Romance of the Three Kingdoms VIII

"Another great game by KOEI"

Romance of the Three Kingdoms VIII is the 8th installment of the KOEI historical simulation game. Romance of the Three Kingdoms I-VI only allowed you to control a liege, but Romance of the Three Kingdoms VII introduced a RPG element to the series. VII allowed you to not only control a liege, but also choose to be a warlord, vassal, prefect, or free officer. Romance of the Three Kingdoms VIII continues what VII started but of course adds more. VIII allows you to also take control of a Viceroy (Regional commander), Band Captain, or Band member. VII also introduces the Council; the council happens every 3 months; in which new jobs are assigned, officers can be promoted, a liege can attack another city, etc.

Gameplay
Romance of the Three Kingdoms VIII allows you to control up to 8 officers at a time. You can choose from over 700 officers, 100 of those are created by you. You can be a liege, viceroy, prefect, warlord, vassal, band captain, band member, or free officer. There are new social relationships: marriage, sworn brothers, rivals, and arch enemies. In the Japanese PC version of the game, there was an expansion that allowed you to have a child and raise him to the age of 15; this was not added to the PS2 version. There are a total of 54 scenarios, including the fictional scenario featuring every officer in the game. There are 81 items to get, 96 events, and over 40 endings. There are also 15 new tactical skills. The controls are easy to understand; for example, “Circle” confirms actions and “Triangle” cancels actions. The game has a difficulty of, on a scale of 1-10, an 8.

Story
The game is based on the book, Romance of the Three Kingdoms. It is one of the best-selling novels in Asia. It is about the battle for power after the fall of the Han Dynasty. It is a truly unbelievable novel, and a must read for all ROTK fans.

Graphics
Graphics in this game is…mediocre. They look like a SNES or early PSX, not like Final Fantasy X. The graphics are good in some parts, such as the City and Council screen, but the Battle screen could be improved drastically.

Music
The music is awesome. They match the mood and time period perfectly. This is one of the games I do not put on headphones for.

Play Time
There are over 700 officers, 54 scenarios, and over 40 endings. There is so much to do in this game that you will be playing over and over since no scenario is exactly the same as another (Even if you play the same scenario twice, woo-hoo).

The game is a BUY if you can find it. Many of the stores where I live have already sold out and are not too sure if they will restock. If you can not find it at local stores, you next bet is over the Internet.

Gameplay: 9/10
Story: 10/10
Graphics: 7/10
Music: 9/10
Play Time: 9/10
OVERALL: 9/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 08/31/03