Romance of the Three Kingdoms II
System: NES
Release Date: September 1991
Developer: Koei
Publisher: Koei
Genre: Strategy
Head back to ancient China to rewage war in Romance of the Three Kingdoms II! Pick one of six scenarios to relive history through. Want to get an idea of the happenings of the age? Check out the manual and get an idea of what you’re about to relive. None of these guys seem to be the hero, but I’m not a scholar of the setting, so unite China in your own way!
This is pretty much the same game as the original, but slightly upgraded. I’m a Kou Shibusawa nerd, so I wish I had more of a chance to get into these games, but I know this is going to show up on the SNES and Genesis, so I’m not feeling like spending too much time with the NES version. I started two games in different time periods. I feel like Liu Bei is the most righteous of the rulers you can choose and Cao Cao is the ultimate villain, but I could be wrong. I need to read and watch more.
There are several provinces on the map of China and you can rule any number of them. It’s always important to improve the prosperity of what you control. When improving the province, you can choose multiple generals, which allows you to then increase the amount of gold spent. There are diminishing returns spending more than 100 gold, but you do better with multiple generals as opposed to one. Improving the land allows you to get more rice come harvest time in July. The value of the land, as well as the loyalty of the people, will affect the amount of gold you tax in January.
It may take a year or two to build up your provinces, but the other rulers may not give you that much time. I think it’s best to not extend yourself too far like I did. I saw all these empty provinces and got greedy. This meant I didn’t have very many troops available to defend against assault from outside. Battles take place on the hex grid and I found success holing up in the castle with a strong general. You can try to challenge the commanding enemy general to a one on one battle at the start of the fight, but they’ll often decline, unless they know they have the upper hand. Bringing in reinforcements from an allied state can be helpful, but expensive.
There are a lot more diplomacy and spy choices that I didn’t get into, but the computer loves stealing generals constantly. Luckily, there seem to be a lot of new generals available to recruit… just make sure to keep a spreadsheet open to keep track of them all… That’s what I ended up doing when I couldn’t keep anyone’s name straight.
Graphics: 2.0
Slightly nicer than the other games in this strategy series.
Sound: 1.0
Nothing to write home about. The loops are quick, though there are different tunes that show up.
Gameplay: 2.5
There’s more control over each province, but I still feel something is missing.
Difficulty: 2.5
If you’ve got time and a good strategy, China can probably be united under your banner.
Fun Factor: 2.0
I enjoyed myself enough, but I’ll wait for the 16-bit versions before I really get into it.
Overall Rating: 2.0
Romance of the Three Kingdoms II earns a C. Look, it’s no Nobunaga’s Ambition II, but I think it’s an upgrade over its original.