Game 17: Destiny of an Emperor (NES) - And Bei Begat Feng

I've heard "Role Playing Simulation" is the Japanese term for this genre

It's hard to believe the game is only just getting started; it already feels repetitive. As repetitive as a strategy game. As repetitive as Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Apparently they've done a great job at simulating the source material.

I am fame!

I was a little reluctant to write this post. The amount of material doesn't seem to warrant a full write-up, but the amount of time should. There is very little deviation from what I've done so far: siege a castle, defeat warlords, recruit random generals, repeat.

Well, *try* to recruit random generals

After being stuck figuring out how to cross the river, I thought I'd face further challenges. I  found reordering my guys changed the marching order on the screen as well as battle. This meant I could now have Han Zhong speak on my behalf.

Ignore Liu Bei standing next to me

Across the river the Zhang brothers were waiting for me. The other two generals that joined them in the head on castle siege were nowhere to be found. This made the assault much simpler, and the brothers were killed. Wait, killed? This surprised me, as I always heardNintendo of America went out of their way to censor dialogue so that "kill" and "dead" were removed from all released games. I guess a few cases slipped through.

Back at the castle, as expected, Tao Qian appointed Liu Bei as his successor. I wonder what would happen had I turned Qian down. What I didn't know is this meant he would no longer lead us in battle. Instead we would be led by Liu Feng. Who?

Who's your father?

Apparently while I'd been traveling, Liu Bei had a son or adopted a son, or this guy who is now leading my party is from a completely different Liu family. Well, let's just roll with it. The unbreakable oath taken at the beginning of the game doesn't seem as solid anymore.

My exploits in suppressing the Yellow Scarves spread quickly, and a messenger from Cao Cao (I remember him being important) was sent to urge us to deal with Dong Zhou. Dong Zhou's army had been fighting the Yellow Scarves as well to the south, but with them out of the way he and Lu Bu have made a power play.

The report on Lu Bu shows he is very strong

I could give a list of generals I've fought, those I've recruited, and the cities I've passed through. The amount of details though is about as interesting as reading those passages of the bible that list out the lineage of certain families. I'll try to keep it to minimum.

Is this going to on the final?

Beyond Dong Zhou's initial encampment I found a cave that contained a gold key. I thought this might be a side quest, but it unlocked a secret door in someone named Wang Yun's house. Hidden there was the Gemsword, a key item to recruit Lu Bu. Yet, even having faced Lu Bu with the Gemsword, I haven't been given the option to recruit him. Maybe I should use it on him?

Cleverly hidden from those poor colorblind gamers

While chasing Lu Bu and Dong Zhou, I heard a prophecy: Liu Bei is to unite the 5 tigers (Guan Yu and Zhang Fei are two) and defeat the dragon. The intro suggests someone named Huang Zhong is another. I suppose Lu Bu is either one of the tigers or the dragon. Currently it's the only quest I have beyond "kill the next warlord."

Or, kill the next warlord three times...

I've attempted to get a handle on the tactics, but I've found they fail too often. I'm not sure what prevents success, so rather than waste my points on failed attacks I store them to heal. At least the defensive ones don't have a chance of failure.

Everyone tried to cast fire and failed on the two generals

After a number of castles I finally arrived at Chang An, the final haven of Dong Zhou. This castle is near a river, so in addition to fire tactics I could attempt to use water; however, so can the enemy.

Chang An, finally

Tactics are strange. It seems I learn them in a set order, but I also unlearn some to make room for others. Once I learned water protection, I lost fire protection. I'm pretty sure I would rather have both in exchange for a dead tactic like increase agility.

Never a success when I use it

With the help of elixirs I stocked up on, I managed to keep my health up, and defeated Dong Zhuo and Lu Bu. Although, I have a feeling Lu Bu got away, I finally killed Dong Zhou.

Who's the next warlord?

I summoned Liu Bei to Chang An. When he arrived so did a messenger from Cao Cao. He informed us that Yuan Shu had found the imperial seal and planned to us its authority to appoint himself emperor. I guess he's next on my list.

This is Zhao Yun; he would like to join me, but he's already employed

The random battles have been getting steadily more difficult. Chang An gave me a chance to upgrade my equipment for the first time since the beginning. Not every castle or town has all amenities: inn to sleep, record keeper to save, bar to organize army, and the shops. I'm lucky to even find an inn.

I haven't needed to purchase food; my reserves were growing fat just from conquering. Due to my savings I was able to purchase all upgrades available. Even so, I ran into a random battle worse than any set battles. I think I might need to build up some levels or get more generals.

Luckily I was at full health entering this battle

Zhang Fei and Guan Yu are the only ones that gain more soldiers with each level. That means I need to recruit new generals to stand a chance against more powerful enemies. It leaves me with little connection to the generals such as Yang Jin, a pirate, or Wang Gui, who I can't remember why he joined me. Oh, how I'd love to get Lu Fan or Han Xian on my side. I expect soon Liu Feng will be replaced by someone more capable. Maybe Liu Bei will come back with better stats.

Sessions Time: 3h23m (Total Time: 6h05m)