• 1 Player

• Digital Control

• Analog Control

• Vibration Function

• New "Agent Technology" allows for 500 soldiers on screen at once.

Characters are beautiful in design (especially WOMEN with big breasts - even Lui Bei got distracted by them). You even find Zhange Fei's 3 daughters in this game. In contrast to the traditional RTK series, there are no women in there. So, this is a welcome change. However, the voice over is a bit off due to the difference in Japanese and English. The characters' mouths aren't synchronizing well.

Here is where the game falls - The battle field/scene. Unlike "Dynasty Warrior II", the battle fields are vast and empty of trees, rock, and pointy grass. They are smooth as a chessboard. Fighting style is also limited. You hit the enemies the same sequence over and over. Moreover, the characters can't even tell the different between allies or foes. For Example, if your ally and foe are next to you, when you hit the X button to hit your foe, you will hit your ally too even if you don't want to. Duel - Duel is my favorite in many RTK series, BUT NOT HERE. I have Zhange Fei (one of the strongest general, second only to Lu Bu) duel with weaker generals and female general. He lost all 3 duels. Same goes with Guan Yu. I don't know what the outcome of the duel is base on and you can't control it. In RTK, duel is base on characters' strength. I am VERY DISAPPOINTED in this game. That's why I gave it a 4 stars.

If you a fan of RTK, then you might want to give this game a try.

13 of 16 found the following review helpful:


Kinda fun, but too simplistic  Nov 30, 2001 By L. Zhang
Having played both games, I found the first one to be much more interseting than this. Sure, the story is vamped up and is actually a story, sure, you can now control the general and all that, and the new battle system looks cool. However, while it is fun to play, I think it's even more repetetive than the old game for a few reasons

1) You can no longer directly determine what to do with the units in terms of placing them and the grand strategy involved. All the unit commands have to be issued after you adopt one of the three strategies you can choose from in the beginning of any map. The problem with this is that sometimes it completely determins how you can play, for example the battle between Cao Cao and Sun Quan -- where you place the mines determine where you units go. Also, the maps are small in comparison with the old game, and there's just not much room to move a lot of times, limiting your strategic choices. Battles often end up as a crash of two lines and not much strategic nicety involved.

2. It seems like the game is even more heavily geared towards the special moves that you can use -- if timed properly, the fight between the two units is over in minutse. If your guy has no special maneuveur left, there's no way to try to get one (no more zeal rating) and you just have to wait it out, which could be painful.

3. There's nothing that really goes on in addition to what happens in the battle. Whereas in the previous game you can pick who to use, who to try to convince to come to your side, etc, in this game all there is is to choose one of three options that upgrade one thing over another. It's very simplistic -- I think too simplistic -- to be fun.

The old game offers a lot more in terms of strategy decisions, and to those who thought the old game was easy, they have never played the most difficult level (which is fairly challenging, at least at first). This game is even easier and is less fun -- it becomes very monotonous after a few battles. The graphics and sound and story improved, but at the expense of gameplay. Get Dynasty Warriors 3 instead, or if you haven't played Kessen the original and don't like action games like DW3, try the old Kessen.

3 of 3 found the following review helpful:


Much jabbering, little action  Feb 08, 2004 By Motoko
I am most likely not alone when I say I bought this game because it was on sale for around ten dollars. Koei has had quite a bit of sucess with the ROTK based games, but they seem to have slipped a little with this one.
The graphics are good for the most part, but the animation is, at times, choppy and un-fluid. But I can live with that.
The dubbing...oh the horror... Couldn't the US editors have tried at least a LITTLE bit better to time it right? Bleh, this is the kind of thing that really annoys me. I don't expect perfection, but I did kinda hope for more than this...
And the so-called "strategy" element? Eep. You can move your troops and perform actions in many different ways, but the gameplay is simplistic. This is definitely not for hard-core strategy gamers. (Don't even get me started on the "unable to enter" areas...)
And the story, the main reason I even glanced at the game...well, let's say I don't trust the packaging anymore...the story is the same one: Guy is in love with Girl, Girl is kidnapped by Guy's rival, Guy fights huge-ass war to save Girl, and then we see it from the other side. At least seeing it from the other side wasn't an ANCIENT idea... And why do these characters insist on telling you every little thing that runs through their tiny heads?
I'll have to give this game an mediocre 3 out of 5... (too much X-Play...)

3 of 3 found the following review helpful:


Long time KOEI fan  Feb 14, 2003 By AmazonLover
I have been playing KOEI games since Nobumga's Ambition on regular Nintendo. Personally, I believe this is the best KOEI game I have ever played. First of all, the graphics are stunning and the story line is astonishingly engrossing. However, a good game is not based on a pretty face but is determined by a number of other qualities. I have read some reviewers claim that in between battles you are given many choices on how to guide you army. Unfortunately, I do have to disagree with this claim.

The course of the game is based upon this: 1.)Story line given 2.)player makes one choice between three options (eg. train, recruit, develop new technology...) 3.) Go to battle
Then the process starts over. The player is not given the option where to fight and the three options given to develop are rather pointless to the overall progress of the game.

However, the gameplay of this game is not based on what you do in between battles. This game is completely based upon the battles themselves. The battles are amazing and will force many players to develop new ideas for strategy battles. It is difficult to explain in words what sets these battles apart from other games but I must proclaim that you have not played a battle sequence as amazing as this game. You are given control of about 4-7 generals each commanding their 5000-10000 soldiers. You can choose to let you officers to do their own thing, or you can give each of them direct orders. Also, once an officer initiates combat with another officer you can take control of the actual hand-to-hand fight. Your officer will have either special strength attacks or some magic ablility and you can use them to slaughter you enemy.

Pros:
Outstanding graphics during all aspects of the game
Very detailed and edge of your seat story line
Highly strategic battle sequences
Ability to command as much or as little of a fight as you want
Get to play as both Cao Cao and Liu Bei
Extended gameplay

Cons:
No choice in who to attack
No real gameplay apart from battles
Not historically accurate

If you want a game where you build you armies up and choose who to fight and who to ally with you will not like this game. If you care about how historically accurate a game is avoid this game.

However, if you want a game with a great story line and exciting battles that require strategy to achieve victory, then this game is for you. From a long time KOEI fan, I love this game.

3 of 3 found the following review helpful:


Inspired by RoTK Beautifully....more so than "Based Upon"  Feb 17, 2003 By J. N. K "Esco"
But for a game of this technical and imaginative level, I say "who cares?!" Sure, the gameplay is definately imperfect, but ask yourself this: how many RTS games on a console have played anywhere as nicely as this one? Answer: none. Starcraft 64, eat your heart out.

Firstly, the game utalizes simple commands to execute larger-scale movements. When forces are in thousands of soldiers in size, in real life you'd probably lose immediate and fast control over them all pretty quickly too....this game as such seemed to be more realistic in that fashion. There're really only three unrealistic aspects to the gameplay: 1) you can command a force that's miles away from you instantly; 2) there is lots of sorcery; and 3) how do you get so many legions of men to fight the corrupt?

Secondly, the graphics are amazing. Full of color and activity. Seeing 500 troops with only partial slowdown is very nice, and the fact that you can control an officer to get involved in the combat to see it up close. When you're not in control, an automatic camera changes perspective of your troops, be they running or battling (something the original Kessen lacked graphically, putting me to sleep, personally). The game is also full of great special effects (and I'm not even brushing upon the SFX in the FMV, or the FMV itself yet!). When dueling, sparks fly, and energy is shot out from these heroes' combatting, and the spell effects are simply huge in scale, and destruction.

Thirdly, the music is worthy of purchasing the soundtrack even if you haven't played the game. It's fully symphonized, somewhat catchy, easy to listen to, and full of emotion. True, the voice work here and there cries out: "I'm a good actor, but I don't know what I'm doing!" However, they still tell the story well enough for the most part...good during the important moments at least.

Finally, cinematically and emotionally, this game is incredible. FMV drives the story like one would not believe. Kessen II truly has about 3x as much FMV as Final Fantasy X, and for a game only about 8 hours long, that's far beyond amazing!! I sometimes still watch the FMV at the begining because it's so amazingly full of emotion, and beautifully photographed; being a film major, the lighting, scenery, item placement and art direction is important to me greatly, and I am fully satisfied here! When people tell me that games like this and Final Fantasy X and Xenosaga are too cinematic, frankly I get very aggrivated...instead I ask: "why can't all movies be as deep and engaging as these games?" GAMES!! Why is Hollywood, save a few nice epics, falling behind what was once Pong?!

All in all, if you like epic stories with high production values, and also like to play the head of war, then you need to get this game! Just expect a bunch of historical references, rather than any kind of historical lessons...whatsoever.

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