Just as the title says.
Many players of Age of Empires II have long wondered why there are no full-length campaigns (usually 5–6 scenarios) focused solely on East Asian civilizations. (Let’s exclude the Three Kingdoms period for this discussion.)
Personally, I would really like to see a DLC that contains only long campaigns centered on East Asian civilizations.
However, from the developers’ perspective, the DLC must sell well, so there are obvious practical and commercial concerns.
That is why I would like to hear opinions from other players besides myself — whether you support or oppose such a DLC idea.
If such a DLC were ever released, I imagine the main protagonists could be the following historical figures:
Jurchens – Aguda (1068–1123), founder of the Jin dynasty
Campaign against the Khitans and China (the Song Empire).
Khitans – Yelü Dashi (1087–1143), founder of the Western Liao (Qara Khitai)
Campaign against China (Song Empire), the Jurchens, Turks (Seljuk Empire), and Tatars
(since Uyghurs are not available in the game, Tatars could be used as a substitute).
Japanese – Hōjō Tokimune (1251–1284), who repelled the Mongol invasions of Japan
Campaign against Mongols, Chinese (troops composed mainly of Chinese soldiers), and a Korean (Goryeo) allied force
(I avoided civil war campaigns because they are less interesting in gameplay).
Chinese – Zhu Yuanzhang (1328–1398), founder of the Ming dynasty after expelling the Mongols
Campaign against the Mongols and rival Chinese factions (civil war).
Koreans – Yi Sun-sin (1545–1598), who defeated the Japanese invasions of Korea
Campaign against the Jurchens (his earlier enemies before the Japanese invasions) and Japan.
So, what do you think?
Would you be interested in buying a DLC focused entirely on long campaigns for East Asian civilizations, or do you think it would not be commercially viable?
With the caveat that they split the Khitan and Tanguts. Also the DLC has to be reasonably priced (but it is harded to have everything these days).
That being said, I would replace Zhu Yuanzhang with Li Shimin, just because the scope of the conquest is a lot larger (from Goguryeo to the Gokturks), making for greater diversity in enemy factions.
He could be like Tamerlane or Cao Cao… Kushluk flees Mongolia with his father Jamukha, escaping Genghis Khan, who kills his father in 1204. When he arrives in Western Liao in 1208, he helps the Khitan emperor, defeating rebels in order to marry his daughter. A few years later, in 1210, he decides to overthrow his father-in-law and crown himself Khitan emperor, facing Genghis Khan several times until, in 1218, Genghis Khan defeats him one last time, forcing him to flee to the camp we see in the second mission of Genghis Khan: A Life of Revenge…
Here we would be the red player and our ally the green one, who would give us his base if Genghis Khan knocks us out the first time… this mission would be more of a survival mission (like in Constantine XI), but we couldn’t “win” it (we would only win if we survived for 1 hour) but anyway in the final cinematic they would catch us and kill us…
My definition of a “tyrant” is someone who leads their country to destruction.
For example, Timur was called the embodiment of evil by his enemies. However, as a conqueror, he defeated powers as far as India and the Ottoman Empire and became one of the greatest conquerors of his era. That makes him a very suitable figure for AOE2.
But Kushluk neither expanded his territory nor was he even Khitan. In fact, he led Western Liao to collapse. His rule was so oppressive that the people of Western Liao welcomed the Mongol army when it arrived.
So I meant that he fits better as a villain rather than as a main protagonist.
(Honestly, the founding story of Western Liao itself is amazing and feels like something straight out of a movie.)
That said, your idea is really good. I honestly never thought of it before.
Haha, Timur is exactly the kind of example I meant.
When I used the word “tyrant,” I wasn’t referring to conquering rulers who crush their enemies.
In Kushluk’s case,
he was not a conquering ruler,
he was not even Khitan, and
when the Mongols entered the capital of Western Liao, the local people welcomed them as liberators — which shows how little support Kushluk had from his own population.
Any AOE2 player would enjoy a story about a conquering ruler who defeats rival states.
But Kushluk is simply not that kind of figure.
He is more like a minor supporting character, not a main protagonist.
Well, it was an option, since we don’t have a campaign with a tyrant as the protagonist (Longshanks could have been, but he was considered a tyrant by the Scots, not the English),
OK, I understand your point. I just wanted to point out that Kushluk was regarded as a tyrant both by Western Liao itself and by its enemy, the Mongols.
In other words, he was not viewed positively by anyone.
By contrast, Cao Cao from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms is not considered a tyrant but one of the three main protagonists of the story.
Need unique reskin/architecture set for East Asian civilization, at least for Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. The price depends on the content. I don’t mind paying more for a good content. Something like Jurchens don’t speak Manchu language is really frustrated. You can have relevant info on Youtube or using AI for it. Same for Khitans.
Ah yes, the split of the KhiTangut peoples (Khitan + Tangut) and the relationship between the Khitan and the Jurchen are also important.
As far as I know, both groups still have surviving written languages.
In the case of the Jurchen, their language later became Manchu. Interestingly, there are books written in Manchu (I’m not sure whether they should be called dictionaries or linguistic records) preserved in Korea.
Because of this, in Korean historical films and dramas, the Jurchen characters actually speak Manchu.
The developers could use these materials as references.
However, as far as I know, the Khitan language itself (especially its spoken form) is extinct.
I might be mistaken, though, so if anyone knows more about this, please feel free to correct me.
