I’ve been a fan of Koei for a long time, and I love games like Nobunaga’s Ambition and Romance of the Three Kingdoms 7, so I tend to have high expectations for games released by Koei.

On top of that, I’m a big fan of the strategy role-playing game genre. I’m always excited when a new game is announced, and I end up having a pretty good time seeing the finished product. Given that these two factors are attributed to Koei, you can imagine how scared I was to pick up this game. Maybe that’s why many people stayed away from it, but I’m crazy!

Why am I always subjecting myself to this torture? Thanks to games like Final Fantasy Tactics and Tactics Ogre (they’re all great TO games, so take your pick), I have a few quality games that light a faint flame of hope inside me.

Chess and Beyond!

Like any good SRPG, Dynasty Tactics tries to offer some variations on the traditional. Most notably, there’s a lack of hit points, mana points, ability points… points, period. Instead, you get a set number of soldiers and tactics. The number of soldiers in a particular group is determined by the level of your general. With each level, you can command an additional 1000 soldiers. This allows Koei to maintain the feel of a “Great War” with armies of tens of thousands.

You also earn two different kinds of experience points in Dynasty Tactics. Both are collected after each battle, but serve completely different purposes.

The first, known as “deeds” in Dynasty Tactics, is used to level up so you can control more soldiers on the battlefield. It’s pretty simple: the more actions your group performs, the more experience your public will gain. Reaching the above levels will improve your general’s stats (strength, intelligence, leadership) according to the general’s historical traits. You also have the chance to learn new tactics, which we’ll discuss in more detail later in the review.

You’re probably scratching your head and wondering what I mean by “historical assets”? As with all Koei games, the characters are based on real people from China’s great history. As records show, certain generals had greater talents in certain areas. For example, Liu Bei was never physically strong, and the game reflects that as he levels up, but he was a good leader. That means his leadership skills improve exponentially.

The second is simply called “EXP” and helps you unlock better troop types available in four categories: infantry, archers, cavalry, and special. It’s probably the most overlooked in the game, but it plays a vital role. At the start, your army is well-rounded, but as you gain higher class troops, their focus becomes clearer and it’s time to plan your battles in advance. Do you want to be an army that destroys your enemies, or do you want to wear them down? The generals’ stats also play an important role: a general with high power like Zhang Fei will need a strong army to destroy his enemies since most of his tactics are based on force, whereas Liu Bei is a person with leadership qualities so it would be best to give him an army that can follow orders since his tactics require consistent movements.

Who needs gold for war?

Obviously not Liu Bei, Cao Cao or Sun Ce. It’s clear that Koei wanted to make a game that would appeal to a wider audience than the romance series, so all the political and economic aspects of the war have been removed, leaving only the brutal combat to entertain us. But it also means that Koei put a lot of effort into the combat, and it shows.

But just because you don’t have money doesn’t mean you don’t have items. In Dynasty Tactics, items do a variety of things, from changing the abilities of your generals to increasing “EXP”. They don’t play a crucial role, but they do add a certain historical flavor to the game.

Weapons such as Guan Yu’s Blue Dragon and Lu Bu’s Crescent Moon add spice, which I love.

To get these items, you need to capture cities, capture generals on the battlefield, or recruit generals on the main map.

This is the moment of truth!

As I said, these battles are the real reason why you can enjoy this game. If you think there is a strategy in chess, wait until you hear this.

First of all, each army consists of a maximum of four generals, and you cannot have more than two armies on the battlefield, except for envoys, who must be appointed before the battle. Therefore, you can have a maximum of nine generals in battle at any time.

The person with the highest morale can start the round. Therefore, increasing the morale of your generals is a big step towards winning the battle. You will be given a total of 30 days (rounds) to defeat your enemy.

There are many “skills” that can be given to a particular general. You can say that they are defined in history. This game is also based on a very rich history and it reflects that very well. From fame to genius, you can tell a lot about a general by looking at their skills. Each skill gives your general different abilities. Most of these are combat-related, for example Strategy allows you to use Leadership Tactics as many times as you want if your morale is above 80.

Now comes the most important aspect of Dynasty Tactics: Tactics…

Tactics are moves and strategies that leave you unharmed while damaging your opponent. That’s why they are your most powerful weapon. Each of these tactics requires you to meet certain requirements. For an ambush, you need to be in grassy or forest-like terrain, and for a flank, you need to be at the opponent’s side. Similarly, each of these tactics affects the opponent’s group differently. Sending a volley at the enemy makes them take a step back, forcing the group to use a decoy, forcing the group to chase.

At first, you don’t really care about your opponent’s reaction until you realize how important tactical combos are. The more generals you put into the combination, the more soldiers you can kill. Here you deal maximum damage to the enemy and defeat them by combining. However, don’t get too excited, because it’s difficult to make a successful combination. Of course, it’s easy to put two or three generals around the enemy, but try to throw the enemy around and attack with five or six generals. It’s nearly impossible, but oh my, what fun.

And if you get tired of fighting the computer, just plug in a second controller and challenge one of your friends. The computer will randomly generate two balanced armies, so your friend doesn’t have to worry about you filling their super army with level 50 generals.

Purrrdy…

Like all of Koei’s recent games, Dynasty Tactics is as great to play as it is beautiful to look at. Koei is in top form right now, and the graphics don’t get in the way of that advantage.

I’ve always seen Koei as a company that makes great games that are fun, but they don’t want people to disapprove because they don’t offer the best looking games.

They did a great job with this game, although it’s not on a level above games like Dynasty Warriors 3. Honestly, it’s amazing they had the time to do such a great job with the graphics when the rest of the game is so solid. They may not want a Best Graphics award, but they’re not going to lose anytime soon.

Decisions, decisions…

In Dynasty Tactics, you have the choice to play one of three legends of the Han Dynasty: Liu Bei, Cao Cao, or Sun Ce.

These three are the leaders who led China to the Three Kingdoms period. Each of them has their own reasons for unifying China, which makes you want to play again and again.

The biggest driving force in this game is the “goals” you are given. You must achieve these to progress in the game. Once that is completed, the story will progress with some cut scenes and narration.

The highlight for me is the short stories about all of the militia generals the game offers. I spent countless hours reading them because there is so much to learn from searching the database.

Feel the ancient Chinese melody…

Koei has always made great music that takes you to China every time you start up a game. One of the great things about Koei is their ability to consistently produce such great music.

The music was good this time around, but having recently played Romance of the Three Kingdoms 7, I think the quality is a step down. What if I hadn’t played RotTK7 before? It would have been a masterpiece, no doubt.

The sound effects are present, well done, spot on, and don’t scream “Look, it sucks”. And that’s what sound effects should do. They subtly make you feel as though you’re there.

One criticism I have about this game, and it’s hard to please me in this regard, is the voice acting. The main character of the game is okay, but it gets annoying when it comes to recurring supporting characters, and you find yourself wanting to find out who he is and beg him not to do the voice acting again.

The pillow is my controller savior…

Pillows are the saviours of my controller…

You might be wondering why. Because this game is hard! It’s not cheap, but it requires a lot of strategy. Just when you think you’re winning a battle smoothly, suddenly your enemy uses a tactical combo and the battle can be decided.

God knows how many times saving during a battle has prevented me from starting the battle from the beginning, but considering that battles can last up to an hour, there are two reasons to appreciate saving during a battle.

Dynasty Tactics takes Koei into the world of strategy role-playing games with style and substance. This isn’t something they just threw at you, you can tell a lot of planning went into this debut and I appreciate that.