Sangokushi Sousouden

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Sangokushi Sousouden

Developer(s)	Koei
Publisher(s)	Koei The Third Wave (TW/HK)
Release date(s)	December 11, 1998 (JP) January 15, 1999 (TW/HK) 2000 (KR)
Genre(s)	tactical role-playing game
Mode(s)	Single Player
Rating(s)	Not rated
Platform(s)	PC (Windows), Mobile phone
Media	CD-ROM
System requirements	Pentium 133mhz, Windows 95 or higher, 500 Mb of hard space
Input	Keyboard, Mouse

Sangokushi Sousouden (三國志曹操伝) is the third game of Sangokushi Eiketsuden tactical role-playing series published by Koei. This game retells the life of Cao Cao based on the novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

While Cao Cao mainly plays the role of the villain in the novel, he is the protagonist in Sousouden. As such, the misdeeds attributed to him in the novel are changed in favor of Cao Cao or not mentioned in the game. Liu Bei, Zhuge Liang and Sun Quan play the role of the villains in the game.

In the game, the player controls Cao Cao's forces starting from the Yellow Turban Rebellion until the unification of China. The player commands multiple characters consisting of Cao Cao and his generals during the battles. Some generals may die permanently during certain scenarios, but the player can choose to save them. If the player chooses to save them, he will not be able to receive the special weapons or armors which each general leaves behind. Each character belongs to a certain unit type with various strengths and weaknesses, such as cavalry and infantry. Characters are further differentiated by their personal statistics such as their agility, intelligence, morale, and strength.

Each choice the player makes during the course of the game affects a meter which can either tilt towards "factual" or "fictional", depending on whether the choice made affirms or contradicts the events in the novel. Although the "factual" line adheres more closely to the events in the novel the the fictional line, it too often contradicts the novel. The story splits after the Battle of Tong Pass, and depending on the status of the meter, Cao Cao can either follow three endings; the "factual" route to eliminate Shu Han and Eastern Wu (and become the Emperor of China if the player chooses to), the "fictional" route where Zhuge Liang becomes possessed by a great evil. One notable feature of the fictional route is that Guan Yu, notable for loyalty to Liu Bei, will join Cao Cao's force permanently to avenge Liu's death.