Popular Games by Koei
Reviews of Koei Games
WinBack, baby WinBack, that's where it's at
It’d be easy to dismiss Winback without a second thought. Developed by Omega Force — nowadays famous for the long-running Dynasty Warriors series and associated Musou spin-offs/crossovers — and released for N64 back in 1999, it’s probably the least well-known of the Switch Online service’s...
Review Nobunaga's Ambition (Wii U eShop / SNES)
Feud of dreams
Nobunaga’s Ambition, long one of publisher Koei’s flagship series, deserves its rightful place in the history of strategy titles. This SNES iteration, like many of its brethren, has an engaging setup that rewards careful planning and execution once the learning curve is cleared. Actually, “curve” might be too gentle a term...
Review Uncharted Waters: New Horizons (Wii U eShop / SNES)
As deep as the ocean
Koei released quite an arsenal of strategy titles during the 16-bit era, many of them on the Super Nintendo console. While the original Uncharted Waters laid the foundation, its sequel New Horizons picked up right where it left off and managed to add quite a few new game play ideas to the mix to form one of the most in-depth and...
Review Romance of the Three Kingdoms IV (Wii U eShop / SNES)
Depth incarnate
If there's one thing that you could pretty much be assured of when it came to a Koei game back in the day, it was getting a lot of depth to your gameplay experience. Not only were you generally treated to a very high production value visual experience, but the attention to detail and historical accuracy was always of high quality...
Review Samurai Warriors 3 (Wii)
Learn some history and have some fun with real-life Japanese super-heroes
Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Tokugawa Ieyasu: these are the names of some of the greatest figures of the Sengoku, or "Warring States," period in Japanese history, a time of civil war in which rival daimyo struggled for positions of dominance as they attempted to...
Stranger in a strange land...
Would you like to hear a story? Good! This is a story about Opoona and his family: his daddy is a famous Cosmo Guard -- that's right, Opoona and his family are from the planet Tizia. In fact, Opoona's daddy is one of the most famous Cosmo Guards ever! He was recently awarded the title of Startizian -- a rank only a...
Latest Koei News
Sunday23rd Mar 2025
Poll Box Art Brawl - Duel: Nobunaga's Ambition (SNES)
Ambitious..?
Hello folks, and welcome back to another edition of Box Art Brawl. Last week, we looked at Mario's Picross for the Game Boy, and it was quite the heated battle between North America and Europe. In the end, Europe won with 48% of the vote. North America came in second with 40%, and Japan in third with 12%. This week, to celebrate its...
Sunday9th Jul 2023
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...
Sunday30th May 2021
Feature More Than Just Pokémon - Japan’s Secret World Of Game Boy Color
Hidden handheld happiness
The Game Boy Color was the immensely popular home of a wide range of handheld classics, from multi-million sellers such as Pokémon Gold and Silver and Link’s Awakening DX to the now painfully expensive Metal Gear Solid, not to mention the non-Color original Game Boy library it play
Monday26th Jan 2015
News Ninja Gaiden NES Team Discusses Its Origins and Design Approach
Have a listen to composer Keiji Yamagishi's new music, too
Ninja Gaiden is one of the most challenging games on the NES, combining fast-paced action, a fantastic soundtrack and brutal difficulty to make players work hard for their success. In some respects it was also a trendsetter, with cutscenes and cinematic moments that were ahead of their time...
Thursday6th Sep 2012
News Pro Evolution Soccer 2013 Footage Warms Up On The Sidelines
3DS and Wii versions showcased
Konami has released a Japanese trailer for the latest instalments of its Winning Eleven franchise, which is known in the west as Pro Evolution Soccer. The footage shows the 3DS and Wii versions in action. Not much seems to have changed since the previous editions on both formats, but football fans will no doubt want...
Friday20th May 2011
News First DOA Dimensions SpotPass Content Now Available in UK and Europe
And more scheduled to arrive
Dead or Alive: Dimensions releases today in the UK and Europe, and it's already taking advantage of the SpotPass service with downloadable content available today. Once you pick up your copy, head to a hotspot or your own home Wi-Fi broadband connection to receive a brand new costume for Kasumi. You can also face Kasumi...
Wednesday29th Sep 2010
News Nintendo of Japan Showcases Wii Line-up in New Video
Includes footage of (presumably) a new Rhythm Heaven game
As part of their recent conference, Nintendo of Japan's just released a video showcasing some hotly anticipated games in the upcoming Japanese Wii line-up. Everything from The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword to Super Mario Collection Special Pack and Mar
Friday7th May 2010
Nintendo Download 11th and 12th May (Japan)
Catch-up week for Japan
After the Golden Week break it looks like Nintendo is mostly offering up titles that we've already seen elsewhere around the world. WiiWare: Sekai no Omoshiro Party Game 2 (500pts - Sims Co., ltd.) – The sequel to last month's Fun World Party Game offering five new games in five new countries: bullfighting in Spain,...
Sunday14th Feb 2010
Games that tug the heartstrings
Valentine's Day is sometimes derided as a "Hallmark Holiday" - a day created for shops to sell stuff like greeting cards and chocolates due to feelings of obligation. Despite this, it must be said that having a day in which you're expected to express love and devotion to those closest to you can't be all...
Thursday1st Oct 2009
News Classic Controller Pro Westward Bound!
Or so Koei think, anyway
Yes, Nintendo did have a few Classic Controller Pros in their E3 display cabinets, but without any firm release date or announcements of an intention to bring them to the West we just assumed they were on show to make us salivate even more over the lovely new pads. Even though the Big N's lips are still zipped, Koei recently...
Saturday29th Aug 2009
News Nintendo Download 01-02 September 2009 (Japan)
Another WiiWare holiday, but a few VC games and some DSiWare makes up for it.
After last month's WiiWare windfall it shouldn't be a surprise that Japan is taking a little break from the service. Don't feel too bad for them, because there's three VC titles to tide over Wii downloaders and a few DSiWare titles from Nintendo as well. Virtual...
Monday6th Apr 2009
Nintendo Download DSiWare, Equilibrio & Uncharted Waters (US)
A monster DSiWare update to kick off the new North American ‘Nintendo Download’. Worry not, Wiiware and VC fans are not completely forgotten this week either.
As you will see this week’s 'Nintendo Download' update is a bit of a beast as it includes all the DSiWare launch titles (which of course came out on Sunday!). For those thinking about...