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When Good Games Go Bad....
Sep. 13th, 2004 04:12 amI'm something of a fan of Koei's Dynasty Warriors/Romance of Three Kingdoms games. It was DW3 that got me so interested in the original Luo Guangzhong novel, which is an incredible and sweeping epic of love, war, duty, honor, betrayal, the destiny of an empire, and the fates of mortals. It's probably not 100% historically accurate, and Luo Guangzhong surely too liberties in describing the personages. It's also quite an insight, if not into the time period of the novel (approximately aD 200) then into the time the novel was written, which was about a thousand years later.
Sidenote: I would dearly enjoy playing in a game -- a pen-and-paper RPG, that is -- set in this time period and using ROTK as inspiration. At least... so long as the player characters weren't the guys who got beheaded because the prime minister was feeling bitchy that day.
( ROTK Fanboy Rantings Within. ) Anyway, just to note, if you have never read Romance of Three Kingdoms, I highly recommend it. Be sure to get the unabridged or full edition. It might also help if you get an edition that has the names in Pinyan, they're a little easier to read, even if not entirely phonetically accurate if you don't know what to expect. (The infamous pronunciation of 'Cao' as 'cow' instead of 'Ts'ao,' for example.) If you don't mind, you can have a look at this link where the full text of the novel can be found online, including commentary from readers. Some of the commentary is funny, some if it is inane, some of it is informative. There are a few maps, too, which help in understanding the progression of events. (One of the more remarkable things is that you can still go to many of the locations mentioned in the novel in modern China, they still have the same names.)
That's pretty much all for now. Just some random stuff thrown at you. Pax!
P.S. Also from a completely random direction that I throw out to you... after hearing Metallica's version of Whiskey in the Jar I have never wanted to clobber them with a shillelagh more than I do now. I guess I should be glad they didn't get hold of "Beer, Beer, Beer." I can just imagine James Hetfield tearing apart those lyrics.
Sidenote: I would dearly enjoy playing in a game -- a pen-and-paper RPG, that is -- set in this time period and using ROTK as inspiration. At least... so long as the player characters weren't the guys who got beheaded because the prime minister was feeling bitchy that day.
( ROTK Fanboy Rantings Within. ) Anyway, just to note, if you have never read Romance of Three Kingdoms, I highly recommend it. Be sure to get the unabridged or full edition. It might also help if you get an edition that has the names in Pinyan, they're a little easier to read, even if not entirely phonetically accurate if you don't know what to expect. (The infamous pronunciation of 'Cao' as 'cow' instead of 'Ts'ao,' for example.) If you don't mind, you can have a look at this link where the full text of the novel can be found online, including commentary from readers. Some of the commentary is funny, some if it is inane, some of it is informative. There are a few maps, too, which help in understanding the progression of events. (One of the more remarkable things is that you can still go to many of the locations mentioned in the novel in modern China, they still have the same names.)
That's pretty much all for now. Just some random stuff thrown at you. Pax!
P.S. Also from a completely random direction that I throw out to you... after hearing Metallica's version of Whiskey in the Jar I have never wanted to clobber them with a shillelagh more than I do now. I guess I should be glad they didn't get hold of "Beer, Beer, Beer." I can just imagine James Hetfield tearing apart those lyrics.
