactical action series that sees the player take on literally thousands of warriors per battle – it has now been retold eight times (and counting) around the world.