Of course its worth it

I had my most memorable battle in all of my total war years in Napoleon: TW. I was fighting Austria and was in a bad predicament. They had twice my number, my army was depleted from previous fights, and not only did I have to win this battle, I had to preserve my numbers to fight another battle coming up, (I think I needed to take Vienna to capitulate Austria). They two things I had going for my was that my army was very experienced and it was commanded by Napoleon himself. The Austrians formed in a big, long line that would have overwhelmed me if I fought a straight fight. I couldn't devote enough strength on a flank to roll the line without my other flank collapsing first. There was a gap right dead center of the Austrian line where a couple of buildings split their line. I knew their wings would take time to close in on me and my cavalry could slow them down further. So I formed two infantry columns and charged them right into the gap before the Austrians could really form a defense. I formed two hasty lines back to back, fired a volley, and charged down both sides. Because the line was so spread out, the local Austrian units suffered morale shocks and the center broke. I had to keep the momentum up because if the Austrians were able to considerate their force anywhere, my losses would be to great and the campaign would have to be abandoned even if I pulled off a win. So charge I did as the Austrians came in unit by unit. my cavalry darted back and forth, delaying reinforcements, performing hammer and anvil strikes and eliminating artillery. I got the win and, more importantly, did it with few enough casualties to continue my push. I know some will say poor AI or whatever, and maybe they're right, but it made me feel like I pulled off something Napoleon himself would have approved of.

I always wanted Empire Total War to be redone using Napoleons engine, given that Napoleon came out after a year from Empire it shows just how different Empire would of been if it wasn’t using its buggy mess of a engine.

Napoleon is still my favourite TW because the atmosphere, gameplay, and music stand the test of time and the multiplayer is still alive.

If they'd make Napoleon TW now, Napoleon would be a single Unit wielding two blunder busses being near immortal.

Empire 2 for the next historical total war! Copium

what I love the most in Napoleon is morale, units flee at a faster rate than in any other total war, even on the higher difficulties. It just feels much more real to have units flee when they lost 10 men rather than 100

Imagine mechanics like these except in a fully polished 30 Years War Total War. That transitionary period with gunpowder vs pikes and heavily armored cavalry vs nonarmored cavalry would be fantastic!

Napoleon with Empire’s map would be insane!

One of the most challenging TW’s battle wise. Units break and get exhausted much easier than in other games. Very great title that got better with age I think. Also Darth mod makes it epic

I still remember how much of an improvement it felt moving up from Empire Total War to Napoleon Total War. The performance was buttery smooth and the campaign, while smaller, was much more dynamic and deeper than ETW.

12:18 well in fact when you start a city battle, you don't actually fight in the city you attacked or were attacked. I always thought indeed it was too small to represent the actual city, but then I realized that you can see the real city far behind the battle field if you take a good close-up. You are indeed fighting in a village near the capital ... But anyway I always wished too that it could be possible to have a real battle in a big city.

I would love for CA to come back to this time period. There was something special about this era of historical games from CA. They were pushing what they could do, and while they sometimes stumbled, with Napoleon, they made something amazing.

And the biggest reason why Napoleon is the best Total War game: The multiplayer. A decade later and the multiplayer is still very much alive. The battles are larger scale (or at least feel it) than any other game in the franchise. The dominance of line infantry means that the battles tend to be more strategic (as most army compositions tend to be quite similar, reducing the chance that someone has a disadvantage based on which units they selected at the start). Most nations, perhaps the only exception being the Ottomans, have fairly similar and balanced units and as such there is no superior 'faction' to choose from (like in other Total War games, such as choosing Rome in said game). There seems to be the perfect balance and weight to the battles. No other game in the franchise, that I have played (I have all of the historic titles) comes close to Napoleon with regards to multiplayer battles.

And the historical battles... Austerlitz, Borodino, Waterloo... Magnificent

Napoleon holds a special place in my heart because it's one of the most amazing games to date with a very lacklustre campaign. The battles, and story missions are well written and focused. But I've had so many memories playing Napoleon in single player and campaign. I'd def say that for sure. Why they put the end date of 1812 I didn't like. Should have been till 1820.

You nailed it. I prefer Empire only because of the scope. Every other aspect is better in Napoleon.

Empire Total War COULD have been so much better, we found ALL the cut content, check out my analysis here! kzfaq.info/get/bejne/pqhmjaeer7eVmYU.html

Make sure to check out my 2021 review of the MASSIVE strategy game Europa Universalis 4! kzfaq.info/get/bejne/aL1ynMuiqaqmd5s.html

To me, what always set Napoleon apart from Empire were the battle maps. In Empire they were in one of two categories: bland or janky. They were either flat or slightly terrained fields with patches of forest, or the surface of the Moon in terms of elevation with the only to discover whether you could put troops on them would be to try and order them to form up on a hill, only to have them form a pentagram across the map and refuse to move. In Napoleon, all the maps felt real, not only with the geography, but the little touches like roads, bridges, small buildings, towns, fences and fields etc. You felt like you were fighting within a developed nation rather than the middle of nowhere.

Napoleon is looked at as being a much more polished and focused version of Empire. Empire has aged very poorly, while Napoleon is generally fine even 10 years later. I really liked the Peninsular (English) Campaign. I believe it's a DLC, but it was well done. Empire was simply too ambitious. It had a massive map to conquer, but AI was terrible, sieges were agonizingly bad, and the game was unstable. Napoleon is superior simply because it fixes most of these issues. A big, bad game is worse than a small, good game. Mods definitely helped Empire to they point they are necessary, while Napoleon can stand on its own.

"Empire +, but also Empire - at the same time", that sums it up perfectly. The battles are much better than Empire, and it's still fun to play a decade + later, but the limited map is a negative.

Napoleon total war 3 is an amazing mod with a huge online community. One of the best mods i’ve ever played. Makes this game feel so much more realistic. Cav is useful for once because not all inf can form square, nor are all their guns incredibly accurate or fast firing. It genuinely feels so realistic.

Make sure to watch my 2022 REVIEW of SHOGUN 2 right here: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/npaeZ7OQs6zPg40.html

Interested in my take on one of the biggest RTS games of 2022? Check it out here: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/hp93ZNyZqs-caac.html

Andy, you nailed it Matey. This is still my favourite TW title right alongside Rome II. The thing that disappoints me the most though, is the lack of Steam Workshop for it. Imagine what could be achieved with those wonderful modders doing what they do best.

Mods add a lot of life to this game too. When I learned you could change government type in Napoleon, I played as Prussia with Darth Mod and turned into a republic. To make sure this would happen, I deleted every army before the revolt took place, so I would have no competition. 5 turns after changing, every single major power declared war on me (and many minor ones too). I spent the entire campaign fighting on all sides to not die. Having multiple turns fighting French, Austrian, then Russian armies one after another is one of my most memorable experiences in total war.

A remake would be truly incredible. Just update graphics and effects and work in the camera angles, hot keys, player markers etc from Rome 2. We would have a stellar game.

I’d like to mention one massive issue with the game- 1st is that cav took a backseat. in empire, the fire by rank mechanic made it so you really had to time your cav charges, but men in NTW tend to fire almost like they have breech loaders/bolt action rifles. This is especially felt in MP. as a side note, NTW mainly got rid of fire by rank as a means to make the game run smoother instead of actually making it work. As such other mechanics had to change as well, so artillery became more accurate/deadly and way more important, but also required less skill to ysr and iirc there is no artillery ammunition limit in NTW compared to ETW.

It’s still one of my favorite openings to a game! When napoleon is looking at you telling you partly about his campaigns and the music behind it is awesome!

Napoleon was my first Total War game I got into. It's a masterpiece and a classic.

Still playing Napoleon Total War in 2021? Now that's soldiering!

11:30 "Animations are fantastic" Horse bugs out and sends rider flying XD

Im still playing it to this day! Darth Mod really breathed new life into it for me, with the flutes and the extra battlefield smoke it takes it to another level!

Darthmod really fixes the musket sounds in this game, makes the game feel amazing.

i wish there was a game that mixes the level of military customization and grand scale tactics like in HOI4, but also the ability to command smaller units of troops on an individual battlefield like in Napoleon.

For me that's the best Total war Games Still play it and have more than 1k hours on it! Not only because I love the Napoleonic Era, but it also has a special place in my heart. I always play with Darth mod and 40 units to get the better realistic armies possible! The massive cavalry charges are amazing! Thanks for doing an honest review on it! Liked and subbed!

I would highly appreciate it if you'd consider supporting me on Patreon: www.patreon.com/andystake

My biggest issue with the newer Total War games, and why I'll always prefer the older installments, really comes down to the immersion. I LOVE how you can see your units fighting with fixed bayonets with awesome animations that look good to this day, and it is one of my biggest icks with games like Total War Warhammer or Three Kingdoms. It just feels so weird to see your units hitting air, and it the models also look somehow... arcadey? Like a mobile game? It's hard to explain, but compare Three Kingdoms to Shogun 2 and I honestly think that Shogun 2's units look WAY better despite the units for factions also being pretty uniform. It's really weird, and it's a somewhat minor thing I suppose, but it really has ruined the modern Total War games for me (that and the mythological stuff. I like TW Warhammer, but I wish they'd keep that over-the-top stuff to the Warhammer games. It just comes of as looking really cheap in Three Kingdoms). Really hope they add battle animations in the next games, because the game is gonna look and feel really weird if it's set in either the age of gunpowder or the middle ages and it doesn't have close combat animations and believeable looking units IMO.

Another great video!! Got me to open up steam and redownload Napoleon Total War for the first time since 2015! Great Work!

Loved playing this game. I remember editing the files so I could change the flags of nations on the battle field. Creating my own nation with its own unique flag and seeing it wave on the battle field was awesome

In Empire I hated how inefective was the cavalry charge. It was useful only in eliminating enemy artilery or aganist the ottomans. It was so annoying especially if you play as Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth an to unlock winded hussars you have to have best military building's !!! That's so historically inaccurate... But in Napoleon Polish Guard Lancers are the best cavalry unit in the game and I love that

Great video ! One mistake though. Corsica had become recently french (in may 1769) when Napoleon was born (in August 1769). So he is in fact born French and on french soil, even though he had a strong italian accent that other pupils mocked when he went to the military highschool of Autun.

The intro will always give me chills

I do miss naval battles back then... still cool to watch 10 years later

One of all time favourite TW’s. I love the smaller, more focused campaigns… not the behemot campaigns that is TWW.

that intro was truly amazing

Respect for putting effort into this game a decade later. Havent played it in a long time but that closing scene got me goose bumbs. Great work!

The immediate state of war and smaller focus with the map makes for a much tighter game then Empire, where there could be long stretches of absolutely nothing happening. Unfortunately it still uses the godawful Warscape engine CA insists on using to this day, with all of the problems Empire introduced, but it's much more stable than that game at least and as you point out in the video, there was more work done to polish things. The additional custom units available through DLC were also quite a nice addition. It remains my favourite Total War game to this date and while I'd love a sequel to it or Empire, I'm not touching Total War again until they move on from Warscape and give us something with collision detection.

I agree with some of this, Empire had the grand scope but was a mess. Napoleon fixed the mess and became what Empire really should have been but Napoleon's Campaign map is just too small and you don't get the overseas Colonial Fill that is in Empire. (IMO, even Empire should have probably included some of East Asia and South America down to Brazil).

honestly napoleon is the third best total war game imo, after warhammer and rome 2 (with DEI) edit: shipbattles are probably the best in napoleon in the whole series besides fall of the samurai. Empire was great as well but the problem was too many multiplayer issues, (desynch etc) as I exclusively play head 2 head campaigns!

Finally someone on YT that likes ETW as much as me, now you kinda sold me on NTW especially now we have the new WW1 mod version 6 that just came out. Agreed, we need a remastered Empire:Total War.

I got a Napoleon steam key a few weeks back. While the lack of a grand campaign is very disappointing, the battles are some of the most satisfying in all TW games. I don't think I've had a battle yet where I felt the AI was broken or unfair. Visuals are sharp and Battle/campaign mechanics seem to work as intended for once in a TW game, usually it's one or the other. Not to mention it's well optimized, at least compared to Attila. If you want the peak experience for musket combat, this is it. Shogun 2: Fall of the Samurai is great also for this reason and maybe a better value due to the shortness of the campaigns in Napoleon. Which brings me to my main gripe, the replay-ability of this title is limited at best. Which is why I would say get this game if you own most other TW's and want a very refined European centric gunpowder game. Otherwise probably get Fall of the Samurai for the freedom it gives in the grand campaign and it's increased replay-ability because of it. If you want a classic ancient era TW go for Attila, it's the most modern and well rounded experience. I hated Attila at first but now I love it, the difficulty and added mechanics like the expanded political system really keep it interesting long term. Edit: P.S This game also made me more interested in the time period and, I'm very grateful for that. I'd recommend you do the same, Napoleon is a very interesting person.

Napoleon is not the inferior of the gunpowder TW:s. It is in every way better than Empire and pretty much all players and reviewers agree. CA could actually continue with this by making a Simon Bolivar themed TA game about the south american wars of independence. Same period but this would really be a game where terrain and diplomacy really matters. Terrain modifiers have always been something that TA-games would need to use more.

I just bought it a couple weeks ago! Im doing the Egyptian campaign and I finished the Italian one, I’m enjoying my experience so far :)

That intro gives me shivers. I love it

I knew it lol. Damn you put that together fast ;) good job!

Napoleon Total war has my favorite multiplayer total war experience. NTW3(when it doesn't crash) is *chef's kiss

This game has been sitting untouched on my Steam list for over 10 years. I think its time to dive in. Amazing video.

I only can play Napoleon Total War with darthmod, anyway else feels wrong and not historical, great video!

I remember an epic battle with france against the ottomans (i think) with me cornered in the desert deciding to cross a river and ambush them after losing the first skirmish I had a few troops hiding in an oasis and while i attack from the front they destroyed the enemy flank and i forced the other guy to surrender

This was a fun video to watch. Thanks for making it. It put into words what I’ve tried to (unsuccessfully) describe to friends for years.

Napoleon, and the DLC for the peninsula war are the only total war i play now. It is definately the best in my view.

*That intro would have been magnifique if Napoleon spoke French and it was subtitled.*

Still holding out hope that they do Empire 2 with everything they have learned from napoleon and modern titles. No one does musket battles like these two titles did

Napoleon is my second favourite Total War. It deserves way more attention than it Gets.

I remember a NTW campaign in which I played the British. My first move was to make enough line infantry for a typical full stack army, and then dropped them at the coast of France the next round. I fought like 6 battles before I could move, bleeding the french military so hard, General Falkenhayn would have teared up; But the damage contained the French in their area, as I then blocked the bridges to the west. Then I tried to get around the today's Netherlands and got intercepted by 3 stacks of the usual minor nation BS armies. I ended up with 3 units with less than 100 men and 2 immovable canons to route the last attacker and it was the most insane RTS hour in my life. It is good.

I really want to play ETW with NTW mechanics such as liberate faction, weather effects, better graphics etc. Pity CA didnt apply it with DEFINITIVE EDITIONS

If they had given us the World Map of "Empire Total War" I would love this Game... seriously the extremely tiny Campaign Map is my main Issue here

ive been waiting for an actual review of this game for such a while, thank you.

Got it downloading right now. Been years since I played it. Still love these old style games.

One the best games of all time period.

Napoleon is great "DLC" For Empire. I really enjoyed this game and the intro gives me goosebumps

The gun powder games were my favorite. Land battles were amazing to watch as infantry lines were drawn up while artillery was exploding all around you. The sea battles were just as amazing to behold and play. If they ever revisit gun powder era, I hope a world map in the Victorian era would be amazing.

3:49 The attention to detail, to immersion is that the heat of the desert distorts the background landscape

I think the general opinion was that Napoleon is so much better than Empire. Empire is a perfect example of a game that's too big for its own good. It was filled with silly stuff and mecanics. Napoleon feels much more polished and enjoyable.

Ntw 3 makes this game amazing . If you want bigger battles and more realistic gameplay then its great.

You gotta play with the Europe in Conflict mod, it's the way I feel like the game was meant to be enjoyed.

Biggest issue for me is that they removed rank fire in this one, ithink they also removed collum fire or something like that. For me rank fire, when the first/second row goes down on knees is amazing and creates such a punch. Hence Empire will always be my number one, until Empire 2 mayber :D.

Wait till the great war mod drops their 6.0 update on Christmas 💥💥

I love both Empire and Napoleon, especially because of the timeperiod and the style of warfare. Would be great if they made af Empire 2. But Total War is unfortunately more focussed on fantasy than historical games now. I love Total War Warhammer, but sadly it means they only focus on that and history in a fantastical setting, like a mythological Troy. I dont think they will go back to the gunpowder age.

"I really love the intro, it's a work of art" -talks the whole lenght of it.

Cool. Recently got interested in Naploeonic wars, but I've never played a Total War game even though I own Total War: Warhammer and Total War: Troy.

Andy, let me give my contribuition to this video and a constructive critic: Why is the intro so amazing? In my opinion, a good reason is because it's incredibly smoother and immersive even to actual standarts. Compare to Attila's announcement intro for example: pay attention to how Napoleon and Attila move their lips in their respective intros (I'm not saying one is better than the other though). But is this the main reason? Not at all. The real reason I believe Napoleon's intro is much better than Attila's is because of its SOUNDTRACK and dude you didn't make a single mention about this game's soundtrack, either to complain or praise. I think Napoleon: Total War's soundtrack is FANTASTIC, just like Rome 1 and Shogun 2 (this one's not that much). It's immersive, rememberable and epic. You might not agree with me about this one, but for your next videos consider talking about ST because this is an integral part of every game.

I never played Empire or Napoleon due to its time period but lately I came to appreciate this era, so I might try it as well. Especially since I hate newer TW mechanics and I am bored of Med II and Rome. Perhaps I will enjoy it.

Empire Darthmod is one of top favorites. I truly hope they make an Empire 2, they have done mortal empires well enough as far as map size and shoving factions into it. I could only imagine a newer Empire, all the DLC’s they’ll make for it (lol), unlocking either factions or world map, or both.

If you are obsessed with this level of aero warfare like I am, and I mean obsessed with artillery and cannons and thundering marching line infantry and this is the game for you oh my God the amount of hours that I have on the campaign on this game is outstanding, I also highly recommend the Darth mod It really brings the battles to life

is it original graphics or any mods??

Great video!

I love Napoleon total war. Had so many clutch scenarios. I was left with 1 elite line infantry, and 1 militia. I threw my militia to take the heat against the enemy's light and remaining 4 line infantry and rushed my elites to flank. For some reason, my militia just wouldn't get routed which was good for me, buying me so much time, and they took down so many of the enemy that by the time my elites flanked and I sent the militia men charging in to fight with their bayos, there were only 30 of them left but they routed their light and 2 of their line infantry. I was so amazed

2004 Rome total war is such a legendary game that I still play it today in November 2023. Please make another game like that I beg of you.

First, and yea i Napoleon total war is one of my favorites games

I don't get where this sentiment for the Empire and against Napoleon comes from, since a released I always heard Napoleon is better. Simply because it works. And it's focus allowed much more polish. And it had story and multiplayer campaing! Even though some felt more like it's an DLC for Empire that stand alone game itself I guess.

11:32 - "virtually every bug is gone" - the cavalryman: "Ight Imma Head Out"

Napoleon Darthmod 40 units saves, reshader, empire darthmod music playlist on youtube: Best TW experience to date

I miss when CA was just a little studios of passionates makings good historical games. I can't stand their new games, hell compare the animations in Rome 2, Medieval 2, Empire and Napoléon to the ones in Troy and warhammer

I’m still playing. 🇬🇧

I always liked the end of that intro in napoleon as he is saying burn it to HMS victory

Couldn't agree more. Napoleon + empires map = best game ever!

Napoleon total war is by far my most played TW. It’s the only one I keep coming back to over and over after I get bored with the newer TWs. We need an Empire 2!