Prince of Qin

Role-playing games are a truly distinct genre. Few other genres offer so much liberty to the players to, well, role-play as their favorite characters in distinct worlds. Most RPGs come in two flavors: the Tolkienesque pastiche of a gritty medieval fantasy realm, and the Japanese-tinged cheery world of spiky haired protagonists, large swords and faux philosophical stories. Sure, there were the occasional deconstructionist titles such as Fallout and Earthbound, but what about an RPG based on unconventional premises such as, say, actual history? Developed by the Beijing-based Object Software and unexpectedly found its way worldwide thanks to Strategy First, Prince of Qin is one of the few RPGs to take on such a daring concept - and despite its flaws, became one of the most fascinating games I have ever played.

To understand Prince of Qin's story, you must understand the history behind the game's setting. The story is a half-fictional rendition of the short-lived Qin Dynasty (221-206 BCE) in ancient China. Following the mysterious and sudden death of Shi Huangdi (also known as the First Emperor) while on an inspection tour in a remote province, Li Si, the prime minister, conspired with the eunuch Zhao Gao to install Huhai, the emperor's second son instead of the Fusu, who was the rightful heir. For their opening move, Li and Zhao forged a false decree ordering Fusu to commit suicide. Historically, Fusu cut his own throat as soon as he received the false decree. That's when the fiction kicks in: what if Fusu saw through this elaborate conspiracy to slander him and escapes instead? After fleeing from Shangjun (where he historically committed suicide) and killing his pursuers, the ex-crown prince embarks on a journey to seek the truth behind this conspiracy by going on a nationwide odyssey across ancient China.

Along this journey you will encounter historical minorities and perceived barbarians in accordance to the Middle Kingdom's subjective accounts, paranoid and/or unscrupulous bureaucrats, enterprising warlords seeking to declare independence from the collapsing dynasty, bandits, imperial hit squads sent to assassinate you, architectural wonders of the ancient Chinese civilization, dramatization of historical figures appearing in the period (i.e. famous early Han generals like Qing Bu, Zhang Liang and Han Xin appearing as recruitable companions), applications of Taoist and Confucian philosophies, mythical creatures and various other cultural references totally alien for those not familiar with Chinese culture.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call Prince of Qin a Diablo clone. The game employs real-time combat and equipment system almost identical to Diablo II. There are six primary statistics in the game: Strength, Constitution, Dexterity, Wisdom, Savvy and Charisma. Strength dictates physical attack power and carry weight, Constitution determines HP and defense, Dexterity determines hit rate and dodge rate, Wisdom determines MP and elemental attack power, while Savvy determines how much experience you earn from defeating enemies. Charisma is not worth investing, as it only increases your trade proficiency and money is incredibly easy to acquire once you have decent crafting skill. There are five classes to choose from which you may encounter and recruit to your party along the way: Paladin, Muscleman, Assassin, Wizard and Witch. The Paladin is the jack of all trades and is also the protagonist Fusu's class, capable of performing a wide array of physical and ranged attacks. Musclemen boasts immense physical attack strength and can summon animals in combat, Assassins can open locked doors and chests and focuses on critical hit whoring, the Wizard is the party's healer while the Witch focuses on offensive magic. Each class has their own advantages. A well-balanced party should have all five of the above classes.

The flaws of Prince of Qin becomes visible in the second half of the game. The choice to pick difficulties at the beginning of the game is purely for show, as Prince of Qin barely poses any challenge at all once you've learned how to craft weapons and armor and abuse the Savvy stat to exponentially increase your character growth. Infinite random encounters allows you to grind for as much XP, crafting materials and items as you can. Since crafted equipment tend to be much more powerful than anything you can buy in stores, you can break the economy within less than three chapters and make yourself a falchion with the cheapest materials that dishes out more damage than most other swords in the game. Unique weapons are hardly worth the effort, because once you've maxed out your crafting skills and gathered the best materials, your handiwork easily outclasses the unique weapons in the game. Period. Add that to the flawed enemy AI and the versatility of the Paladin class (which is the main character's class), it's entirely possible to win the game with only Fusu.

Despite the problems mentioned above, compounded with poor voice acting, ridiculously black-and-white moralities and mangled translations that could pose a problem for those seeking to fully understand the idiosyncrasies and wonders of ancient China, Prince of Qin is a remarkable achievement in game design. The details on the explored themes are near-flawless, and historical references are accurate enough to keep the player interested in some oriental fantasy take on Chinese history. The dialogue and NPC interaction system is inspired by the 90s CRPGs, in which the main character can resort to various responses with various outcomes. Be kind and you will be rewarded. Act rudely and face the consequences. Interactive role-playing will also yield you unique dialogues, making the game very replayable.

Fusu is a figure of excellence depicted as a flawless protagonist in this idealized display of Chinese morals. The game even encourages good behavior, but I won't spoil the details. Strange as it may be, Prince of Qin is a remarkable adventure that must be played at least once for those looking for a unique role-playing experience.