Romance of the Three Kingdoms VIII

"Excellence delivered for the Three Kingdoms"

KOEI’s latest installment of Romance of the Three Kingdoms in English is an exceptional jump from its predecessor. With the addition of more items and scenarios, along with splendid officer illustrations and bios, the game is certainly worth picking up for die-hard RTK fans.

Character Specifics, Skills, and Tactics:

Character interaction has again been enhanced, allow you to create rivals, “sworn enemies”, and even “sworn brothers”. New enhancements make befriending officers difficult, however; especially when you are a free officer. As you would expect, officers under a Liege are less likely to trust an outsider than one of their own. RTK 8 takes that into account. Befriending officers also takes much longer than in RTK 7. Working their trust up to higher levels allows you to learn new skills and tactics from them, which is the best reward from knowing many fellow officers.

Another new feature is the addition of bands. This feature allows you to gather officers and create a band of men that can roam freely, without a base city. It’s very interesting, though I have yet to really experiment with it.

Character abilities have also changed. There are now two specific types of skill – standard skills, and the new tactical division. Tactics are war abilities that you can learn from other officers. There are a total of 17 tactic abilities, each having specific criteria that allow them to be most successful. Some confuse enemy units, while others lend tremendous damage and help you besiege city walls. Learning tactical skills are important and help you win the upper hand in battle… but you will spend a lot of time enhancing those skills… for there are a total of six skill levels for each tactic. Ranging from I to M. M, of course, stands for “mastered”. An officer that has a skill mastered will have a much higher success probability rate than an officer with a “I” skill. This is how tactics interact with officer ability.

There are a total of 22 standard skills outside of the tactics section. These are skills fellow RTK fans will easily recognize. This is where your common domestic skills and military unit-type skills are defined. You can also learn these by observing different aspects of city management, or through visiting friend officers.

The Battle Engine:

Battles are very interesting. They do tend to take a lot longer than previous RTKs, and really are much more difficult. Charging in and going on an all-out offensive, even if you outnumber the enemy will no longer secure victory. You will have to master the use of ploys and tactics to secure the victory. The addition of tactics makes fighting even the weaker officers that have higher intelligence particularly more difficult.

The battle maps span a large area, starting at the attacking force’s attack point, through an outpost of the defending side’s, to the actual city walls & defending castle. You will have to decide how to proceed carefully. When defending you can deploy traps to deter the enemy and lower his morale. When attacking you can choose different advance rates, which can effect morale or make it less likely to run into traps set by your enemy. It is all up to you. Your tactician will give you information about your own reinforcements, when to expect them, and also, when applicable, advice on the number of enemy reinforcements you can expect to see. You can even consult your officers for advancement advice before you initiate the battle to see what they have to say about how you should proceed.

New Officers & Items:

Creating new officers is a treat, as, unlike before, you can input what sort of discipline you officer has. He can be brave and well disciplined… all the way to the opposite spectrum; a spineless coward that flees at the hint of danger. You can also set your officer’s life goals and beliefs. Be that of justice, or a path of careerism and ambition. These all play into how well you interact with other officers in the game. Officers that share your common interests may befriend you easier than those that do not.

You are allowed to choose from a variety of positions when creating a new officer. Will you choose to be a warlord? Or is melee in the midst of battle more suited for you? These assignments will give you what you need to create the officer with the stats you want. You also get to select randomized skills and tactics for each officer you make. Which skills you attain will depend on which path you have chosen for you other stats. Much like previous RTKs.

Yes, now the items… there are more items, now, but there’s a slight catch. The war items, like the swords and such are not nearly as powerful. The best weapon is the Seven Stars Sword, but you have to go through a special sequence of item acquisition before you’re allowed to have it. It seems quite expensive to get the required items too… which is a bummer. But the number of other items makes up for that, and increasing your stats isn’t too difficult, so it all tends to even out.

Scenarios:

There are many, many scenarios now. Unlike before, you’re allowed to start in nearly any year you wish, from 184… up to around 230. There are also several starting points after that which focus on the fall of Shu, and afterward. Scenarios all have a very interesting history backdrop, and you can learn about what is happening in each period.

There are also new “recommended scenarios”. These are cool because you get to pick important events and battles in the era and try your hand at re-playing history. You can choose from a list of officers that all have specific goals to accomplish. You can try your hand at them and see how well you are at changing history. They seem interesting, as well. Certainly good for those that want to learn more about the Three Kingdoms era.

Overall:

With 611 playable officers, 100 possible new officers, at least 40 different scenarios and starting points, 81 item classes, 96 special events, and 40 different endings… RTK8 is a must have for any die-hard RTK fan, and is strongly recommended for those of you that have been exposed to the characters through Dynasty Warriors… especially if you enjoy strategy games.

Overall Ratings:

Replay: 10/10
Graphics: 7/10
Music/Sound Effects: 8/10

Other Factors Noteworthy:

AI: 7/10 (1 being terrible, 10 being challenging)
Difficulty: 9/10 (1 being easy, 10 being difficult)

Overall Rating: 10/10 - Supremacy in the Three Kingdoms Series.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 08/15/03