Whether you’re aware of it or not, the history depicted in Romance of the Three Kingdoms has been a big influence on many different forms of media and especially for Koei. Not only is their Dynasty Warriors series based on it but before that came a strategy series of the same name. Now the series is celebrating its 30th anniversary with the release of the 13th entry in the series. New to this latest addition is the introduction of a “Hero Mode”, a sort of dual tutorial and story mode for the game, much of which will be familiar with Dynasty Warriors fans. The tutorial aspects expand over a large period throughout Hero Mode, simply because there is so much at play in a single game.
I think the biggest problem that faces strategy games that want to have grand ambitions like Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIII does, is that it’s simply overwhelming when you’re faced with a whole interface of buttons, menus and numbers and it’s hard to say where you’re even meant to start. Thankfully, Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIII is very much aware of how complex it can be and it avoids this by gently easing you in, introducing each element to the game slowly, never giving you more than you can handle.
This isn’t the sort of tutorial you finish within the opening hours, there’s simply too much here to learn. It’s something of a unique situation for a tutorial since as you progress through the missions and gain more experience, you’ll be given independence in the areas you’ve learnt while the tutorial aspects continue in new features you haven’t touched yet. What you learn is also tied into the story, for example, when playing a character that has a real bloodlust, you’ll learn about battle systems. When playing a character that uses manipulation and deceit as their weapons, you’ll learn about spying on enemies or converting them to your side. A character who has more political aspirations will end up learning about managing a city and its staff and deciding who to place in certain managerial decisions. While there is an early emphasis on learning battles, you’ll quickly see that victory can come in other non-violent forms and shows you the range of playstyles available.
If you’re planning to play politically, you won’t progress without meeting someone who will want a debate to prove your worth. Debates have five turns and boiled down to its basics, it’s essentially an expanded version of rock, paper, scissors but with less luck involved. You’ll have five turns to battle it out and each turn has five actions to choose from, Assert, Proclaim, Provoke, Rebut and Focus. Some of these actions strengthen others, while some block out your opponents moves completely. If you get confused as to which action does what, don’t worry since as you select what move you want to use, you’ll see the same actions on the opponent’s side highlighted or blocked out depending on what the move will do. The key thing to remember with debates is you want to use a character that has high intellect as the higher it is, the more ‘damage’ you’ll be able to deal to your opponent. While in battle, it’s also likely you’ll come across duels, which has the same format as debates only this time, your character’s strength is the key factor.
Sending an army out to battle isn’t as simple as creating some units and sending them out to battle either. First, you have to train up some soldiers so they’re ready for battle. Then, after selecting the location you want to invade, you must select a commander, followed by selecting what weapons and rations you want to take with you. If this is beginning to sound a bit complications, don’t panic, as there’s an “auto-form” button which will package up an army for you, something you’re encouraged to do in the early stages of the game. It also allows you see what’s being chosen for you so you can begin to see the whys of certain characters have been chosen. Battles take place on a separate, zoomed in battle field. Planning ahead and planning how to maneuver through certain terrain are important here. Units are moved in groups, lead by their commanding officer. Your goal, unless specified otherwise, will be to defeat all enemies or take over all their bases. Different units have different abilities, some will be offensive skills, others will be for maneuverability, by placing ladders that can scale city walls or deploying a ram to barge down gates.
As you progress, you’ll eventually take on naval battles that must be won by destroying all of your opponents. The terrain has even more importance here as the currents will determine the speed your fleet will be able to navigate the water. You’ll be able to link your units together, giving them greater strength but at the cost of the unit’s mobility.
There’s a lot to learn in Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIII and it’s strongly recommended that start Hero Mode if you’re a new player to the series. While some may find the pace of it slow, it’s through in it’s lessons and makes its complex systems surprisingly accessible.
