Dynasty Warriors Question

[Artimus Gigan]

I never got into this series, but now am considering buying a few installments

So I have a few questions

Are they all connected Storywise, do you need to play the prior to understand the latter?

What's up with the X-Treme games, are they 1.5 versions of the same game or just an expansion pack that needs the original game?

[Captain Harlock]

Every game is basically the same story, Romance of the Three Kingdoms (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romance_of_the_Three_Kingdoms), but each game may have different battles in the same timeline. Basically, it's the same story told 5 times, since they're on Dynasty Warriors 5. The more recent ones have the best features such as creating an officer and have more items for combat. The XTREME games are add-ons to the installment that it's for, but also are stand alone games themselves.

You don't need to buy multiple installments. The earlier ones have fewer characters to choose from, while the newer ones boast a huge roster with gameplay addons. The only negative aspect is the slow-down from hundreds of enemies on the screen.

[Artimus Gigan]

Every game is basically the same story, Romance of the Three Kingdoms (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romance_of_the_Three_Kingdoms), but each game may have different battles in the same timeline. Basically, it's the same story told 5 times, since they're on Dynasty Warriors 5. The more recent ones have the best features such as creating an officer and have more items for combat. The XTREME games are add-ons to the installment that it's for, but also are stand alone games themselves.

You don't need to buy multiple installments. The earlier ones have fewer characters to choose from, while the newer ones boast a huge roster with gameplay addons. The only negative aspect is the slow-down from hundreds of enemies on the screen.
So would 4 or 5 would be the better to get first then?

[Captain Harlock]

Get Dynasty Warriors 5.

In previous installments, you played as a character and followed their involvement as they represented their faction of Shu, Wei, or Wu. In Five, each character has an individual story now or so it says. I've only played up to Four, but Five has the most characters, stages, and items. It's a little pricy at the moment, so I'd wait.