davidy@sumax.UUCP (David L. Yee) (12/15/90)
In article <1990Dec14.185544.19482@cadence.com> kimpao@cadence.com (Kim Pao; x6249) writes: >To: yuena@dsp >Subject: Re: Romance of the 3 Kingdoms >Newsgroups: rec.games.misc >In-Reply-To: <5630@dsp> >References: <36435@cup.portal.com> >Organization: Cadence Design Systems, Inc. > >In article <5630@dsp> you write: >> ( Discussion on Romance of the Three Kingdoms, tips, strategies, etc.deleted) > Usually I find loyalty above 60 to be okay (I found out that I ^^^^^^^^^^^ That is interesting. When I play level 10, usually the loyalty had better be 100 ASAP or they get hired away almost iummediately (unless you have the jade seal, naturally. :^) Nothing more frustrating than capturing a host of prime enemy generals and watching them get hired away before you can pay them off. (More tips and dicusssion deleted) > > Now a question of my own.... > > Where do you find "beautiful women". Yeah, gotto boost the > morale of my generals by improving their social lives. 8-) > Actually I suspect that it would be a lot easier to recruit > stubborn generals with women than a dumb horse. You find them in the same state you find the jade seal in, usually. (At least where I find the jade seal.:^) > > > A little historical perspective for the non-asian R3K fans out > there: R3K is actually Koei's adaptation of one of China's > four best novels. It is based on what actually happened in > China in the period immediately after the Han dynasty (around > 200 AD, of course). The actual hero from the author's point > of view is Liu Bei. He is (actually questionably so) the > uncle of the last Han emperor. The main part of the story is > about him and the kingdom that he built. Koei actually > adapted another great Chinese novel -- "Heroes of the > Marshes(?)". ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^ This novel is called "Shui Hu Zhuan", literally water border novel. It is about the exploits of 108 exiled heroes who turn bandit and battle the evil minister Gao Qiu who has usurped control of the empire from the Emperor. It has been translated into English by Pearl S. Buck under the name "All Men are Brothers" (as one can see the literal translation wouldn't make much sense.) Which leads me to... That other Koei game based on this novel- Bandit Kings of Ancient China. If you liked Romance of the 3 Kingdoms you will love this one. It is better in almost every way. The battles are more realistic, with archery, magic, etc. A lot of the arbitrary tricks you could use to win battles in R3K have been eliminated. The battles are more detailed now. When you capture the enemy generals, you have the option of employing them, exiling them, imprisioning them (if they won't join) or of course, the tried and true behead option. After they stew in prison a while they might change their minds (but Gao Qiu might break them out.) There is a much stronger role playing aspect. Each of the different character has a different personality and will join you based on your own personal characteristics (are you merciful, courageous, etc.) and your popularity. Popularity is vital, because without having high levels of it you cannot recruit the most powerful bandits to your side and cannot get the imperial mandate you must have to finally hunt down and kill Gao Qiu. And, for Amigans, Koei has totally Amigatized the interface. That's right, it uses the mouse entirely. The interface is very good IMHO. Anyway, it is a great improvement over a game I thought was superb (R3K.) It does not have the somewhat somber, serious atmosphere of R3K, mostly due to the jaunty music (during certain seasons of the year) and the sometimes funny responses the subordinate characters give when you issue them orders. But I grew used to it, and I STRONGLY recommend Bandit Kings to anyone who likes Romance of the 3 Kingdoms, and also anyone who likes strategy games or conquest games in general should check it out. > > >-- Kim Pao > David L. Yee Email to:davidy@sumax.seattleu.edu