''Dynasty Wars'', released in Japan as is a 1989

beat-'em-up A beat 'em up (also known as brawler and, in some markets, beat 'em all) is a video game genre featuring hand-to-hand combat against a large number of opponents. Traditional beat 'em ups take place in scrolling, two-dimensional (2D) levels, wh ...

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

developed and published by

Capcom is a Japanese video game company. It has created a number of critically acclaimed and List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being ''Resident Evil'', ''Monster ...

for arcades. It is based on Hiroshi Motomiya's

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

series '' Tenchi wo Kurau'' and a reenactment of the battle between the Kingdom of Shu and the Yellow Turban rebels. Each of the two players can assume the roles of one of the four Chinese generals riding on horseback from the

Three Kingdoms The Three Kingdoms of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu dominated China from AD 220 to 280 following the end of the Han dynasty. This period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and followed by the Jin dynasty (266–420), Western Jin dyna ...

period in an attempt to smash the rebellion. A sequel, ''

Warriors of Fate ''Warriors of Fate'', known in Japan as is a 1992 beat 'em up video game developed and published by Capcom for arcades. It is the second video game based on the '' Tenchi wo Kurau'' manga, following '' Dynasty Wars''. It was ported to the Seg ...

'', was released in 1992.

Gameplay

The players' goal is to wipe out the Huang Ching, the organization responsible for the unrest of the Han dynasty and later defeat the tyrant

Dong Zhuo Dong Zhuo () (c. 140s – 22 May 192), courtesy name Zhongying, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty. At the end of the reign of the Eastern Han, Dong Zhuo was a general and powerful ...

, and up to two players can fight side by side to accomplish this goal. This game always scrolls to the right. Players must be able to survive the rebel hordes to reach and kill the rebel general in each stage to free the province. Players can use three buttons: to attack left, attack right, or use special tactics. In the arcade version, inserting more coins and pressing START increases the maximum life of the player. Completing stages and an

experience point An experience point (often abbreviated as exp or XP) is a unit of measurement used in some tabletop role-playing games (RPGs) and role-playing video games to quantify a player character's life experience and progression through the game. Experien ...

system in the form yellow orbs allows the player to level-up, gaining more vitality and stronger weapons. These weapons are upgraded for every 3rd blue orb collected. In-game treasure increases player score, and food packs replenish vitality. There are 4 selectable characters, each with their own varying amounts of attack power and initial vitality. Aside from unique weaponry, each character also has a unique partner character during a certain special attack. For every 3 blue orbs collected, the player's weapon improves, depending on his current level range. There are a total of eight stages (called rounds), corresponding a province in reference to the historic battles in the novel.

Conversions

Home computer versions for the

ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer developed and marketed by Sinclair Research. One of the most influential computers ever made and one of the all-time bestselling British computers, over five million units were sold. ...

Amstrad CPC The Amstrad CPC (short for "Colour Personal Computer") is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the ZX Spec ...

and

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in ...

were developed by

Tiertex Tiertex Design Studios Limited was a British software development company and former video game developer based in Macclesfield, England; it was founded in 1986, focusing on porting games to home computers and handheld platforms. It developed o ...

and published by

U.S. Gold U.S. Gold Limited was a British video game publisher based in Witton, Birmingham, England. The company was founded in 1984 by Anne and Geoff Brown in parallel to their distributor firm, CentreSoft, both of which became part of Woodward Brown H ...

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

NEC Avenue was a Japanese Music publisher, music and video game publisher part of NEC. History NEC Avenue was founded in 1987 as a record label within NEC. NEC Avenue eventually got involved with video games, and secured licenses to produce console versio ...

produced a

PC Engine Super CD-ROM² The TurboGrafx-16, known in Japan as the , is a home video game console developed by Hudson Soft and manufactured by NEC. It was released in Japan in 1987 and in North America in 1989. The first console of the fourth generation, it launched in ...

version of ''Tenchi o Kurau'', which was released exclusively in Japan in 1994. It adds an extensive intro and in-game cut scenes. A version for the

Capcom Power System Changer The , also known as Capcom Play System, CPS for short, and retroactively as CPS-1, is an arcade system board developed by Capcom that ran game software stored on removable daughterboards. More than two dozen arcade titles were released for CPS-1 ...

was planned and previewed but never released. A completely different game based on the manga and made by Capcom was released on the

NES The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on 15 July 1983 as the and was later released as the redesigned NES in several test markets in the ...

as ''

Destiny of an Emperor ''Destiny of an Emperor'', known in Japan as is a tactical role-playing video game developed and published by Capcom for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It is based on the '' Tenchi wo Kurau'' manga by Hiroshi Motomiya. It was originally rel ...

'' in North America.

Reception

In Japan, ''Game Machine'' listed ''Dynasty Wars'' on their May 15, 1989 issue as being the second most-successful table arcade unit of the month, outperforming titles like '' Crack Down'' and ''

Valkyrie no Densetsu ''Valkyrie no Densetsu'' is a 1989 Action-adventure game, action-adventure role-playing game, role-playing arcade game developed and published in Japan by Namco. It is a follow-up to the Family Computer game ''Valkyrie no Bōken'' (1986). Playe ...

''. The ZX Spectrum version was received with mixed reviews; ''

Your Sinclair ''Your Sinclair'', originally ''Your Spectrum'' or ''YS'', is a discontinued British computer magazine for the Sinclair range of computers, mainly the ZX Spectrum. It was commercially published between 1984 and 1993. History The magazine was la ...

'' awarded it 80%, highlighting the detailed graphics and horse-mounted theme of combat. '' CRASH'' rated it only 44%, criticizing the monochrome graphics, juddering scrolling and dull gameplay.

Notes

References

{{Romance of the Three Kingdoms 1989 video games Amiga games Amstrad CPC games Arcade video games Atari ST games Cancelled Capcom Power System Changer games Capcom beat 'em ups Cooperative video games Commodore 64 games CP System games Multiplayer and single-player video games NEC video games TurboGrafx-CD games Video games based on anime and manga Video games based on Romance of the Three Kingdoms Video games developed in Japan Video games scored by Manami Matsumae ZX Spectrum games Side-scrolling beat 'em ups Tiertex Design Studios games U.S. Gold games