Koei Tecmo have always been the kings of niche gaming. Want a fighter with style and some sexuality? Pick Dead or Alive, with it’s beach volleyball counterparts adding even more of that. Want a crazy, action packed third person historical brawler? There are numerous Dynasty Warriors games to fit your fancy. How about a Total War like strategical adventure on console? Nobunaga’s Ambition: Sphere of Influence may just do the trick.
In many ways, it’s downright surprising how diverse the company can get. They may not appeal to everyone, but their boundaries are undoubtedly checked. That’s why it was all the more shocking when Romance of Three Kingdoms XIII launched on Steam earlier this year, without localizations, and with a ludicrous $90 price tag.
Well good old Tecmo had their translating go with it, and now the official version is out on Playstation 4 and PC. It’s rare to see a company not only go all in with niche strategy titles, but also support them in prevailing ways. So does the newest Romance of Three Kingdoms succeed as a rare example of differentiation, or buckle under the pressure. Let’s find out.
Gameplay:
At it’s core, the gameplay choices in Romance of Three Kingdoms XIII are similar to more mainstream strategy games, yet reshaped to fit the game’s distinct player base. You can play as a variety of different characters and get a more grounded and violent point of view, or focus on a certain group with a higher sense of elevated drama. This already sets the gameplay up pretty nicely, as you have to choose which playstyle you won’t be desensitized to after a couple of hours.
Romance of Three Kingdoms XIII also has a handful of RPG elements to diversify itself from not only it’s little league of competitors, but also to people who may write the game off if they aren’t immediately into the genre. The strongest present here is the developed bond system, which gives players useful utilities without being forced or underdeveloped. In other words, the layers of depth are massive, but easy to overcome.
Story & Design:
While the story in Romance of Three Kingdoms XIII may not be the most impressive, it’s still skillful in a way that game’s like Assassin’s Creed can’t really manage. There’s a lot of detail to the time period, but without feeling like a history lesson. And if you really pay attention, you’ll be graced with some interesting story threads and action, even though it’s a bit overwhelming at first.
Of course, players can choose not to take this path if they select the more gameplay filling Main Mode. This is just as comprehensive as the Hero options, which is really something to commend. Apart from this, the gameplay will be the same, with the typical strategic beats based off what roles you choose and how you exactly want to go about them.
Presentation/ Visuals & Audio:
As great as Romance of Three Kingdoms XIII can be, I found it’s biggest flaw to be in the camera system. It’s zoomed out and sometimes bothersome, and can lead to the wrong instances of split second decisions if you aren’t experienced enough. There also isn’t much graphical variety in the gameplay, but visually everything else feels fresh and exciting, which is a weird offset.
Unfortunately, the game is not fully localized down to the voice acting, but this makes sense due to the heavy amounts of lore. Besides for this, the soundtrack is definitely underrated contender for some of the best stuff I’ve heard this year, and fit’s very well with the themes the game presents.
Conclusion:
Romance of the Three Kingdoms XII is a great way to get back into strategy games from a different perspective, if any players have been burned out after the disappointments of Civilization: Beyond Earth and Total War: Rome II. It may lack the grand production values, but it makes up for this with some exquisitely rich ideas and a tight gameplay structure that doesn’t overstay it’s welcome.
Romance of the Three Kingdoms XII gets a 8/10 (Very Good)
We’d like to thank Koei Tecmo for giving us a code!
If you’d like to read more features and or reviews like this, please check out The Cube on Medium.com, or our Twitter @TheCubeMedium for more updates.
