I still remember back in middle school, I saved my allowance for three months to buy a GBA, and the first cartridge I got was Romance of the Three Kingdoms. At that time, I didn't know anything about strategy; I just kept building barracks and, even when the computer's cavalry trampled me over and over, I was endlessly entertained. Then came the PSP era, and Romance of the Three Kingdoms 9 accompanied me through countless nights hiding under the covers to stay up. I don't know how many times I used my finger to trace the power map on the small screen, and when I finally unified the country, it truly felt like half of my youth was fulfilled.
A few days ago, while browsing the app store, I happened to come across 'Siege and Conquest'. With a Three Kingdoms theme, national war, and real-time strategy, a few keywords immediately pulled me back to the era when I was glued to my handheld console screen. I downloaded it and played for a few days, and to be honest, I was a bit surprised.
The core of the game follows the classic Three Kingdoms formula: building cities, recruiting generals, training troops, and going to war. But its national war design is continuous and all-day, which is much more exciting than those single-player Three Kingdoms games on handheld consoles back in the day. While you're sleeping, the opposing alliance might already be gathering forces to steal your city. When you open your phone in the morning, wow, the colors on the map have all changed. That sense of real urgency is something the single-player era couldn't give. I joined a small alliance, and once I was woken up in the middle of the night by a rally order from the alliance leader. Groggily, I got up and joined the attack on a county, and we actually took it. That feeling of fighting side by side with real people is something I never experienced back when I was alone unifying the country on a GBA.
Of course, comparing mobile game remakes to the original handheld versions, there are both gains and losses. The advantage is social interaction and continuous updates—you can join national battles at any time, unlike the old handheld games where once you completed them, you had to restart. There are also drawbacks, of course; the monetization points are quite obvious, such as resource acceleration and hero recruitment, which makes progression significantly slower for players who don't spend money. But as a free game, at least it allows an old guy like me to relive a bit of the feelings from back in the day at no cost.
A few small tips for friends who want to get started. At the beginning, don't rush to spend your ingots; prioritize investing your resources in your main generals. One well-trained general is much more useful than five mediocre ones, which is the same principle as raising famous generals when playing Romance of the Three Kingdoms back in the day. In national battles, don't fight alone; join an active alliance for support, otherwise, you won't even know how your cities get lost. Also, try to be online during the national battle times at noon and in the evening every day, as these are golden hours for farming resources and kills.
After all, playing 'Conquer and Plunder' has brought back that sense of immersion I had with the handheld 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms' games back in the day. The only difference is that the enemies on the screen are no longer AI, but real players. Youth can't be reclaimed, but that thrilling, adrenaline-pumping feeling can still be occasionally relived here. 'The world of the Three Kingdoms is up to me'? Fifteen years ago, I might have taken that seriously while staring at my GBA. Nowadays, I'm just content to be a vanguard general in my alliance. 😄