Let me make it clear first that this post is posted in the music sharing area for a reason. Recently, I played through the first and second chapters of "The Legend of Shu Han Wolong Chapter" twice, and found that the plot performance of this game is matched with a suitable soundtrack, and the sense of substitution is completely different. Today we won't talk about drawing cards or numerical values. Let's talk about which plot points are worth putting on your headphones and turning up the volume.
Let me start with the conclusion: the music foundation of this game is actually very solid, but the default volume is low, and many key sections do not force BGM switching. It is recommended to increase the music volume to above 70% and the sound effect to 40% in the settings. The experience will be completely different.
The first half of Liu Bei's chapter, that is, the period from the crusade against the Yellow Turbans to the invasion of Shu, has a fast overall pace and a high density of battles. This is a good time to listen to some battle soundtracks with distinctive rhythms. The song "Conquest" that comes with the game, remember to manually cut it during the Battle of Changbanpo. With Zhao Yun's seven-in and seven-out level performance, the visual impact will be doubled. I didn't pay attention when I played it for the first time. I used the default BGM. After finishing it, I just found the level difficult. When I cut the song for the second time, I realized that the details of the performance of this battle were so detailed.
There is a musical easter egg in the second half of Liu Bei's chapter that is particularly easy to miss. In the plot dialogue before the Battle of Yiling, Zhuge Liang had a monologue, which lasted about two minutes. If you do nothing during this conversation, there will be a low string music playing in the background. But if you open the in-game music player and switch to the song "Long Zhong Dui" after the conversation starts, and then return to the conversation interface, you will find that the emotion of the entire paragraph is completely different. This is the only song I can find with a low voice. On the eve of the collapse of the situation, I can really hear the Prime Minister's feeling of powerlessness.
The Wolong chapter is the highlight. The Southern Expedition part is relatively linear, and I recommend the song "Southern Journey". The drum beat and the map design of the Vine Armor Soldiers give it a sense of exoticness. But starting from the Northern Expedition, the game really shows the thickness of the plot.
In the Battle of Street Pavilion, it is recommended to manually cut to the first half of the song "Missing Air Slash". Note, this is the first half. This piece is about four minutes long, with the guzheng solo in the first half and percussion in the second half. The Battle of the Street Pavilion lasts about six minutes. The first two minutes of plot dialogue are accompanied by the cool sound of the guzheng. When the battle really starts, the percussion music just comes in, and the rhythm is perfect. I tried three playback nodes and found that playing exactly two minutes before entering the battle is the most suitable. If you are quick and skip the plot dialogue, you will not be able to enjoy this design.
The Wuzhangyuan passage in the late Northern Expedition is the emotional low point of the entire game. The official BGM at this time is "Starfall", but I don't recommend using this song. It's too straightforward, which makes it less uncomfortable. I would also recommend you to use the piece "The Road to Shu is Difficult". It is a string solo with a very slow rhythm, with a feeling of rising and falling. Coupled with the plot performance of Zhuge Liang running out of fuel, the silent sense of oppression is more severe than any sensational soundtrack. After I finished typing this paragraph, I sat in the settlement interface for a long time, with that melody in my mind.
In terms of operation, I would like to give a few words of advice to newbies. There is a hidden setting in this game. Click the flag icon in the lower right corner twice in the battle interface to switch the battlefield background music. This function does not matter in ordinary battles, but in large levels such as the Battle of Chibi and the Battle of Yiling, the switched soundtrack will be linked to the level performance. For example, after switching to the Battle of Chibi, there will be a short period of complete silence when the fire attack strategy takes effect, and then the drum sound suddenly enters. The impact cannot be given by the fixed BGM. This setting is not written in the help document, it should be an easter egg left for attentive players.
Let's talk about the overall feeling. As a war chess and strategy game, "The Legend of Shu Han Wolong Chapter" has quite satisfactory level design, with unit restraint and terrain bonuses above the passing line. But what really sets it apart from other Three Kingdoms-themed products is the completeness of the plot.You can completely watch it as an operable Three Kingdoms drama, and the soundtrack is the soul of this drama.
If you have just started this game, it is recommended that you don't rush to skip the dialogue in the first tutorial level. In the scene where Liu Bei meets Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, the soundtrack transitions directly from the song "Taoyuan" to "Conquest". This transition is extremely smooth. It is one of the few technical details worthy of praise from the production team, and it also sets the tone of the entire game's music.
Finally, make a summary. Liu Bei's chapter suggested that the self-selected piece "Longzhong Dui" should be used on the eve of Yiling, "Conquest" should be used on Changbanpo; Wolong's chapter "Missing Kongzhan" should be used for the battle of Jieting, and "The Road to Shu is Difficult" should be used for Wuzhangyuan. These combinations cover the core tear-jerking scenes of the entire game, and the default BGM is enough for the rest of the levels.
If you have other favorite combinations, please share them below. In particular, has anyone discovered that the elephant soldier level in the Southern Expedition seems to have a hidden battle soundtrack? I checked the settings twice and couldn't find the manual switching entry. If anyone figures it out, please let me know.