Romance of The Three Kingdoms

[Beethoven4567]

Hello guys, have you played this strategy games made by Koei? There are nine games in the series and 3 of them are PS2 games, of which there are ROTK 7, 8, and 9. Anyway, what do you think of these games? Are they good or bad? Do you like them? Which one is the best in the series? Which characters are your favorites? What Kingdom among the three kingdoms that you like the most?

Of all the ROTK games, my preference is ROTK 8. I played as Cao Cao the first time and fought against Yuan Shao in the historic Battle of Guan Du and successfully beaten him. What campaigns do you guys like in the games? I personally recommend playing these games to all those who haven't played them yet( By that, i mean the PS2 ones. ). These are good games to pass the time before FFXII, KH II and Suikoden 5 comes out.
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"In war there is no substitute for victory"

[Vextor]

I like 8 as well, but I prefer to play as one of the less-known vassals to live their lives. It's sort of interesting to try and live the life of a vassal, trying to fulfill your master's orders, or winning their approval. On the other hand, you can focus on training yourself, dabbling in trade, or forming friendships with notables in other nations. For that reason, I really like 8.

[Shrew]

Yeah I like 8. There's just so much freedom in it to do stuff. Of course I feel sort of masochistic when I'm playing it at times, because it's really just reading a bunch of text, especially when making friends and stuff. But still I find it incredibly addicting. I really like playing as a vassal rather than a ruler, because I find what you do a lot more interesting and fun. The only problem is the AI. It's so frustrating to see battles you could easily win go to hell because the commander's AI tells him it's best to run into the midst of 10 enemy units. Just... damn.

9 is alright, but I don't like the ruler system much. I have also played 10 (at my uhh... Japanese friend's house... yeah) and it's really awesome. It took a lot of the awesome stuff from the previous games and rolled it into one. And improved the strategy battles, though the AI still isn't the most brilliant thing. The only problem is that I'm not expecting an English version any time soon, if ever.
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Fear our Vagueness.

[Milan Fiori]

I have one of them for the NES and I think I disliked it so much it got put up into the attic never to be seen from again.
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Be awed by our prowess!

[John Layfield]

I mainly focus on Romance of the Three Kingdoms VIII. Usually starting off as a New Officer vassal of Liu Biao (I just like him for some reason) and running around like a mad-man trying to find officers for him and get that elusive 200% on my orders for the season.

The only thing I found annoying was that to ensure the survival of his territory, sometimes I had to waste priviliges to make conquer unoccupied lands. A bit of a drag, as you can tell.

Eventually, I get made Prefect of a region and end up becoming Sworn Brothers with my advisor guy. When Liu Biao eventually passes on, and, as always happens, the territories disunite, my loyalty wains and usually I end up under Sun Ce when he invariably attacks Jing Nan.

After that, I serve as well as I can, though without the same zeal, and eventually when my character starts to wind down a bit in the age department, I FINALLY revolt and set up my own kingdom.

When that happens I usually get around a quarter of China under control (the other places being Cao Cao's northern and north-western lands, Sun Ce's remnants to the north-east and Liu Zhang, secure in the south-west.) before my death from old age is assured. Around this time I finally start making frivilous saves (I don't before hand, because the temptation to reload when I make a mistake is too great) to drag out my officers life as long as possible but by the time his death is assured, I have little interest in passing my dynasty down to either of my sworn brothers, even if they are Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi.

On the other hand, I dislike battles, simply because I need to take part in all of them or we're always going to be crushed no matter how superior we are in every way to the enemy. I've seen literally 100,000 troops be turned back by a small force of 10,000 because a Strategist with a dismal strength stat accepts a duel from the likes of Guan Yu. Insane!
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One day, I shall come back. Yes, we shall all come back. Until then, there must be no regrets, no tears, no anxieties. Just go forward in all your beliefs and prove to me that I am not mistaken in mine.

[Barbarossa Rugner]

I have played 7, 8, and 9 for playstation 2. I really enjoy this series and have wasted away countless hours playing 7 since it is the only one of the three i actually own. When i first picked up 7 i thought it would become boring to me since much of it is just text based and can essentially be played using 2 buttons. However the more i played it the more addicted i became to this fun series. You can accomplish so much at one sitting. This allows for a huge replay value and i would recommend it to anyone.

In 7 i usually create the character Sun Tzu and play as him throughout the game. I will usually start off as a vassal under Sun Jian until my stats are large enough to go off on my own at which time i form my own country and proceed to unite china. It is a very fun game and right up my ally.

I have never spent that much time playing 8 or 9, but since i have seen such good reviews for 8 i shall have to spend more time with it. Even though i found all three of the Romance of the Three Kindoms games to be pretty similar, there are enought differences between the three to make them enjoyable. I never played the earlier games in the series so i wonder how they stack up against the playstation 2 versions.
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The Rune on my Sword, the Dragon King Sword, is protected against any form of magic, Even the rune of the Gate - Barbarossa Rugner

[Providence Luc]

Wow... who knows how long I can play this game without any sleep or food. This game is the effing bomb. Though I've only played Romance of the three Kingdoms VIII & IX, those games were enough to bet me hooked. The depth of the game is really nice and I have a fondness for the Three Kingdoms era.

Though I enjoy the freedom you get in 8, RoTK 9 also has it's good points. The battle system in 9 has definitely changed from the typical battle you'd get from 8. Mostly because everything will be somewhat active. You'll be able to anticipate the upcoming battles but it will be a tad harder to actually win against a whole set of enemy units.

It's kind of a let down IMO, that in 9, you HAVE to be a ruler. I was really enjoying the freedom of just being a vassal or Warlord or maybe even just a Free Officer. But the innovations in 9 would naturally disallow that kind of 'wanderer' life. There just isn't enough for one guy to do in the system of 9. =_=

Normally, I'd like to start out from my own faction with reasonable created characters. (I despise the 'cheesiness' of the maxed out stats, besides, it won't help sometimes) If I remember correctly, after playing a considerable amount of hours in 8, the final shodown was between north China and south China. The north, belonging to none other than Cao Cao, and the south belonging yo yours truly. We both fought valiantly but even the he couldn't stop my ambition! *diabolical laughter*

But when I do start out from one of the other kingdoms, I tend to start as a vassal for Liu Bei. Though I fear of having to go to battle against Lu Bu. He can seriously kick posterior. My other favorite characters in the series would include Lu Xun, Guo Jia, Zhuge Liang & Zuo Ci... Strategists, I know. Even that weirdo Zuo Ci had his share of tactics.

[Lunarblade]

Hmmm...well, I've only played a little bit of ROTK VII (I got it for like 3 bucks at a garage sale) and I enjoyed it quite a bit, though it's a little to deep to get into on a casual scale. I was Gongsun Zan and I did pretty well conquering the north while I played, but then I stupidly attacked the southern provinces and got my ass handed to me multiple times. :(

I'll probably start playing it again some time in the summer, when I've got a bit more free time. For now, to get my "Conquering ancient China" jollies I just play Dynasty Warriors 4: Empires. That's fun as hell, I highly recommend it.
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[Daniel Blackhand]

I really love the ROTK games and have been a huge fan of them for a long time now. I feel that they just keep getting better and I finf myself getting hooked all over again.
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[Kohaku]

I played the 7 and 8, and pertty enjoyed it.
I create my own officer, named Shiro Amachi, joining Liu Bei. He's a powerhouse with little ability to rule a region. I also like using Zhang Liao, since he's my favorite character from Sam-Kok. the 7 is a classic hit, but 8 is even better IMO
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[Watari]

I have played 8 and 9 I don't remember if I have played 7 or not.

I like 8 more then 9 because you don't have to be a ruler you can just mess around the kingdom if you are a good terms with the perfect. Also me and my best friend Jonathan played this together for hours apon hours with out is ever getting boring. When I first play 8 I started off as Liu Bei becuase I heard one of my other friends talking about him but now I usally create a character name Watari Sliver or Ashura Angel and I put myself under Lu Bu just because he owns about everyone on that game.

9 is alright one of the reason that I like it was because you could search areas for items and I usally started off myself on a city that had a great item in it.
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Sti?rth?ir le Machaire B?iteach

[Beethoven4567]

So far i have played ROTK 7 & 8. Comparing those two, i think 8 is better than 7 since the graphics are better and it has a very clean interface, as well as a far more strategic( but also sometimes tedious )battle sytem during wars. My favorite character in the series is Cao Cao, simply because he is historically great in military strategy and has a cunning mind. Liu Bei, on the other hand, is quite indecisive when it comes to making important decisions and he is not as good as Cao Cao when it comes to leading armies. It was Zhuge Liang that enabled Liu Bei to fend off invasions from Wei.

Anyway, i haven't played 9 yet. Can you guys tell me what's new in 9 other than that you must be the Ruler? And do you guys want to see ROTK 10? If you want 10, then on what system do you prefer it to be on? Would you like 10 to include non-Chinese territories like IndoChina, Japan, India and Mongolia? Would you like 10 to include more politicking and diplomacy?
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"In war there is no substitute for victory"

[Timbo]

[Neclord]

I actually had to look and see what the highest ROTK game I own is. It's VIII.

I've been playing them since the NES days. The only ones I currently own are IV and VIII, VIII i'd say is my favorite out of everyone i've played. I just like the freedom that is allowed. You can be anything you want.

I try to play all of the different *jobs* ruler, warlord, viceroy, etc. I think however probably my favorite is Warlord. Planning tactics is always fun. :) Still the freedom of playing a free officer is also fun too. Sometimes I will do this and build my skills up, then join an army.

My favorite character would have to be Lu Bu with Guan Yu and Liu Bei close behind.
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You must not fear death, my lads; defy him, and you drive him into the enemy's ranks.
~ Napoleon Bonaparte

[Zaleria]

Romance of the three kingdoms is a good game in my opinion...
it gives you a chance to try to prove yourself to be a great leader.
i like the plot options and the variety of troops with corresponding terrain specialties.
the duels are really fun too. also, the items are of great help.
this really is a fun game although you have to endure a lot of reading and war preparations.
it also gets a little boring once several officers are dead especially the really important ones....
and i like the traps too...
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