Following yesterday's reveal on Famitsu, today Koei Tecmo released a sizable batch of direct feed screenshots of its upcoming open world Musou game Dynasty Warriors 9.

First of all, we get to see screenshots and artwork of seven characters, Xun You, Xiahou Yuan, Lu Lingqi, Daqiao, Xiaoqiao, Zhang Fei and Zhuge Liang. Xun You gets his own gallery, since this is his debut as a playable character in the series.

We also get more information and screenshots of the game's story mode. There are over 10 chapters, and the story progresses by clearing the objective of each. Players can act freely in each scenario. They can actively try to achieve each mission, wander the open world, rush the final objective, and more.

Each chapter starts on a precise year of the story of the Three Kingdoms. The first chapter begins in the year 184 AD, the second in 190 AD, the third in 194 AD, the fourth in 197 AD, the fifth in 200 AD, the sixth in 208 AD, the seventh is also set in 208, the eighth starts in 2015 AD, the ninth in 219 AD, and the tenth in 222 AD. After that, it's said that "the story goes on even further..."

This is actually interesting since the period between 184 AD and 220 AD is considered a sort of prologue to the Three Kingdoms period proper, which goes from 220 to 280 AD. Just how far the story will go in this game remains unknown for now, but there seems to be a lot of ground to cover.

You can check out all the screenshots below, and if you want to see more, you can also check out the first direct feed gameplay showcasing Guan Yu, Cheng Pu and Xiahou Dun. We also have videos from last week (featuring much lower video quality, but much more content), including the debut at ChinaJoy showing Guan Yu, thirty minutes of gameplay showing Cheng Pu, and the grand finale with another 17 minutes showing Xiahou Dun. You can also take a glipse at the recent reveal of six more returning heroes: Ling Tong, Gan Ning, Xu Zhu, Dian Wei, Guan Ping and Dong Zhuo.

Dynasty Warriors 9 will release this year in Japan exclusively for PS4, while an English version will launch some time down the line for PS4, Xbox One and PC.