Kessen III Review (no fat)

Game Description

The third installment of Kessen has the action elements catching up with the storyline, as the series goes from an interactive CG to a cinematic action game. Kessen III introduces a much demanded control of troops on the battlefield. Not in complete to its nature as fans was suggesting, but enough to make battles even more involving than before.

Kessen III allows not only the control of the general but of his/her troops, and with a nice group of controls with the always easy to navigate menus, gamers will have a lot more time to get lost in the awe of the hardware of the PS2.

3-d battles get more detailed treatment, while familiar top notch cinematics move game play along at a brisk pace. In-game decisions and branching paths add to the playability of this fine Koei title, with the usual new set of available options up for grabs when a player completes the game.

For the first time in Kessen the focal point is around a single character, Nobunga Oda. A young and crass teenager with a heart for change sets out in Japans warring period to bring peace to the land.

Kessen III- The Battle Secrets

Ready or not, it has come to Kessen sevenfold. With the aid of cutting down numbers in usual crowded units Kessen is able to deliver controlled groups of units. Gamers take control of a general mainly, but with key buttons can have their unit attack and move in unison.

This new area of play opens up more strategy, but depending on your style it can also open up more action. Curious gamers are welcome to find the many hidden items waiting within the game, and watch with excitement as these same weapons destroy opposing armies with minimal effort.

Kessen III- Hero

Nobunga is the hero of the story, but there is a story? The now action featured Kessen III includes over 100 minutes of cinematic's, but the new battle engine is the plot of this game.

The once story driven Kessen is now being salivated for its on-field adventure, players everywhere are sure to get lost in the incredible carnage on field. As Koei moves farther and farther away from the original Kessen, the titles main character becomes renowned for his skills on the field more so than his deep emotional struggles.

The personality in the story is actually the best in the series, with memorable characters that are more relatable than previous offerings. With that said if the gamer would allow it, then it would be easy to fall in love with Kessen III’s story.

Kessen III- Departure from Strategy

No longer an interactive CG, no longer a simple strategy game, now Kessen has went from minimally definable to completely engrossed in its own strategic paradox.. The departure from simple planning and watching has panned out to bring hack and slash elements.

Room for strategy in Kessen III was available with the new engine, but Koei decided to go with a tried and true action formula. A myriad of new options are available during and out of battle, but the real wake up call would be during battle.

The shoulder buttons on the PS2 controller makes it easy to navigate through units, with the added controls of taking over whomever you think needs assistance. The nicely laid out format of the buttons makes it easy to call upon special attacks, reinforcements, and even player controlled one-on-one action.

A feature that gamers will use and abuse a lot would be a special command that allows a general to go Halo on opposing armies for a specified period of time. The end result depending on how well this goes can win or lose the battle. Cut down enough numbers and it is easy sailing, and don’t forget to rest those generals.

With the leveling up of characters in the game comes commander’s fatigue, leaving a player wide open if they don’t rest key generals and plan carefully. The fatigue will level out the playing field a lot more than necessary adding a nice challenge to the game.

Kessen III- Graphics

No one consistently delivers graphically quite like Koei, mainly because they just improve on an already good engine. The colors and frame rate are incredible to the eye, with the only big improvement being touch ups and glitch fixing in the overall battle animations.

Players will be a little disappointed with the army movements, as soldiers move in perfect unison making for a little unrealistic visual. The speed of the battles themselves is a lot more brisk than normal, and since Koei took away from the overall number of troops they added necessary improvements to the right areas.

Novices can make a living now with the battles, the easiness on the eyes along with the simple buttons making game-play a non stressful encounter..

Kessen III- Sound

Reijiro Koroku gets a well earned paycheck for his work in Kessen III, players everywhere also wishing he did the voice acting.

The improved frame rate gives the gift of perfect sync to sound effects. The lagging is nonexistent and (almost) gives off a sense of realism. The gung-ho antics of Kessen III does the overall quality of defeating an enemy sweet, with an entire mass of enemies a fantasy come to life. Hearing body’s drop has never been so cruel, yet so right.

Kessen II– Summing Up

The Kessen crew took a long vacation and apparently on their way back decided to reinvent the wheel. Now it rolls not only forward, but backwards. Novel concept except for the fact it was Koei who made the wheel in the first place.

The more into the series Kessen goes, the more mainstream it gets alienating interested consumers and appealing to the more Grand Theft Autoish crowd. The once niche strategy company has strayed into a non-challenging, lacking of history, hero driven action game. Not a bad thing, except the whole idea behind Kessen was supposed to be a trick into strategy for curious non-strategists.

Well with the biggest wool over the eyes of consumers in history, Koei has just converted their dying base of strategy starved gamers into screaming hack and slash addicts. And the poor souls will never know, because like everyone else, they are enjoying a well put together time waster.

Kessen III-cost

Kessen III retails for $24.99US at the time of writing.