Koei Tecmo announced that the upcoming strategy game Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIV will release in North America and Europe this February for PS4 and PC. Here’s its latest trailer and details.
The entire map of China becomes a grand battlefield in RTK14, with no boundaries to where fights can take place. Warfare includes everything from siege – such as battering rams and catapults, to battles on water with a variety of different assault boats. Players will even find famous landmarks from the period of The Three Kingdoms; including the Yangtze River and Yellow River, with the chance to claim them as part of their domain.
In RTK14, claiming land is vital to overthrowing enemy forces and uniting The Three Kingdoms. Once an area is controlled by ally forces an officer can be appointed the role of ‘Area Overseer’, tasked with advancing the land’s development to increase its income; in commerce, agriculture, etc. During each turn this overseer will supervise the area they have been assigned and increase the territory of their forces – this simplifies territorial expansion and can be used tactically to cut off local supply lines. Carefully choosing an officer with appropriate abilities and characteristics can ensure the developments they make will lead to a strong and prosperous domain. For example: Those with a high charm statistic or the fame characteristic, and who are proficient in domestics, can become a force to reckoned with.
Some domains envelop Cities and Gates, which are extremely important locations on the map. Cities are bases for armies that can grow in scale and raise durability, if the right conditions are met. This growth brings increased gold and supplies, as well as unique tactics to defend these locations from enemy units. Gates such as Hulao Gate – which guards Luoyang on the East – and Yangping Gate – which guards Hanzhong from invasion from the North – are just two points on the map which are crucial to control. These sturdy locations can be occupied by military units and, like some of the cities, can have tactics activated to swiftly repel enemies.
While it is pivotal for players to develop areas within domain, it is also important to use ally land to construct an assortment of buildings and obstacles to defend and attack from incoming foes. Faculties such as ‘Arrow Towers’, which attack enemy units in the area automatically, ‘Camps’, allowing allied forces to consume less supplies on long campaigns, and ‘Stone Soldiers’, lowering enemy morale and causing great disorder through their ranks, are just a few of the unique strategies players can use to their advantage to protect their land. Combined with Obstacles, which play both an offensive and defensive role, these structures can have a great impact on the flow of battle. Strategic construction can allow players to re-create famous moments from The Three Kingdoms – set-up a long string of fire trap obstacles and carry out a large-scale fire attack like Lu Xun did at the Battle of Yiling.
Below are more details on the Domestic System, Battle System, and map:
Domestic System
Devise your very own strategies with “Ruler Play” with boundless possibilities
Are Overseers
By appointing an area overseer to each of the centers of your areas, you can promote development and increase gold income. Since in area development, the type of development each area overseer is good at depends on their abilities and characters, how each area is developed will require strategic management of personnel.
Also, area overseers will automatically suppress the surrounding area with each turn. By expanding your controlled territory, not only does your territory increase, but you can also serve to cut off an enemy unit’s supply route. Such activities allows one to create a kind of “Offense Administration” that can cooperate with your military actions.
Cities/Gates
Cities, after fulfilling a number of conditions, will expand. Not only will it receive a number of benefits, like higher durability, increases in gold and supplies, and so on, certain of the cities will develop tactics that can be activated as counters during battle.
Also, in important locations there are Gates like Hulao Gate and Yangping Gate. Troops can be stationed there. These gates can also activate tactics. This means that city expansion and the use of gates become an important tool for defense and will greatly affect conflict around bases.
Battle System
Dominate the entire continent with your army’s colors
Tactics
Deployed officers can use the tactics they know to greatly reduce enemy numbers, drop them into disorder and immobilization in order to make battle more advantageous for them.
In addition, some officers have unique and powerful tactics, which when triggered, can greatly change the flow of battle.
Tactics can be linked among nearby officers with high affinity, like sworn brothers, to release even more powerful effects. These will be of great aid to them in leading their force to victory.
One Single Map
The RTK battlefield shown in one vast map
Buildings
The new battlefield allows the construction of various Buildings that allow the player to customize for his or her own advantage.
In addition to military facilities that automatically attack encroaching enemy or which lowers supply consumption, there are also Obstacles that restrict enemy actions and Traps that will cause damage to nearby enemy units. There are also Buildings like “Stone Soldiers” which only certain officers can construct.
By carefully mixing these buildings, you can recreate the dramatic fights of the RTK period, like the Battle of Yiling and its large scale fire attack.
Buildings can be constructed by deployed units.
The “Arrow Tower” attacks nearby enemy units.
The “Camp” lowers the allied forces consumption of supplies.
An “Earthen Wall” will stop an enemy advance.
“Stone Soldiers” lower enemy morale and cause disorder.
Setting traps will allow you to attack approaching enemies all at once.
Various Battles
Players will see various battle scenes as enemies meet in differing locations and situations.
The front lines will see a variety of battles: Siege battles that involve towers and catapults, Naval battles where attack ships and roofed ships clash furiously.
Where to meet the enemy, what kind of battle to fight. Strategies that take into account the battle conditions will be vital to your success.
Siege, where siege weapons show their might.
Naval battles, where having a powerful navy gives you the advantage.
You can check out more on the game’s new officers over at the official website.
Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIV releases for PlayStation 4 and PC in Japan on January 16, 2020. It releases in North America and Europe on February 28, 2020. A demo is currently available for PC in Japan.
