Dynasty Warriors 4 is, of course, the fourth game in Koei's epic beat 'em up series set in medieval China. This installment features all of the action and features made popular by previous installments, and also introduces an "Edit Mode" which allows players to create new officers and bodyguard units. The Musuo Mode (story mode) has changed somewhat from the last game, offering a storyline for each faction (Wei, Wu, Shu and five unlockables) instead of each character. The game also adds three new characters but removes two from the previous version (though their weapons are selectable in Edit Mode).

Dynasty Warriors 4 was originally released as a PlayStation 2 game, and was later ported to PC (as Dynasty Warriors 4 Hyper) and Xbox. An expansion to the game, "Xtreme Legends" was also released on the PS2, though the PC and Xbox versions incorporate some of the improvements featured in that game. Koei released another version of the game on the PS2 as well, "Empires", which allowed players to choose their home territory, select strategies, and attack other territories with the ultimate goal of conquering China.