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The top ten games about China (that aren’t from China)
British-made games like Total War: Three Kingdoms and Tomb Raider II show how the best games about China don't always come from the country
Reading Time:6 minutes
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From Chun-Li’s stage in Street Fighter II to Lijiang Towers in Overwatch, China has long been a popular background for games.
But neither of those games are actually from China. The country has hundreds of millions of players and some of the world’s biggest gaming companies, but still some of the best games about China come from developers in the rest of the world.
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“Every time I see foreigners take our Three Kingdoms history and turn it into something so marvelous, I feel so envious,” one Chinese gamer complained.
Sorry, random Chinese gamer: We’re going to make you even more envious, because here are ten great games set in China that weren’t made in China.
TOTAL WAR: THREE KINGDOMS 🇬🇧
Let’s start with the whole reason this list exists. Total War: Three Kingdoms is a huge hit, even in China. But gamers there are asking: Why can’t our developers make a game like this?
In hindsight, the Total War series -- with previous entries involving the Roman Empire, Napoleon and feudal Japan -- is a perfect fit for the many conflicts of China’s Three Kingdoms period, which spawned an epic story that has drawn comparisons with Game of Thrones. But it seems that’s not enough, according to one industry figure.
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“I have pitched games set in China many times to Chinese colleagues, and they almost unanimously voice disinterest,” said Charlie Moseley, founder of Chengdu Gaming Federation.
SHENMUE II 🇯🇵
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