How Many Romances for You?

[digitalpress]

So. Romance of the Three Kingdoms, part TEN.

I remember the first one, and I played III on the Genesis briefly. Not a bad game but nothing I could really get into. I can't imagine TEN of them, and from what I've seen, there isn't very much different between these as they're released.

So... fans of the series, how into this game ARE you? Are they really that different? What have the major breakthroughs been? Was there a "standout" version?

Most interesting to me is... how MANY of them have you actually played?

[Xantan the Foul]

I've played Romance 2 for SNES, and 7,8, and 9 for PS2.

I long for the day that they keep the complexity of the political part of Romance, and give it the combat style of Dynasty Warriors 4/5.

[slip81]

I played Romance II on an emulator for a about 5 minutes, couldn't figure out what the hell was going on, and switched to Super Metroid.

[Videogamerdaryll]

Played just one from the Genesis briefly. Not a bad game but nothing I could really get into (ditto)as far as I remember.

[Quintracker]

I'm a big fan of the games, but not big enough to have played them all. I played 1 and 2 on the nes, 3 and 4 on the snes, and a couple on the playstation. I couldn't tell you any major breakthroughs in the games, been a while since I played one.

I can hardly play the ones on the nes anymore, they're just a little too primitive. 4 on the snes didn't really thrill me either, I think it had something to do with items and marriages. Playstation ones got the series back on track though.

My favorite has always been part 3 on the snes. I honestly can't tell you why, maybe because it's the first one I really got into. Every time I play it, it ends up being a 7-8 hour marathon. I've finished each of the scenarios for each level of difficulty. My character is always Sun Jian or one of his decendants. Music was also excellent, though repetitive after a couple hours. Great series for any strategy fan.

[tholly]

i have #7, never played it, got if for about $4, and probably never will play it

[shai hulud]

i have "played" 5. 3 of the games i only played for about 5 -10 minutes to make sure they would work. I like the games, but i dont have the patience or time to play them very often.

[fishsandwich]

Here's my pointless reply.

I've played ONE. For about five minutes. It was the 32x version, so it was all in Japanese. I just wanted to see if it worked at all, and if it would work in an American 32x. It did, and it did.

Facinating, no?


Not my cup of tea.

:/

[shoes23]

I've played 5 of them.
The problem seems to be with these games is that you need to play a very long time to learn to even utilize some of the games more interesting features. It's kind of like the Civilization series, you need to play for a healthy amount of time to learn the strategies of the game, only ROT3K isn't quite as fun :(

[Fuyukaze]

I've been playing the series sense the NES and still play it today on my PS2. Change to the series is often minor or over looked. Between the first 2, the biggest difference was the graphics. The third one added so little to it that frankly, I cant think of anything new between the second and the third. The fourth was when changes started realy being noticed with the addition of skills to both your generals and comanders. The 5th never was released in the states as far as I am aware (please corect me with system(s) released on). I am missing the 6th so I cant coment beyond I want it lots. The 7th had very pretty graphics, new weapons for your army, and new comands for yor generals (finaly, they can make weapons!). Also, you can now purchase items, weapons, and horses that you can keep or give to your generals that either increase their loyalty and abilities. The 8th I dont have, but from what reviews I have read it has generaly been considered the worse of the entire series. The 9th is simply beautiful. From what I can tell so far (I havent had time to play it THAT much) it has improved on the storyline which basicly wasnt much of one in the previous 8 installments.

The biggest problem this series holds is that its simply not responsive enough for most american gamers. Simply put, you must work harder, and longer to see simple gains that just do not interest the average or even most hard core gamers. By the time you get half the country under your banner, you could literaly spend over 60hrs. Or, you could have spent under 10. For a good, long (and by long I mean months, not weeks) game, you could do much worse. With as many games are out these days though, who realy has time to dedicate so much to one series?

Needless to say, I look forward to Romance of the 3 Kingdoms X lots. What other series allows you to rule supreme with hundreds of thousands of soldiers? That isnt made by koei?

[DDCecil]

All I know is that Gitaroo Man makes an apperance on part VII. I had a good friend that was really into all of the Koei strategy games. Not my cup of tea, though.

[PapaStu]

/me darts his head around....

I own
IV, VI, VII, VIII, IX

but havnt played any of them...

[The Great Dane]

Well, I haven't played but the very first one briefly so I can't really say much about the series. But I own Bandit Kings of Ancient China which is also an NES game from Koei and its basically the exact same game as the Romance games. From what I have played of Romance 1 I actually like Bandit Kings MUCH better than Romance. It is actually one of my favorite NES games. Its very fun. Also, for you fans of Suikoden, I believe that Bandit Kings of Ancient China is the very first Suikoden game that ever came out. And it is also supposedly based on the original folklore that was told in China years ago. This is what I have heard anyhow, I don't know how accurate this is.

[SoulBlazer]

I've played all of them. :D

Well.....almost all. V NEVER got released in the West, the ONLY game in the series that did not. I'm not even sure what console it was on (I know there was a PC version).

And I have'nt played X yet, I have the game on pre-order.

Love Koei's games. :)

[digitalpress]

I've played all of them. :D

Well.....almost all. V NEVER got released in the West, the ONLY game in the series that did not. I'm not even sure what console it was on (I know there was a PC version).

And I have'nt played X yet, I have the game on pre-order.

Love Koei's games. :)

Can you comment on your experience with each one? I'm really curious about what makes them different, what makes the better ones better, etc.

[Slimedog]

Only one here. I played Tech Romancer for the DC. It was this cool fighting game with big... robots... why is everybody staring at me?

[rbudrick]

Yo, fo' shiz. I'm a playa, yo, a real gangsta. Yeah, I've played so many romances I can't even count. Who can count dem hos? Shiiiiiii. Yeah, doggg. 8-)

-Rob

[rpepper9]

My answer fit in with the majority when I say "none". I guess the only romance I need to worry about has to do with what goes on in mine and my wife's kingdom. Which is located in Minnesota. LOL

[jasonlotp]

I have played 1-4 and let me tell you 3 is the best of the bunch.
Graphically and playwise superior to 1 and 2.
Battles in 4 were better though my biggest pet peeve with 4 is that it didn't make it easy to see the entire map of China all at once to get your conquests into perspective. That is what really made 3 stand out for me is that I can better visualize where I need to attack/defend and how powerful I am. And yes I've invested hundreds of hours into 3. Its like risk^2 in complexity and time consumption.

[SoulBlazer]

Hum....how can I explain the 10 games quickly....

Okay, the first two games are rather simple strategy games. Very old fashioned, very similar to the Nobunaga Ambition games and other Koei stuff from the early 90's.

3 and 4 are a bit deeper, more complex. They start to add more elements such as sieges and what not, and a drop of RPG into them. The stories and scenarios are also better told.

5, as I said, never got released in the West and the series is SO text heavy I never bothered.

6 was for the PSX -- it was basicaly a lot like the eariler NES/SNES games with better graphics and a little more gameplay.

7 and 8 for the PS2 started to branch out into new directions -- they added a lot of RPG elements to it and new options of play. For example, you can start a single guy without any honor or obligations and work yourself out to serving for a ruler and then ruling your own country. The major charcters have stories taken directly from the Three Kingdom period and books, and they are very historical. The graphics and music are much better then the eariler games. Some people did'nt like all of these changes and complained that the old battle/strategy gameplay was lacking.

9 was a answer for them. The game went back to its roots with a more heavy battle system and less RPG. If you like the old games, this is the best one to get.

10 I've had for about a week, and it's a really fun game, my personal favorite of the series. It goes back to how 7 and 8 was, heavy on RPG aspects, new features added such as debate duels and inner sieges, and tons of options.

So which one to get? If you like the new style or not sure what one to get, try 10. If you prefer the older game series, 9 is the best one to get.

[Damion]

I've never really "finished" a romance series game But I have played and beat nobungas ambition on the NES and played Romance 3? on the Snes till I almost beat it. I made the mistake of puting a HUGE army under one generals control in a very stratgic location and he ended up turing on me and ruining my game lol

But anyhoo..

There all pretty good I remeber the Saturn version Romance four wall of fire being nice and pretty.

there fun games if you have the patients for it.

[Haoie]

Just the 1, Wall of Fire.

And I despised it.

[digitalpress]

Thanks for the run-down, SoulBlazer.

I hope to have the time someday to be able to better analyze this series. Someone must love it. How many series get up to TEN?

[SoulBlazer]

Well, I've played and owned all the games, so it's safe to say I love it. ;) Have ever since I played the original on the NES as a kid.

But I'm a Koei fanboy anyway. ;)