I was quite intrigued to play Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIII: Fame and Strategy Expansion Pack because I absolutely love strategy games, and I have a familiarity with the characters and time period in Chinese history from playing too many Dynasty Warriors titles. Initially, I was a bit taken aback by the fact that all of the characters speak Japanese (yet, this is Chinese history). Given the fraught political history between the two countries, it seemed like poor taste to have the military paragons of Chinese history speak Japanese. Still, I put aside my skepticism and dove right into the tutorial. Boy, was I in for a shock!
I really do love complex, in-depth strategy games, and I’ve played my way through the best of them. That said, a critical part of any complicated game is a good tutorial. This introduces players to the mechanics and helps the depth of the game to not be overwhelming to beginners. Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIII: Fame and Strategy Expansion Pack’s tutorial is absolutely terrible. Part of this is because the game is just an ineffective port from PC. The developers tried to emulate the variety of keys available on a keyboard with as many unique Xbox One button combinations as they could find. The result is an incomprehensible list of commands, frustratingly inaccessible interface, and a gameplay experience where you spend more time trying to figure out what button to press than actually thinking about your strategy.
The story and visuals are great for such an experience though they’re obviously much more crisp on PC. It’s still the great game you remember but it’s impossible to play with a controller. The Fame and Strategy Expansion Pack adds new mechanics to the game too. One of these additions is the Fame System. The Fame System allows players to work towards receiving bonuses for their characters by completing achievements, which range from battlefield objectives to peacefully resolving disputes. Players can also earn a Prestige title for their character through the Fame System, which will unlock new actions based on their level and will ultimately decide how their character develops.
The biggest addition in the expansion pack has to be the War Council. Before you begin a conflict, the council is summoned and there you have to decide painstaking details like which Officers will follow which Generals into combat. Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIII: Fame and Strategy Expansion Pack is a robust experience and it’s a shame the controls make it so difficult to enjoy on Xbox One.
You’re also allowed to create your own situations with the Event Editor. This tool allows unique stories to be crafted within the confines of ancient China. Just like the normal game, players can take part in a wide variety of situations like open field, narrow pass, naval battles, duels, or exchange weaponry for words and commence debates. While resolving conflicts by using your voice is quite difficult, it’s still great that the option exists. This adds to the complexity of the experience.
However, Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIII: Fame and Strategy Expansion Pack isn’t limited to combat. Outside of battles, the Civic Development gives you the tools to expand Commerce alongside Farming and Culture which can give a variety of boosts. This ties into the Bond system which allows you to find allies and partner with them. This game is a comprehensive war experience and no other title comes close to it in terms of depth. Unfortunately, that’s where the praise ends.
Summary
The menus suffer from a similar problem as they are overly-complicated for a console game, and the amount of options—while appealing to a PC player with a strategy background like myself—impedes a good experience on console. I can’t even begin to discuss accessibility as the game isn’t even fully accessible to non-disabled gamers. If the developers want to successfully bring this franchise to console, it needs a serious overhaul. That said, there’s clearly a great game here, but I’ll be playing it on PC instead!
Jess contributed 16 articles to ICXM in 2017, covering game reviews, and Xbox news with a focus on hands-on impressions and verified-source reporting. Their bylines on the site span the Xbox One X launch year and Microsoft’s wider Play Anywhere / UWP gaming initiative. They post on X as @Enceladosaurus.