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Battle Realms (BR) is a classic fantasy real-time strategy PC game for Windows. It was the first video game developed by Liquid Entertainment and was co-published by Crave Entertainment and Ubisoft in November 2001.[citation needed]

Overview[]

The game took heavy inspiration from martial arts and oriental culture and mythology, mainly feudal Japan, and lets the player develop a village of peasants into a clan of highly specialized warriors such as samurais, werewolves, ninjas, and geishas who fights for their clan's supremacy.[citation needed]

Gameplay[]

Battle Realms gameplay is based on unit training, resource management, and enemy combat. There are four distinct factions to choose from: the Dragon Clan, Serpent Clan, Wolf Clan, and Lotus Clan.

Each clan has a different philosophy towards life and combat, with its advantages and disadvantages, and set of special abilities called Battle Gears. Players can also build up Yin and Yang points to call forth heroic Zen Masters and activate certain Clan Techniques.

Plot[]

The plot revolves around the conflict among the four clans taking place on a small plateau, a fictional southern tip of a small continent that becomes the Battle Realms Island.

History[]

Main article: History

The Serpent Clan ruled over an empire teeming with mighty clans, while others such as the Lotus and the Crane maneuvered for greater control. However, a dreadful evil arose from the shadows and overwhelmed them. The Serpent Clan's leader, Tarrant, accepted the fate of their empire and fled to the south with the remnants of their clan and their prized possession, the Dragon Orb.

They went till they arrived to the Southern Seas and reached the end of the land. Since the Horde couldn't cross flowing water, Tarrant invoked all of the orb's power to isolate the continent's southern tip from its remainder. He sacrificed his life and the orb to save his people; neither Tarrant nor the orb was ever seen again.

Two other factions, the Lotus and the Wolf, arrived at this safe haven. The Lotus Clan, twisted and corrupt, managed to travel to safety by unknown means. Whereas the Wolf Clan, whose matriarchal Druidesses foresaw the drowning of their lands by tidal wave, constructed large arks for their people, and became stranded on the newly formed island.

Campaign[]

Main article: Kenji's Journey

Kenji Oja, exiled heir to the Dragon throne, returns home and must decide whether to revive the great legacy of the noble but nearly forgotten Dragon Clan, or to simply follow in the footsteps of his corrupt predecessors by leading the insidious Serpent Clan. Regardless, Kenji will find himself up in arms against the Wolf Clan, the Lotus Clan, and perhaps even the horde his ancestors thought they have escaped from.

The campaign has a total of 36 scenarios, though the player has a limited selection and may only progress through 14 of them. This is based on choices of which regions to conquer. Also, these choices may unlock certain Zen Masters and either the monks or ninjas.

Development[]

During the development of Battle Realms™, a special edition of the game was available to the interested customers and was promoted by websites such as IGN. According to IGN, this edition came with extras such as:

  • exclusive multiplayer maps,
  • music from the Battle Realms™ soundtrack,
  • detailed clan descriptions,
  • a comprehensive history of the realm,
  • full set of concept arts, and
  • the Battle Realms™ promotional trailer.

The Collector's Edition Medal[]

Clear photo of the medal taken by GriffinPrime (2020)

GriffinPrime (as Bellamie, 2020) posted a clear picture of their medal on Battle Realms™ Reddit, inquiring about its origins.[1]

At some point, there were also a number of custom-made medals shipped along with the collector's edition. The medal shows the early Battle Realms logo which was meant to represent Yin and Yang symbol in its own unique style. It was around during the release of the game and could be seen all over the official sites and forums (the CD back cover also has it).

Medals - I don’t remember much, if at all about the medals.  They were  made as a marketing promotion and I think it was either a press  exclusive or you got it if you preordered the game through the Ubisoft  site.  It was so exclusive that no one at Liquid, not even me, got one. 
The logo on the medal was the official logo for BR, as I recall, the spikey Ying yang shield that was used later happened because the  artists couldn’t give me the original logo to my quality standards and  so had to create something new that they could execute.
— Ed Del Castillo (as cited in KoMiKoZa, 2020)[2]

Reception[]

BR Awards

Releases[]

An expansion campaign was released in November 2002, that was also re-released on GOG.com in 2012.[citation needed] The game was remastered and digitally relaunched on Steam (early access) in December 2019 with updated graphics, improved multiplayer experience, and multiple fixes for balancing issues.[citation needed]

References[]

External Links[]

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