Kessen III is a great game on the time period. The game specifically focuses on the unification of Japan by Nobunaga
Oda. Although the in-game story is fictionalized a lot, a history section shows a comparison between the game events and historically
what happened. The game features such generals as Nobunaga Oda, Mitsuhide Akechi, Nagayoshi Mori, Toshiie Maeda, Hideyoshi
Hashiba and Katsuie Shibata not to mention a wide array of other generals which join you as the plot unfolds and as you unlock
them in battle.
Battles feature the ability to control troop units and use a number of tactics and skills. Besides using conventional
attacks to strike down your foes, generals may have magic in their arsenal as well. In particular ninjas such as Goemon, Hanzo
Hattori and Kazamasu Takigawa have the ability to use incredibly strong magic ninjitsu techniques. These techniques summon
forth a beast to cause chaos upon your opposition.
Graphics: The graphics are excellent by modern standards. They are on-par and possibly better than say...Final Fantasy
XII. The in-game cutscenes are simply stunning and the game has included an archive so you can watch them to your liking.
In fact there is over 2 hours of cinematics. Some are short, brief descriptions of armies marching while others depict epic
tales of love, hate, war, battle, honor, etc. Although sometimes in battle the troops look sort of weird sometimes
like the crowds in wrestling games they nevertheless move fluidly onscreen. When you rampage or when the screen zooms
in to show the action it looks realistic to some extent. 9/10
Sound: Excellent. There is nothing really to say about the music except that it fits the theme of battles. I liked the
music when you battled the Takeda the best. It was very epic and even increased the fun factor of the game believe it or not.
As far as in-game sound effects go they are also very good and not off. When you attack you hear the clanking of weapons or
a similar sound. The voices are great unlike the shoddy quality voices in Samurai Warriors. This does make a big difference
in the game. It adds personality to the characters and drama which is a huge part of this game. 10/10
Fun Factor: The game is fun but can sometimes get repititive. I would have liked it perhaps a bit more if they for instance
added more samurai skills, some more weapons for generals (other than sword and spear) or at least some more unique movesets,
some more skills and more playable troop types and generals which are good using them. I felt they did not balance the game
enough. For instance so many generals are initially strong using spearmen, katanas and yari cavalry and are warriors.
I would have liked to see more priest and ninja officers. I would have also liked to see more troop types. Some troop types
like bombardiers are absolutely useless. Other troop types like Mounted Bowmen are pretty good but hard to find an officer
who is strong using them. They could have varied the gameplay a little and some battles that are particularly hard may get
boring. However as a whole the gameplay is great. You can control an officer in a daring raid on the enemy or defeat
tons of units. You can try to set a time record or a rank record. The battles can be dramatic and epic. 8/10
Replayability: There is excellent replayability in this game. For starters you cannot go through the entire game, playing
all the levels in the first go. Secondly there is an amazing number of unlockables. When you beat the game the first time
through you unlock hard mode which not only allows you to carry on skills, weapons, armour and more of generals but also adds
an extra level to the game. (Not to mention the fact that you can make an attempt at battles you missed the first time around)
If that's not enough there are hundreds of weapons, armour and helmets. There is also a variety of cinematic-cut scenes and
more that you WILL want to see. To top it all off they added an archive where you can replay battles trying to get a higher
score or beat it faster, try extra "special" battles, unlock harder modes such as advanced mode (where you can also get Oichi
to join you) and view everything you worked so hard to get. (With added information on the history of what really happened,
character information both historical and in-game and data on key battles). 9/10 replayability.
Plot: Incredible. It's just a great plot. It doesn't really follow the history that closely though. You have to realize
that this is a dramatization and somewhat of a fictional story. For instance Nobunaga does not die at Honnouji. 10/10
Overall-9/10
Recommend: Yes
