Total War: Three Kingdoms is the first in the series to recreate epic conflict across ancient China. Combining a gripping turn-based campaign of empire-building & conquest with stunning real-time battles, Three Kingdoms redefines the series in an age of heroes & legends.
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My experience with Total War: Three Kingdoms (or TW3K) was affected by two major factors:
1. Romance of the Three Kingdoms (abbreviated to RoTK here) is one of my favorite stories, and I always enjoy adaptations of it to some degree.
2. I had never played a Total War game before this one.
The second point is self-explanatory, but the first could do with some context. RoTK is a lengthy tale about many things: the dangers of pride, the necessity of friendship, and the double-edged sword that is ambition. It chronicles the rise and fall of dynasties, the adventures and deaths of great men, and much more. Despite having a ridiculously large roster of characters, many of them remain iconic to this day. Arguably, it's one of the most famous novels ever written.
So how the hell do you adapt it into a strategy game?
The smart answer is you don't, or at least distance yourself from the idea of strict adaptational faithfulness. TW3K keeps the setting but alters the story, allowing for more player agency and action. Each campaign starts with an immediate enemy to pursue and opportunities to go off the beaten path, creating real choices from the get-go. The game embraces a sandbox approach and encourages the player to expand in any way they choose. It's an effective design for a strategy game, mirroring Civ and other 4X titles without straying too far from RoTK. This is bolstered by the unique mechanics each faction holds, ensuring plenty of varied playthroughs.
Generals having traits like greed or carelessness is a great way of connecting personality and gameplay: a cautious character may have a buff to cunning but a penalty to instinct, leading them to be proficient at giving orders but rather helpless in the heat of combat. With this system, characters resemble their novel counterparts and have tangible differences from one another: Sima Yi might not be chopping off heads like Lu Bu, but he's the go-to guy for supporting a battalion of archers.
One of my favorite parts of TW3K is the diplomatic layer. While RoTK has grand speeches and deep conversations, talks in this game are impactful and quick. Alliances can turn the tide of war, and trade can stop starvation or bankruptcy. Understanding the quirks of each leader is key to success, especially in the early game. There have been times when I enjoyed a fruitful negotiation more than a grand siege, and that's a testament to the game's utter devotion to strategy more than anything else.
Speaking of strategy and sieges, the battles are of a remarkably high quality. I understand that's Total War's strength, and as a newcomer, I've had a terrific time playing through them. Units have different strengths and weaknesses, and figuring out the best configurations for your armies isn't a simple affair. In addition to the systems in play like morale and character abilities, duels add a cinematic flair to battles. Watching massive armies clash while generals duel undisturbed in the middle is awesome and straight out of RoTK, it gives a whole new level of memorability on top of the already polished mechanics.
TW3K is stacked in every department, but the highest of its competencies is its design. It’s an excellent strategy sandbox that respects the player’s time, rewards smart thinking, and holds a lot of tactical systems without being overwhelming. Without a doubt, this is a must-play, RoTK fan or not.
Side note: If you’re interested in the game but want to learn more about RoTK, check out the first few episodes of Three Kingdoms (2010). The actor for Cao Cao is a riot.
1. Romance of the Three Kingdoms (abbreviated to RoTK here) is one of my favorite stories, and I always enjoy adaptations of it to some degree.
2. I had never played a Total War game before this one.
The second point is self-explanatory, but the first could do with some context. RoTK is a lengthy tale about many things: the dangers of pride, the necessity of friendship, and the double-edged sword that is ambition. It chronicles the rise and fall of dynasties, the adventures and deaths of great men, and much more. Despite having a ridiculously large roster of characters, many of them remain iconic to this day. Arguably, it's one of the most famous novels ever written.
So how the hell do you adapt it into a strategy game?
The smart answer is you don't, or at least distance yourself from the idea of strict adaptational faithfulness. TW3K keeps the setting but alters the story, allowing for more player agency and action. Each campaign starts with an immediate enemy to pursue and opportunities to go off the beaten path, creating real choices from the get-go. The game embraces a sandbox approach and encourages the player to expand in any way they choose. It's an effective design for a strategy game, mirroring Civ and other 4X titles without straying too far from RoTK. This is bolstered by the unique mechanics each faction holds, ensuring plenty of varied playthroughs.
Generals having traits like greed or carelessness is a great way of connecting personality and gameplay: a cautious character may have a buff to cunning but a penalty to instinct, leading them to be proficient at giving orders but rather helpless in the heat of combat. With this system, characters resemble their novel counterparts and have tangible differences from one another: Sima Yi might not be chopping off heads like Lu Bu, but he's the go-to guy for supporting a battalion of archers.
One of my favorite parts of TW3K is the diplomatic layer. While RoTK has grand speeches and deep conversations, talks in this game are impactful and quick. Alliances can turn the tide of war, and trade can stop starvation or bankruptcy. Understanding the quirks of each leader is key to success, especially in the early game. There have been times when I enjoyed a fruitful negotiation more than a grand siege, and that's a testament to the game's utter devotion to strategy more than anything else.
Speaking of strategy and sieges, the battles are of a remarkably high quality. I understand that's Total War's strength, and as a newcomer, I've had a terrific time playing through them. Units have different strengths and weaknesses, and figuring out the best configurations for your armies isn't a simple affair. In addition to the systems in play like morale and character abilities, duels add a cinematic flair to battles. Watching massive armies clash while generals duel undisturbed in the middle is awesome and straight out of RoTK, it gives a whole new level of memorability on top of the already polished mechanics.
TW3K is stacked in every department, but the highest of its competencies is its design. It’s an excellent strategy sandbox that respects the player’s time, rewards smart thinking, and holds a lot of tactical systems without being overwhelming. Without a doubt, this is a must-play, RoTK fan or not.
Side note: If you’re interested in the game but want to learn more about RoTK, check out the first few episodes of Three Kingdoms (2010). The actor for Cao Cao is a riot.
O Total War com o melhor sistema de diplomacia. Jogo lindo e completo. Não deixe o Lu Bu snowbollar
I don't think this is my kind of game. The optimization seems poor. I get framerate drops even when there are no units on screen...
Too much paid DLC.
Too much paid DLC.
I wish I were better at these games because I love the genre so much and I also love the Three Kingdoms period but I just suck so hard at them that it's frustrating to play. Skill issue.
waste of potential and Chinese culture/history , they could've made a historically accurate and realistic game but they instead opt for the hero system resembling warhammer and flashy ui that lacks style
A fairly decent Total War experience.
This one's middle of the road, though I did enjoy China, I thought that was fun. A lot of the factions feel extremely similar so there's kinda a lack of replay-ability that you'd get from other Total War games, but honestly campaigns last so long one go is enough for me personally.
Battles are fun but very cavalry heavy, which I guess makes sense lol. China is a massive map and moving around it can be a bit of a pain, I'd just prefer if everyone could move a little faster.
Also, I installed this game on an HDD and as the campaign progressed things loaded slower and slower and everything just got kinda tedious, I would recommend installing this on an SSD.
I'm not a big expert on these games, but I enjoyed this play-through quite a bit, though it did get tedious towards the end. Would recommend.
This one's middle of the road, though I did enjoy China, I thought that was fun. A lot of the factions feel extremely similar so there's kinda a lack of replay-ability that you'd get from other Total War games, but honestly campaigns last so long one go is enough for me personally.
Battles are fun but very cavalry heavy, which I guess makes sense lol. China is a massive map and moving around it can be a bit of a pain, I'd just prefer if everyone could move a little faster.
Also, I installed this game on an HDD and as the campaign progressed things loaded slower and slower and everything just got kinda tedious, I would recommend installing this on an SSD.
I'm not a big expert on these games, but I enjoyed this play-through quite a bit, though it did get tedious towards the end. Would recommend.