Memorial Day weekend--a time of solemn ceremonies and joyful family cookouts. Millions of American soldiers have died throughout history, and they deserve the recognition we give them; however, there is a population of troops who deserve just as much recognition, if not more: the millions of Chinese soldiers who have sacrificed their lives in the Dynasty Warriors series.

Dynasty Warriors is Koei's most successful franchise, selling nine million units worldwide since 2007, and that's fantastic of the publisher. But think what that number means for the soldiers: say I kill 500 soldiers at the Battle of Hu Lao Gate, and that may seem like nothing, but  multiply 500 easily by 9 million and you have 450 billion dead soldiers, and that's in one battle. Moreover, you can declare yourself a True Warrior of the Three Kingdoms twice in Dynasty Warriors 6: Empires. Once for the first 1000 you kill and again for the next 1000. Now multiply 2000 by 9 million and what do you get?

The staggering number of Chinese dead does not stop there. Koei has created one installment after another over the years, each one supplying gamers with over 40 playable characters. They give you the chance to augment the already astronomical numbers to even more epic proportions. Some may ask fans of the series like myself the burning question, "Is it not enough that you take over Ancient China once at the expense of millions of lives? Must you continue the senseless bloodshed by conquering China repeatedly?"

I think my answer speaks for all fans of the series: Yes, we must conquer China again and with a different character each time. Lu Bu doesn't play like Diao Chan! Cao Cao's story is different from Liu Bei's story! The only way you can experience the game fully is by playing every character. Then will you capture the struggle of uniting China; then can you call yourself the ruler of China, so I will gladly lead my troops into battle forty-one times if needs be.

Sure the game isn't that great. Kevin VanOrd of gamespot.com has called the combat in Dynasty Warriors 6 "dreadfully repetitive"; the visuals are ugly and the voice acting awful. The series may not have improved the voice acting and combat, but it won't go away. Like war itself, the series continues. Takashi Morinaka, creator of the series, has even hinted at a Dynasty Warriors 7.

Gamers might say that this is absurd. How dare I suggest that we honor the Chinese soldiers, regardless of how have died? Memorial Day is about American troops who sacrifice their lives for America. But I say we can honor all soldiers regardless of the country they defend. We may not agree with the ideologies they fight for; soldiers have defended communism and fascism, but we can at least recognize that they were firm in their belief--so firm that they were not cowards and were willing to die for their country. And any man or woman who dies for their country deserves some recognition. It is better to honor a soldier who defends what he believes, than cowards who falter under the slightest pressure from opposition.

But how can we do these dead soldiers justice when there are so many who have died and continue to die in millions of gamers' homes? There are over six billion people on Earth. If every person on this planet fold seventy-five paper cranes, we will have almost enough to honor each and everyone of the soldiers who have died in the digital world of Ancient China. And we must continue to make paper cranes for future dead soldiers because the Dynasty Warriors series is still ongoing; while the interest of the game critics have waned, the resolve of fans of the series is stronger than ever.

Unfortunately, this entire argument has no weight. Koei, in their infinite wisdom, years ago decided to reassure gamers that the fate of these soldiers was not permanent. Under the total count of  defeated troops--in the right-hand corner of the screen--they added a simple term: K.O. Count. Unless the English language has changed significantly since the publication of this article, the soldiers we defeat on the battlefield are not dead, but are simply knocked out.

As such, we can take solace in that once these men awaken from their peaceful slumber, fans of the Dynasty Warriors series can continue to mercilessly beat the soldiers senseless again and again and again, while on the path to conquering Ancient China.

Sadly, we cannot say that the American troops who have fallen on the battlefield are knocked out. Many soldiers will never awaken and for that we have cause to be solemn and joyful at the same time. We would not be able to express our ideas--even nonsensical ideas--without their sacrifice.

Happy Memorial Day . . .