Exploration is interesting since the enemies are fairly diverse up through the middle of the game, and many of the sidequests are long and related to the game's historical lore. One aspect I found satisfying is that you can fail a quest if you do not make the correct decisions – it may frustrate some players, but it's a gutsy move by the game designers to forces player to think about the consequences of the their actions.

A poorer game design decision was the inclusion of respawning enemies in certain locations. I suppose they added those so that players could grind for experience if they so desired, but the creatures respawn so quickly that you party might get overwhelmed.

The story itself is a revealing microcosm of ancient and modern Chinese culture. You play a prince called Fu Su, a historical figure from one of the many chaotic revolutionary periods of ancient China. The actual Fu Su died through nefarious political maneuvers, but the story twists events slightly to enable him to survive and act against his conspirators.

The game is still somewhat of an educational experience as the plot progresses based on true historical figures and events, full of tragedy, hope, betrayals, and regrets. At the same time, the reform-minded Fu Su is sometimes made to be a sounding board of the writers, criticizing the plight of peasants and abuses of the ancient mercantile system with a voice that resonates more with modern liberal sentiment.

The character class system follows the same sort of strange, but familiar behavior as the rest of the game. Fu Su is a paladin in-game, but that does not equate to the typical Poul Anderson sort of paladin of Three Hearts and Three Lions fame that D&D ultimately adapted. Instead, a paladin in Prince of Qin is a warrior with artisan skills, allowing Fu Su to craft special equipment through the game.