Ambition mode is really just Lu Lingqi's story.

[芳歲子]

The first time and only time I played through ambition mode, I started the game with Lu Lingqi. My reason is pretty simple.

I played all of the story and did Lu Bu's story mode last. Just moments before the final mission, Lu Lingqi was all set on making her father proud. Sadly all was not meant to be as her only family was soon caught and executed. On her father's wish she escaped, and Lu Lingqi was never heard of again. I was kind of devastated by that scene. What's going to happen to Lu Lingqi? She may be a strong woman, but it's obvious that she loved her father dearly too.

Eventually I moved on and started ambition mode, and still not over the aftermath of Lu Lingqi's loss, I picked her to start the game. Then it struck me...

As she's escaping through a dense forest, Lu Lingqi cried for the first time in a very long time, the loss of her father and only family was too much for her to handle. So overcome with grief that her head started to hurt, she couldn't think, and soon she stopped running and passed out in the middle of the forest.

When she awoke, she was still in the same place, but her head wasn't hurting anymore... and she felt different somehow, refreshed even. She continued onward and quickly came upon a sparse tiny village. There she was welcomed and some of the villagers even taught her how to build up an army from scratch. Everything felt a little strange, but this was a great opportunity for her to revive the glory of her father's legacy, she thought.

She picked up fast thanks to her skills and all Lu Bu has taught her before, and it didn't take long for her to set out with her first line of troops in search of glory and bring honour to the Lu family. This all too familar scene reminded her of her father once again, and she thought to herself how great it would be if her father was here to see how far she has come, and that's exactly what happened. (I don't know if this was a coincidence but Lu Bu was the first officer I fought in my first play through of Ambition Mode with Lu Lingqi.)

"Lu Lingqi! I see you have come a long way since our parting at Xiapi. Allow me to test your skills now."

Overjoyed at the sight of her father still being alive, she readily accepted the challenge like it's one those usual training sessions between father and daughter. She won, and with full of praise for her, Lu Bu offered to be her officer.

With her father still alive and at her side, nothing could stop her now. Her army grew stronger, and albeit a little strange, her quest to revive the Lu legacy lead her to meet all of the three kingdoms' officers who would offer to join her if she can beat them. This was perfect for her, as all she wanted was for all the kingdoms to follow her ideals and no one will have to lose a loved one ever again. It was a perfect world, where everyone would stay in her town and be friendly to one another.

This is the story of Lu Lingqi aka Ambition Mode.

[Doomerang]

Well, it's definitely what you make it. Lu Lingqi definitely got the short end of the stick in the story mode. She was not even in the hypothetical!

[Doresh]

It's weird how she only appeared in the historical route, seeing how she didn't really do anything in the novel, or historically for that matter. Koei even had to make up the name because she's that obscure.

[Big Boom Boom]

Originally posted by Martin Lockheed:

So far as her appearing in the book, I figured she was the baby daughter Lu Bu strapped to his back as he was fleeing his base, right before he was caught and hanged by Cao Cao. You never find out what happened to the baby... so I guess Koei said "Screw it, new character, sexy female Lu Bu, yolo."

She's no baby in the book if Lu Bu is carrying her off to marry her to Yuan Shu's son. I know she's probably 13 and the boy is probably 11 but that's no baby by then standard.

[Skylore72]

Late but meeeh.
This is near enough, exactly the way I see Ambitions Mode., and when I finally get Empires (I only said it was too much, so just waiting for later) going to continue on from the ending of Lu Bu's story in XL and have her raise an army and take over everyone.

[芳歲子]

Originally posted by Skylore72:

Late but meeeh.
This is near enough, exactly the way I see Ambitions Mode., and when I finally get Empires (I only said it was too much, so just waiting for later) going to continue on from the ending of Lu Bu's story in XL and have her raise and army and take over everyone.

My goodness that's a wonderful idea! Glad I haven't started on Empires yet.

[Capt. Jack Sparrow]

are u sure?

[Kelloggs]

Nice insight!

I agree...
Even though this is kind of Shattered as soon as you meet Lu Bu in the battle field trying to kill you.

[芳歲子]

Originally posted by Kelloggs:

Nice insight!

I agree...
Even though this is kind of Shattered as soon as you meet Lu Bu in the battle field trying to kill you.

Well I addressed that issue since Lu Bu was the first officer I fought against. I'm still not sure if it was a coincidence though. The way I see it, he escaped capture in Lu Linqi's "perfect world" and surprised her by finding her on the battlefield. As a family known for their fighting abilities, Lu Bu teasingly tested her mettle right there on the field which she happily obliges, overjoyed to see her father still alive. Of course, he would never kill her. It was a little father and daughter bonding before Lu Bu joins her as an officer.

[Skylore72]

Or he's not actually there and she's traumatised enough to just imagine him there so she wouldn't feel alone, along with everyone else.

[芳歲子]

Originally posted by Skylore72:

Or he's not actually there and she's traumatised enough to just imagine him there so she wouldn't feel alone, along with everyone else.

Exactly! Could everything in ambition mode be nothing but a figment of her imagination? Or perhaps she's under the care of some forest spirit who took pity on her?

[Skylore72]

Originally posted by 元夕口占:

Originally posted by Skylore72:

Or he's not actually there and she's traumatised enough to just imagine him there so she wouldn't feel alone, along with everyone else.

Exactly! Could everything in ambition mode be nothing but a figment of her imagination? Or perhaps she's under the care of some forest spirit who took pity on her?

Both are options, the latter would be ok because this is Dynasty Warriors. It makes no sense at times. Of course it could also be seen as a prequel to Empires since that game pretty much goes with player choice excepting a few battles which can also be avoided.

[LyteSpawn]

What the ♥♥♥♥?

[Ralen]

Or... she is a fictional character based on an actual person who is mentioned only once and is never given a name...

Or this is all just Inception and nothing is actually real... Or is it...?

[PDX MM]

It can't be easy having Lu Bu as a dad. I always felt bad for Lu Lingqi and Guan Yinping and to a lesser extent Xingcai. It seems to me they were forced to become warriors just to get daddy's attention and poor Yinping had to compete with all of her brothers as well. I guess life wasn't really any better for Diao Chan.

[Elfie]

Originally posted by 元夕口占:

Exactly! Could everything in ambition mode be nothing but a figment of her imagination? Or perhaps she's under the care of some forest spirit who took pity on her?

Interesting point of view. Was playing ambition mode, too, with starting and 99% of time with Lu Lingqi, but i considered it as an alternative route of story:

In which, after Lu Bu take over Liu Bei's castle and started building his "Kingdom of True Might", Lu Lingqi, after rejecting a political marriage offer from a Shu officer(i can't remember who was it exactly, but it was mentioned in story mode), which may be very profitable for Lu Bu's newly formed kingdom to gain not only martial, but political weight(recognition from Shu - well, its more that "something"), and when she rejects, Lu Lingqi has been expelled by outraged Lu Bu into a distant poor village in the mountains to live the rest of ther life in exile. But Lingqi was not satisfied with that, right upon her arrival she immediately organised local peasants into a mob to attack and started spreading chaos in nearby lands, where she occasionally met a bandit group leader called Wang Yi, who was female too, and of her age, and both of them was skilled fighters and have some revenge issues, so at first they fought, and when defeated, Wang Yi have been offred to become Lu Lingui's first officer and a bodyguard...and then they rushed from the shabby mountains into the great chinese plains to spread chaos across them, and then conquer the whole land!(and she succeed, i gurantee it:)

But i think that her fighting spirit is not because she was traumatised by father's abuse of something. In episode where she appears, she is eager to fight even when Lu Bu is against that. I think Lu Bu is a traditional style father, he views women only as a housewives, and treats her as a daughter, and not as a "female son". So, its unlikely that she has had any abuse issue, or having any trouble due to rogue lifestyle of Lu Bu, because when on the way she is in carriage, and on base she is in the castle/palace.
So, her eagerness to fight when things going not well for Lu Bu("classic" route), is a mean of her own ambition, and boredom from a princess life(and , for sure, a bit of Lu Bu genes too).
I already described its outcome in first part of my reply.:))

But i really agree that her appearance in the game was a little too obscure. But, at least, she did survived the end of a "classic" route, so i think in DW9 they will make her to play a significant role in story mode.