Romance of the Three Kingdoms IX

"A solid game from Koei"

Summary: A good game that was meant for the type of person not always satisfied with short and easy action games. If you like historical simulations that make you think and have tons of stats, than this game is for you.

Gameplay: Simply put, you're a Chinese ruler who's goal is simply to unify the continent under one banner. You have to expand your power base by improving the cities that you begin with, conquering more cities, and, perhaps most importantly recruiting and advancing officers. In past Romance games (well i can't say ive played all 9 but i do own 6-9) recruiting officers was by far the most important thing to do, however, I feel this game does a much better job as far as the importance of developing cities goes (more on that later).
This game's trademark has long been its depth and that certainly remains so. In previous games there were four sides to things: social, military, political, and economic. However, RTK 9 removes the social aspect of the game (although maintaining a system in which officer's historically loyal to their ruler are virtually unrecruitable-altho very killable [good word huh?]). At the same time, the economic side of things takes on a new importance and the military side is, in my humble opinion, vastly improved. Of course, politics, which is simply war without the fighting, improves simply thru the improvement of the military.
In past games, a competent RTK player could recruit 10 top generals and run rampant through the land, as troops and food weren't too terribly hard to acquire. This still remains an effective tactic, as it should, but no longer is it a ticket to an easy victory. The game certainly seems much longer, and the new format for turns is why. All actions take place during an execution phase in which no orders can be given, meaning that forces carry out their plans at the same time.
Like I've said, the economics of the game mean so much more in the latest version. No longer can a player easily recruit troops and obtain food then send their armies out to conquer the land regardless of everything but the other side's army. It really does take time and skill (from your officer's as well as yourself) to develop your cities enough that you can expand. Having Zhang Fei, one of the tru stalwarts of RTK battles but not exactly Adam Smith (the ''inventor'' of capitalism), use his talents to improve the economy costs fifty gold, and even in the long run can cost you money. What's more, its counter-productive, as Zhang Fei's talents are much better used training troops. Instead, use someone like Zhang Zhao, master of politics, to develop your economy. Altho sometimes you may find urself using officers for jobs they aren't necessarily great at, using an officer at what he's best at really is an important factor in this game.
RTK's trademark is depth and its category is strategy, however, it wouldn't be a great adaptation of a book without a good story. RTK delivers, as it has a few pretty good events and the ending is real cool (more on that later). Romance of the Three Kingdoms IX, like its 8 predecessors, is based on the book ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' altho it also takes elements from history. ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'', by Luo Guan Zhong (i think, sorry if i got the wrong-whatever the case he's a Chinese writer from the mid 2nd millenium) is considered one of the great classics of Chinese literature and I myself have read it. Its a good, unique book and I would recommend it, especially if you want to enjoy the full RTK experience, however its not a necessity to read it (actually, the game is what motivated me to read the book).
In short, RTK's story begins when events rock the power of the Han empire in the 190's (A.D). Rebellions and corrupt officials plague the nation, giving rise to powerful feudal lords. One man stands up above the rest, Cao Cao. He gains control of the emperor and comes to dominate half of China after years of battling other lords, who were often more powerful than him. By 221 A.D., only two forces, Liu Bei, Cao Cao's long time rival and a relative of the Han imperial family, and Sun Quan, a solid ruler with a loyal and talented group of officers. Liu Bei, a long time loser who had been kicked out of 3 cities, finally has a great warlord (zhuge liang-a man with god-like intelligence), and Sun Quan resist Cao Cao and control the three kingdoms giving rise to the name. Their descendants battle for another 40 years, and I always felt that the ending was a little surprising, so if you don't know the ending, you'll just have to find out (preferably thru the game). Technically, the goal of the game is to unify China, however, the real challenge is to establish a strong, peaceful, long-lasting dynasty.
The challenges of the game are what really makes it cool to a veteran RTK player. The ending's range from terrible to great, and you need to do quite a lot to get a great ending. There are four (or are there more? You'll just have to find out) barbarian tribes in RTK, and they're quite a nuisance. What's more, they're tough as nails to take out, with 300,000 soldiers (comparably, a new force starts out with about 10,000 soldiers). They're are a few unlockables (see the message boards for details on that) that are pretty cool, especially the hidden characters that are now creatable. Also, the create-a-character system is much better, as you can now make a character however you want him.
Plots and diplomacy remain a crucial part of the game. You can raid or raze another city/facility, alienate an officer (perhaps so that you can have them for yourself), spread rumors between two forces making them hate each other, buy another force's trust so that you can focus on other areas of contention, request the release of an imprisoned officer (in return for gold, an officer you yourself have imprisoned, or an item), and many other options.
I'd be remiss if I didn't mention more about the battle system. No longer is they're a map of China and several battle screens, there is now simply one map upon which every city, fort, port, and army can be seen. Armies fight at the same time as all other armies, and the action truly occurs in real-time (unlike the previous games). Morale plays a more important part than before, as a larger force with a better commander can be beaten by a smaller force with better morale. RTK games have always had some type of special abilities usable in battle, and IX is no exception. Tactics mean a lot in this game, and can single-handedly change the course of the game (seriously). There are tactics for footmen, archers, horsemen, horsearchers, and other ploys/tactics that are useful in various ways such as the seige group of tactics, which are indispensable when trying to conquer a heavily fortified city. Grouping officers together that have the same tactics make the tactics much more powerful, and of course using officers that are good at those tactics is even better.

Graphics/Sound: The sound is good as always just as the graphics are bad as always. The graphics actually seem to be a step backwards, altho the new world map is at least acceptable. If you want a game with good graphics, stick to Kessen and Dynasty Warriors (other good games based on the novel). Really tho, graphics could only mean so much to a game like this. The sound is real cool traditional Chinese, and sometimes i turn on the game just to listen to it. Altho there's this one track that seems a little too...evil to me. Still good tho.

Other Negatives: This game is SLOW, and FRUSTRATING. Still tho, its GOOD. Just like people that only use capital letters, this game really can get annoying at times do to its slow pacedness and the amount of time you have to spend to really accomplish something in the game.

In Closing: I gave this game an 8 because its a good solid game with some real importants, just like every other game in the series that ive played. Still, its not the magnum opus i had hoped for, and i still get the feeling Koei is holding some improvements back for the next game (to be fair, its pretty hard to make 8 sequels). Ah well. I would recommend this game for anyone with a lot of free time or an incredible attention span (preferably both) who aren't afraid to get addicted to something (I know i did). Because of the nature of the game there's a lot i didn't cover, and id recommend consulting the message boards if there's anything else you want to know.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 03/08/04