The 3 ALL-TIME GREATEST Historical Total Wars Worth Playing In 2024

[@TheTerminatorGaming]

I know I didn't mention Empire or Napoleon but for a decent gunpowder game I really do recommend Fall of The Samurai over them. What are your favourite Historical Total Wars? Let me know in the comments below! and if you're looking to pick up any of the historical games or their DLCs make sure to check out my instant gaming affiliate link in the video description! Total War: Attila is up to 88% off!

[@DARKH0BBIT]

does your link work for the tyrants and kings edition aswell? I noticed after switching as the base is out of stock the url changes and removes your tag

[@Intranetusa]

I would argue Three Kingdoms Total War is also one of the best historical TW games due to the massive improvements it made to the campaign gameplay. Better campaign AI, much better diplomacy, interesting and useful spy network, a better family tree, interesting new units under retainers/generals system, etc. TW3K arguably has the best campaign gameplay of any TW game and "amost" resembles what Paradox games have to offer.

[@matthewmorter7803]

Europa Barbarorum and Stainless Steel are my favorite historical Total War titles! oh wait..

[@fungunsun1]

My five cents: Medieval 2 is amazing but Rome 1 was truly revolutionary for its time. Medieval 2 just felt like a slight upgrade of Rome 1. Also they removed my favourite function - watch cities. Shogun 2 I really dont know why everyone loves it so much. There are no cities, pretty much just castles, all cultures feel the same, siege battles are limited without equipment. Maybe if it had China and Korea as dlcs, and more depth, would be more fun. But I absolutely loved FoS for absolute carnage it delivers. I also love eras where technological leap really matters. Attila is great but optimization is so bad I cant put it in top 3. My GoATs: Rome 1 (undisputed goat for me imho, I still play remaster) Medieval 2 Rome 2 Honourable mention: FoS (very fun but not super realistic considering Meiji war was quite small compared to absolute bloodbath this game gives you. We need WW1 TW :)

[@Princeps2]

I actually booted up Medieval 2 after like ten years a few days ago and let me tell you, it's really rough. I mean, the controls, camera, unit movement, etc. I was really surprised. Needless to say, I have now conquered the whole of England for the glorious crown of France and I'm on my second crusade!

[@Pururin_Purin]

Yea its really rough playing Medieval 2 and then going to another title like Atilla realising how much better Medieval 2 is than all the other Total War titles.

[@eyeshield5]

Medieval 2 with mods is still one of the BEST TW games right now. Third Age DAC, Stainless steel SSHIP is so good.

[@ASlaveOfAllah157]

Should have played as Egypt their the best

[@herewegoagain1140]

Also in TW Medieval2 you can move your troops without generals !!!

[@Princeps2]

Shogun 2 as well. I really miss that feature.

[@Intranetusa]

They unfortunately got rid of that feature in order to prevent the AI from creating dozens of tiny 1-2 unit armies (which destroyed pathfinding and stretched AI turns into crazy timeframes). However, Three Kingdoms TW sort of created an alternative by allowing you to recruit captains to lead your armies when you don't have enough generals.

[@Cleeon]

But you still need someone called Commander, that because we recruit soldiers not using general, but using buildings, and then how about nomadic factions? I wonder 🤔 from where that Mongol armies coming😅

[@Cleeon]

Yes, but we still need someone called captain, because there we recruit soldiers not by using general, but using buildings, that's why I wonder🤔 from where the nomadic Mongol armies coming😅

[@loowick4074]

​@@Intranetusacaptains sound like a good middle ground. The AI does do stupid stuff in med 2 especially where sometimes it will just scatter it's forces for no reason

[@luigisaguier8336]

The "Atilla" submod for DEI in Rome 2 is all I wanted from Attila, same settings but running at 120 FPS rather than 30

[@alals6794]

Hey thanks man, I'll check it out.

[@zachthompson9976]

🤔 I somehow have never heard about this submod. How does it differ from Atilla TW, and do moat enjoy it over Atilla??

[@luigisaguier8336]

@@zachthompson9976 The battles are better than Attila, the campaign is not

[@zachthompson9976]

@@luigisaguier8336 I'll check it out. IF I ever get tired of replaying shogun 2 and FOTS that is 😊 Been years since I've played it. I'd forgotten just how good total war was/can be!

[@arkatdoo]

I would have to agree with you; Attila TW is my favorite as well, although I have never played vanilla TW. The mods always make the game better and Attila mods not only make the base game better, it expands to other historical periods and does a great job there as well.

[@stefanshterev2899]

Your videos are very enjoyable and often times informative. Keep it up!

[@TheTerminatorGaming]

Glad you like them!

[@Pontifexum]

Great video! I would personally argue Rome II over Attila, yes its launch was abysmal but since then it has improved tenfold and has so many great DLCs. It's always overlooked bc people associate it with the launch (which is understandable) but there's a reason why it's still one of the most played historical TW games daily by sheer player count today, in fact it's higher than these three in this video.

[@RomulusBattles]

You're right, but, subjectively, I see that more modern are making new mods mostly in Total War Attila. Rome 2 has also nice mods, overhauls and reskins, but unfortunately they are too old :(

[@modernrelic7092]

I really wanted to love Atilla but I just never could get over the dark and muddy graphics. Especially coming from the brighter look of M2. I tried several times to get into it but the battles made me want to tear my hair out trying to see what was actually going on. A big shadowy mess.

[@broncos1600]

@@modernrelic7092that’s how I feel about Rome 2

[@Cleeon]

I'm still playing Rome 2 almost everyday using dei mod, because I love to learn history and the challenge from dei mod and combined with updated Rome 2 intriguing in faction and family, feel very good as tw historical player

[@Cleeon]

​@@modernrelic7092yes, same with me, same problems 😰, I own Attila, downloaded ancient empires mod, but after playing Rome 2 with the beautiful immersion of cities, I just really feel depressed and bored with dark theme of Attila, maybe there some mod to make Attila graphics and vision become just like Rome 2 ?

[@GrandAdmThrawn]

Medieval 2 is not only the best historical Total War. It's the BEST Total War game.

[@PAINNN666]

Yes

[@happycompy]

All three are solid titles! Good video, Term!

[@adaw2d3222]

Three kingdoms is the best new TW I think because it took brave new steps to make it more interesting. I only played it in the mode where generals like in historical TW games. Of course it had problems but I think there's nothing that can't be fixed in a sequel if they follow the courageous course they took in the previous game.

[@zachthompson9976]

I desperately hope we get a sequel! Or that the impossible will happen and 3K FINALLY gets post launch support it deserves, just like rome 2 did. But given how things went with 3k and how quickly CA abandoned it I doubt we'll get either. And I bet CA won't be trying another big shake-up/ actual innovation any time soon 😢 Such a shame!! They made ALOT of fantastic changes with 3k, one of the biggest being diplomacy. 3k diplomacy is BY FAR the best in the series

[@danshakuimo]

Just got Total War Attila in the last sale and it's great. Was playing the Lakhmids and my "quick and easy" war to finish off the remnants of the Sassanids (who got bodied by the White Huns; I only turned on the Sassanids because I didn't want to be next on the Huns' chopping block) turned into a terrible war of attrition that led to countless and countless dead including important faction leaders, with almost every battle being a pyrrhic victory. Very different feel from Shogun 2 and trying to expand and hold onto your new cities can be a miserable slog, which is what makes the game good. I'm running on 8 gigs of RAM and it's ok if I don't zoom in too close, but I have a HDD and it can take a while for all the AI factions to take their turns.

[@Mysteryboy0007]

so atilla is better t hen shogun 2?

[@munen-muso]

I couldn't possibly AGREE more! I have the same order of personal favorites. TW Atilla is definitely the best game in the franchise for me too, and you listed all the right reasons for it to be at the top spot. Excellent video, thank you!

[@alals6794]

I started with the 2004 Rome Total War and have played almost all of the historical TW games.....none of the fantasy crap Creative Assembly shpped out though. Nothing wrong with Fantasy, one of my favorites is Lord of the Rings trilogy movies but fantasy in games just does not do it for me....

[@danshakuimo]

My dream is for CA to make a game that features the Zemene Mesafint (Age of Princes) period of Ethiopia, which is practically the equivalent of the Sengoku Jidai with the Emperor having only symbolic power while all the regional lords duked it out. And similarly, factions would be armed with both traditional bows, spears, swords, but also guns and artillery imported from abroad allowing for interesting tactics. From the modernizing Ras of Tigray with more modern arms and support of the church, to the Ras of Shewa in the south with (plausibly) access to the famed Oromo cavalry, to the historical winner, the bandit turned emperor Tewodros II, each faction can be made unique without making it too ahistorical. Especially since Ethiopia was and is a diverse country and many regions have their own ethnic groups that would lend to a diverse unit roster between the factions. And of course, the final boss will be the British invasion if you so choose to piss them off like Tewodros II did irl once he started going mad.

[@zachthompson9976]

A TW set in Africa would be pretty fucking dope!! I'd never even considered it before 😔 I know very little of the history but my understanding is that Africa has always been incredibly culturally diverse, making I perfect for TW

[@matteoshulze5761]

It would be awesome to see a Total War based on the renaissance or a Pike and Shot Era. I still hope one day for an Empire 2 or Medieval 3 but if total war doesn’t have plans for that I just hope they add Pike and Shot Era or Renaissance 🙏

[@RomulusBattles]

Love Total War Attila for its mods, the possibility to play in Ancient Empires, lead the Huns in Fireforged Empire and conquer Constantinople in 1212 AD 😎 Great video, TheTerminator 👍

[@alals6794]

Oh my god that is 400 years before the historical fall of the Eastern Roman Empire.

[@zachthompson9976]

​@@alals6794huh?

[@corocotta4037]

I sincerely think that it is the end of the historical ones. A WWI TW is very strongly rumored. We can forget about Empire 2, Medieval 3 or one of Pike and Shot

[@riverblack565]

you're probably right

[@bartoszswieczak4376]

To be honest I prefer that CA will not make Medieval 3 now. We all know how bad was Pharaoh. It will be better now, but still not great. Medieval 3 will be also bad or decent if made now.

[@riverblack565]

@@bartoszswieczak4376 honestly,from some time they,CA,destroyed the game,and I think you're right too,if they will make Medieval 3 now there are high chances to make it bad,they must change a lot,basically to start over for a proper new historical total war

[@OhhJim]

Part of what makes Medieval 2 and Shogun 2 (and Empire) so good is that it’s easy to figure out how to do what you want to do. The later games have so many screens and options and where was that thing I wanted among the dozen or so places?

[@waximan1376]

Master of strategy for shogun 2, and I actually do like empire 2. (Controversy aside)

[@zachthompson9976]

They need to bring back road construction, or something similar depending on time period, ie trains in FOTS, and dynamic campaign movement! I desperately miss when you could have an all cav army running circles around mixed armies! I'll never understand why they've removed so many great features like that over the years. Instead of progressing the series forward and innovating, adding more depth and refining it, with each game. CA is actually moving the opposite direction, removing depth from the series game by game 😔 THIS SERIES DESERVES BETTER. With alot of the older TW games you could just feel the passion and love the devs had for TW. There's no other series quite like it. If I was a believer, I would be praying that CA bounces back from the disastrous last few years and starts giving us games worthy of the title TOTAL WAR 🙏 🤞

[@GeoffreyMH]

I keep going back to Medieval 2 because it throws up some terrific battles just when it might get boring.

[@AnimeFan-dl4qd]

Nice, we have the same Top TW-Games. 9:00 definitly. Especially with mods, Attila is far superior in comparison to Rome II. I mean you cannot trade regions in Rome II or create vassals by giving up your own regions. I also did not see a mod for Rome II which increases the building slots. Ancient Empires is the only example, where I prefer divide et Empire for Rome II because divide et Empire is finished. In Ancient Empires, there are many unbalances and bugs - Generals are basically not killable; trade income is insanly strong and pike formation is op. 10:35 that is because Attila TW is not beginner friendly. The main campaign is very scripted with Attila. For veterans, its a great challenge, though. I feel like that CA should have updated Rome II in a way that it gets all the improvements of Attila TW - family tree, moral system, etc. The Attila campaign would be a great dlc campaign. Yes, the water battles arent great, but still better than in Rome II Land armies get seasick and therefore are pretty bad against navy soldiers on water. Archers are more important. I mean in Rome II, its just ramming the other ship - and that gets boring very quickly.

[@doogz5199]

playing medieval 2 and shogun 2 makes me hate creative assembly for becoming absolute garbage for a decade lol

[@Mike0193Azul]

Need sequels to all these😊

[@Intranetusa]

I would argue Three Kingdoms Total War is also one of the best historical TW games due to the massive improvements it made to the campaign gameplay. Better campaign AI, much better diplomacy, interesting and useful spy network, a better family tree, interesting retainers-generals system, etc. TW3K arguably has the best unmodded campaign gameplay of any TW game and "almost" resembles what Paradox games have to offer.

[@EL_BEANE_GUY]

It's in my top 3 but the fact there isn't top notch kill animations like in shogun 2 or Rome 2 bother the shit out of me and I wished the records mode was done better. Not all of us like our historical total war games to feel like a warhammer total war game with chamipons and heroes and stuff. Other than that I truly enjoyed 3 kingdoms especially the Menghue campaign

[@EL_BEANE_GUY]

It's also the only game in the tw series that has done diplomacy so well

[@Intranetusa]

​ @EL_BEANE_GUY Yeh, it felt like they forgot Records mode when the generals in Records mode didn't even have basic abilities from other games like rally troops to increase morale.

[@bryanm498]

​@@EL_BEANE_GUYJust a silly question but how do you have time to see the animations? Most times I play the "moderns" Total War if my army is not being flanqued I'm focused manouvering to destroy the enemy and after two minutes the battles ends. This happens in every difficulty with huge units. I am definitely not Sun Tzu, but the average battle time (not counting the marathon before the clash) in my playtroughts are 2 or 3 min repeating the same dumb strategy in every game; infantry, infantry and more infantry with two cannon fodder cavalry units to distract enemy range units while infantry is steamrolling everything in the map (not including sieges).

[@EL_BEANE_GUY]

It's more of an appreciation for the finer detail than a necessity, and seeing it get skipped over but seeing "heroes" have 50 plus animations was annoying in 3 kingdoms. Watching replays of great battles in the campaign is something I enjoy doing, so zooming in and seeing nothing but the waving of swords at eachother till a model falls over is boring and lazy

[@esteban4463]

Gran video, pero yo siempre recomendaré Rome 2 primero. No me parece tan anticuado y tiene mucha jugabilidad, pero siempre es muy subjetivo

[@mamadgolkar9893]

Playing Attila with many minor mods and it is a underrated Gem.Bran AI mods make Campaign and Battle awesome.

[@zachthompson9976]

I feel like 3kingdoms, even today, still has the potential to EASILY make this list. Hell just the diplomacy alone makes it one of the better TW in terms of campaign gameplay. Sadly we'll probably never see it reach that potential😢. CA did 3K SOOOO dirty!!! 😡 Just imagine what the game would be like today if it had gotten the same post launch support rome 2 got! Even without all that support i think 3K is BY FAR the better game. Despite the fact that im a roman empire nerd, so im heavily biased towards a roman ere TW

[@antalpoti]

A damn shame nothing noteworthy has been added to this list for years...

[@cerdic6586]

The divide et impera mod for Rome 2 is worth playing.

[@joseluisbellido8369]

For me it's Rome 2 with Divide et impera modpack, simple the BEST experience I have ever have in a total war Game

[@HomemdaFaina]

Precisely my 3 favorite historical ones as well. I spent more time with Rome than with M:TW2, but the latter is a better game, tbf.

[@verneymoyo5754]

DEI Rome 2 deserves to be on this list...completely different game

[@Cleeon]

Agreed

[@NewTeutonica]

Um, Mr. Terminator, uh you forgot to mention that Medieval 2 is the best Total War game ever made and the Teutonic Campaign is the best piece of content ever produced from it. Thank you.

[@AshtonWilson-gy8is]

Do you have to download the camera mod for each individual mod? Or does it affect them all if I download it once?

[@santawashere4877]

I think the city pathfinding is a bigger handicap for medieval 2 than the graphics. Still a great game though

[@Smaug2b]

Waiting for anno domini 1051 ad to test it

[@vanmarcos7713]

Rome2 TW holds a high place for me, mainly due to it being my first game of the TW series. I would probably put it in place of attila. I just didnt like the fast pace of battles in Attila, and compared to Attila i think Rome2 has a lot of various campaign choice.

[@eduardoanzolch6078]

Here is a Fairly Reproducible Scenario In M2TW, "The Mongol Invade! Let a Few Turn Pass the Golden Horde has Arived at us Borders,Settlement Besieged [Kiev].My Lord What Shall We Do?"

[@PetrTuma]

Rome, Medieval 2, Napoleon

[@zachthompson9976]

Wait a minute! Theres a 1212 mod for rome 2 as well???? How does it compare to atillas 1212?

[@Rebelsoldia]

Napoleon is so underrated smh

[@buinghiathuan4595]

I just can't play any game older than R2. Not because it graphic, gameplay,... The camera ( which have mod to fix) and the mainly, the control. How the boomer play TW without drag and drop is a mystery I do not have answer😂

[@Cleeon]

😂😂😂, but have you give it a try?

[@buinghiathuan4595]

@@Cleeon yes, before R2 I love S2. But I simply can't enjoy it after playing newer game. The constant annoying of moving unit forward suck all of the enjoyment out. Heck, I even like Med 2 on mobile, that one have drag and drop :v

[@nickabc1234]

attila mods are the goat

[@chrishigginbotham116]

I wish I could play Attila but it runs like asthmatic bulldog

[@alals6794]

haha.....You mean your machine or GPU is too slow for it?

[@chrishigginbotham116]

No not really just can’t stand the poor optimization

[@Maesterful]

Attila is such a great game but it's so badly optimized it's almost unplayable on most modern rigs including mine

[@alals6794]

I keep an old AMD GPU RADEON HD7850 2GB around and it plays great on that....

[@ErnestIsGaming]

All have the same crappy battle AI. CA did not invest in AI improvement since 2006, and Rome 2's AI director is a scam.

[@Commando_elite]

The only 3 I haven’t played haha

[@ptre21]

With these picks in mind, I'm assuming you only took as a mod's perspective because to not have rome or rome 2 on here is just a sin

[@TheTerminatorGaming]

Heya mate! Rome is good, but imo Medieval 2 is just better in every way mechanically, plus the expansion campaigns are far better. When it comes to Rome 2 I simply don't like the vanilla game anymore, compared to Attila it's bland and uninteresting. Lot's was done to redeem it but for me Attila is a better improved version. If I was speaking purely from a modded perspective Rome 2 trumps Attila actually, but I considered everything.

[@Mamba-xf6go]

Super early wtf

[@birSMuzmani]

where is Pharaoh? lol

[@EL_BEANE_GUY]

Rome 2 over attila any day of the week. 1. Rome 2 2. Shogun 2 3. Whatever you want Medieval 2 and OG rome are too old graphic wise and 1212 AD mod for rome 2 is just medieval 2 but better Shogun 2 and rome 2 are tied for first place imo Rome 2 DEI absolutely slaps btw

[@TimmacTR]

Attila?????

[@sureucan9366]

U said something in showgun 2 wasn't as good when compared to three kingdoms....there is nothing in showgun 2 that's NOT better than 3 kingdoms.

[@doogz5199]

3 kingdoms and a mobile game tier at best lol

[@kryzzan7039]

I personally think that 3 Kingdoms had the best diplomacy system out of any total war.

[@novakaizr]

Better diplomacy, characters with unique looks and personalities, better spy and sabotage system, unique faction mechanics. Shogun 2 is a great game and there are a lot of things it does better than 3k (for instance 3k's unit and army system is just bizarre), but it is not perfect.

[@EL_BEANE_GUY]

​@@kryzzan7039I completely agree

[@zachthompson9976]

Diplomacy in 3K is FAR BETTER than it is in any other game in the series, its not even close. I've played all but shogun 1 and Pharoah

[@Batman_the_bad_man]

The UI in Attila was extremely confusing and ugly imo

[@hanswurst-gp7pi]

Great that we're getting both Star Wars: Total War and Wh40k: Total War! 😃