Kessen II is a strategy game developed and published by Koei that is loosely based on the Three Kingdoms period of China. It is the sequel to Kessen in name only; both Kessen and the later sequel Kessen III are based on events in Japan. The gameplay involves playing out major battles as the storyline progresses, with cutscenes between each battle for the development of the events and major characters. Before battle, players are given a choice of strategies to take, although they can manually control all units in the battlefield. All units are controlled by the AI unless the player directly intervenes, and battles between forces are carried out in real-time. While in control of a unit, players are able to use special skills or magic spells to turn the tables, although enemy characters are also able to do so.