Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIV

Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIV from 2020 is so far the newest major entry in Koei's long-running series and also one of the most extensive - the map of all China is divided into hundreds of smaller territories instead of the traditional larger provinces, which gives players much more detailed control over borders, trade routes and troop movement across individual areas than in any older installment.

As a ruler, the player manages the economy, diplomacy and military at the level of individual small territories, and the game emphasizes the interconnection of regions - trade, supply and military campaigns all pass along specific routes across the map, which gives strategic planning a more realistic dimension than in older installments with a coarser division into provinces. The city siege system has been significantly deepened compared to previous installments, so conquering a well-fortified metropolis requires thoughtful preparation and enough supplies for a longer campaign. Generals have a rich system of skills and so-called tactics usable both in combat and in managing territory, and the game offers scenarios from the entire history of the Three Kingdoms period as well as the option to play as many different factions, from minor regional rulers to great dynasties striving for definitive unification.

The fourteenth installment was received as an ambitious return to detailed, map-focused strategy, appreciated above all by longtime fans of the series longing for depth comparable to the best older installments, although the difficulty of learning all the interconnected systems may be higher for newcomers than with the more accessible predecessors. Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIV thus represents today's peak of how far Koei managed to take its characteristic genre of historical strategy about the unification of a fragmented China, and at the same time it shows the direction in which possible future installments might head.