"Holy geez. . . Better than FFT? Quite possibly"

This game is probably the best strategy game I've ever played. Here's why:

Story: Like almost all Koei games, Dynasty Tactics is placed in the rich and intricate storyline of the Three Kingdoms era. While the game does take creative liberties (allowing Sun Ce to live for about 10 years longer than he should, Zhou Yu not dying, etc. etc.) it allows you to remain extremely close to the actual story, or going and creating your own story, giving this game more replay value than it initially had, also making it more enjoyable to most.

Gameplay: Controls are incredibly simple and the game has extreme depth. Commands are easy to execute and the ''Strategy Link'' can be truly devastating when mastered. Most of the game is rather simple, though choosing the right tactics and units prior to a battle require a bit of strategy and though on how you run your battles. Are you an offensive calvalry/spearman machine? Or are you a defensive archer army? You decide.

The only qualm I find with the game is its lopsided difficulty. You get about three or four early battles that are all fairly easy, then you hit a specific scenario and get creamed a couple of times. Then after that battle you go back to another few easy battles. *semi-SPOILER* Like one time I entered a battle and one of my main generals was immediately hit with a tactic I'd never seen before, which is then linked to five others, taking him out in the first turn. The good thing though is the game is so fun I kept going back. The setbacks like these are easily remedied, as you can go back and keep trying, while also honing your skills.

Another qualm that either works for you or against you, depending on the situation is the use of envoys in battle. Unbeknowest to me, and the manual it seems; which stated that the map can hold up to 16 players (8 on each side), as two envoys on the enemies' side participated in a battle, the manual also forgets to mention that the defending party can't use THEIR envoys during that battle (at least I couldn't), making it a double-edged sword.

Sound: The sounds are well done, and the voces are a bit better than DW3 or Kessen 2. The sounds are also varied and numerous, every scream on the battlefeild, every slash, every crackle of fire, is captured in the game.

Music: The music is like an upgraded Kessen 2, not only is it beautiful, it's also not boring. The closest thing to a problem I could find with the music is it's for the most part very mellow, which matches the serious atmosphere of the game.

Closing Comments: I suggest any borderline strategy/RTK fan buy this game. I've had it for a few days and I'm having a hard time typing this review because I want to play it now.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 09/16/02, Updated 09/16/02