Wouldn’t it be great if Koei could figure out what to do with her?  ‘Cause she’s pretty solid when they do.

Appearance:

We don’t talk about 1.

Her appearances in 2, 3, and 4 were more or less the exact same, a white outfit of purity and it made her look elegant, innocent. 5 played with the color pink, but had the same vibe. 

6 and 7 decided to change Diaochan’s look into something less pure and more “sexy”, thus giving her some fantastic outfits that highlight the dark nature of her plan and look pretty. 

8 was a mess of pastel colors and tiny pieces of fabric. 

9 decided to bring back the vibe of 6 and 7 while also giving a traditional look seen in the older games, which looks great.  It’s very elegant, but plays off on Diaochan’s good looks.  It’s pretty nice, and suits her very well. Good job, 9.

Weapon: 

Okay I would actually give my blood for Diaochan’s old weapon, I love the concept so much. But, not for Diaochan to use.  They would be great for a new female character.

The whip is actually fantastic on Diaochan.  It’s elegant, but painful (Like her manipulative tendencies), with movements that show off her dance battle abilities.  It’s a solid weapon and pretty fun to play in 9, and suits her really well.

Personality:

Her personality tends to vary between games, but it’s fairly set upon nowadays that she starts off being manipulative, and willing to accomplish her father’s tasks.  She then proceeds to fall in love with Lu Bu.  It’s a simple, and kind of sweet story.

Diaochan is a very loyal girl. She’s loyal to her father, for adopting her, loving her, and raising her.  She knows of her beauty, and exploits that when necessary (AKA when dealing with Dong Zhuo.) She knows that she’s charming and talented, and will take full advantage of that if it means accomplishing the task set out before her.

Above all, though, she’s remorseful.  She dislikes having to manipulate the men (Though she does in order to bring peace), she dislikes having to use her talents and charms when she just wants to be ordinary. She’s sorry that the land has fallen into chaos, and that a tyrant is on the run.  She’s a very peace-oriented character, and it brings out a little more character to her besides “Lu Bu’s girlfriend.”

In a shellnut, she’s a peaceful, talented girl who knows how to play to her charms, but doesn’t really enjoy it.  She’s loyal to her father, and to Lu Bu in some games. 

Interactions with other characters

Diaochan mainly interacts with Dong Zhuo, Lu Bu, and in 9, Dong Bai.

Her interactions with Dong Zhuo are perfect.  She acts lovey-dovey to him, pretends to care, and uses his ‘attractions’ to her benefit. But it’s pretty obvious that she finds him disgusting, and if the game were M-rated, it’d be a lot more apparent as to why.  Also the scene in Orochi 3 where she asks for his hair to put in a doll “for his safety” but the doll is implied to be a voodoo doll is hilarious.

Her interactions with Lu Bu confuse me. Sometimes it seems like she loves him/cares for him, but sometimes their relationship in 9 comes off as more “we respect each other and want each other to live well, but we’re not in love.” Diaochan’s ending is the highest example.  She tells him that she doesn’t want to tag along (Because she perceives herself as poisonous.) Lu Bu just kinda goes “Live your life” and she’s just kind of “Okay. Have a nice life.” and that’s the end of it. It’s clear they care about each other though. They just don’t seem to actually love each other in 9, though there’s nothing wrong with that.  It’s just confusing.

(I try not to talk about old games, but 6 was great in terms of their relationship.  They love each other, even though Lu Bu knows she was using him.  It’s really good and you should watch Diaochan’s cutscenes in 6.)

Diaochan’s relationship with Dong Bai is hilarious.  Dong Bai spends the entire time ordering her around and saying “bitch i don’t trust you” every two seconds.  Diaochan therefore has to keep her guard up, because it’s clear Dong Bai is onto her, but they still have to be friendly.

How this character could be improved:

Actually, Diaochan is fairly solid.  It’s  nice to see a girl with a larger role.  Dong Zhuo’s reign is a small part of the very massive history of the Three Kingdoms, but it’s a vital one that brought attention to people like Cao Cao. And the whole reason Dong Zhuo’s reign ended?  In the games, it’s Diaochan and her father, who managed to pull off a chain stratagem without a single act of violence by either of them.

I think if I had to improve anything, it’d be her interactions with characters. If the game sticks to what they did in 9, and have Diaochan not join Lu Bu, this isn’t an issue. But if they have her stick with him, then I want to see her talk to characters like Lu Lingqi, Chen Gong, and she should be able to talk more to Zhang Liao. 

Also, Diaochan had some minor interaction with Cai Wenji in 7 Extreme Legends. They’re both talented musicians, who advocate for peace, but only one of them (Hint: It’s not Diaochan) gets a happy ending.  They’re good friends and they clearly respect their fathers. It’s sweet and gave Diaochan a chance to talk to a friend. Unfortunately, thanks to 9′s royal screwing over of Cai Wenji, this doesn’t happen.

Overall, her story is pretty decent, gives her an important role, and makes her seem to be a solid character.  I think she could use some more friends, but it’s pretty well done.

Good job Koei.  You didn’t completely mess this one up.

(Yeah, just wait until I start talking about Bao Sanniang.)