Romance of the Three Kingdoms 8 Remake preview: The best game in the franchise is better than ever

I recently had a chance to preview Romance of the Three Kingdoms 8, and as this is my favorite entry in the franchise, I was incredibly excited. I vastly prefer the titles that allow players to control just a singular character instead of being forced to control the whole kingdom right out of the gate. For those that aren’t familiar, before the Dynasty Warriors series, there was Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

Both franchises are based on the novel Sanguo Yanyi, as well as the historical texts. Romance of the Three Kingdoms 8 Remake is a remake of one of the more popular entries in the historical fiction strategy series. You can create your own unique officer, join a faction across many historical and fictional scenarios, and forge a path to the throne of the Emperor. That said, how is this remake so far? Let's find out.

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Romance of the Three Kingdoms 8 Remake brings a classic strategy game back to life

You can make your character as strong or weak as you please (Image via Koei Tecmo)

As someone who played (and still owns) the original, Romance of the Three Kingdoms 8 Remake is a brilliant game so far. I’ve only been playing a handful of hours as a part of this preview, but after a few turns, it was like I never stepped away from the game. There are plenty of great quality-of-life changes, and it’s a surprisingly beginner-friendly game. It’s far more approachable than, say, Nobunaga’s Ambition.

There are plenty of tutorial hints that will get you through the early game, teaching you everything you need to know to be successful. Ultimately, the goal is to gain hegemony over ancient China, uniting the land under one banner. Whether you create a fictional force and push your way into this Warring States era, or play as one of the pre-made factions, that’s entirely up to you.

As for me, I recreated one of my characters from the old RTK playthroughs and began Romance of the Three Kingdoms 8 in one of the more familiar scenarios - the overthrowing of the tyrannical Dong Zhuo.

It's all about the month-to-month details (Image via Koei Tecmo)

Instead of just a series of very simple scenarios to choose from, there is an expanded list. Each scenario section has a series of dates you can start at, with specific points in the story. I really love this in particular, as it allows some flexibility in what kind of scenario you play. When it comes to what role you play, you’ve got lots of well-defined choices.

• Ruler: The classic RTK pick; you make all the decisions, and control virtually everything.
• Viceroy: Control of a territory - less in the way of political choices.
• Governor: Control of a single city in a territory.
• Tactician: Advisor to the Ruler, or whomever is in charge of your city.
• Common Officer: A regular officer, serving under a Ruler. A nice mix of martial and personal affairs to take part in.
• Free Officer: The ultimate in freedom - go anywhere, do anything. Take over a city and rule it, wind up serving someone else; there are plenty of choices.

There’s a wide assortment of things you can do month-to-month in Romance of the Three Kingdoms 8 Remake, as well. You can duel, debate, help build up cities, sneak around and sabotage other factions, and so much more. No matter what kind of character you want to be, you can easily make that happen.

I love the turn-based combat, too. I get really bogged down by RTS, to be honest. Being able to really think and take my time, to put my forces into the right positions and outflank enemies feels way better than it does in the real-time games.

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Romance of the Three Kingdoms 8 Remake offers plenty of information and quality-of-life updates

The Tales system gives you important historical moments, fictional tales, and ways to grow stronger (Image via Koei Tecmo)

The RTK games can be very dense, and hard to get into. You really have to block out a few hours to play through some of a scenario, typically. However, Romance of the Three Kingdoms 8 Remake does make it more approachable than ever before. With a basic tutorial no matter what scenario you pick, you can learn about the important things you need to do.

You also have the Tales system, which has characters like Water Mirror (Sima Hui) teaching you important aspects of the game. This system also hides a wealth of little mini-missions and goals for you to complete. They’re certainly worth doing if you want your character to grow stronger.

If that weren’t enough, in addition to a robust help section, Romance of the Three Kingdoms 8 Remake even has an FAQ, with lots of questions you might have. These include “How do I increase the wealth of my cities?” and “How can I find a spouse?” Romance of the Three Kingdoms 8 Remake is incredibly accessible, no matter what your skill level in the franchise is.

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Romance of the Three Kingdoms 8 Remake looks and sounds fantastic

Battles have their own unique beauty to them (Image via Koei Tecmo)

While I’m disappointed Romance of the Three Kingdoms 8 Remake doesn’t feature a Chinese dub, the Japanese audio is solid. The music is soothing and relaxing, and the character voices are quality. You don’t expect games like this to be beautiful in many cases, but this one sure is.

All of the character portraits are remarkably rendered, and the world itself is just as awe-inspiring. I’m a big fan of the original game, and I feel like the remake really does a lot to expand on everything I loved about the base game.

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Final Thoughts

I'm so happy with the performance, gameplay, and visuals of RTK8 Remake (Image via Koei Tecmo)

Romance of the Three Kingdoms 8 Remake is a lot of fun. With tons of scenarios, endless possibilities in character creation, and lots of in-game actions, there’s no end to what kind of mischief you can cause in the Late Han era. I was already a fan of this game - it’s probably the RTK game I played the most, other than RTK IV: Wall of Fire.

I understand that RTK8 is a pretty niche game, though. It’s one you typically want to carve out an afternoon to play. It can take quite a while to even get to battle in the game, and you don’t even have to participate if you don’t want to.

There are so many ways to play Romance of the Three Kingdoms 8 Remake, and I appreciate that about the RTK series. If you love Dynasty Warriors and want to see what all the fuss about the series that spawned it was, this is a great place to start.