Liu Bei

Liu Bei (on'yomi: Ryuu Bi), style name Xuande (on'yomi: Gentoku) is a famous warlord from the Three Kingdoms period, known as the self-proclaimed emperor of the Shu Kingdom. He was born in 161 and said to have died in June 10, 223. He is also known as Emperor Zhaolie/Shouretsu (昭烈皇帝), and his family line was said to have been of royal blood.

Well known for his charisma and ambition, Liu Bei placed his efforts into trying to carry on the Han Dynasty during his time as the Shu Emperor, and even gained the support of many naturally-minded followers in the process. However, his morals were said to be quite loose from various historical records. Romance of the Three Kingdoms and several of its adaptations (such as the popular Dynasty Warriors series) is famous for depicting him as a virtuous, sympathetic and more heroic figure, despite his more ambitious personality. He is also depicted frequently has the eldest sworn brother of Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, with their brotherhood formed through a Peach Garden Oath.

Summary:
Originally a youth with a father named Liu Hong who had a minor position and office until his death, Liu Bei along with his mother whom he was greatly loyal to ended up being a straw sandal and mat weaver. As his frequently-visiting uncle Liu Yuanqi took notice in Liu Bei's possible potential and future, he eventually at the time of 15 years old studied under Lu Zhi, and became close friends with his fellow disciple Gongsun Zan.

With Liu Bei at 22 years of age, it was during the early time of the Han Dynasty's downfall and during the upcoming Yellow Turban Rebellion. Liu Bei like many others wanted to make a stand against the chaos of the land due to the corrupt-yet-crumbling Han Empire. Eventually he was joined by his eventual sworn brothers, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei in order to build of forces of their own. Then came the events of Dong Zhuo's reign and Liu Bei's brief office at Xu Province, but after a long period of wandering and with many followers behind him (with Cao Cao also in hot pursuit), Liu Bei after the Battle of Chibi eventually claims the city of Chengdu in Yi Province and becomes the Shu Emperor.

From there, Shu was known to have an alliance with the Wu Kingdom ever since, but due to several accounts of possible distrust and later events that have eventually transpired amidst the internal struggle for Jing Province and the death of his two brothers, Liu Bei was enraged and not even the reasoning voice of all of his trustworthy vassals could calm him. Soon, Liu Bei matched out for an invasion against Wu for revenge. However, Liu Bei due to Lu Xun's cunning fire attack met his end at the Battle of Yiling. At piece with his sworn brothers, he was then famously succeeded by his son Liu Shan and most notably, his predominant advisor Zhuge Liang (who eventually lead his 5 Northern Campaigns against Wei).

Cao Cao is said to be a notable rival and foil of his, as the Wei Emperor later after their alliances have been slowly shattering had Liu Bei on the run many times before the Battle of Chibi, with Cao Cao fearing Liu Bei's potential and charisma, as well as deeming both him and himself as "the only two heroes who could change the land".

Name notes:

 * Traditional Chinese/Japanese: 劉備 (Liú Bèi)
 * Simplified Chinese: 刘备 (Liú Bèi)
 * Style name (Chinese/Japanese): 玄德 (Xuándé)

Portrayal
Moveset: Liu Bei (KoV3)

In Knights of Valour, Liu Bei is not playable until the 3rd game, taking from his Seven Spirits incarnation where he is fought as a boss at the Mt. Dingjun stage. His Knights of Valour 3 portrayal borrows from his very boss version with a new voice-over, artwork and a revamped moveset. However, he can only be selected with a registered IC Card along with Lu Bu.

Liu Bei is also instead portrayed as a elegant man with a long ponytail, as well as in fine robes. Most portrayals describe him as a man who was notable for his long earlobes, along with other features such as arms that reached to his knees, rouge lips and widely-positioned eyes from a face that was as flawless as jade.

What deviates him from several of his popular incarnations/portrayals is his fighting style; in many adaptations Liu Bei is known for wielding a pair of twin swords (though he in his later years as a legitimate ruler possibly does not fight very often). Instead, he fights with elegant hand-to-hand combat with an arsenal of hand swipes, explosive force martial-arts, clawing attacks, spinning attacks and even elegant kicks. He also can generate a variety of wind-based attacks (such as tornadoes) with his supers as well. Several of his martial arts are various Chinese martial arts moves seen in other forms of video game media.

For his weapons, Liu Bei possesses different types of robes he can wear.