[Note 3] Similar to other titles in the series, Dynasty Warriors 4 is based on the historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms written by Luo Guanzhong.

Set in the Three Kingdoms era of ancient China, the game depicts characters that are based on real-life figures as well as fictionalized versions of historical battles.

The main gameplay mode depicts the events of the historical novel with branching story paths that includes alternate history scenarios for the available characters.

Dynasty Warriors 4 features hack and slash action gameplay from a third person perspective similar to previous titles in the series.

New features include additional officers to control; an Edit Mode, which allows players to create up to four custom characters;[3][9] and siege equipment that provides new obstacles and battlefield objectives.

The corrupt warlord Dong Zhuo as well as his courtesan Diao Chan and his traitorous general Lu Bu are accessible after progressing further through the story.

Many of the paths begin at the Yellow Turban Rebellion,[20] where the Han and Allied forces defeat Zhang Jiao and his religious sect, the Way of Peace.

Soon after the rebellion, the warlord Dong Zhuo siezes control of the Imperial Court with the help of the fierce warrior Lu Bu and the courtesan Diao Chan.

During the Shu story, Liu Bei and his two sworn brothers, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, fight to restore the Han Dynasty.

As the game progresses, Liu Bei recruits others, like the warriors Zhao Yun and Ma Chao as well as the strategist Zhuge Liang, to strengthen his group.

Turning their attention back to the Wei Kingdom, the Sun family defeats them at several locations, culminating at the Battle of Xu Chang and successfully unifying China.

After crushing the Wei forces at the Battle of Guan Du, Yuan Shao focuses on defeating Liu Bei and Sun Jian.

The developers took into account feedback from Dynasty Warriors 3, which included requests for individual stories for characters like Lu Bu and Diao Chan.

They instead decided to create Dynasty Warriors 3: Xtreme Legends and release it as a secondary disc to provide fans with the content they requested at a discounted price.

[35] Updates included that the game would be exclusive to the PlayStation 2, the siege-aspect of battles, reactionary artificial intelligence, new characters and stages, and the North American region's release window.

[37] Following Dynasty Warriors 4's commercial success, Sony Computer Entertainment America added it to their Greatest Hits lineup, reducing the list price down to $19.99.

[39] In June 2003, Koei's vice president of sales and marketing, Amos Ip, announced that they were porting the game to the Xbox console to broaden their audience.

[19][41] Microsoft later announced in 2006 that Dynasty Warriors 4 was among the titles that would be backwards compatible with the Xbox 360 console, which allowed the game to be played in high-definition video.

[61] GameSpot UK's Richardo Torres praised the graphical improvements from its predecessor as well as the new gameplay elements and called Dynasty Warriors 4 a "promising entry in the franchise.

"[62] Randy Nelson of PlayStation 2 Magazine noted that the game would address fan's requests and that the updates would deepen the series' gameplay.

[58] Conversely, Dunham commented that Koei made many changes to the sequel that addressed graphical and character balancing issues from Dynasty Warriors 3.

"[3] Brad Shoemaker of GameSpot noted that Koei walked a "fine line between updating a venerable franchise with valuable new features and simply milking a cash cow."

He further stated that new and fervent fans will enjoy Dynasty Warriors 4, but casual players are unlikely to purchase a sequel that is so similar to past titles they've already played.

Hirohito Aizawa noted that aside from surround sound support and slightly improved graphics, the Xbox port did not include new features over the PlayStation 2 version.

Tagawa Rameo complimented the familarity from previous titles in the series but commented that the game might be difficult for new players and criticized the loading times.

He called the English voice acting "downright horrible" and stated that it made the game's dramatic dialog unintentionally humorous and "lame".

[73][74] Xtreme Legends allows players to import their save data from the original game and can be played without the Dynasty Warriors 4 disc.

[78] Brad Shoemaker of GameSpot noted that despite the additions, it was fundamentally very similar to the original game and is targeted at hardcore fans that already own Dynasty Warriors 4 rather than new players.

[29] The main feature of the expansion is a new Empire Mode, which tasks players with uniting regions of China through choosing diplomatic strategies that influence events in battles.

[92] In reviewing the expansion, Shoemaker commented that while the presentation had "barely changed", the combination of high-level strategy and on-the-battlefield combat works well and brought "much-needed depth to the aging" series.