Rome Total War Retrospective

Rome Total War isn't just a great strategy game, to many, it IS the game that defines the entire Total War series, every game in that franchise can thank its success to Rome Total War.
Timestamps, click to skip ahead!
Introduction 0:00
History 1:29
TOTAL WAR 5:19
Gameplay 9:12
Campaign 11:19
Real-time battles 21:49
Age 26:44
Soundtrack 28:57
Expansions 30:36
Mods 33:49
Multiplayer 35:44
Conclusion 36:53
Credits 38:40
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/ jwlar
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• Retrospectives
Rome Total War isn't just a great strategy game, to many, it IS the game that defines the entire Total War series, every game in that franchise can thank its success to Rome Total War.
92 on Meta-critic, the highest the series has ever reached, and may ever reach.
It blew the strategy game niche wide open, amounting millions of sales and embedding Creative Assembly as one of the great strategy game developers.
Even television shows used its groundbreaking battle engine to showcase historical warfare.
A game that after 17 years, still stands the test of time... or does it?
Winning multiple awards, and to this day still placed within the Top 10 PC game lists the world over.
This could all just nostalgia talking, but after 14 years, this game still has a dedicated fan base, regularly placing in the top 5 most played Total War games on Steam.
Thousands of people don't just stick around for a bad game.
So, has Rome Total War stood the test of time, or is it a shadow of its former self, destined to be overtaken by its successors, much like it Empire itself.
Rome Total War - 17 Years Later
#rome #totalwar #jwlar

[@Jwlar]

Thanks for watching! Let me know what you thought :)

[@maladjustedlabel260]

did you ever play medieval 2? i always thought that was the more upgraded version of rome

[@DanMcLeodNeptuneUK]

On making your own story.... yes! I think the phrase 'emergent gameplay' is what we're looking for! Dodgy heirs, important generals dying young, plagues, rebellions civil wars.... so many possibilities

[@tofusoybearleftyhugmonster2273]

😊😊😊😊😊

[@tofusoybearleftyhugmonster2273]

😊😊😊

[@tofusoybearleftyhugmonster2273]

​@@DanMcLeodNeptuneUK 😊😊😊😊

[@osaasd8018]

Wow, I sat through the whole video and only by the end did I see it didnt even have a 1000 views and that you didnt have tens or hundred thousands of subscribers. You make very well made and insightful content, keep going and you will make it! You just gained another sub!

[@Jwlar]

Thank you :)

[@williamsteele6832]

Exactly how I felt. I love watching lengthy “breakdowns” but most of the time they just seem to repeat themselves. This seems so refreshing because my attention is earned instead of expected. Earned another Sub from me, can’t wait to binge, and see what else you make in the future!

[@Thelos90]

I swear, each time i hear the opening cinematic music i get shivers... thats my most replayed game ever. I cant even remember how many times i played again and again the main campaigne. (especially the challenge runs, "play as the slaves faction", if you know you know)

[@sgtboom7]

So a small anecdote here. I remember when I was about 8 years old and saw Decisive Battles and told my mom I wanted the game they were using because the intro said "using new video game technology" She said: "It's not a game it's just something they made." I believed her, I didn't know any better and in her defense, how was she to know it was an actual game since they never named dropped it? Fast forward several years later and I start playing Rome Total War and at some point, I realized "Holy shit, this was the game from that tv show!" Idk why i felt the need to share that, but seeing that intro to Decisive Battles reignited that memory. Rome Total War is by far my favorite of the Total War games and the classical period is also my favorite point of history. Not only because it is a fun game, but also that memory of me being 8 years old wanting this random game I thought I would never get because it didn't exist and then randomly finding it and playing it.

[@SkyFly19853]

I really enjoy listening to this video... Original Rome Total War 1 is such an unique game...

[@rogerlynch5279]

Event though TW MEDIEVAL 2 was almost as good but I regretted that they took out tho choose the following Leaders as in ROME. AFTER ALL even in Medieval DAYS KINGS were voted, by a collegium. A KING HAD TO PROOF TO THEM THAT HE HAD BEEN JUST. In the German Empire based on the OATH OF VERDUN for example.

[@SkyFly19853]

@@rogerlynch5279 There is a difference between monarchy and absolute monarchy. Just like you mention, some kings relied on the good will of the elite.

[@Casavo]

Rome:TW was mind blowing to me in the day. My first entry into the series was Medievals gold edition i got randomly at walmart in a 5 dollar bin and it had a promo video for rome in the options menu that i didnt watch until after playing it. Rome is easily the first game i ever crossed the 1000 hour mark.

[@EliTheGleason]

Found your channel through the opus that is the Daggerfall retrospective, so psyched to see the rest of your stuff

[@AngelCanseco1]

14:00 man there are so many damn good general speeches lmao

[@jakeralph2011]

One of my favourite games of all time. This is a great review 👏

[@milkapeismilky5464]

Time Commanders.... So nostalgic! Reminds me of summers with my nan, loved that show!

[@johantolli372]

A great video! I have hundreds of hours in this game over the last 15 years. Even now its still installed on my pc despite not having played for a while.. Something about it has always brought me back eventually and i think you summed it up well. The sense of filling in the map has a childish satisfaction about it on a larger time scale, while the individual turns give more room for strategy and decision making. I have only once taken every settlement but that time i was driven almost completely by this completionist sense of filling the whole map red with Julii. Glad i found this retrospective. Well done!

[@fabriziooyanadergallardo6333]

You always amaze me with the impecable quality of your videos. It's outstanding!

[@Jwlar]

Wow, thank you!

[@SimplyJustRed]

Awesome take at the long format, and it gained you a sub, dear Jwlar. Also, Europa Barbarorum anyone?

[@heberrodriguez3310]

In my case, i am more of a Roma Surrectum II enjoyer.

[@maximvsdread1610]

You can change how many cores the games uses in your task manager by changing the affinity in the details tab. My game runs like a Champion. The same with ME2.

[@isaiaslechuga628]

For me it will be the best total war forever, despite its flaws, great video

[@paulwalker4044]

Awesome watch, this is one of your best ones so far mate

[@Jwlar]

Thanks man. glad you think so!

[@svon1]

a roman century has 80 men six of them are a cohort ....this is why you can select the correct unit size in the settings..... the storming settlement thing at 26:00 is a good representation why this size was chosen historically

[@J-Ton]

Very great video. I think I'm in the minority by preferring the original UI over the remaster's.

[@Jwlar]

I actially agree, while it's outdated, the remaster isn't better, just different. They could've made it batter, but missed the mark in my opinion. Too mobile gamey.

[@041mikey]

Most people dont like the new ui from what i gather, i really wish they kept the same ui but made it much sharper and high res

[@jacob_swaggerz]

Great review. Looking forward to more content! Subbed.

[@MarkusPresson]

Amazing quality! I'm surprised your channel hasn't blown up yet.

[@Jwlar]

Thank you!

[@mortenera2294]

This aged poorly lmao

[@MarkusPresson]

I'm glad it did, the daggerfall series was amazing to watch

[@hamlock3]

Great content and length !

[@j_smith92]

An amazing review from a very underrated channel. Wish you fast growth. On another note, this was my first Total War game, and is still one of the best in my opinion. Shame future installments got "streamlined", i.e stripped of features and turned into a numbers game against a cheating AI

[@DiabolicalNihilist]

Criminal view and subscriber count for how good the content is. Here from your Daggerfall video and seen you did a video on Rome Total War and knew it would be great. Keep it up mate.

[@gm2407]

I heard that Alexander was a fan made mod that was purchased by CA and then sold as an official expansion. Hence the lower quality map and only one faction.

[@gm2407]

So the way my friend explained RTW: Alexander to me was that it was a fan made custom campaign that CA bought, packaged and re-sold as an expansion. So the most they did was disk and .exe it. I don't know how true that is, but it would explain the quality drop on things like the map.

[@chrisrobertson7664]

I remember loving Time Commanders with my Dad when I was a teenager growing up in Southwater, West Sussex. Blew my mind that the game was developed next door to the Londis I used to get my sweets from and I'm sure the devs bought their lunch.

[@stonecoat_art]

the game has soul

[@Lornext]

The music of Rome Total War defines a whole historical era of mankind.

[@Jwlar]

Best soundtrack in the series, tied with M2TW

[@Fingkregh]

I love this game so much dude even though I prefer medieval 1. That feeling of just getting out of the shower on a day off from school and playing as the Scipii will always stay with me.

[@HDBattlefieldVideos]

Great video once again!

[@Jwlar]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@josedeleon5173]

Loved this video

[@skysamurai4649]

I like Rome: TW UI. It is very intuitive and stylish unlike modern TWs

[@dancomics5]

Great video!

[@jadedemperor2820]

Honestly speaking from history roman soldiers wore a variety of colors total war isn’t known for its historical accuracy but it’s a cool aspect of the game even if it wasn’t intentional

[@Jwlar]

Yep, historically it isn’t accurate, but it really helps to manage the battles and give a cohesive “brand” to each faction from a gameplay standpoint.

[@rogerlynch5279]

TOTAL WAR: SHOGUN - a nostalgic classic to me, loved it. In a way the original, uncut one with it´s still mature cut scenes had been much better than SHOGUN 2.

[@anonymousanonymity2815]

Soundtrack: melee cafe. That is all

[@b3r3nd]

I watched your video on daggerfall before this and I must say that I am surprised you don't have more subs and views..

[@rsmith4339]

I didn't pick up RTW right away , because I thought " Just what the world needs , a babies first Grand Strategy with RTS " . After a year or so of magazines raving ( this was when had magazines , and actualy kinda trusted them ) , I picked it up . Boy , was I wrong . It's synergy was the creation of a whole new genre , and the high point of the series . Sadly the story since this release has been one of streamlining . Some that I feel you missed , and really hinder it's successors include a switch from battle maps of the underlying world terrain to limited samey maps , The limit to building slots per city making building gamey , and a strange pendulum between removing faction asymmetry , and factions being too gimmicky .

[@Ghostcharm]

oh hell yes man!!!

[@TheMylittletony]

If you want to give Rome 1 a second go, try mods like the Diadochi.

[@darkushippotoxotai9536]

I'm gonna give diadochi a try. Try out Europa Barbarorum, End of Days 2 : Lycan Rising, Invasio Barbarorum, FRRE series, Hegemonia and others if you haven't

[@GreedPainLove]

Diplomacy in both total war games is basicly just about scamming the AI for money

[@LJW1912]

Just going to throw it out there, the physical version of Rome Total War is very cheap and very available

[@tahahadada1936]

Still the game feels ancient,it feels like a windows 95 game . Rome 2 which I might buy in the years to come if no other historical titles that are not complete flops.

[@jakeand9020]

Medieval 2 is better in every way. With mods like EB you can get the full "Rome" experience enhanced. Edit: Except the removal of the ability to select the heir. Stupid decision, but everything else is improved. The lack of mod ability makes later games inferior since the AI has not progressed enough to offset that. Graphics are good enough for modern players, and there's literally a mod for any world/setting you might want to play.

[@hurryhussar]

You mean EB2? Generally I enjoyed it, but the pikes there are utterly unusable. Much prefer EB for RTW

[@jakeand9020]

@@hurryhussar Fair enough, MTW2 did kind of break phalanx.

[@1YCARADOFACAO]

Though i do like Medieval 2 better, I must say that Rome walked so Medieval 2 could run.

[@Holacalaca]

Not even Medieval 2 is as fun as this game

[@johnirby8847]

Best game they've made

[@rogerlynch5279]

A RINE and FITTING REVUE! AND : You are right: The intelligent way of simplifications is what makes ROME and most of the otheer TOTAL WAR games so playable. If someone likes novels to this topic I recommand SIMON SCARROW: : BROTHERS OF THE EAGLE series, and ROSEMARY SUTTCLIFF: THE AQUILLA ( = LATIN FOR EAGLE ) series about the ROMANS in BRITANNIA series Both exellent and very well in detail Problems from the SIMPLFICATION. Here games like SID MEIER´S GETTYSBURG are better because they are giong much more in detail and work up the historical discussions about the different wways a certain event or leading officer might had changed the outcome

[@LiveSilence3]

I remember Time comanders Yes it Was marketing For rome Tw

[@palacehaunter5442]

What about Alemanni?

[@TallTapper]

i like cars they're cute

[@MaxPainMSF]

HEARD

[@simbadas1234]

the constant sub reminders are annoying, and make me reluctant to watch that 4h daggerfall vid, since i don't want to deal with 34 popups.

[@rvbxn04]

medieval 2 better

[@Jwlar]

True