Game 17: Destiny of an Emperor (NES) - Final Rating

Combatant
On one hand combat is a dull affair, always facing off against the same kind of enemy; on the other, I'm not sure there's anything else to expect from an ancient historical account of war. Not represented are animals, siege engines, or strategic movement. The majority of fights are won through brute force. Tactics really only hit their stride late in the game, but points quickly run out after only a couple of battles.

Stats play a big role, as upgrading a weapon that doubles attack can often more than double damage. However, leveling up has no influence on these stats; it only increased soldier count (HP) for certain generals and a small increase to tactical points (which strangely leveled off at some point). There's a set strength and intelligence throughout the game for each general, and weapon and armor power dependent on equipment.

I was ready to claim how simple combat was (and it was simple for the majority of the game), but near the end it became a lot harsher with the introduction of enemies capable of casting An Sha (instant death), Ji Mian (negate physical attacks), and Wan Fu (full health). It's nice to see enemies equally get these skills, but it becomes unfair when they can cast them freely (they don't have a TP limit).
Rating: 3

I'll just use this resurrect glue to reattach your head

Admirer
I'm torn by this category. Here I was, promised to lead Liu Bei through the restoration of the Han Dynasty, only to have him ripped from my party after the first conquest. I had a feeling something had to happen plot wise since he wasn't gaining HP when leveling up (only a handful of characters do). Most generals are only useful for a short time after you find them due to this. Some do gain tactics, but everyone is so interchangeable that it's hard to get attached to any one group.

The party is represented by the first three members, which I can only guess was chosen to show the first three starting generals traveling together. There aren't any choices for advancement; everything follows a set path from when characters leave and what spells are lost when learning more. The most positive point here is the character speed. I'm sorely going to miss this when I get to the crawl of more traditional games.
Rating: 4

Stats for all generals are available with most having individual character portraits, even enemies

Puzzler
I'm not seeing puzzles come up very often. Main quest, check. Side quests, semi-check. Only a couple side quests are available outside the main quest (recruiting Lu Bu, which I missed, and collecting the named swords), and they're both along the main path. The main quest is clearly marked as it's the only path available, but the majority of the goals are to kill the next warlord.

There are a couple encounters or scenarios I'd consider puzzle-like (building a bridge in the beginning, and waking Zhu Ge Liang as a stretch). The puzzling events are more knowledge based as opposed to logic. Either you know the trick, or stumble upon it. There definitely aren't multiple solutions here.
Rating: 3

Yeah, I didn't really have a good screen to represent puzzles

InstigatorIf you're interested in historical fiction, then the story may appeal to you. There are a lot of details, names, and events referenced that I'm sure line up closely to historical accounts. Building up the Han Dynasty from near collapse may inspire some; however, I had trouble keeping pace. Events quickly turned over from one warlord to the next warlord claiming power over the land just as I thought I had brought peace.

The story, as well as overland exploration, follows a linear path (except for a small opportunity to jump ahead), which is commented on by NPCs in the local villages. Unfortunately, current events don't seem to trickle back down as talk of the Zhang brothers and the Yellow Scarves still have prominent places in conversation with early villagers. There are some choices offered, but they really aren't very good choices (one continues the story while the other stalls it).
Rating: 3

Oh, the dialogue

Collector
Well, there is stuff. All items are generic though, same for armor. The only unique weapons are the five swords and the halberd. There's nowhere to store items. Only those generals in your party have an inventory; once they leave the items are stored in limbo until another general takes their place. Beyond that there are the generals themselves, but the army is limited to 64. This leaves a number of generals out in the wind. If you seek out only those with tactical abilities, then it may be possible to have a complete set in the roster.

There aren't any achievements (the game doesn't care that I skipped Lu Bu, or that I killed him early for that matter). The game economy is a joke; I purchased all equipment as soon as I saw it. Food management was an issue in the beginning when I hadn't fought any warlords yet, and at the end when my army was so large it started consuming more than I gained naturally from capturing castles and fortresses.
Rating: 3

I forgive you for making my swords. What do you mean stolen!

Explorer
You could probably play up to the first fight with Dong Zhou and have seen everything the game has to offer visually (castles, a cave, fortresses, and an overland tile set that feels ripped straight from Dragon Warrior). One thing I enjoyed was the change in overland music after certain plot advances.

While there are some items to discover, and a hidden horse, the world is so linear that there isn't anything to discover that won't be shown. There's little opportunity for open exploration, and nothing really stands out as unique. I gave this an extra point for changing landscapes with bridges built at certain points, and collapsing a mountain to cross a river.
Rating: 4

This is Lou Zh... no Chang A... no, no, Chin Castle... I think

Final Rating: 20 [33%]

Overall, like Dragon Warrior, I think if I played this early enough I'd think of it more fondly. I haven't seen anyone claim it's a terrible game (except for one review where a bug was found that stopped all progress), and it's remembered well to those that enjoyed it young. Coming to this late, I can only think there are better games to get to. I don't think anyone would be crazy enough to attempt a speedrun, but at least we have the TAS showing off luck manipulation at just about 80 minutes long.

Is it too early to say we're one step closer to the end of game year 1990? Keeping this pace up I should be able to wrap things up by the end of the year easily. Next up is Final Fantasy Legend.

For the longest time we never had a Game Boy in the family, and once we did this was the only game we had for it. Given that, it's no surprise I've beaten it before. My recollection was that it was rather confusing, so it'll be interesting to play through it again. Any ideas for starting party? I'm considering one human, two mutants, and a monster. I think I beat it last time with two humans, one mutant, and one monster. Votes for all of one type? I'll start it up tomorrow night, other things always seem to come up when I try to sit down to play.

Game 17: Destiny of an Emperor (NES) - Finished!

I think this is the most bland final screen I've seen

Well here we are; on the other side of another game. I've noticed more often than not I'm eager for the game to finish after about two-thirds through. Most of the time the game exhausted its mechanics without wrapping up the story in a timely manner. Does the game really need to make me walk through two dungeons and just to gain ten levels to beat another boss where I auto-battle for half of it? Only extra soldiers were gained; tactical points leveled off about 5 levels prior.

This is only slightly better

All battles up until I met the final Warlord (whom I fought three times) followed the same strategy: check the generals to ensure none have An Sha (instant kill tactic), target that one if he exists (after casting Ce Mian, which blocks enemy tactics), then auto-battle to wipe out the rest. I'm getting a little ahead though.

If that thing is so important you should keep better track of it

So, Shu is settled, Wu and Wei declare war, and Guan Yu and Zhang Fei are retired. I went ahead and added two more members to my party, but it turned out I was wasting my time as their sons Guan Xing and Zhang Bao joined after visiting the besieged Jing Zhou province. Two out of the four castles were captured, but they were easily recovered.

With some casualties

Oh never mind, he's just resting

After resettling Jing Zhou we learned that Wu and Wei formed an alliance against Shu. Sun Quan claimed Wu, and Cao Pi (eldest son of Cao Cao) claimed Wei. At least Cao Pi seemed to have some claim to rule, but for whatever reason this was explained as an usurp. After some inner turmoil, Liu Bei announced to his officers that he'll claim the right as emperor and put these upstarts in their place.

Conversations are hard to follow sometimes, but made more humorous by imagining only Liu Bei speaking

The path to Wu is a new bridge not mentioned by anyone that I happened to stumble across by revisiting castles. On this new land were warlords that sported 15,000 soldiers while I still barely managed that number across my whole party.

This was my worst defeat so far, but not my last

There was a short quest to gather some saltpeter from a nearby cave; a task I completed before I knew what I was after. Joining this powder with an old twig and some other parts an old man had, I was able to cross a channel by collapsing a mountain with a spectacular explosion.

Fabulous~!

With the channel filled I crossed into a land like all others: fortress, castle, fortress, all the enemies fell quickly after this point. The random battles held more risk, but were manageable. A cave between me and what remained of Wu was rumored to contain a glowing object. It turned out to be one of the swords created for me by the sword smith.

Evil~!

This really is all for flavor. Spirits never came out of the sword... that'll happen in Ghost Lion

Yet another sword was found not so ominously by dispatching a local band of pirates.

Did it still have its tag on?

Some time during my exploration of Wu I decided names were becoming less necessary to track. I had actually been keeping a fairly detailed list, but didn't see the point anymore. The game wasn't rewarding me much for it, and I felt I was nearing the end. I hoped, and luckily, it was a straight shot to the end.

I have a feeling you're just not important

Sun Quan fell easily, although this was the first time I fought two armies in a row. In the end, he regretted his treachery. The towns still offered some intrigue, but it all seemed so hollow since I already had the best strategist and generals in the game.

It also didn't help that my army was full

I found another of the swords, this time just lying around in town. Apparently one of the townsfolk had stolen in from a thief. I'm not sure how that doesn't make that guy a thief too.

Next up, Cao Pi. The battle was a little difficult as Cao Pi would continuously cast Wan Fu (full heal). I needed something to bust through his defense before he had a chance to do so. This is where I started using Bei Ji (double attack power) plus Power Pills (auto-crit, one use items). Prior to this I really didn't have a reason to buff up so much, and I continued with this tactic to the end.

Ji Mian -- Negates all physical attacks

Once I defeated Cao Pi an ally of his showed up. Si Ma Yi, the real boss of the game. I hadn't even heard of this guy. He finished off Cao Pi, then turned his sights on me. He cast a spell... yes a spell, not a tactic. His thunder power knocked me out; I awoke in an inn miles away. How could I hope to stand against such a power?

Fourth wall broken!

The first battle with Si Ma Yi took some time to get through, mainly because of the trek back once I failed. He retreated to Chin Castle. To get there I needed to travel through two of the longest caves in the game.

My nation for a boat!

Guess what I found inside. That's right, the last two swords. I'm not sure what happened to the thieves, but at least I had the swords. The most powerful weapons in the... what's that? Found a plain old Halberd? Double the damage of any of the swords? Maybe we can go back to the sword smith to have him make more...

From Chin Castle Si Ma Yi once again retreated, this time to Luo Yang. Luo Yang was the capital destroyed by Dong Zhou at the beginning of the game. In fact I could now travel from the beginning castle to the final battle. There were a few fights that led up to this, but they were simple affairs.

I don't think they can count

Si Ma Yi had two sons. They were the first to meet my advancing troops. Both were capable of An Sha and Wan Fu. When I first approached I went all out. During the battle, before their actions, they would taunt my generals with questions meant to break my resolve. However, doing this didn't prepare me for the battle immediately following.

Nothing!

I learned for the first time that the AI can break. Prior to the above screen, I got Shi low on health. He cast Wan Fu right after they gained access to their tactics once more. It's hard to say why this happened, but I found it most fortunate that he cast it on one of the smaller units.

Oh no! Don't heal your... other soldiers?

It took about four or five attempts before I finally found a strategy that worked to the end. Instead of casting Bei Ji on everyone I focused only on three generals, and loaded up on power pills plus two resurrect items. This allowed me to bounce back from two An Shas, and have enough power to take care of both armies.

The final blow

In the end I scraped out a victory only thanks to the RNG. I used auto-battle to see how low I could get Si Ma Yi before he'd heal again. It seemed whenever he got below 15,000 he'd recover. I really didn't have a hope of doing 15,000 in one round; I was out of tactics, and had only one power pill left. Then all of a sudden it was over. For whatever reason, two turns in a row he failed to heal.

Ah, the elusive promise of peace

With Si Ma Yi gone, I was able to enter the castle, summon Liu Bei, and end the game. Victory at last! Peace has come and everyone rejoiced!

Hey! Look happier! Where's your smile?

Liu Bei congratulated us and the credits rolled. In between names with character portraits flashing on the screen, I was treated with a few screens of Liu Bei surveying his land. I'm glad I've finally brought peace to the land, and I'm sure the people are glad to have peaceful ruler.

Ah the peaceful rule of the iron fist

Well, aside from the propagandized shiny ending, it's good to see this one end. I'm not sure how I feel about the game. Before this post I was ready to write this up as the easiest game I've played, but the final battle really was a challenge (even though it came down to randomness). I'll get the final rating out soon. Then it's time for another game from my childhood; in fact it was my only Game Boy game: Final Fantasy Legend.

Did the game borrow from Willow?

Sessions Time: 7h52m (Final Time: 21h04m)

Game 17: Destiny of an Emperor (NES) - What Is It Good For?

No, ironic would be if this time period were known as the "age of peace"

While the focus is still on getting to the next castle and defeating the next warlord, there were just enough side events for me to appreciate and stay interested. I've haven't gotten bored yet. Though, I'm still waiting for the game to get challenging.

Uh, who?

My next conquest was Yuan Shu. On the way I learned his castle's west gate was under construction (I'm not sure this matters, but I entered the castle from the west), Zhao Yun is one of the tigers (he was the guy at the bar that already had an employer), and someone named Shui Jing told me to seek out two expert strategists (but their names were changed to protect the innocent).

Yuan Shu wasn't too difficult. I learned afterwards that I already missed my chance to recruit Lu Bu by this point, but he would have defected at this battle anyway. Yuan Shu was about to run away from Guan Yu exacting justice, but Zhang Fei blocked his escape. He begged to let him go, but I couldn't overlook his atrocities. Unfy, source of all outside knowledge for the game, warned me that letting him go would abruptly end the game leaving me to repeat the combat.

Peace reigns until the next warlord

Heading north over the bridge I ran into Yuan Shao, Shu's more powerful brother. The battle disuaded me away from trying to head north; I figured I would run into him again. I found that wasn't the case after I retraced my steps from the beginning of the game and found no other route.

Who wouldn't be deterred after a defeat like this?

Retracing my steps gave me a bit of insight into Zhao Yun. His sister was kidnapped by Yuan Shao, and he was forced into servitude. I didn't make this connection while playing the game though. I haven't been doing well with recognizing the names; most of them all kind of blended together. Somewhere I bought a silver key for 4,000 gold. I wasn't really using it for anything else.

Oh, and I also found this trident thing...

Everyone not wielding the trident is doing about forty damage

Due to my fear of Yuan Shao I headed south to free the land of Jing Zhou. Liu Bei offered the choice of freeing that province or facing off with Shao. I figured the game was telling me to hold off. I'm not sure I would have made it without the trident and a bow I found soon after, but I managed to hold my own. In the second castle I saw a general's name I recognized from the intro, Huang Zhong. After he and his fellow general, Wei Yan, joined my ranks my power level increased by a fair margin.

All generals say, "we will serve you"

I received a warning in this castle to not trust governor Zho Fan of Gui Yang, which would have been very helpful if I knew the name of the castle or the man I spoke with. Luckily I'm naturally distrust full of a town full of brainwashed zombies that all repeat the same thing.

Yeah, right... why aren't you moving?

The constant battling was really starting to wear down on me. Was there really nothing else to do in the game? I started to feel bad for the virtual characters constantly at war.

That's a good question

At about this point my party reached the 1000 soldier mark, and had bows and swords, which were insanely powerful. I quickly tore through the remaining forces in Jing Zhou and brought peace to the region.

Until the next invasion

I guess everything will return back to normal now. It's hard to see what good I'm doing exactly since I don't know how the towns were before. Sure, I'm coming in to supposedly save an oppressed and grateful people, but only after completely slaughtering the opposition.

So why does it keep happening?

Who exactly is paying for the war I'm conducting?

Free? No, you have to pay me now

Still fearing the righteous hand of Yuan Shao, I headed further south. It turns out I jumped ahead of the intended story line. Shu, the next area, was still currently enjoying a time of peace. I also ran into a very power Lu Bu.

Can I interest you in a Gemsword?

With some luck I managed to get through the fight without any losses. Instead of getting an expected message that Lu Bu wanted to join I instead got a rather sad lament.

I'll bet he really didn't say this as he was dying

Feeling wiped out I headed back, but ran into a Pang Tong. This was a tough battle, and the first time one of my generals died without a full party wipe.

Hold on while I pick up my jaw

This was a shock, but I clearly had the upper hand. I could easily take him out next turn. I really hope I don't have to face this guy again.

Wan Fu? What's that do? Oh, full health... uhh

Yeah, this battle was getting scarier by the turn. I definitely am in the wrong place at the wrong time.  Some how I worked Pang Tong down again without another general falling.

Peace was already restored! Didn't you get the memo?

So, Pang Tong became the best strategist I've had for a long while. With Shu at peace I headed north to take care of Yuan Shao. The battles were a cake walk; however, I got stuck at another point where it would have been helpful to actually see the name of the person I was speaking to.

Uh, who are you? Let's just fight because I want to get past you

Well it turns out this was Zhao Yun. I had already saved his sister who gave me a letter to deliver to him, but not knowing this was he I didn't try to use the letter for about 10 minutes. Even then I didn't expect it to work.

Nah, I don't even know who you are

After defeating the soldiers in the castle beyond, and the in-town battle with some spies of Yuan Shao, I faced off against the man himself. He really didn't stand a chance. I had a party healing spell in addition to overpowered forces... like the game wasn't easy enough. Lu Bu made a surprise reappearance in this battle confirming my suspicion that I had advanced past the planned plot.

Enjoy this picture of the great wall as it's more interesting than the battle

With Shao out of the way, and Jing Zhou and Shu at peace, I returned to Liu Bei. He congratulated me. At the same time, one of the generals I was forced to travel with, Xu Zhe was told his mother was ill. He was headed to her side, while I was instructed to seek out Zhu Ge Liang, a doctor. I still don't understand the connection since I don't recall getting his help for the sick mother.

Who knew Cui Zhou Ping would actually come up in the plot again? Anyone remember who he was?

The random person who wasn't home at the beginning of the game was the key to finding this man. And so begins the wild goose chase from Zhu Ge Liang's house to the first town, back to this house, over to Nan Yang Castle, summon Liu Bei, and back to Zhu Ge Liang where he's taking an afternoon nap. The only way to recruit him is to not wake him up... and wait. Choosing 'no' causes the game dialogue to pause for about five seconds, not a normal occurrence.

Honestly, I kind of spaced out and thought the game might have froze

I got lucky; this apparently caused at least a few gamers to curse the developers. Even then Liang didn't join until I found my way back to Liu Bei. Visiting him revealed the land of Shu was now at war. Liu Zheng, relative to Liu Bei, was being attacked by the Han Zhong army.

Okay... Liu Bei, Yan Yan is a terrible warlord

The random battles in this area were often harder than the static ones; I made my way slowly because of that. I found a sword smith nearby that wanted ore from a mountain somewhere in Shu. It was located in a passage between the castle of the fifth tiger general, Ma Chao, and the next few castles that needed liberation before Shu would know peace once more.

What? But, I banged my head against a dungeon door to save him!

Like the other warlords, Liu Zheng fell quickly. I learned a tactic called Ji Mian, which nullifies all physical attacks. Wow is that thing overpowered. I hope the enemy never learns it... (ominous foreshadowing). With Shu at peace I returned to the sword smith only to find the Yellow Scarves had and stolen them.

And you even named them: Bo Ye, Nu Long, Qing Long, Qing Guang, and Wan Sheng sound so cool

I'm not really sure where I'm supposed to find the Yellow Scarves, so I headed back to consult Liu Bei. We found out that peace is really boring. So boring that Sun Ce and Cao Cao, leaders of the neighboring provinces Wu and Wei respectively, die of boredom. This happens after Guan Yu and Zhang Fei are sent away from the party to govern over different parts of Jing Zhou.

Yeah, sounds like boredom

Same; the assassin was bored, hence killed by boredom

Well, peace was fun while it lasted all of two minutes. I'm sure the timeline is rushed for the game, but they could have drawn this out a bit longer. It's time to unite the generals once again, but before we get there I have two slots to fill. Luckily I've been recruiting generals at the drop of a hat. I decide on Yan Yan (yes the general I previously dissed), and some other guy who doesn't matter since he'll be replaced next.

Peace reigns... no, sorry; more war!

Sessions Time: 7h07m (Total Time: 13h12m)