These days on the forum, I saw the older guys talking about the old version of the Three Kingdoms TV series, and it suddenly reminded me of a mobile game I've been playing lately, which is 'Young Three Kingdoms Zero' by Youzu. It's a free version for the Year of the Horse Spring Festival; the developer is listed as Miru Games. Anyway, since it's free, I downloaded it to try, and as a result, I ended up playing for several nights.
Do you remember what it was like when we played Three Kingdoms games? At first, it was those side-scrolling games on the Famicom, then it was the arcade version of Dynasty Wars, one coin for three lives, able to stand around the machine all afternoon; back then there were no smartphones. Later, it was the Romance of the Three Kingdoms series on the computer, playing all night, and before Cao Cao unified the North, the sun was already up. Now it's convenient, a phone in your pocket, you can deploy troops anytime, anywhere.
What surprised me most about this game is its 4x4 formation.
Don't be fooled by the small chessboard; it only has sixteen squares, but there's quite a lot of strategy involved. The generals are divided into six classes: heavy cavalry, light cavalry, infantry, shield soldiers, archers, and strategists, which counter each other like rock-paper-scissors, but it's much more complex. When I first played, I habitually stacked all the shield soldiers in the front row, thinking that as long as the tank held the line it would be fine. But the opponent sent a wave of light cavalry to flank and wiped out my strategists, just like when I played Warcraft back in the day and human knights flanked to cut down mages in the back row. I was so frustrated I pounded my thigh.
Later, I gradually figured out the trick: this game isn't just about comparing combat power; positioning is especially crucial. For example, if you put heavy cavalry in the front row, they can charge and knock over the enemy formation, but if the enemy's shields are well positioned, charging in will just be suicide. The strategist system is also quite interesting—you can manually use skills to control the battlefield. Sometimes, in the late game, a single strategist skill can turn the tide, which feels a bit like back in the day when playing Dota, catching someone in the fog at the right moment—you just knew it was a total win.
I have to say a few words about fair competition. Nowadays, many mobile games claim to be fair, but once you enter, it's all dominated by big spenders. This game has a seasonal system and real-time matching, and even a free-to-play player like me can have back-and-forth battles with others. Of course, you still can't beat a real whale, but at least you won't feel hopeless from the start. I haven't made any first-time purchases; I slowly accumulate rewards through freebies, and the daily dungeons give decent rewards, so it doesn't force you to spend money.
There are also drawbacks. The tutorial for beginners is a bit long, and the first few levels have mandatory teaching, but as an experienced player, I just want to skip ahead and explore on my own. In addition, there are quite a few ways to develop generals, like Dragon Soul Awakening and equipment refinement. When the system has too many features, it can easily be confusing, and older people can't remember them all. Another thing is the stamina limitation; when you're really into the game and run out of stamina, you can only sit there helplessly. This is probably a common issue with mobile games.
That said, the Three Kingdoms theme really is evergreen. From the comic strips we had back then, to the later TV dramas, and now to games, generation after generation of media, stories like the Oath of the Peach Garden or Liu Bei visiting Zhuge Liang three times still can get people fired up. This game, Youth Three Kingdoms Zero, can be considered a clever combination of traditional card games and strategy chess. Although some parts still can't escape the usual mobile game tropes, the core strategy really has its own unique flavor.
If you also like the Three Kingdoms and don't want to spend too much time grinding, you can give this game a try. Anyway, it's free, so downloading it won't hurt. One last thing, don't be like me at the beginning, mindlessly stacking the front row, you will really be taught a lesson by the computer.