Kessen III

[SoulBlazer]

So, any other die hard Koei fans pick this up today? :D

Unlike the second one, which was set in China during the Romance of the Three Kingdoms period, this one returns to Japan during the Warring States Period, like the first one.

Have'nt actually played it yet but the graphics look great and the back of the box talks about a mess of new features.

[Lady Jaye]

I'm sorry, but I thought you were having money problems?

[Xantan the Foul]

I'm going to wait till it gets cheap (I think I picked up the second one, brand new, for $9).

[SoulBlazer]

I am. Thank God for me I paid this off, along with a bunch of other pre-order games, back in September before this whole mess started. :)

I put in about a hour last night. The game is more balanced to action and strategy, half for each, unlike the past two.

This one follows the rise and campaigns of Oda Nobunaga in Japan during the Warring States Period.

Battles are still fought the same way -- you decide on a plan at council, command your units, win, and then move on to the next one, with very nice looking CG scenes explaing the story and advancing the plot.

What's new to this one is that Koei throws a bone to those who enjoyed the Dynasty Warrior series -- one of the skills you can do in battle has you enter 'rampagae' mode, where you want to take out as many enemies as fast as you can and defeat the commander to help the course of the battle.

Also, battles are now larger in scope. Starting with the second chapter, you can find minor battles, major battles, and decisivie battles. Minor battles earn you experience and money, major battles advance the plot, and decisive battles finish the chapter. You can also train your commanders, buy items from a merchant, find hidden items on the battlefield, and access a new game after you finish it.

The graphics are quite good, especily the CG's, although voice acting is still kinda poor. The music is done by a actuall orchastra in Japan and I'm a sucker for games with real music in them (like Arc the Lad 1 and Xenosaga Episode 1)

If you enjoyed past Kessen games, and like Dynasty Warriors as well, you'll get a kick out of this one.