If you love the Romance of the Three Kingdoms franchise by Koei Tecmo Games, then you’re in for a delightful surprise. A new battle board game is coming to Apple Arcade very soon. It’ll feature the good old-fashioned battle for control over the three kingdoms. Do you think you have what it takes to exert dominance? Well, come along as we explore everything we know so far about Three Kingdoms HEROES.
What is Three Kingdoms HEROES?
Three Kingdoms HEROES is an upcoming turn-based battle board game. It’s based on the Romance of the Three Kingdoms franchise. The game will focus on players creating a team and finessing from diverse skills and attributes. You’ll choose from a wide range of popular generals adapted from Koei Tecmo’s Romance of the Three Kingdoms strategy video game series. Once you’ve chosen your team, you’ll head into battle, fighting against your opponent using wits and a chess-like strategy.
Story
The story takes place in the historical Chinese era of the Three Kingdoms, where figures like Zhao Yun, Xiahou Dun, Sun Shangxiang, and more generals rose to fame. Being based on Romance of the Three Kingdoms, it’s likely you’ll spot quite a few familiar characters and story arcs. The generals, for one, will crossover to the upcoming Three Kingdoms HEROES game. Each general will have exciting visuals and voices, setting them apart from one another.
But you’ll also be commandeering a team led by the general you choose. Over time, you’ll unlock more powerful generals and units. While you can battle against AI in single-player, you’ll also be able to challenge other players. With each battle, you’ll experiment with different strategies, skills, and stratagems, leveling up your generals and units to take the crown home.
Overall, as the name suggests, the battles are a fight for control over the three kingdoms. So, brace yourself for brutal competition as you seek to lead your army to dominance.
Gameplay
Three Kingdoms HEROES is, at its core, a strategy game. While it’ll have simple mechanics, the tactical depth will be profound. All battles will take place via a turn-based gameplay system over a board. Meanwhile, winning will depend entirely on the player with the best wits and strategy.
Among the games Three Kingdoms HEROES draws inspiration from includes Shogi and Chess. You’ll find familiar turn-based mechanics and unique ways to command your units. Also, instead of using stats to keep track of the winning team, you’ll use “Skills” and “Stratagems,” just like the generals from the source material.
In terms of game modes, you can look forward to a single-player mode against an intelligent AI called GARYU. The AI has been developed by HEROZ, who are the developers of Shogi’s AI called dlshogi, which is quite popular for winning the World Computer Shogi Championships twice in a row. GARYU is designed to respond specifically to Three Kingdoms HEROES. For further accessibility, you’ll find several difficulty levels from rookie to expert. That way, you can perfect your strategy at your own pace.
You can also challenge other players worldwide via Apple Arcade. Three Kingdoms HEROES promises an “epic journey and legendary battles” with multiple modes, including Campaign, AI Match, Seasonal Match, and Private Match.
The campaign will be like a story mode seeking control over the three kingdoms. The AI Match will be a battle against GARYU, which the game’s description says won’t be for the faint of heart. Meanwhile, Seasonal Match will feature online competitions against players worldwide, while Private Match will be personalized battles against local friends and family.
Development
Koei Tecmo is taking the reins over the development and publishing of Three Kingdoms HEROES. Unfortunately, the game will be released only on the Apple Arcade service. However, the bright side is the studio plans to incorporate multiple languages, including English, Japanese, Korean, and traditional and simplified Chinese. Plus, there’s the Romance of the Three Kingdoms strategy game IP that’s just as good and available on most major platforms.
Evidently, Koei Tecmo will adopt many of the turn-based mechanics from the series into the new Apple Arcade game. But also keep in mind that this will be the studio’s first Three Kingdoms mobile game release worldwide. Previously, they have released mobile games exclusively in Japan and other titles like Monster Rancher and Atelier Resleriana globally.
It seems the game will use a top-down perspective except for iPhone devices, where it’ll be vertically oriented, while Mac and iPad will have a landscape mode. Three Kingdoms HEROES seems to be the sequel to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms series, which began all the way back in 1985. For that reason, we’re looking at a highly experienced studio that has worked on the same IP for decades now.
We already know the franchise has a solid romanticized and historical bearing on the Three Kingdoms historical Chinese era. And, whether the upcoming game will take place during the Han dynasty in China featuring the warring Cao Wei, Eastern Wu, and Shu Han factions, we can almost be certain of a meaty outcome. The only thing is to adapt the franchise to mobile seamlessly, and Koei Tecmo will be good to go.
Trailer
Three Kingdoms HEROES doesn’t have a trailer yet. However, we’ll be sure to keep our eyes peeled for any new previews and let you know.
Release Date, Platforms, & Editions
Three Kingdoms HEROES is slated to launch on January 9, 2025. That’s pretty soon, so you might want to dust off your Apple Arcade subscription ahead of launch. That also means that the game will only be accessible from iOS platforms, which include Mac, Apple TV, iPhone, and iPad devices. It’s unclear whether there’ll be any editions available for preorder. However, if we catch wind of any updates on the editions or other still-unknown information, we’ll be sure to let you know. You can also follow the official social handle here for new updates.
