Set squarely in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms (A.D. 220-280) world, the second Kessen focuses on the war between Liu Bei, founder of the Shu kingdom and Cao Cao, who leads the Wei empire. They're both on the game cover, along with the bewitching Diao Chan who is cast in the screenplay as Liu Bei's lover in this game. Scholars of the ROTK narrative may be offended by this relationship, which taints the ROTK tale, but they ain't seen nothin' yet. Similar to the first Kessen, armies of soldiers led by generals clash on battlefields to decide supremacy of one side over the other. Koei warps into a distorted fantasy version of "Romance" by introducing caricatures of generals who bear the names of historical figures but are empowered with elemental force. The great statesman and military strategist Zhuge Liang, for example, wields magical powers and uses them in campaigns against Cao Cao's forces. Liang was also known as "Hidden Dragon". The use of supernatural attacks tilt the tide of battle since legions of armies may be taken out by the summoning of a twister. Historical inaccuracies and hyperphysical manifestations aside, Kessen 2 reacts to a changing landscape by adding over the top visuals, massive "clear the field" attacks, and some semblance to a classic Chinese novel to spice up the tactical strategy genre.