Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIII

 PlayStation 4
User Score
7.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 40 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 25 out of 40
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 40
  3. Negative: 6 out of 40
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  1. ericlef81
    Jul 6, 2016
    10
    This game is great, I sat down for ten hours straight the first day.This is my first romance game, i struggled grasping the controls and mechanics,but after some grinding in hero mode it felt very fluent.
  2. dallasnda614
    Jul 13, 2016
    10
    Amazing deep deep war strategy goodness...Great game for anyone who enjoys rpg mixed with strategy. Theres hundreds of fun hours this game can deliver.
  3. Ggod
    Jul 30, 2016
    8
    IF you are a fan of the Romance games you will love this one. If you love this genre you will love this. However great this game is, it's not for everyone. It's a turn based building game at heart. Look somewhere else for a fast paced game.
  4. neo_thrill
    Jul 16, 2016
    9
    Solid strategy game. Loads of micromanaging menu's you'll have to click through which makes it seem the game is very "deep", though actually its rather shallow, with not too great graphics. This doesn't make the game bad at all though, instead it's a very addicting fun strategy game. Hope Koei keeps making these for years to come.
  5. megabear
    Aug 8, 2016
    6
    AI is so exploitable that I can conquer China with the worst character you can possibly create. For example I gave my guy 1 stat all around with no abilities whatsoever. No followers, families or affinities either. Threw him in hard difficulty mode as a free officers.

    It was ridiculous how easy it was for me to beat the game. It didn't even take that long. Worst offender is that you can    AI is so exploitable that I can conquer China with the worst character you can possibly create. For example I gave my guy 1 stat all around with no abilities whatsoever. No followers, families or affinities either. Threw him in hard difficulty mode as a free officers.

    It was ridiculous how easy it was for me to beat the game. It didn't even take that long. Worst offender is that you can abuse diplomacy to a point where you can expand as aggressive as you want without any fear of retaliation. Officers also just love you in general and you can recruit just about any random character that's not loyal bound by history without an issue. Basically you can just let them do your bidding so your own stats become nearly irrelevant. Combat, I don't even know where to begin. It's so ridiculously exploitable that I can send a small force against a force triple my size and still beat the crap out of it under manual control. Foreign policy options took a real beating. You can't get countries to fight each other (i.e. rivalry/rival tigers,), no marriage option between forces, "Hide", "Gossip", "Arson", "Snoop", joint invasion option, coalition is random and you can't form your own while they dog pile on top of you early in the game unless you maintain truce/alliance against them. The game is also missing many subtle additions that used to make the series great, such as traps, natural disasters, in-depth terrain advantages, wanderers, unique places, changing economy (i.e. varying prices of supplies and arms), ability to self impose an exile, etc.

    I can go on and on but it's so riddled with AI holes that I can't enjoy the game anymore. While there have been many improvements by adding visuals and audio, and I do love the new battle system minus the AI, this game has lost so much from its predecessors.    … Expand
  6. Cospo82
    Oct 5, 2016
    0
    I bought this game this afternoon I played for about 2-3 hours and I was not happy at all. The controls are atrocious, the in game graphics are about the same as an 8 bit Nintendo game and the AI is very easy to play against.
  7. GreatWyattNorth
    Oct 29, 2017
    1
    Worst RTK game I've ever played. They should honestly just call it a friendship simulator instead. I spent more time giving away cheap wine just to get officers to join me, than I actually spent building up my cities, invading enemy territories, etc. There is little to no strategy involved with combat anymore. It's just spam your top general's skill as often as you can. Also it seems highWorst RTK game I've ever played. They should honestly just call it a friendship simulator instead. I spent more time giving away cheap wine just to get officers to join me, than I actually spent building up my cities, invading enemy territories, etc. There is little to no strategy involved with combat anymore. It's just spam your top general's skill as often as you can. Also it seems high intelligence officers are largely useless in combat, when compared to older titles like RTK 9 for the ps2.

    I have no idea how they could've gone so backwards with the development of this game. If you want to have more of a RPGish style of game, 7,8 and 10 fit the bill. If you want to focus more on being a ruler, 11 is good for that. If you want a really tough strategy challenge, 9 would be best. That game actually makes intelligent officers useful in combat, as opposed to what they've done to them here in 13.    … Expand
  8. Dghh
    Jun 30, 2022
    10
    AI in the hardest difficulty mode is no joke. I felt so pressured for the first time in gaming history and when I won the battles they were all so satisfying!
  9. l3wis1337
    Aug 25, 2017
    10
    This is the 3rd RotTK game I've ever played, I have RotTK 8 on PS2 (I still play it) and 11 on PC.

    Romance of the Three Kingdoms 13 is a game with an extremely steep learning curve that is most definitely not for everyone, honestly the base game without DLC was a little bit of a disappointment, for the base alone I would probably have rated it a 7/10. The reason for this is compared to    This is the 3rd RotTK game I've ever played, I have RotTK 8 on PS2 (I still play it) and 11 on PC.

    Romance of the Three Kingdoms 13 is a game with an extremely steep learning curve that is most definitely not for everyone, honestly the base game without DLC was a little bit of a disappointment, for the base alone I would probably have rated it a 7/10. The reason for this is compared to 8 it feels like a lot of the previous freedoms enjoyed in the latter have gone, there is no random weather/disaster, no war council, limited things to do in the cities, can't start coalitions... The list kinda goes on but don't let that deter you, if this is your first RotTK then you've probably picked up the right one, admittedly it does feel simplified in comparison to previous instalments but perhaps that was an angle that Koei Tecmo was going for, maybe they were trying to get more players on board.

    HOWEVER -- if you can stomach the gargantuan price of £28.99 for the Fame & Strategy DLC then you will be rewarded with a deep, innovative strategy game with lots to do and lots of freedoms. It is a shame that the PUK wasn't included in the base game (lazy, Koei???) as honestly with the DLC the game becomes probably about 5x more interesting. Weather is back, create private armies, capture gates & outposts as well as cities, go to the tavern and pick up requests, train stats at home, have children & watch them grow, even the war council makes a comeback. I would really recommend it but the price is definitely a deterrent if you're not already a die-hard RotTK fan.

    TL;DR - Perfect strategy game when you include the DLC but is expensive, base game - 7/10 - feels like a dumbed down/simplified version of its predecessors.    … Expand

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
67

Mixed or average reviews - based on 22 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 22
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 22
  3. Negative: 2 out of 22
  1. DarkZero
    Aug 1, 2016
    50
    The new mechanics that the developer tried to add to the mix end up making everything much less fun than they might have seemed conceptually. Adding this with the historical parts of the game makes it feel like a lot of the player’s agency has been taken away.
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  2. Destructoid
    Jul 31, 2016
    75
    Perhaps Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIII's most lasting achievement will be once again proving that strategy games can work on consoles. And though it doesn't quite make the case for console strategy ever really being as good as PC-based efforts, the game is worth trying for anyone who can let their historical curiosity overcome their need for visual and interface flair.
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  3. PlayStation Universe
    Jul 28, 2016
    50
    ROTK13 lacks any of the basic macro and combat strategy fundamentals of previous titles, making this a sequel in name only. If you liked Sphere of Influence then you’ll enjoy this title too. But for those who waited for an ROTK game, keep waiting.
    Read full review
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