Review by: PsychoFox

As with all Romance games from Koei, they are hard to get into if your new to the Romance series. But if your are familiar to the Romance series, this would be a good addition to your collection. Koei has been tweaking this turn based strategy game, and it shows. If your looking for something completely new from it's previous games, it doesn't really add anything new except a bit better graphics and sound. Overall, it doesn't disapoint, but it leaves you looking forward to the next installment to the series.

GRAPHICS
The graphics aren't really special, but they get the job done. When compared to the PC version, it doesn't have as high a resolution, but it compares favorably to the Playstation version. As with better 32-bit graphics and colors though, the faces are not cartoony anymore, but everybody looks uglier. Even the Lui Bei, the most handsome guy, is ugly. The main map is also uninspired. But who am I to complain, the Romance series never had great graphics. Grade: C+

SOUND/MUSIC
The sound and music is standard for Romance. Nothing spectacular here, but it gets the job done. All it is, is old Chinese tunes with a beat. It may be annoying to some, but I like it. Grade:C+

GAMEPLAY
This is where this series is famous from. The gameplay easy and you have a good sense of control of your armies. The domestic selection screens are cleaned up a bit from previous versions. You'll enjoy it more than Romance part 3. My only gripe about it is that it loads for maybe 1-2 seconds every time you switch a screen. This may be a turn off for some, but this is way better than the Playstation version that loads double the Saturn's. Still gameplay is solid. Grade: A-

FUN/REPLAY
It's this simple, either you love it or you hate it. Grade: If you love it: A If you hate it: F

I recommend renting before purchasing, unless you already know what Romance is all about.