Destiny of an Emperor: GB Playguide

Main Menu

Pretty Standard stuff here. New Game, Load Save, Copy Save, Delete Save.

Gameplay Menu

In the top left-hand box you have your commander’s portrait, level, and personality type (‘Sage’, in Liu Bei’s case) – we aren’t sure what personality types do just yet. In the bottom left-hand box you have a listing of your party (and with the menu down, to the right you have their available HP and SP totals). In the middle right box you have your Money total and Soldiers total (note that soldiers are independent of HPs, but can be lost, seemingly permanently, in battle).
    In the bottom-right hand corner, after you hit the confirmation button, you will gain access to the game’s main menu. From top down in the left column Commander (choose a commander), Equip (change equipment), Tactics (access tactics), Map (view the map, which requires no further explanation once you see it. On the right-hand side, you have Items, Advice (requires a strategist), Save (save your game, use this frequently), and Settings (change message speed and music playback).

Game Settings

Accessed through the main menu, here you can change your message speed or turn off sound.

Officer Statistics

Here’s your officer statistics screen. In battle you see something similar, but enemy generals’ screens list tactics instead of items. On the left-hand side you have a Portrait, Party Level, and Officer Name. Below that, Power, Intelligence, Speed, and Defense. In the top right-hand box, HP, SP, and Experience. In the bottom right-hand box you have your Weapon, Armor, Shield, Helmet, and if you tab down, your Special Equip (which you have to arrow-key down to access).

Equipment Management

Accessed from the main menu. The top box is just a title and the second box the officer’s name, Power, Defense, and Speed – each of which is modified by their level and the equipment they are wearing. In the bottom left-hand box you have your current Weapon, Armor, Shield, Helmet, and Special Equip. The items in the bottom right-hand box are various things you can use for your special equip, but we aren’t sure what affect they have on a character yet (and Liu Bei cannot equip either of the starting items, Stone or Jewel).

Item Shop Menus


Here is a sample of an item shop – the first one you will find in the game, at Luo Song Village. When you first speak with the owner over the counter he will give you three options, which we have labeled ‘Buy’, ‘Sell’, and ‘More…’. Buy allows you to buy new items, Sell allows you to sell spare items. More, an item not often found in role-playing games, allows you to select an item in your inventory and purchase additional copies of it (which can be quite handy if you haven’t memorized the Japanese title but do happen to know its position).
  In this shop six items are up for sale. Stone and Copper Elixirs (much like elixirs found in other Destiny of an Emperor titles) which heal you, Revive which can be used to bring a character back to life, Lower Remedy (unknown), Protect Talisman (unknown), and Stone (unknown – maybe a Special Equip item). If you happen to figure any out, please drop us a line.

Arms Shop Menus


At the arms shop you can purchase new equipment for your party – an essential element of the game. Possible inventory includes Weapons (of various kinds), Armor, Headgear, and Shields. Characters equip specific types of weapons as they did in Destiny of an Emperor II (Liu Bei, for example, uses Swords, while Guan Yu and Zhang Fei use Spears). When you first enter the shop the clerk will present you with two options, Buy and Sell. If you choose to purchase new equipment, your options will be presented on the left-hand side, your money to the upper right-hand side, and in the bottom right-hand side, totals of Weapons and Armor you currently have unused in your inventory.
    This weapon shop, the first found in the game (at Luo Song Village), features Copper Swords, Iron Swords, Copper Spears, and Iron Spears. Liu Bei starts the game with an unequipped Copper Sword (see the Equipment Management Menu above) but you will need to buy Copper Spears for Guan Yu and Zhang Fei when they join. You won’t need Iron equipment right away in the game – your power increases exponentially with the first few level-ups – but you may want to pick them up when things start getting rough.

Inn Menu


This really isn’t complicated, but because it is such an important part of the game we will feature an explanation for you. When you enter the Inn and speak with the clerk he will ask you if you want to stay for the night. The default option is ‘Yes’, and the second right-hand option is ‘No’. If you choose ‘Yes’ the screen will fade out, and then fade back in with your party restored. Your current stats at any stage of this process are displayed in the bottom screen with your current money total at the far bottom.

Introductory Overworld Map

Here is an overworld game map which outlines the first game areas, Luo Song Village (home to Liu Bei), Xuzhou Castle (home to Zhang Fei), the Yellow Scarves Fortress, the Eastern Village (home to Guan Yu), and the Western Checkpoint. Some numbers have been included to show the order in which you must visit the different areas. This map was created for our Destiny of an Emperor (Gameboy) Quick-Start Guide, which is intended to help get you started and introduce the game (read the guide for more details).

Luo Song Village

Another map created to help with our Destiny of an Emperor (Gameboy) Quick-Start Guide. You begin the game in Luo Song Village. In this city, the southeastern building is the Item Shop, the eastern building the Equipment Shop, and the northwestern building Liu Bei’s home. As soon as you defeat the Yellow Scarves as the Yellow Scarves Fortress the man walking west of the two shops joins you in the form of 50 Soldiers. This is necessary before you can recruit Guan Yu and Zhang Fei.

Xuzhou Castle

Xuzhou Castle is the first major castle-city in Destiny of an Emperor III for Gameboy. You can reach Xuzhou by traveling southeast from Luo Song Village. Northeast from the entrance is Tao Qian’s Palace (you will not be admitted until you go through the Peach Tree Garden Oath and speak with the old man at the Luo Song entrance, then speak with the soldier outside the palace). Northwest is Zhang Fei’s home. The larger building to the northeast is the Equipment Shop. Northeast from the entrance is the Inn. East from the inn is the Items Shop.

Battles: Main Menu

In battle your officers appear on the left-hand side. The numeric value by each character is their HPs (when depleted, they are unavailable, and must be revived at the inn or by using the Revive item). Enemies are similarly defeated, but do not revive. At the top screen you find a representation of your Soldiers’s Attack (you will receive soldiers early in the game, giving you access to this command). At the bottom you find the main battle menu.
    On the left-hand side, from top down, you can choose Battle (enter the officer’s sub-command menu), Soldiers (soldiers attack), and Retreat (if it fails – which happens often – the enemy gets a free round to beat on you). On the right-hand side you can access Generals (a special generals attack command, inaccessible at the game start, which requires a strategist to use), and Report (get details on an ally, or by pressing the right-arrow key, an enemy). When battle ends, you will see how much Gold and Experience you have won, and you may gain a level.

Battle: Individual Officer Commands

If you choose ‘Battle’ from the first menu you can access an officer’s sub-commands menu. In this mode you issue commands for each officer in your party, then the game plays out the results before returning to the menu again. On the left-hand side, from top down, Battle (attack an enemy) and Tactics (use a tactic; requires a strategist). On the right-hand side, from top down, Items (use an item; to heal, for example), Defend (which doesn’t usually seem to have a great affect).