Latest Reviews of Koei Tecmo Games
Time to rewrite history
Running a budding kingdom is hard, but it is made even more difficult by being surrounded on all sides by a host of potential enemies, all vying for land, resources, and power. Few video games have managed to recreate that pressure as well as Koei Tecmo’s Romance of the Three Kingdoms series, with Romance of the Three...
Review Fate/Samurai Remnant - Musou Evolved, With Patchy Switch Performance
Your wish is granted
For several years, it felt like if you’ve played one of Omega Force’s famed Musou action games, you’ve played them all. It seems the team took note of this souring sentiment, however, resulting in more nuanced takes on the formula in more recent titles such as Fire Emblem: Three Hopes and Persona 5 Strikers (the latter...
Review Nobunaga's Ambition: Awakening - Rich, Addictive Strategy That Scrapes By On Switch
A united Japan is within your grasp
The Sengoku period of Japanese history is as fascinating and dramatic as any soap opera. There was treachery, romance, and conflict in every corner of the nation; even historical accounts of the period read like a dramatised version of events. Few series let you dive into this fascinating period of Japanese...
Turning lead into gold
The Atelier series has expanded at an impressive rate over the past couple of decades. The most recent game — Atelier Ryza 3 — is the 24th mainline entry in a series that has had a new release almost every year since 1997. However, due to the franchise's more niche appeal, not every entry has made it out of Japan due to...
Going out on a thigh note
Gust's long-running Atelier series has come on leaps and bounds over the past few years. Its various recent appearances on Switch in particular display a steely determination on the part of the Japanese developer to step up with its JRPG franchise and make a concerted effort to rub shoulders with the big guns. In Atelier...
I ain't afraid o' no ghost
In the original 1998 Ring movie from director Hideo Nakata, the entire film's premise revolves around a vengeful spirit called Sadako, whose internal rage gave birth to a video tape curse via a phenomenon known as ‘thoughtography’. While Sadako is ultimately the driving force behind the film’s narrative, it’s only...
Review Ultra Kaiju Monster Rancher (Switch) - Bigger Means Better In This Monster Raising Sim
Size definitely matters in this one
In the world of Monster Rancher, bigger doesn’t always mean better, but it certainly doesn’t hurt. The newest entry in the series, Ultra Kaiju Monster Rancher, takes this philosophy and turns it up to epic proportions, creating a world filled with monsters the size of mountains that need to be fed, trained,...
Review Touken Ranbu Warriors (Switch) - A 'My First Musou' That Adds Little To The Formula
The way of the Warriors
At first blush, Koei Tecmo’s Touken Ranbu Warriors appears to be something of a "My First Dynasty Warriors", or a "Diet" Musou. It’s based on DMM’s (popular in Japan) free-to-play browser-based collectable card game, targeted at Japanese women — specifically a subculture of otaku known as “katana women” – ladies...
Review Dynasty Warriors 9: Empires (Switch) - A Disappointing, Dialled-Back Downgrade
Under Siege
Koei Tecmo's Dynasty Warriors series has followed much the same rhythm of releases since way back in the early noughties, with each mainline entry in the franchise since 2003's Dynasty Warriors 4 followed by both an Xtreme and Empires spin-off, the latter of which adds a little bit of strategic tinkering to the usual Musou mix. It's...
Review Monster Rancher 1 & 2 DX (Switch) - All Monsters Go To Heaven In Tecmo's Cult Classic
Breeding virtual monsters to fight for fun and profit
Name the first classic game series that centres around collecting, training, and battling monsters against other trainers around the continent that comes into your head. No, we’re not talking about Pokémon — instead we’re looking at Monster Rancher, a series which started in 1997 on the...
Latest Koei Tecmo Articles
News Atelier Yumia Shows Off Key Art And Second Official Trailer
Plus over 30 minutes of gameplay footage
Following a release date announcement earlier this year, Koei Tecmo has now released its second official trailer for Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land. It's also released some key art and more than 30 minutes of new gameplay footage, which you can check out below. This game...
News Another New Atelier RPG Is Heading To Switch Next Year
With another lengthy title
Koei Tecmo today took to the Tokyo Game Show to announce Atelier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist & the White Guardian, a new Atelier RPG coming to Switch at some point in 2025. This is a spin-off of the mobile game Atelier Resleriana: Forgotten Alchemy and the Polar Night Liberator and will be set in the same world. We...
News All Three Atelier Ryza Games Land Optimisation Updates, Here Are The Full Patch Notes
A trio of patches
In celebration of Atelier Ryza's fifth anniversary, Koei Tecmo has today released an optimisation update for all three games in the series. Yep, that means Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout, Lost Legends & the Secret Fairy and Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key — catchy little titles, aren't they? — all have...
News Atelier Yumia Release Date Announced, And The First Gameplay Trailer Is Beautiful
We could have envisioned this
Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land was only just announced last week, but we already have a release date, a new trailer, and ten minutes of gameplay (below) footage to get through, thanks to Koei Tecmo Games. First, that release date. originally slated for "Early 2025", Atelier Yumia...
News New Atelier Game Brings More Alchemy And Action To Switch Next Year
Yep, another one
Hot off the back of the releases of Atelier Marie Remake: The Alchemist Of Salburg last month and Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key earlier this year, Koei Tecmo and Gust have announced that the next game in the alchemy RPG series will be launching on Switch next year.
News Romance Of The Three Kingdoms 8 Remake Brings Historical Strategy To Switch This October
The polygonal battlefield awaits
Publisher KOEI TECMO Europe and developer Kou Shibusawa have today announced that the military strategy title Romance of the Three Kingdoms 8 Remake will finally be marching onto Switch on 24th October. Initially announced last year, this remake gives RTK8 a visual overhaul and beefs things up with a boatload of new...
News Fate/Samurai Remnant 'DLC Vol.1' Arrives On Switch This Week
Room for more?
After being revealed earlier this year, Koei Tecmo has today announced that Fate/Samurai Remnant's 'DLC Vol. 1' will be landing on Switch on 9th February. Officially titled 'Record's Fragment: Keian Command Championship' (catchy little name that, eh?), we still don't know all that much about what the add-on will hold. Koei Tecmo's...
News Koei Tecmo Releases Fate/Samurai Remnant Demo On Switch Ahead Of "DLC Vol. 1" Launch
Save data will carry over
Ahead of the Fate/Samurai Remnant DLC release next month, Koei Tecmo has now made a demo of the action role-playing game available on the Switch eShop. The demo will allow you to test out the earlier stages of the game and save data will carry over to the full game if you decide to purchase it. The full version of the...
News Koei Tecmo Locks In Fate/Samurai Remnant "DLC Vol. 1" Release
Season Pass roadmap also revealed
The Koei Tecmo-published action role-playing game Fate/Samurai Remnant will be getting "DLC Vol. 1" next month in February 2024. It's officially titled 'Records Fragment: Keian Command Championship' and will be followed by two more DLC episodes later on in 2024. You can check out a teaser trailer of the first DLC...
News Homage's Range Of Tecmo Bowl Apparel Looks Like A Touchdown For Retro Sports Fans
T-shirt collections are dropping over the next month
American retailer of vintage-inspired graphic t-shirts Homage has announced that it has teamed up with Koei Tecmo for a range of Tecmo Bowl apparel, the first item of which is available on the Homage website today. Launching with the Tecmo Bowl American flag logo t-shirt (now available for $32),...
News Koei Tecmo Releases Streaming & Content Creation Guidelines For Fate/Samurai Remnant
Don't spoil the experience for others!
Following in the footsteps of Atlus, Koei Tecmo has shared the Japanese streaming and content creation guidelines for the action-RPG Fate/Samurai Remnant, due out later this week on Switch. It doesn't want fans spoiling the experience for others when streaming, uploading videos or posting about the game. This...
News Romance Of The Three Kingdoms 8 Remake Marches Onto Switch Next Year
The military-strategy title gets an upgrade
Koei Tecmo has announced that Romance of the Three Kingdoms 8 Remake will be upgrading the 2001 military-strategy title and bringing it to the Switch in early 2024. The Romance of the Three Kingdoms series has had a somewhat inconsistent release for Western audiences, with many of the entries being...
News Koei Tecmo And Gust Announcing New Atelier Game Next Week
The Atelier Marie Remake arrived last month
Koei Tecmo and Gust are already gearing up for more entries in the Atelier RPG series, with the companies teasing a new title announcement will be taking place next week on 8th August at 9 pm JST. This announcement will be made via YouTube and follows on from the release of Atelier Marie Remake: The...
News Action RPG 'Fate/Samurai Remnant' Looks Gorgeous In Latest Gameplay Trailer
Launching on Switch this September
Publisher KOEI TECMO has released the second trailer for its upcoming action-RPG title Fate/Samurai Remnant, due for release on the Switch on September 29th, 2023. Set in Edo Japan, the game will come in standard and digital deluxe flavours, with the latter including a digital art book and soundtrack. Pre-orders...
News Bandai Namco Announces Character Pass 2 For One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4
DLC 4 launches this September
Bandai Namco and Koei Tecmo's Omega Force have announced they will be bolstering the fighter count in the Musou game One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 with the Character Pass 2. This second wave of content will contain three new download packs and nine characters in total. The first pack "The Battle of Onigashima Pack" is...
Japanese Charts Atelier Marie Remake Debuts Strong, But It's Not Enough To Trouble Zelda
Another strong week for Switch
The latest Japanese charts are in from Famitsu (via Gematsu) and this week sees The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom once again manage to cling onto the top spot despite some fresh competition. Making an attempt to challenge Zelda's pole position this time is Atelier Marie Remake: The Alchemist Of Salburg, the S
News Save Up To 50% On Games And DLC In Koei Tecmo's eShop Summer Sale
Atelier Ryza, Fatal Frame, Monster Rancher all included!
Koei Tecmo has today kicked off its eShop summer sale, offering up to 50% off select titles until 30th July. There is a lot on offer here including games, DLC and even season passes, with varying discounts applied to each. You can use the sale period to pick up Atelier Ryza 1-3 with a tasty...
Feature A Brief History Of Romance Of The Three Kingdoms, The Series That Spawned Dynasty Warriors
Sangokushi, from NES to Switch
It is the third century AD and war rages across the region that would one day become China. To the north, the Cao Wei state has been founded, led by Cao Pi after the death of his father. In the west, Shu Han’s founder, Liu Bei, considers himself the rightful ruler of all of China in the wake of the Han Dynasty’s...
News Fate/Samurai Remnant Brings The Action To Edo Japan This September On Switch
The Holy Grail War returns
The latest entry in the Fate series, Fate/Samurai Remnant, is launching on Nintendo Switch alongside PlayStation and PC on 29th September 2023, publisher Koei Tecmo has announced. This gargantuan multimedia franchise started way back in 2004 with the visual novel Fate/stay night and has spawned multiple sequels, anime,...
Feature A Kou Shibusawa Production - Changing History With Koei Tecmo's OG Strategy Studio
“The more we learn…the more it fuels our creativity”
History fans love to ask a good 'what if?' question. A completely hypothetical situation to explore how small changes could impact the course of world events. Video games that explore these kinds of questions usually fall into the grand strategy genre, putting players at the head of a...
Feature Head Of Gust On 'Atelier Marie Remake' And Returning To Series' Alchemical Roots
Alchemical Origins
The Atelier series has, believe it or not, been with us since 1997 back when Atelier Marie: The Alchemist of Salburg was first released on the original PlayStation in Japan. In the years since, we've seen a pretty staggering number of additions to the franchise, with 25 mainline entries alongside a smattering of spin-offs. There's...
News Koei Tecmo Permanently Lowers Digital Price Of Attack On Titan Series On Switch
"Experience the story from the anime"
During a time when game prices are being bumped up to $70 and beyond, Koei Tecmo has announced it will be "permanently" reducing the digital price of its Attack on Titan video games based on the popular anime This includes Attack on Titan, Attack On Titan 2 and additional content including the upgrade pack...
News Atelier Ryza 3 Gets A New Update, Here Are The Full Patch Notes
New difficulty mode and music options
We had a great time with Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key when it came to Switch a little over a month ago, granting it an 'Excellent' 9/10 in our review (which you can find in full below). Today, publisher Koei Tecmo has released a fresh new update for the game, levelling it up to ver...
Poll What Review Score Would You Give Atelier Ryza 3?
Or is it a secret?
Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key launched recently just over a week ago, and fans of the series have had a good chunk of time to get familiar with Ryza's latest adventure in alchemy. In our review of the game, we called it "a heady mix of exploration, crafting and combat that benefits greatly from a...
News At Last, We're Getting A New 'Nobunaga's Ambition' In The West On Switch
As a digital-only release
As part of the 40th anniversary of the popular tactical turn-based strategy series Nobunaga's Ambition, Koei Tecmo America has announced that we're finally getting a new console game in the west. Nobunaga's Ambition: Awakening launches on the Switch eShop on 20th July. Previously referred to as Nobunaga's Ambition:...
News Atelier Yumia Shows Off Key Art And Second Official Trailer
Plus over 30 minutes of gameplay footage
Following a release date announcement earlier this year, Koei Tecmo has now released its second official trailer for Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land. It's also released some key art and more than 30 minutes of new gameplay footage, which you can check out below. This game...
News Another New Atelier RPG Is Heading To Switch Next Year
With another lengthy title
Koei Tecmo today took to the Tokyo Game Show to announce Atelier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist & the White Guardian, a new Atelier RPG coming to Switch at some point in 2025. This is a spin-off of the mobile game Atelier Resleriana: Forgotten Alchemy and the Polar Night Liberator and will be set in the same world. We...
News All Three Atelier Ryza Games Land Optimisation Updates, Here Are The Full Patch Notes
A trio of patches
In celebration of Atelier Ryza's fifth anniversary, Koei Tecmo has today released an optimisation update for all three games in the series. Yep, that means Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout, Lost Legends & the Secret Fairy and Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key — catchy little titles, aren't they? — all have...
News Atelier Yumia Release Date Announced, And The First Gameplay Trailer Is Beautiful
We could have envisioned this
Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land was only just announced last week, but we already have a release date, a new trailer, and ten minutes of gameplay (below) footage to get through, thanks to Koei Tecmo Games. First, that release date. originally slated for "Early 2025", Atelier Yumia...
News New Atelier Game Brings More Alchemy And Action To Switch Next Year
Yep, another one
Hot off the back of the releases of Atelier Marie Remake: The Alchemist Of Salburg last month and Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key earlier this year, Koei Tecmo and Gust have announced that the next game in the alchemy RPG series will be launching on Switch next year.
News Romance Of The Three Kingdoms 8 Remake Brings Historical Strategy To Switch This October
The polygonal battlefield awaits
Publisher KOEI TECMO Europe and developer Kou Shibusawa have today announced that the military strategy title Romance of the Three Kingdoms 8 Remake will finally be marching onto Switch on 24th October. Initially announced last year, this remake gives RTK8 a visual overhaul and beefs things up with a boatload of new...
News Fate/Samurai Remnant 'DLC Vol.1' Arrives On Switch This Week
Room for more?
After being revealed earlier this year, Koei Tecmo has today announced that Fate/Samurai Remnant's 'DLC Vol. 1' will be landing on Switch on 9th February. Officially titled 'Record's Fragment: Keian Command Championship' (catchy little name that, eh?), we still don't know all that much about what the add-on will hold. Koei Tecmo's...
News Koei Tecmo Releases Fate/Samurai Remnant Demo On Switch Ahead Of "DLC Vol. 1" Launch
Save data will carry over
Ahead of the Fate/Samurai Remnant DLC release next month, Koei Tecmo has now made a demo of the action role-playing game available on the Switch eShop. The demo will allow you to test out the earlier stages of the game and save data will carry over to the full game if you decide to purchase it. The full version of the...
News Koei Tecmo Locks In Fate/Samurai Remnant "DLC Vol. 1" Release
Season Pass roadmap also revealed
The Koei Tecmo-published action role-playing game Fate/Samurai Remnant will be getting "DLC Vol. 1" next month in February 2024. It's officially titled 'Records Fragment: Keian Command Championship' and will be followed by two more DLC episodes later on in 2024. You can check out a teaser trailer of the first DLC...
News Homage's Range Of Tecmo Bowl Apparel Looks Like A Touchdown For Retro Sports Fans
T-shirt collections are dropping over the next month
American retailer of vintage-inspired graphic t-shirts Homage has announced that it has teamed up with Koei Tecmo for a range of Tecmo Bowl apparel, the first item of which is available on the Homage website today. Launching with the Tecmo Bowl American flag logo t-shirt (now available for $32),...
News Koei Tecmo Releases Streaming & Content Creation Guidelines For Fate/Samurai Remnant
Don't spoil the experience for others!
Following in the footsteps of Atlus, Koei Tecmo has shared the Japanese streaming and content creation guidelines for the action-RPG Fate/Samurai Remnant, due out later this week on Switch. It doesn't want fans spoiling the experience for others when streaming, uploading videos or posting about the game. This...
News Romance Of The Three Kingdoms 8 Remake Marches Onto Switch Next Year
The military-strategy title gets an upgrade
Koei Tecmo has announced that Romance of the Three Kingdoms 8 Remake will be upgrading the 2001 military-strategy title and bringing it to the Switch in early 2024. The Romance of the Three Kingdoms series has had a somewhat inconsistent release for Western audiences, with many of the entries being...
News Koei Tecmo And Gust Announcing New Atelier Game Next Week
The Atelier Marie Remake arrived last month
Koei Tecmo and Gust are already gearing up for more entries in the Atelier RPG series, with the companies teasing a new title announcement will be taking place next week on 8th August at 9 pm JST. This announcement will be made via YouTube and follows on from the release of Atelier Marie Remake: The...
News Action RPG 'Fate/Samurai Remnant' Looks Gorgeous In Latest Gameplay Trailer
Launching on Switch this September
Publisher KOEI TECMO has released the second trailer for its upcoming action-RPG title Fate/Samurai Remnant, due for release on the Switch on September 29th, 2023. Set in Edo Japan, the game will come in standard and digital deluxe flavours, with the latter including a digital art book and soundtrack. Pre-orders...
News Bandai Namco Announces Character Pass 2 For One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4
DLC 4 launches this September
Bandai Namco and Koei Tecmo's Omega Force have announced they will be bolstering the fighter count in the Musou game One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 with the Character Pass 2. This second wave of content will contain three new download packs and nine characters in total. The first pack "The Battle of Onigashima Pack" is...
Japanese Charts Atelier Marie Remake Debuts Strong, But It's Not Enough To Trouble Zelda
Another strong week for Switch
The latest Japanese charts are in from Famitsu (via Gematsu) and this week sees The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom once again manage to cling onto the top spot despite some fresh competition. Making an attempt to challenge Zelda's pole position this time is Atelier Marie Remake: The Alchemist Of Salburg, the S
News Save Up To 50% On Games And DLC In Koei Tecmo's eShop Summer Sale
Atelier Ryza, Fatal Frame, Monster Rancher all included!
Koei Tecmo has today kicked off its eShop summer sale, offering up to 50% off select titles until 30th July. There is a lot on offer here including games, DLC and even season passes, with varying discounts applied to each. You can use the sale period to pick up Atelier Ryza 1-3 with a tasty...
Feature A Brief History Of Romance Of The Three Kingdoms, The Series That Spawned Dynasty Warriors
Sangokushi, from NES to Switch
It is the third century AD and war rages across the region that would one day become China. To the north, the Cao Wei state has been founded, led by Cao Pi after the death of his father. In the west, Shu Han’s founder, Liu Bei, considers himself the rightful ruler of all of China in the wake of the Han Dynasty’s...
News Fate/Samurai Remnant Brings The Action To Edo Japan This September On Switch
The Holy Grail War returns
The latest entry in the Fate series, Fate/Samurai Remnant, is launching on Nintendo Switch alongside PlayStation and PC on 29th September 2023, publisher Koei Tecmo has announced. This gargantuan multimedia franchise started way back in 2004 with the visual novel Fate/stay night and has spawned multiple sequels, anime,...
Feature A Kou Shibusawa Production - Changing History With Koei Tecmo's OG Strategy Studio
“The more we learn…the more it fuels our creativity”
History fans love to ask a good 'what if?' question. A completely hypothetical situation to explore how small changes could impact the course of world events. Video games that explore these kinds of questions usually fall into the grand strategy genre, putting players at the head of a...
Feature Head Of Gust On 'Atelier Marie Remake' And Returning To Series' Alchemical Roots
Alchemical Origins
The Atelier series has, believe it or not, been with us since 1997 back when Atelier Marie: The Alchemist of Salburg was first released on the original PlayStation in Japan. In the years since, we've seen a pretty staggering number of additions to the franchise, with 25 mainline entries alongside a smattering of spin-offs. There's...
News Koei Tecmo Permanently Lowers Digital Price Of Attack On Titan Series On Switch
"Experience the story from the anime"
During a time when game prices are being bumped up to $70 and beyond, Koei Tecmo has announced it will be "permanently" reducing the digital price of its Attack on Titan video games based on the popular anime This includes Attack on Titan, Attack On Titan 2 and additional content including the upgrade pack...
News Atelier Ryza 3 Gets A New Update, Here Are The Full Patch Notes
New difficulty mode and music options
We had a great time with Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key when it came to Switch a little over a month ago, granting it an 'Excellent' 9/10 in our review (which you can find in full below). Today, publisher Koei Tecmo has released a fresh new update for the game, levelling it up to ver...
Poll What Review Score Would You Give Atelier Ryza 3?
Or is it a secret?
Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key launched recently just over a week ago, and fans of the series have had a good chunk of time to get familiar with Ryza's latest adventure in alchemy. In our review of the game, we called it "a heady mix of exploration, crafting and combat that benefits greatly from a...
News At Last, We're Getting A New 'Nobunaga's Ambition' In The West On Switch
As a digital-only release
As part of the 40th anniversary of the popular tactical turn-based strategy series Nobunaga's Ambition, Koei Tecmo America has announced that we're finally getting a new console game in the west. Nobunaga's Ambition: Awakening launches on the Switch eShop on 20th July. Previously referred to as Nobunaga's Ambition:...