Warriors of Fate
| Warriors of Fate | |
|---|---|
| File:Wf01.JPG | |
| Developer(s) | Capcom |
| Publisher(s) | Capcom |
| Platform(s) | Arcade, Playstation, Sega Saturn, FOMA i-αppli |
| Release | Arcade: November 1992 Playstation: March 22, 1996 Sega Saturn: September 6, 1996 FOMA i-αppli: March 1, 2005 |
| Genre(s) | Beat 'em up |
| Mode(s) | Up to 3 players simultaneously |
| Arcade system | CPS-1 + QSound |
Warriors of Fate is the English adaptation of the Japanese arcade game, Tenchi wo Kurau II (天地を喰らう2・赤壁の戦い), which uses the manga Tenchi wo Kurau (based on the Romance of the Three Kingdoms story) as the background, and also the sequel of Dynasty Wars (Tenchi wo Kurau in Japan). It was released by Capcom in 1992, an era in which they also published several similar horizontal-scrolling action games such as Final Fight, Captain Commando, King of Dragons, and Knights of the Round.
Gameplay
Warriors of Fate is a beat'em up with 9 stages, in each of which there are large mobs including spearman, archers, strongmen, bomb-wielding opponents, and at least one Wei boss. There can be up to three players on-screen at the same time. Using two buttons, Attack and Jump, the characters all have standard moves typical of Capcom side-scrollers of the day. Common enemies including Wei soldiers such as bandits, privatees, wrestlers, fatties and thieves will keep poping up from everywhere. In the end of each stage there is a Wei general as stage boss. Li Dian, Xiahou Dun, Xu Chu, Zhang Liao, Cao Ren, Xu Huang, the infamous Lu Bu as final boss. After defeating them all, there is also Cao Cao himself who would try to escape.
There is also a variety of weapons in the game which can be picked up. As with most side-scrollers, food is used to replenish health and can be found in various breakable containers in the game level. One notable feature of the game is the ability to summon a warhorse which adds more attacks to the characters, generally involving pole-arms (except long bow for Huang Zhong). Each character except Zhao Yun was given a special wrestling throw of their own, like in Final Fight and The Punisher.
Even in the US release, the game was particularly gory for its time. Slash weapons and special moves would have an additional maiming effect on enemies when used for the final blow and the enemy boss can be blown up, decapitated, or had their bodies severed.
The game included two bonus stages in the middle wherein the characters compete in an eating contest which required rapid pressing of buttons and rotations of the joystick and another is where the characters practice their skills on the practice dummies of the final boss.
Story
Japanese version
Tenchi wo Kurau II follows Liu Bei's plight in Jingzhou from Romance of the Three Kingdoms, a history-based novel of China, set in the Three Kingdoms period. In Warriors of Fate, Shu Han, led by Liu Bei, as in the novel, was everything "good" and "righteous", while Wei, led by the ever suspicious and cunning Cao Cao, is portrayed as "evil" and "bad". Liu Bei's warriors begin by fighting Cao Cao's forces at the Battle of Bowang, then Battle of Changban, then finally join up with Sun Quan to fight at the Battle of Red Cliff.
English version
In the English adaptation, however, the Three Kingdoms theme was lost, and most names have been changed to names of Mongolian origin. The story takes place in a fictional realm where the evil overlord Akkila-Orkhan (originally Cao Cao) of Shang-Lo tries to conquer his neighbouring countries, converting them into ruin and despair. Kuan-Ti (originally Liu Bei), with the aid of the five great warriors, stands up against the conquering shadow and fights to defend his people and lands.
Playable characters
Unlike the first game, Dynasty Wars, Liu Bei is not playable. The playable characters were Zhang Fei, Guan Yu, Zhao Yun, Huang Zhong, four of the famous Five Tiger Generals, and Wei Yan. Although in the novel Huang Zhong and Wei Yan had not joined Liu Bei before the Battle of Red Cliffs, they are available as playable characters in this game because of pleadings from fans of the Three Kingdoms.
|
Character |
Name in game (Japanese ver.) |
Name in game (English ver.) |
Weapon (Melee) |
Weapon (Mounted) |
Special Abilities |
Dash Attack | Special Throw |
|
関羽 (Kan-U) |
Portor |
bare hand |
flying elbow |
head butt | jumping backbreaker | ||
| Average and balanced in speed and power | |||||||
|
張飛 (Chō-Hi) |
Kassar |
bare hand |
viper halberd |
crushing punch
|
sliding shoulder strike | - jumping vertical suplex - pile driver |
|
| High damage, low speed, | |||||||
|
趙雲 (Chō-Un) |
sword |
spear |
uppercuting slash |
rushing shoulder strike | none | ||
| Agile, long reach, low damage. Cannot do piledriver (will kick foe in the face instead). | |||||||
|
黄忠 (Kō-Chū) |
bow, dagger |
bow, halberd |
triple shot |
somersault | over the shoulder powerbomb | ||
| Ranged attacks, vulnerable in melee. | |||||||
|
魏延 (Gi-En) |
katana |
katana |
flash kick |
sliding elbow | helicopter power slam | ||
| Combos, shorter reach | |||||||
Stage bosses
[ Continue ScreenLike Final Fight and the arcade version of Ninja Gaiden, Warriors of Fate featured notorious continue screen. Once the player loses all lives, the screen changes to the character on his knees begging for his life while 2 Wei soldiers move in for the kill. If the player does not insert a coin within the 20 second countdown, they will kill the character. Other information
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