is a series of

turn-based In video and other games, the passage of time must be handled in a way that players find fair and easy to understand. This is usually done in one of the two ways: real-time and turn-based. Real-time Real-time games have game time progress cont ...

tactical role-playing Tactical role-playing games (abbreviated TRPGs), also known as strategy role-playing games and in Japan as (both abbreviated SRPGs), are a video game genre that combines core elements of role-playing video games with those of tactical (turn-b ...

simulation A simulation is the imitation of the operation of a real-world process or system over time. Simulations require the use of models; the model represents the key characteristics or behaviors of the selected system or process, whereas the s ...

grand strategy wargame A grand strategy wargame or simply grand strategy game (GSG) is a wargame that places focus on grand strategy: military strategy at the level of movement and use of a nation state or empire's resources. It is a genre that has considerable overlap ...

s produced by Koei. Originating from Japan in 1985, fourteen installments of the game have been published in Japan, Taiwan, China, South Korea and North America to date. While the game's title as it was released in English refers to the 14th century historical novel ''

Romance of the Three Kingdoms ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' () is a 14th-century historical novel attributed to Luo Guanzhong. It is set in the turbulent years towards the end of the Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period in Chinese history, starting in 184 AD ...

'' (三國演義) by Luo Guanzhong, the title as it was released in Japan and Chinese regions refers to the 3rd century historical text '' Records of the Three Kingdoms'' (三國志) by

Chen Shou Chen Shou (; 233–297), courtesy name Chengzuo (), was a Chinese historian, politician, and writer who lived during the Three Kingdoms period and Jin dynasty of China. Chen Shou is most known for his most celebrated work, the '' Records of ...

Overview

The series are based on the romanticized ''

'' novel and the historical text '' Records of the Three Kingdoms'', the storyline takes place during the

Han Dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...

in China with many warring factions that included the Shu Han,

Cao Wei Wei ( Hanzi: 魏; pinyin: ''Wèi'' < Middle Chinese: *''ŋjwei^C'' <

Eastern Wu kingdoms. Gameplay revolves around managing numerical statistics, each representing an attribute of a city or a character. A city is described by statistics such as stored grain supplies, vulnerability to disasters such as floods and earthquakes, treasury funds, domestic affairs and populace loyalty. Characters are numerically characterized by their leadership abilities, melee prowess, intellects and loyalty, as well as special traits or even magical abilities that can be called upon whether during wartime, diplomacy or domestic affairs. Players can increase these numbers before waging war on neighbouring territories or intending diplomatic efforts. While generally presented as a turn-based strategy game, the seventh, eighth and tenth editions offer role-playing features, allowing the player to play as a rank-and-file character instead of leading a kingdom. Several spin-offs based on the series include the tactical action hack and slash video game series ''

Dynasty Warriors is a series of Japanese hack and slash action video games created by Omega Force and Koei (now is Koei Tecmo). The series is a spin-off of Koei's turn-based strategy '' Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' series, based upon the Chinese novel of ...

'', ''

Dynasty Tactics ''Dynasty Tactics'' (三國志戦記, ''Sangokushi Senki'' in Japan) is a strategy game for the Sony PlayStation 2. The title is set during the Three Kingdoms era and takes place after the Yellow Turban Rebellion and Dong Zhuo's death. The gamepla ...

'' which is a hybrid of ''Dynasty Warriors'' and ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'', as well as the three

tactical role-playing game Tactical role-playing games (abbreviated TRPGs), also known as strategy role-playing games and in Japan as (both abbreviated SRPGs), are a video game genre that combines core elements of role-playing video games with those of tactical (turn-bas ...

s ''Sangokushi Eiketsuden'' (

Liu Bei Liu Bei (, ; ; 161 – 10 June 223), courtesy name Xuande (), was a warlord in the late Eastern Han dynasty who founded the state of Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms period and became its first ruler. Although he was a distant relative of the ...

), ''

Sangokushi Koumeiden The ''Records or History of the Three Kingdoms'', also known by its Chinese name as the Sanguo Zhi, is a Chinese historical text which covers the history of the late Eastern Han dynasty (c. 184–220 AD) and the Three Kingdoms period (220� ...

'' (

Zhuge Liang Zhuge Liang ( zh, t=諸葛亮 / 诸葛亮) (181 – September 234), courtesy name Kongming, was a Chinese statesman and military strategist. He was chancellor and later regent of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period. He is ...

), and '' Sangokushi Sousouden'' ( Cao Cao). ''

Kessen II is a strategy game loosely based on the Three Kingdoms period of China. It is the sequel to '' Kessen'' in name only; both ''Kessen'' and the later sequel ''Kessen III'' are based on events in Japan and China. The gameplay involves playing out m ...

'' is a

real-time tactics Real-time tactics (RTT)(Article at IGN discussing their perception of RTS and related genres as of 2006. RTT is discussed as a new and not yet established genre from the publisher's perspective, so currently all RTT possible titles are still con ...

game on PS2. Another spin-off is the mobile game ''Three Kingdoms Tactics'', based on Koei Tecmo's series. It was published by Chinese company Alibaba Group in September 2019. It has grossed worldwide , making it Alibaba's most successful mobile game.

List of games in the series

The release dates provided are for original Japanese releases.

Main series

* ''

'' (1985,

PC-88 The , commonly shortened to PC-88, are a brand of Zilog Z80-based 8-bit home computers released by Nippon Electric Company (NEC) in 1981 and primarily sold in Japan. The PC-8800 series sold extremely well and became one of the three major Japane ...

) – Also available on Amiga,

MS-DOS MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few ope ...

PC-98 The , commonly shortened to PC-98 or , is a lineup of Japanese 16-bit and 32-bit personal computers manufactured by NEC from 1982 to 2000. The platform established NEC's dominance in the Japanese personal computer market, and, by 1999, more th ...

, MSX,

NES The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in American ...

(1988),

FM-7 The FM-7 ("Fujitsu Micro 7") is a home computer created by Fujitsu. It was first released in 1982 and was sold in Japan and Spain. It is a stripped-down version of Fujitsu's earlier FM-8 computer, and during development it was referred to as th ...

Sharp X1 The , sometimes called the Sharp X1 or CZ-800C, is a series of home computers released by Sharp Corporation from 1982 to 1988. It is based on a Zilog Z80 CPU. The RGB display monitor for the X1 had a television tuner, and a computer screen co ...

Sharp X68000 The is a home computer created by Sharp Corporation. It was first released in 1987 and sold only in Japan. The initial model has a 10 MHz Motorola 68000 CPU, 1 MB of RAM, and lacks a hard drive. The final model was released in 1993 wit ...

WonderSwan The (ワンダースワン) is a handheld game console released in Japan by Bandai. It was developed by Gunpei Yokoi's company Koto Laboratory and Bandai, and was the last piece of hardware Yokoi developed before his death in 1997. Released i ...

Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for ser ...

(2003), mobile phones. * '' Romance of the Three Kingdoms II'' (1989, PC-88) – Also available on Amiga, MS-DOS, MSX2, NES,

SNES The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in E ...

Mega Drive The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master System. Sega released it in 1988 in Japan a ...

(1989),

, Windows (2000), mobile phones * '' Romance of the Three Kingdoms III: Dragon of Destiny'' (1992,

) – Also available on MS-DOS, SNES, Mega Drive (1992), Windows (2001), NDS (2006) * '' Romance of the Three Kingdoms IV: Wall of Fire'' (1994, PC-98) – Also available on SNES,

Sega 32X The 32X is an add-on for the Sega Genesis video game console. Codenamed "Project Mars", it was designed to expand the power of the Genesis and serve as a transitional console into the 32-bit era until the release of the Sega Saturn. The 32X us ...

, Sega Saturn, PlayStation (1994),

Game Boy Advance The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console developed, manufactured and marketed by Nintendo as the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, in North America on June 11, 2001, in the PAL region on June 22, ...

, Windows (2001), NDS (2007) * ''

Romance of the Three Kingdoms V Sangokushi V (三國志V) is the 5th installment in Koei's Romance of the Three Kingdoms series. The game was released for MS-DOS, Sega Saturn, PlayStation, PlayStation Portable. KOEI Corporation did not plan to release an English version of ...

'' (1995, PC-98) – Also available on Sega Saturn, PlayStation, Windows (1995), PlayStation Portable (2005), NDS (2010), 3DS (2013) * '' Romance of the Three Kingdoms VI: Awakening of the Dragon'' (1996,

) – Also available on PlayStation,

Dreamcast The is a home video game console released by Sega on November 27, 1998, in Japan; September 9, 1999, in North America; and October 14, 1999, in Europe. It was the first sixth-generation video game console, preceding Sony's PlayStation 2, Nint ...

(1999), PlayStation Portable (2005) * ''

Romance of the Three Kingdoms VII ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms VII'' (三國志VII) is the 7th installment in Koei's famous ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' series. Power up kit Power up kit includes following features: *Short play mode. *New tactical simulation mode. This ...

'' (2000, Windows) – Also available on PlayStation, PlayStation 2 (2000), PlayStation Portable (2006) * ''

Romance of the Three Kingdoms VIII Romance of the Three Kingdoms VIII (三國志VIII) is the eighth installment in Koei's Romance of the Three Kingdoms series. Power up kit Power up kit includes following features: *Marriage between generals, which can create offspring for marri ...

'' (2001, Windows) – Also available on PlayStation 2 (2002), PlayStation Portable (2007) * '' Romance of the Three Kingdoms IX'' (2003, Windows) – Also available on PlayStation 2 (2004), PlayStation Portable (2011) * '' Romance of the Three Kingdoms X'' (2004, Windows) – Also available on PlayStation 2 (2005) * ''

Romance of the Three Kingdoms XI ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms XI'', also known as ''Sangokushi 11'' (三國志11), is the 11th installment in the ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' (''Sangokushi'') grand strategy game series by Koei. The game was released for the PC on March ...

'' (2006, Windows) – Also available on PlayStation 2 (2006), Wii (2007) * '' Romance of the Three Kingdoms XII'' (2012, Windows) – Also available on

PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on November 11, 2006, in Japan, November ...

Wii U The Wii U ( ) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo as the successor to the Wii. Released in late 2012, it is the first eighth-generation video game console and competed with Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony's PlayStation 4. Th ...

(2012), PlayStation Vita (2013) * ''

Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIII ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIII'', also known as , is the 13th installment in the ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' (Sangokushi) strategy game series by Koei. It was released on January 28, 2016 for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One ...

'' (2016, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4,

Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...

and Windows) – Also available on Nintendo Switch and PlayStation Vita (2017) * ''

Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIV ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIV'', also known as , is the 14th installment in the ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' (Sangokushi) strategy game series by Koei. It was released on January 16, 2020, for the PlayStation 4 and Microsoft Windows in ...

'' (2020, Windows, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch)

Other games

* ''Super Sangokushi'' (SNES) * ''Sangokushi Eiketsuden'' (SNES) * ''

'' * '' Sangokushi Sousouden'' * ''Sangokushi Internet'' (1999, Windows) - Koei's first online video game of the series, developed by Koei Taiwan. * ''

'' (2001, PS2) * ''

'' (2002, PS2) * ''

Sangokushi Battlefield ''Sangokushi Battlefield'' (三國志 Battlefield) is Koei's real time strategy game for Windows 98, and the 2nd online ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' game for the PC platform. The game was simultaneously released in Japan, Taiwan, and Ko ...

'' (2002, Windows) * ''

Dynasty Tactics 2 ''Dynasty Tactics 2'' (三國志戦記2, ''Sangokushi Senki 2'' in Japan) is the sequel to ''Koeis Dynasty Tactics. The game has 84 stages, roughly 200 different battle and strategy events, and 96 different tactics, which is near double the last g ...

'' (2003, PS2) * '' Sangokushi Online'' (2007, Windows ) * '' Yo-kai Sangokushi'' (2015, Nintendo 3DS) - Crossover with Level-5's '' Yo-Kai Watch'' series * ''Sangokushi Mobile'' (Mobile phones) * ''Sangokushi Mobile 2'' (Mobile phones) * ''Sangokushi Mobile 3'' (Mobile phones) * ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms Touch'' (2009,

iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also include ...

) * ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms 2'' (2010, iOS)

Reception

''Sangokushi'' received positive critical reception in North America when it was released there in 1988. As of 2020, the main series has shipped more than 8 million copies worldwide.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Romance Of The Three Kingdoms (Video Game Series) Video game franchises Koei games Koei Tecmo franchises Turn-based strategy video games Grand strategy video games Video game franchises introduced in 1985