Romance of the Three Kingdoms XI

 PC
User Score
8.1

Generally favorable reviews- based on 63 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 48 out of 63
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 63
  3. Negative: 7 out of 63

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  1. gyrate
    Dec 23, 2011
    10
    This is a great game. I've been playing the series since it was on NES. It has a lot of cheese ball stuff in it but it somehow grows on you. The AI will challenge you and it does not relent. It becomes very difficult to manage as you gain territory, as it should.
  2. Montavious
    Feb 23, 2012
    10
    I have always loved this series. Great strategy game. I don't know what they are thinking not continuing this series since 2008. Instead they rather make a bunch of crappy dynasty warrior games.
  3. kurosaki75
    Sep 5, 2012
    10
    The universe of Sengoku century is awesome. All history of China // Japan is really attractive and frighten me. I like this world and the Koei work on game like Kessen or Dynasty Warrior. This tactical game is a jewel.
  4. MagillaGuerrilla
    Sep 12, 2008
    8
    This game is very deep and intricate. There is simply so much to do; manage your cities, hire officers, train military, drill military, fight wars, fight duels, even have debates! Improve your cities, build weapons and boats, manage your economy, keep morale up, and maintain order in your lands! Whew, exhausted yet?

    There is most definitely a learning curve associated with this    This game is very deep and intricate. There is simply so much to do; manage your cities, hire officers, train military, drill military, fight wars, fight duels, even have debates! Improve your cities, build weapons and boats, manage your economy, keep morale up, and maintain order in your lands! Whew, exhausted yet?

    There is most definitely a learning curve associated with this game. For those who have the patience to figure it out, you will be rewarded with a stunning level of depth and intricacy, and watching your empire grow is a genuinely satisfying experience.

    For those with the patience to learn/play it, you will find this a very rewarding game, worth a 9 rating. However I'm giving it an 8 because of the fact that honestly, this game will be over most people's heads. This game is not for the casual gamer or the simple-minded. If you're just looking to turn off your brain and pass the time, better to buy a first-person-shooter.    … Expand
  5. Coy47
    Jul 28, 2011
    10
    This game provides everything a strategy game should the ability to create your own army, officers and kingdom or use those provided once you get the hang of this game you will be completely hooked!
  6. Mogul
    Aug 28, 2012
    8
    This game is one of my favourite turn based strategy games ever. The goal? Conquer China. Simple enough. In pursuing that goal, there is a ton of compelling depth. You get to manage your cities and economy, acquire and manage interesting officers (such as Cao Cao, Lu Bu, and Sun Ce), build an army, deploy your units (each one under command of an officer), fight tactical battlesThis game is one of my favourite turn based strategy games ever. The goal? Conquer China. Simple enough. In pursuing that goal, there is a ton of compelling depth. You get to manage your cities and economy, acquire and manage interesting officers (such as Cao Cao, Lu Bu, and Sun Ce), build an army, deploy your units (each one under command of an officer), fight tactical battles against the forces of your rival leaders, conquer cities and territory, fight officer duels and even have debates! There is a learning curve with this game, and a bit of tediousness (for example, in every long term scenario that you play there will be a point where it's clear you've "won," but it will still take hours and hours to wipe out the remaining forces of your opposition). However, in general, I strongly recommend playing this, simply because I've had so much fun with it.… Expand
  7. bruneauinfo
    Sep 4, 2012
    9
    I have thoroughly enjoyed Romance of the Three Kingdoms XI. True, it is probably not for the average gamer, or even the avid gamer. However, if you like strategy, and if you're willing to put the effort into completing the tutorials, the game has a great deal to offer - many, many hours of engrossing playtime, for example.

    I've read in several less-than-shining reviews comments about    I have thoroughly enjoyed Romance of the Three Kingdoms XI. True, it is probably not for the average gamer, or even the avid gamer. However, if you like strategy, and if you're willing to put the effort into completing the tutorials, the game has a great deal to offer - many, many hours of engrossing playtime, for example.

    I've read in several less-than-shining reviews comments about the weighty amount of historical references contained in the game. But the truth is, the historical significance of the game is almost completely irrelevant to the actual playing of this game. In fact, there are detailed settings that allow the player to remove all historical relevance completely from the game world. In other words, Koei has given the player a huge roster of characters to pit against each other in a world where the player decides whether or not history has any relevance in their campaigns. And from my experience playing, history is not necessary for the game mechanic to work. It's a game of stats and strategy, more than it is a game of history. The novel that the game was based on is historical fiction after all.

    On the other hand, the 'history / story' is probably one of my favorite parts of the game. Romance of the Three Kingdoms is a great story, it's a lot of fun once you get into it, and it adds role playing depth to the game once you get to know the lore behind even a handful of the characters. However, if you have any imagination at all you'll probably find yourself putting personality into each of the characters without the aid of CGI and expensive voice actors. The later of which would greatly decrease the number of characters in the game, and the depth of the strategy due to the cost.

    Is the game difficult to beat? Of course it s! The history of the Three Kingdoms period showed how difficult it was to unite China after the fall of the Han Dynasty. This wasn't World War 2 after all. It was a conflict that lasted almost a hundred years. The population dropped from over 56 million citizens to just over 16 million by the time it ended. It wouldn't make a lot of sense if the game could be beaten in six hours or less like typical games of today. I've read complaints about the time it takes to complete this game, and in my opinion it's a ridiculous complaint. If you're having a good time playing something, why would you want it to end? Perhaps if you were a game developer, and you wanted gamers to buy your next product? Yeah. Or maybe because your only satisfaction in life comes from the accomplishment of completing a video game. I would personally rather have my money's worth from a game, and ROTK XI has payed for itself many times over.    … Expand
  8. AnonJ
    Jan 20, 2014
    9
    As a Chinese, I have tons of emotion for this series. Unfortunately, western media are not really the place this game belongs, thus all the "negative" reviews which are actually only from a western viewpoint. It's simple: What if you ask an Asian who knows nothing about medieval Europe to play Crusader King? He must feel bored to death, not to mention the sheer learning curve of games byAs a Chinese, I have tons of emotion for this series. Unfortunately, western media are not really the place this game belongs, thus all the "negative" reviews which are actually only from a western viewpoint. It's simple: What if you ask an Asian who knows nothing about medieval Europe to play Crusader King? He must feel bored to death, not to mention the sheer learning curve of games by Paradox Interactive. Personally I find it intriguing that people would regard this game to be "hard to learn". I would really say this is a kindergarten toy compared with titles like Europa Universalis. Probably it's the sheer depth of this historical period that scares people off, rather than the already really streamlined gameplay(compared with previous installments). Seriously, the history/story of Romance of Three Kingdoms has long been a part of Chinese culture everywhere, every day, and I feel so overjoyed and fortunate that KOEI presents such a delicate series which combines history with high playability and entertainment. I play it, almost with a sacred sentiment, imagining the scenes I've been imagining since childhood over and over again. This is no exaggeration. The only complaint I have against this game is the not-so-intelligent friendly AI after your force gets huge. Seeing AI doing total nonsense every turn in cities you don't directly control really drives you mad. Besides, transferring food and equipments between cities is also very un-userfriendly. Also, the beginning of a game is always the most enjoyable, but after that it feels more and more just like a bland game without the tinge of Three Kingdoms. Hopefully they've rectified this issue in the improved AI brought by higher difficulty in the expansion pack.… Expand
  9. Truth_
    Feb 19, 2014
    9
    KOEI is not afraid shake it up. Although definitely still a strong new addition to the series, RotTK11 falls back from its previous line of focus on character development toward its much older games where the focus is on the kingdom (and hopefully empire!). This by no means makes it worse, and in fact it's a masterpiece for what it is: an epic and deep strategic period game.

    Yet    KOEI is not afraid shake it up. Although definitely still a strong new addition to the series, RotTK11 falls back from its previous line of focus on character development toward its much older games where the focus is on the kingdom (and hopefully empire!). This by no means makes it worse, and in fact it's a masterpiece for what it is: an epic and deep strategic period game.

    Yet again, this game could be even deeper and more complex, however, it is great for the scope KOEI wanted to capture. Deep with solid strategy and macro and micromanagement, but not too deep with too much micromanagement (at least forced upon you). The city-building takes on a brand new element and the battle map system is changed completely (by merging battles from a battle map to the game's map itself, in a newly 3D setting).

    The art and music is again stylized and excellent. The city-building and battles are fun and rarely tedious. The problem, however, lies in the missed potential for story-building through events and hard-coded goals, as well as a lack of explanation for the setting other than the basic text the player can read at the beginning of each map timeline-based campaign. Finally, the AI can be foolish on occasion, and it is also difficult for friends to play with one another as each player must be a ruler of a faction.

    RotTK11 is, ultimately, a great addition to the series. Hopefully KOEI learns from their experiments to continue making even better games.    … Expand
  10. mbelizec
    Nov 24, 2014
    9
    At first I had some difficulties to adjust to the game. This happened due to different aproach this game have compared to other I played. Once I realized that officers are the main strenght, it was much easier. After strugling to pass first scenario or two, I managed to understand the depth of the game and enjoyed finding new strategies in my first succesful campaign. I am playing with LiuAt first I had some difficulties to adjust to the game. This happened due to different aproach this game have compared to other I played. Once I realized that officers are the main strenght, it was much easier. After strugling to pass first scenario or two, I managed to understand the depth of the game and enjoyed finding new strategies in my first succesful campaign. I am playing with Liu Bei, and mission to create Shu Han Empire. Not only that I enjoy the game very much, it made me to learn more about history of China. Every now and then I search for informationa about some character, or state and such. Really great game.… Expand
  11. iBeatTheGame
    Jun 3, 2016
    8
    Even in 2016, even after playing Civilization 5, this game still fun.
    I will compare against Civilization 5:-
    ++ Pros ++ Chess-like and in-depth combat. Generally nice gameplay both in term of tactical and strategy. You can build turrets that are cool but not too overpowered. AI sometimes seems to be more clever than me. ++ Cons ++ Take a lot of time to learn Take a lot of    Even in 2016, even after playing Civilization 5, this game still fun.
    I will compare against Civilization 5:-

    ++ Pros ++
    Chess-like and in-depth combat.
    Generally nice gameplay both in term of tactical and strategy.
    You can build turrets that are cool but not too overpowered.
    AI sometimes seems to be more clever than me.

    ++ Cons ++
    Take a lot of time to learn
    Take a lot of time to play a single game
    Practically no good multi-player support
    Graphics are not good and a bit boring    … Expand
  12. Loui312
    Oct 9, 2020
    10
    I have played this game for years and it is one of the best games I've played, the backstories, the detail, this is a game that doesn't seem to get old I wish this game would have a phone version where you can play with your friends and when you complete your turn a notification would go to your friend and so on and so forth overall a great game

Awards & Rankings

81
#81 Best PC Game of 2008
66
#66 Most Discussed PC Game of 2008
33
#33 Most Shared PC Game of 2008

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
70

Mixed or average reviews - based on 11 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 11
  3. Negative: 1 out of 11
  1. PC Zone UK
    59
    It lacks the logical connections that most strategy games have. [Oct 2008, p.62]
  2. Play.tm
    70
    It's blatantly not for everyone, and you need to be conditioned to even begin to enjoy it, but there's certainly something deep and rewarding underneath all the layers of trifling bureaucracy.
    Read full review
  3. GameFocus
    87
    This game is a must buy for strategy fans. Koei knocked this one out of the park and hopefully Romance of the Three Kingdoms XI will lead to a Romance XII with even greater improvements to the art and gameplay.
    Read full review
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