Romance of the Three Kingdoms VII

"It is with 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms VII', that one can delve into that world, and perchance, change the fate of China to his favour..."

Synopsis
We've learned quite a bit about war, and countries have all suffered from it. But one of the most interesting tales of war is China. It was not only the lifestyle that was interesting, but the deception and awful ruthlessness of China's members of war.

For those who like it, 'Three Kingdoms' is a tale gushing with said ruthlessness and deception. It is with 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms VII', that one can delve into that world, and perchance, change the fate of China to his favour...

Gameplay Elements:
'RoTK7' is one of the most open-ended games in terms of politics and war.

One may have heard of quotes similar to this:
Politics is war without bloodshed.
War is politics with bloodshed.

'RoTK7' sums this nicely, as the wartorn world of China solely depends on rank and status, and the power one wields with it. We have the Ronin (serves no liege), the Officer (low rank to leige), the Prefect (tends to a city), the Warlord (tends to multiple cities) and the Liege (tends to his entire kingdom), five ranks from least powerful to most powerful. I suspect many of you have heard the quote: It is my gift, and my curse. Well, the ranks of wartorn China hold itself true in that regards as well. The higher rank one goes, the larger the responsibility, but the more power one receives.

However, you'll be just one rank in a thousand. An amazing number of generals and Chinese figures will be opposing you or siding with you to serve one cause: to unify China. Now, how does one succeed?

Your character has strengths and weaknesses, as everybody does, but these strengths and weaknesses come in War (success in battle), Intelligence (success in deception), Politics (success in economic development) and Charisma (success in recruiting). Whichever criteria you are most powerful in, your liege may give you the job of being in the frontlines of war, aiding him in the back to determine his next moves or a multitude of other jobs.

There are so many things in 'RoTK7' that one must tend to, this ranging from population, food supplies, army strengths, general strengths and a list of other statistics. This is the word - statistics. While 'RoTK7' is very open-ended, the fact is that the game is too ridden full of numbers. You raise your cultivation, you increase your technology among numerous other things. The fact is, you'll eventually be tending to 30 provinces, and you'll just end up not caring about the statistics, even if a province ends up in a dire state. The numbers and statistics can be avoided if one plays a lower rank, but it still seems rather unnecessary to incorporate all these numbers into the game; it invokes unnecessary complication.

A good addition, however, is the mechanism of friendship. With more friends, you will be able to convince them more, as well as the importance of recruiting more generals to your army. If a close friend dislikes the way his liege is playing, you may be able to snatch him quickly while his loyalty to his liege is low. This is another smart mechanism of betrayal and is implemented in this rather nicely.

Now, to conquer provinces, you'll be sending a group of units to attack the province. This battle screen is very chess-like and is a grid set-up. To gain the upper hand in these battles, one uses ploys, skills that change the tides of battle. Another method if you are strong in war, is going head on against an opposing officer and slashing away with one of your skills such as charge. You range from seiges, ploys, defections, traps and weather changes to gain the upper hands and many of this, such as defection, is planned beforehand when convincing an opposing member that he is making a wrong decision.

The gameplay is very open-ended and in this regard, excellent for gamers who want to do things on their own. However, tending to numbers, statistics and the like can become a hassle, and this number statistic is an acquired taste. The battle sequences add in action, but some unnecessary variables could've been left out. This doesn't mean the gameplay is not above reproach. 9/10

Visual Presentation:
It's not very animated. The visual presentation for 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms VII' includes beautifully painted portraits of China's heroes along with some simple animations depicting key events. I really can't say that it will impress anybody.

The visuals while outside of battle involves you looking at a city that looks pretty much the same along with every other city in China. You have a few market stalls, a large edifice in the centre far away where politics are done. But unfortunately, there is no real interaction with this city. It is simply there to fill up space.

The battle scenes are somewhat well done as it is essentially a grid with some colours depicting terrain. As the visuals outside of battle are, the in-battle visuals are not very animated to the exception of your pawns walking and doing simple attack animations.

I must give credit to the excellent portraits one sees when an event occurs, however, this too is far too repetitive and there are not enough varied portraits for repetition to not occur. This also becomes a redundant issue, and no matter how beautiful something is, it will turn ugly the 100th time viewed.

In short, this is not a very visual game. It mostly lies on the numbers and their inherent importance. Gamers who look for eye candy and visual appeal should stay away from this one. 5/10

Audio Presentation:
The audio presentation of this game is small rather restricted. Most of the in-game audio is music and sound effects aren't really present. In this regard, how is the music exactly?

As all of Koei's games, music is orchestrated nicely and is very beautiful in that respect. You have a theme for summer, which is lively and has bouncy frilly sounds from the flutes and a very Asian-oriented music theme. It suits it very nicely. As seasons change, the theme changes as well, ranging from the somber autumn to the lively spring. However, there will be MANY years that pass throughout this game, as much as 50 years, and seasons will constantly change. In this respect, you may be listening to the same four tracks over and over again, looping itself in an almost exhausting fashion. While you may be introduced to a different theme when entering battle, even that is played far too much.

The sound effects are small, ranging from the loud clattering of rain when a flood has occured, or the buzzing of insects when a plague arises. There is nothing truly noteworthy however, and the sound effects end up just being there, nothing truly remarkable nor irritating.

The music in the audio presentation is the primary offering, and for the most part, it is very well done, the music is orchestrated well and it suits the situation rather nicely. However, if the audio presentation was a slight more varied than it is now, it would receive higher. A good attempt nonetheless, although redundance is a serious issue with this game. 7/10

Story and Composition:
The story-telling is non-existent. This is due to the non-linear nature of 'RoTK7'. The tale of China pretty much shifts in dependence to how you play out your decisions, or your cards, if you will.

There are many story-worthy elements in this game, including much deception, betrayal and the like, but this is all triggered by you, and the game does no attempt to offer not even a vague storyline to describe the situation. Therefore, there really is no enforcing of a tale as it is just a relatively complicated version of the already complex Risk.

The story and composition IS there, but it only results in how you play through the game. Therefore, this section cannot be judged confidently. N/A

Replayability and Extras:
The replay in this game is endless. With literally a thousand characters to choose from along with an option to create a hundred of them yourself, you may be playing this game as much as possible.

Like a Sims game, no game can be exactly the same, as the CPU decides things differently, provinces may be conquered at different times and generals may shift hands. This game has endless amount of replay value in this respect, and should be considered highly if you are a strategy fan with a appetite for a different strategy next play through. 10/10

Conclusion
I can't help but say that 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms VII' is one of the most interesting games if you want to get your revenges relieved. This game is all about trickery, betrayal, deception and a race to see who gets everything first!

While there are many variables and numbers that determine this, and while it is for the most part unnecessary, the tale of Romance of the Three Kingdoms is played out rather nicely, and still brings out the old Oriental times with its music.

This is a strategy game that plays onto no end, and the deviousness of politics and the wretched outcomes of war is shown rather nicely in this game, and while numbers determine the outcome moreso than you yourself, it is a nice change of pace after playing a rigorously action-packed Gran Theft Auto III.

How it stacks up!
(Average is determined through the importance of the criteria. In this case, gameplay is most important followed by presentation and replay)
Gameplay Elements: 9/10
Visual Presentation: 5/10
Audio Presentation: 7/10
Story and Composition: ---
Replayability and Extra: 10/10
Final Score: 8

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 02/08/03, Updated 02/09/03