Conference rusure::nintendo

462.0. "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" by SANFAN::GRANT_JO (Don't Say 'Shank') Tue May 15 1990 20:59

    I did a dir/title on this one and found nothing.  If
    I've missed it, by all means please move this note.
    
    Now - is anyone else out there playing this game?  I wish
    edp would get it and enter a review because he really 
    does it right.  I can't say much about this game because
    there is too much to say.
    
    Suffice it to say that it is similar to (and made by the
    same manufacture as) Genghis Kahn.  (see seperate note
    in this conference)  It is a history/strategy game.  If
    you only like games where you whack monsters with swords
    and stuff (and I do like those games as well) you won't
    like this game.  Is it a total command mode game in which
    you assume the persona of one of a number of 2nd century
    Chinese warlords and attempt to unify the country.  Through
    conquest, of course.
    
    There are five scenarios from which to choose and I am
    still, after approx. 60 hours, working through the first
    scenario.  The game consists of managing the provinces 
    under your control (58 provinces total) by making a
    choice per province per month.  (the game moves chronologically,
    beginning, in this scenario, in January, AD 189)  Some of
    the choices are:  develop the land, give food to peasants
    or gold or book to a general, move a general, go to war,
    try to strike a diplomatic deal (give a gift, negotiate an
    alliance, marry one of your daughters, borrow rice) arm
    your troops, buy or sell rice, transfer rice and/or gold
    between your provinces, search a province for an unattached
    ("free") general to recurit, recruit a general from another
    warlod (by giving him money, or a horse, or through a personal
    visit - but your warlord could die if he goes too far on
    the visit) and so on and so on.  Talk about complex!
    
    But it is a dynamite and addicting game and I give it a
    10 on a scale of 10.  Some general tips follow:
    
    [spoilers follow]
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    Use the 'save' option creatively.  You naturally do this when you
    put the game away for the day, but it helps to do a save before
    you do something potentially risky like going to war, recruiting
    a general deep in hostile territory.  I also use it when I
    have just recruited a new general and his loyalty is very low. 
    The danger exists that he will be recruited before you get a
    chance to give him gold and increase his loyalty.  So I do
    a few saves while I'm getting to the new general's province.  If
    someone recurits him I push the reset button, load the old data
    and - voila! - I've got my general back.  If you get hit by
    plague or flood or locusts - no problem!  The reset button
    saves your bacon.
    
    About battles - very tough to win as the attacker because the
    enemy generals get into their castles and start setting fires.
    When you're hit, better move on the next turn or you'll lose
    the general and all his troops.  Watch the wind direction on
    every turn, because it changes.  The fires spread and you can
    get trapped in a corner and fried.
    
    Direct the battles yourselves, because the computer is too
    bull-headed to do a good job.  It'll keep hammering in
    situations where a little discretion will go a long way.
    
    My best successes have come when I have either had overwhelming
    numbers or when I have invaded the same territory on successive
    turns, whittling them down each time.  Bring as many generals
    with naval capacity as you can.  Without that capability, you'll
    bring along a general who, unable to cross some river, will sit
    out the action.
    
    The easiest way to achieve victory (given the 30-day battle limit)
    is to burn out the enemy from their castles and occupy them.  It
    is therefore important to check how many castles the province
    you're going to invade has, and bring along at least that many
    generals, plus an additonal one to guard your rice.
    
    Finally, do detailed periodic searches on all your generals.  Your
    general, on the summary screen, may show a loyalty factor of
    100.  But a detailed select on that general might show that his
    troops have very low loyalty and that you must give the guy some
    gold.  Or face the possibility of revolt, which means you'll have
    to hit the reset button....
    
    Joel