Genghis Khan II - Clan of the Gray Wolf Review by: Fireproof - 7.5/10
Genghis Khan II: Truth be ToldI was exposed to Genghis Khan at a very young age. While other children were playing toys and enjoying the classic Mario, I was stomping whole nations to conquer the world. I always loved the platform Mario and Link were built upon but I always loved platforms Strategy games were built from as they supplied multiple ways to play the same game. Genghis Khan 2 gave me something to look forward to by supplying multiple ways to play the same game and from different viewpoints. I could play the game as Temujin, also known as Genghis Khan, where the game was built somewhat in favor of the Mongol king or I could choose other great nations like Japan as Minamoto or England as John I. As an avid fan of true strategy, I've enjoyed many long years with Genghis Khan and even though it's not my favorite, it is a true strategy classic in my eyes.
Overall: 7.5
Taking into consideration that the game is moderately difficult and there's a short learning curve, it deserves a solid 7.5 rating. There's several options within the game that can change your experience making it better or worse. As a fan, I've always like my variety in options and the more in depth they are, the happier I generally become. One thing I like most is your ability to play as multiple nations, however, there's about 30 in total and you can only play as 6 or 7 different nations depending on the scenario. One of the things I dislike the most is how long it takes in-between turns. Playing the game legitimately from the actual Super Nintendo would take eons because you may need to wait a minimum of 1 minute to 15 minutes to get your next turn. Of course this varies by the settings you choose and whether or not you utilize the fast forward offered by the SNES emulator effects the overall outcome of the game. Other aspects like Graphics and Sound actually hinder the strategy game's quality. Knowing that Genghis Khan 2 was made by Koei truly represents quality strategy despite it's lack of quality in graphics and sound.
Graphics: 6
As you can very well see by looking at the game's screenshots or video, the game is somewhat square overall. Unlike Civilization, (another game published by Koei) where all units are square, Genghis Khan did take it a little further. I can't say that I enjoy many of the graphics because most of them are pretty similar and you see only a few of the same animations throughout the entire game. Usually it's an army moving across the screen or it's units in combat. When you're not in a war you don't see many animations at all. These are limited to diplomacy and weather, which don't happen very often. Sometimes while on the battlefield you may witness a Typhoon crossing the play area but this is uncommon and only happens when a coastal nation is effected by Typhoon (Which is also uncommon). One thing I can say I like is the portraits of the various characters. Unfortunately, there's a limit to the number of good generals you'll come across and eventually you'll only have generic pictures which have different names and different stats (if you're lucky). I'm pretty disappointed in Genghis Khan for only providing a
select few generals with actual talent and even more so disappointed that enemy nations don't actually use their good generals.
Sound: 6
The graphics and the sound are actually on the same level. I feel like the music truly represents the game and makes the game feel like it's actually during that time period. I really enjoyed the music for a few years but it will become annoying after awhile. The most played music is either the battle theme or whichever nation you take your turns in the most. There's a little variety but there's some moments when you play the game you just can't progress further and you're caught listening to the same thing over and over.. I can deal with listening to some of it but it might frustrate you after some point. Some of the songs are limited to a few areas of the world while others span a larger region. I can't say there is anything that really stands out involving the game's sounds.
Addictiveness: 8
I've played Genghis Khan 2 more times than I can count or estimate. I've owned the game since about the time I was an infant is as far back as I can think. Despite the game's lack of sound and graphics, I've always been entertained by it's depth. It's very likely I'll continue to play this game for years to come but as time progresses I've grown a little away from the game and it's become less fun. Of course, I've also played this game for close to 20 years in total. As someone who likes to explore options, I've had to find my own ways to challenge myself because there's no options to change the game's difficulty like there is in Civilization. Unfortunately, this is one aspect of the game that has limited my time playing the game. Once you learned all there is to learn about it, there's less reason to play it and less fun to follow. Knowing what the AI will do every game because tedious and boring after awhile. That's ultimately why I play the game less and less.
Story: 5
Story in a game based on historical events is a really odd rating to give because I don't know whether or not I should rate the game high because it's realistic or rate the game low for lacking imagination. Genghis Khan, Temujin, is a man who united the tribes of the Mongolian Steppes then proceeded to invade China and conquer a majority of the known world. Instead of following the real story, you're able to take over any kingdom during this time frame and proceed to conquer the world if possible. Unlike Mongolia, other nations don't have access to as many good generals. Unfortunately, the story starts in the Mongolian Steppes and proceeds through the World Conquest scenario as Mongolia only. You can play as other nations but you don't need to unite any other nations and therefore you have what the game starts you with and that's sometimes too little.
Depth: 8
Always my favorite section of every review. Genghis Khan 2 provides a variety of tools to look forward to. Unlike most strategy games, Koei's games, usually offer a loyalty system. If you treat your people right, they'll work harder for you or even help you in some instances. Unlike other Koei games, Genghis Khan 2 only offers a population loyalty that you can change based on certain actions. There is loyalty for your generals but you can't see it and you probably can't change it either. Other tools the game offers involves the game options "View Combat" "View Wars". These 2 options allow you to watch all wars with all "Legions" and it doesn't matter who is fighting who. When you remove these 2 options you'll get different battle results. I noticed that by watching combat, sometimes you'll capture the Leader and the war immediately ends. When you capture the 1st Legion and there's other Legions owned by your enemy, they'll sometimes join you and add to your army. This changes how far some attacks will go compared to not watching.
Some aspects of the game's incorporate tactics in war, like Ambush or resupply. When you ambush, you command your Legion to hide in a forest and attack an in-coming enemy Legion. This attack causes considerable damage to the ambushed Legion. Supply allows you to take food from your people while out on the battlefield to keep your army morale higher and from taking heavy losses but at the cost of your people's loyalty. Other options allow you to hunt in the forest to resupply and feed your army. Sometimes, a nation will have a low population loyalty and they'll revolt. Even though it's rare and revolts generally never work, they may conquer a territory (Especially a territory that is not defended). Depending on the loyalty of your generals, if you made an unloyal general a governor of a territory, they may proclaim their independence and remove that territory from your nation becoming a new target. If you're really unlucky, you'll have stationed 20 units in that territory and they become a major thorn in your side, sometimes in the center of your nation. One last look at the game's depth offers the ability to make a Prince a general and marry off your daughter. While you war, lose generals, conquer land etc. You'll want to visit your family on occasion. Doing this often enough usually results in a child that you can use. Princes are always loyal and if the Leader (for example: Genghis Khan) were to ever die, you'll want a heir to the throne. If you get a daughter, you can choose who to marry her off to, making that General impossible to leave your army, unless they die.
Difficulty: 8
Even though the game is not entirely difficult to play, 8 is a solid base. War is never a difficult thing to understand, if you don't have enough strength to conquer an opponent, you don't attack. In many possible situations you may find yourself defending or you might find you can't get a good rate on the market to sell goods. Other situations make it difficult for you to find trustworthy and skilled generals which ultimately defines your true strength, not just by number of units. Some factors like Policy and Labor effect what you produce or even invest in. Depending on which routes you decide to take and how you play the game makes the game somewhat difficult in different ways. You're limited to a certain number of "Action Points" per turn. By performing an action like "Training" or "Battle" the cost is deducted from your total Action Points. Different leaders have different costs and amounts of action points so it really effects what you can do and how often you can do things. Some games your difficulty might be a 9 or a 10 and it's impossible to play while other games you'll find it much more in your favor. It's very unpredictable.
Conclusion
Strategy gamers should take a look at this game because it represents what I'd consider a quality strategy game of it's time. There's many options in the game you can explore and if you're like me, enjoy playing different nations under different circumstances, you might find this enjoyable. At the same time, you may find the game annoying or eventually frustrate you depending on it's difficulty/sound/graphics. Some games you'll love, other games you'll hate. There's no way to change the difficultly and no matter what you do, the computer tends to try and copy you. If you acquire 9000 gold, they'll somehow have about the same. If you acquire 20 units, they'll quickly acquire 18. There's a balance to playing the game and it doesn't take too long to learn it all.
Graphics
6 Sound
6 Addictive
8 Depth
8 Story
5 Difficulty
8
User Notice 
