"The classic that started it all."

I first played this game in 1989 when it was made in 1988. I would realised years later that this game actually won an award as strategy game of the year. This game although dated 1988 is actually better than most of the RTK games in terms of gameplay. In my opinion if you judge this game by gameplay it is better than RTK II, RTK III, RTK V and RTK VI.

Storyline- This one is one of the more accurate RTK in that it actually follows the story very closely. The first scenario is in fact one of the most accurate scenarios for the year 189 AD compared to the RTK games.

Graphics- Please do not play this game for the graphics or say you do not want this game because the graphics is bad. This game's gameplay is really that good.

Soundtrack- There is no soundtrack and the soundeffects are bad. But do trust me this game's gameplay makes up for its poor graphics and soundtrack.

Gameplay
Strengths
1) The first scenario is very accurate. Liu Bei has 500 men. Lu Bu under Dong Zhuo has 200000.This one really follows the novel when they allocated troops to the generals. Liu Bei has a total of 3000 men in the first scenario. Dong Zhuo's combined army in scenario 1 is about
100000. Yes RTK II's army allocation system is really bad.

2) Apart from a very accurate scenario 1 the computer controlled rulers are actually quite challenging to defeat and they also follow their characteristics in the novel.
In scenario 2 in 194 AD known as Emergence of Cao Cao if you play as any of the other rulers you will have a tough time defeating Cao Cao. Since the start of the game this guy will expand and attack like mad. In scenario 3 The beginning of a new age Cao Cao makes mince meat out of Yuan Shao. In scenario 4 battle of red wall it takes great skill for a player using Liu Bei to defend his territory against Cao Cao's attack. As for Ma Teng he really behaves as Ma Teng did in the novel he just stary put in a area.

3) The battles can be fast paced and finished off easily or they can drag for months. Yes this was a really great concept which I am sad to say never made any more appearance in the later RTK games. Yes I am talking about battles taking months or years. I have once fought a battle lasting half a year. I really love this since I could keep sending reinforcements to defend my land. I can also keep sending reinforcements to make a stronger attack.
Similarly your enemies can do the same thing. The battle does not end because its the end of the month. How unrealistic is that. In fact the battles only ends when your enemies retreat or they are all defeated or you captured all their castles. Thus the battles are really much more fun in that the strategies you employ are really different. As for fast paced well generals can get killed more easily in this one then in the other ones.One charge is usually ended with someones' death.

4) This one has many options not seen in other RTK games.
Plunder allows you to rob the citizens and you can also capture beautiful woman. Did I mention that they are a commodity that can be given as gifts to your generals? Also
Jiang Dong or Yang Zhou which is where the Wu kingdom is located has the highest supply of beautiful woman. But do note plunder cost you a 10 point deduction in charisma.
Thus if you always wanted to be like Dong Zhuo and do what he did in the novel then you must really do the plunder.
Another cool aspect is the ability to be like Sun Quan but in a slightly different way. If you marry 2 daughters to your opponents you can demand 1 of his territory. Yes unless he only has 1 territory. Anyway Sun Quan did it to me when I was Liu Bei. Thus do be careful when accepting free wives in this game.

Flaws
1) Only scenario 1 is considered more accurate. The rest are not since character's troops number and loyalty remains the same throughout all the scenarios. This means that Gan Ning is not too loyal when he is serving Liu Biao. He has a loyalty of 55. But he still has this same value when he is serving Sun Quan in scenario 4 which is really unrealistic since we all know that Gan Ning was loyal to Sun Quan.It also means that Liu Bei after becoming emperor of Shu still has only yes 500 men under his command.

Conclusion
This game's graphics and soundeffects are terrible. However its gameplay value is really good and better than most of the RTK games. You should really play this one if you are a fan of Koei's RTK games.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 06/17/03, Updated 06/17/03