Dynasty Wars

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Dynasty Wars
Screenshot
Developer(s) Capcom
Publisher(s) Capcom
Platform(s) Arcade, ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, Commodore Amiga, Atari ST
Release date April 1989 (Japan)
July 1989 (World)
Genre(s) Beat 'em up
Mode(s) multi-player; up to 2 players simultaneously
Input methods 8-way Joystick, 3 Buttons
Cabinet Upright
Arcade system CPS-1
Display Raster 384 x 224 pixels (Horizontal), 4096 colors

Dynasty Wars (天地を喰らう Tenchi wo Kurau?) is a side-scrolling beat-'em-up arcade game released in 1989 by Capcom, based on a Japanese manga 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 period in an attempt to smash the rebellion.

Contents

[edit] Gameplay

The players' goal is to wipe out the Huang Ching, the organization responsible for the unrest of the Han Dynasty, 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 increases the maximum life of the player. In an RPG style, completing stages and collecting yellow orbs increase the experience points of the player in order to level-up, where he gains more vitality and use stronger weapons. These weapons are upgraded for every 3rd blue orb collected. In-game treasure increases player score, and food packs replenish vitality.

== Characters ==


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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.

  • Shang Fei (Zhang Fei) aka Kassar - Normal type: strongest attack but lowest HP. His weapon is a viper halberd.
    • Level 1-2: Snake Halberd
    • Level 3-4: Brave Man's Halberd
    • Level 5-6: Fire Halberd
    • Level 7-8: Dragon King's Halberd
    • Ambush Partner: Sung Jen, a swordsman
  • Liu Bei aka Kuan-Ti - Normal type: weakest attack but highest HP. His weapon is a broad sword.
    • Level 1-2: Double-Edged Sword
    • Level 3-4: Tempestuous Sword
    • Level 5-6: Seven Star Sword
    • Level 7-8: Dragon Sword
    • Ambush Partner: Chou Zhao, a whip adept
  • Kuan Yu (Guan Yu) aka Portor - Stable type: Moderate attack and HP. His weapon is a guan dao.
    • Level 1-2: Blue Dragon Sword
    • Level 3-4: Blue Dragon Halberd
    • Level 5-6: Sword of Justice
    • Level 7-8: Big Moon Sword
    • Ambush Partner: Huo Fu, a bomb thrower
  • Shao Yun (Zhao Yun) aka Subutai - Stable type: Moderate attack and HP. His weapon is a pike.
    • Level 1-2: Dragon Spear
    • Level 3-4: Deities Spear
    • Level 5-6: Hoten Geki
    • Level 7-8: Hidora Spear
    • Ambush Partner: Suing Yong, an archer

[edit] Tactics

At certain parts of the game, depending on the situation and the battlefield's location, there will be a corresponding desperation attack, called Tactics. Using these tactics deplete some of the player's health, but are best used to clear an area of enemies at once. They also improve in power and range as the player advances in levels.

  • Ambush - The player's ambush partner (with a longer range weapon) appears, mimicking the player's actions. The partner fights for around 10 seconds before leaving.
  • Rockslide - Only usable along slopes and mountainsides, a barrage of boulders and logs crushes down enemies and also useful against barriers, jars and rocks.
  • Explosion - Waves of explosions rush across the battlefield, damaging or killing any enemy or boss near the explosions.
  • Flame - Four archers move in from the leftmost screen and fires an arrow each, bombarding the battlefield with rows of blue flames.

[edit] Stages

There are a total of eight stages (called rounds), corresponding a province in reference to the historic battles in the novel.

[edit] Trivia

Pony Canyon / Scitron released a limited-edition soundtrack album for this game (Strider Hiryu : G.S.M. Capcom 2 - D25B1001) on 21/05/1989.

The man at the game's epilogue is Cao Cao (Akkhila-Orkhan). The Dynasty Wars 2 mentioned at the end of the game is actually the 3-player beat-'em-up Warriors of Fate. Though supposedly killed, Li Pu (Lu Bu aka Temujin-Khan) is Cao Cao's righthand and you have to kill him before the final battle with the evil warlord Cao Cao.

[edit] Series

  1. Dynasty Wars (1989)
  2. Warriors of Fate (1992)

[edit] Conversions

Home computer versions for the ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC and Commodore 64 were developed by Tiertex and published by U.S. Gold in 1990.[1] The ZX Spectrum version was received with mixed reviews; Your Sinclair awarded 80%, highlighting the detailed graphics and horse-mounted theme of combat,[2] but CRASH rated it only 44%, criticizing the monochrome graphics, juddering scrolling and dull gameplay.[3]

[edit] Production staff

  • Producer : Kihaji Okamoto
  • Game designers : Noritaka Funamizu (Poo), S. Sato, K. Kataoka
  • Programmers : Y. Mutsunobu, M. Kobayashi, Y. Tsunasaki
  • Object designers : Kurichan, Y. Tamago, M. Tanabe, M. Matsuura, Shinji Sakashita
  • Screen designers : Fukumoyan, M. Konishi, M. Miyao, K. Koizumi
  • Sound music : Manami Goto
  • Illustration : S. Shintani

[edit] References

  1. ^ Dynasty Wars at World of Spectrum
  2. ^ Davies, Jonathan (June 1990). "Dynasty Wars review". Your Sinclair (54). “It's a good conversion of the coin-op, the graphics are ace and the horses are currently the best on the Speccy, but whether or not you'll 'get hitched' to it is another matter. Worth very much more than a passing glance though.” 
  3. ^ "Dynasty Wars review" (June 1990). CRASH (77). “Dynasty Wars kicks off with a promising start: a good intro tune and static portraits of the heroes. But from there on boredom is just around the corner.” 
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