Approximate Release Date: May 1, 1992
Genre: Turn-based strategy
Developer: Koei
Publisher: Koei

Romance of the Three Kingdoms II is, unfortunately, a game that requires a ton of effort and dedication to begin to “get” it. That doesn’t jive well with playing a game a day.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms II is a very complex turn-based strategy game centered around taking over China circa 200 AD. I’m not very familiar with this time period so I can’t speak for historical accuracy, but it seems in-depth.

Very in-depth. Convoluted, even. This game came out before in-game tutorials were a thing, and even a glance at GameFAQs for some direction went over my head. And it’s bonkers to see PC-style (Y/N) prompts in a Super Nintendo game. You have to manage gold, food, and loyalty while raising armies and cultivating diplomatic relations with your neighbors. On the surface, it’s a lot like Paradox Interactive’s Crusader Kings II.

I appreciate what Romance of the Three Kingdoms II is trying to do, but it’s not for me right now. Maybe more recent games in the series have a more gentle learning curve. It’s largely incomprehensible to me as-is.

Tomorrow: HAL Laboratory has another early Super Nintendo game largely forgotten to time with Arcana.

Title screen

Main menu

You can play with up to 12 people. That’s impressive.

I don’t know if this is good or not!

Advisors like to throw in their two cents.

Training up an army.

Attacking a neighboring province.

One-on-one combat

This siege won’t go well for me.