Kessen (Sony PlayStation 2, 2000)

Great strategy game.
The graphics in the game are startlingly lovely. From the cut-scenes to the campagin setup to the reactions of commanders to your decisions, it truly flows like an interactive movie.

It's not just hack-and-slash, either. There are personal triumphs, anguished losses, generals who you convince to join your side, warriors who show their nuances of personality in how they react to your commands.

The game is a strategic combat between the two great warlords of the early 1600s, recreating a series of battles that put an end to the fighting era and brought in over 200 years of peace.

The level of detail is great. You can see exactly how each group is put together, the loyalty of each leader, their weariness, and much more. You can choose to ignore details if you want, but a true strategist will find ways to shine by taking them all into consideration.

You can also use political influence to sway your enemies, and sometimes they'll even watch how the battle goes for a while before determining which side to take.

The cut-scenes are beautiful, but if you want to skip them, just hit a button and you're back into the overall battle watching. Perhaps the only downside is that since this is based on real events, you don't have as much flexibility as in a game that could randomly create situations and encounters. Perhaps this same engine might be used for that in the coming months!

I am an Otaku, and proud of it, but I dearly love Japans historical culture as well so I found this game VERY intriuging. It is a rather old game. I was one of the first three games released at the Playstation 2's launch. Since it is a little old, it doesn't have marvalous graphics, but that is not why people play strategy games, is it? It puts you in the pivital position of Iyasu Tokugawa(his family name should sound fimialar to anyone who knows a little of Japan's history) first. He was the first person to unite all of Japan. This game places you in charge of his armies as he battles his way to his goal. You can order all of his armies as a whole or to as small as a singal unit of soldiers. After you have completed Tokugawa's story, the game allows you to play as the antaginist Mitsunari Ishida who, of course, lost in real life, and is normally greatly outnumbered so playing as him is proves to be a lot more challeging that your first time through and, of course, it is entirely fictional so you can't always guess what will happen in the story. I could go into more details, but that would take far to long and would spoil a lot so I will simply recommend this game to any person who has interest in strategy games, Japanese history, or both.
As to what I disliked about it, there would only be one complaint, and that would be the unrealistic, and at times rediculas armor that the samurai and daimyo wear.
I hope this will help you in whether or not you chose to purchase this game. Unfortunatly, since this game is quite old, it should prove difficult to even find the game let alone the game, original case, and even gaming booklet as I did.
Good luck to you all ^_^

One of the first two or three games to be released for the new system was this lovely gem of a game. I just can't believe how much crap its been dished out. Don't listen to any negative reviews about this game for they are mostly false.

I use the following system:
Exceptional - Nothing can be improved about this aspect.
Good - Exceeds standards yet has some room for improvement.
Average - Meets the standards of the time, yet fails to impress.
Poor - Below-standards, suffers from terrible quality.

GRAPHICS: I thought I'd start with the greatest aspect of the game. The graphics have to be the most beautiful I have ever seen in my life. All the detail, all the....well...DETAIL!!! I can't believe it! EXCELLENT!!!!
GMEPLAY: The tutorials will get on your nerves but other than that I loved it. You might want to take a break or two because it drags for a while, BUT there really weren't enough battles. GOOD
SOUND: This goes with the graphics...just brings tears too my eyes to be able to see a beautiful game and HEAR it as well. EXCELLENT
REPLAYABILITY: You can actually just tank (purposely lose) some battles to see how the story changes. GOOD

Overall this game delivers and hits it right on the bullseye. Not so much its sequels which blew BALLS! This game is worht everything!

I bought this, because it is my favorite strategy, the unique story, the thrill and feel of battle, and the unique system of losing a single battle but still being able to play while the effect alternates the story. Kessen 2 the player could never lose without losing the game, and Kessen 3 it was viewed as a setback to your forces, but in Kessen it can create a new story, but back to topic overall this product is one of a kind.

i used to own this game when it fist came out...many mmmaaaaaany moons ago lol i compared it to other games such as Dynasty Warriors 1-5,and found out that this ones waaaaaayyy better, more strategy than slash and hack i mean it can get a little hectic if you spread your army thin... ok ok so i highly recommend this game to any and all. you dont have to be a RTS nut like i am to enjoy it its also has a cool story about feudal japan and all the war lords and what-not, alright long story short SWEET game worth the effort to find... i dont really care to much for part 2-3 because they tried to make it similar to dynasty warriors and im not sayin that dynasty warr. aint a cool game im just sayin it aint as cool as Kessen