Romance of the Three Kingdoms 2 on NES is one of those deep, slow-burn strategy games where you spend half your time staring at menus—but in a good way. You pick a scenario first, which sets up the fractured state of ancient China with warlords like Cao Cao or Liu Bei already holding chunks of territory. Then you choose who to play as, or even drop in a custom general if you want to carve out your own little kingdom from scratch.

The map’s split into 41 provinces, and every one of the 200+ officers has stats for war, charm, and intelligence that actually matter. Sending your dumb-but-strong general to negotiate an alliance? Bad idea. But throw him into a duel, and he’ll probably crush some poor scholar who should’ve stayed behind a desk. The goal’s straightforward—unite China under your banner—but good luck getting there without a mix of diplomacy, backstabbing, and the occasional brute-force invasion when your charm stat just isn’t cutting it.

It’s old-school Koei at its most granular, where every decision feels weighty and a single misstep can leave your rice stores empty while your neighbors circle like vultures.