Destiny of an Emperor

Destiny of an Emperor is one of those games that was barely heard about at the time of it's release, but gained large amounts of fans from the emulation scene.

The game takes place during the Three Kingdoms period of ancient China. You take the role of Liu Bei in the beginning, then as Guan Yu or Zhang Fei later on.

These characters are originally from Luo Guan Zhong's Romance of the Three Kingdoms novel.

You follow the general storyline of the Three Kingdoms novel, fighting various leaders, like Dong Zhou, Yuan Shao and the Yellow Turbans.

Each character represents an army. As they gain levels, not only do their stats go up, but the number of troops increases too. As well as your basic fighting characters, you have two reserves (characters held back in case another character's army is destroyed), and one tactician. The tactician allows you to do plots, basically spells, in battle.

The game is truly unique in its implementation. You can buy armor and weapons, which actually improve each character's entire force. Items such as horses, healing salves, and transportation wings can be purchased. Resting in an inn increases your armies soldiers back to the max amount. Basically it is a RPG engine used in a strategy game to great effect.

When you win battles, you have a chance of capturing an opposing general, bribing them with horses may just get you another loyal follower. It is especially fun to do this as you grab an enemy's best generals, using them to plug weak spots in your army.

Ultimately your goal is to gather all the five tiger generals of Shu, and the great tactician Zhuge Liang. From there you will attempt to lead your king Liu Bei's armies to victory.

Though an old game, this is one of those times when the saying, "Games used to be so much better", comes true in complete detail. Many a player will find himself or herself engrossed in the story, leading their armies to victory and trying to win control of China.

This game cart can sometimes be found for the Nintendo still. As it is fairly rare though, Emulation and Abandonware sites are a strong recommendation as a place to find it.