Which is Better? Destiny of an Emperor vs Sweet Home

Destiny of an Emperor and Sweet Home are radically different takes on the RPG genre. Both are unique games, and they don’t play like anything else. That is one of the reasons I like both of them.

I’ve played Destiny of an Emperor quite a bit over the years, and it is one of my favorite Retro RPGs. I like it because of how different it is. Sweet Home gives me a similar feeling, as it is one of the stranger RPGs that I’ve played.

I’ve only played Sweet Home once at this point. It has some great ideas, and I appreciate the horror setting. These two games are quite different, so I’ll be focusing on those differences and less on which I think is the better game overall.

Game Descriptions/Overviews

Both of these games are based on licensed properties. Destiny of an Emperor is based on a Manga, and Sweet Home is based on a horror film. This is kind of a fun part of this, as I have two games that aren’t necessarily original stories for video games. They both have source material that I can compare them to.

Destiny of an Emperor is an alternate history story that is based on a series of manga. It loosely follows the events of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, but changes the story to make Liu Bei the one to unite China. It is an interesting take on the story, and it is one that I enjoy quite a bit.

Sweet Home is based on a movie by the same name. It follows the movie’s plot to some extent, but makes several changes to make this an RPG. It also has a number of game mechanics found in a survival horror film. This is one of the better movie-based games I’ve played.

This is the general idea of these two games. The media properties that they’re based on are what really connect them beyond being turn-based RPGs. Aside from being RPGs and based on licensed properties, these are two very different games.   

Main Differences 

There are a lot of differences between these two games. Many of them are going to crop up as I compare other games to Sweet Home, because of how different it is. The party system, setting, story, and gameplay are all major points where these two are different.

Let’s go over the setting first. Destiny of an Emperor is an alternate history take on the Three Kingdoms period of China. It is a low fantasy setting where you don’t deal with monsters or magic, and it is more of a grand story. Sweet Home is a horror RPG that takes place entirely in a mansion. It deals with ghosts and other supernatural stuff. This is a smaller story with only a few characters.

The party systems are quite different. Destiny of an Emperor has a huge class of characters, and you can recruit enemy generals to your side. There are a few major characters that gain experience and levels, and you need to find them over the course of the game. With Sweet Home, you have five characters, and you have to form two parties. It is easy to switch between the characters, and they each have tools that you’ll need to finish the game. It is a very cool idea.

The gameplay is pretty different after you get passed that; both are turn-based RPGs. Destiny of an Emperor doesn’t really have puzzles, and is more of a “go gather some key items” game. Sweet Home straddles genres by being like a survival horror game that happens to have turn-based combat. They’re very different in terms of gameplay.

The stories are also quite different. Some of this has to do with setting, but the goals in each game are also worth noting. Destiny of an Emperor has you fighting a series of warlords in your quest to restore peace to China. Sweet Home has you dealing with a haunted house, trying to get out, and fighting the vengeful spirit who haunts the mansion.

These are some of the major differences. There are a bunch of other ones, such as controls, magic systems, and inventory, but I won’t touch on them here. Let’s look at a few of them in the next section.

What Does Destiny of an Emperor do Better?

There are a few things that I think Destiny on an Emperor does better than Sweet Home. I like the way you get your party members, and I like that this is a simpler game. The controls are easier to get the hang of, as it isn’t trying to experiment with something new. This is closer to what you might see on the home console.

Destiny of an Emperor has a better combat system. It is also easier to understand how to do things. Much of this comes down to this game not requiring the player to jump through hoops to learn how to play. You don’t need to rely on fan translations when you play Destiny of an Emperor.

Many of the other things that Destiny of an Emperor does better are personal preferences. I like the combat and recruiting system more in this game. You don’t start with every character, which makes for a better video game in some cases.

What Does Sweet Home do Better?

Sweet Home has better graphics and is more cinematic than Destiny of an Emperor. I like that there is a focus on one goal instead of sending the player on fetch quests. You do have puzzles to solve, but these feel different. This really is a hybrid of survival horror and a turn-based RPG.

This is a more cinematic game. It doesn’t just use in game graphics; the game also has cutscenes, which are simplistic, add a lot to the game. Sweet Home simply does a better job of telling its story.

Having puzzles works better for me in a game like this. They act as side quests, as you have to try to figure out a way to get through some obstacles. Inventory management plays a big role in all of this, and it can lead to some backtracking. This isn’t much of a problem, though.

The way that Sweet Home tells its story is much better than in Destiny of an Emperor. Everything feels important, and you get rewarded with clues to what happened before the events of the game. While it is cryptic, that is part of the fun. You have to explore the game to find everything, as opposed to the linear experience in other RPGs on the home console.

I was impressed by this game. The developers were able to get a lot into this without sacrificing the overall quality of the game. It is also a very good adaptation of the movie.   

Which is Better Overall and Why? 

Sweet Home is better overall. It is a more complex RPG, the graphics are better, and I love the combination of gameplay elements from two genres. I was surprised by how well a survival horror game merged with an RPG.

There is more exploration in this game, mostly because it deals with finding items and solving puzzles. This is something you normally find in a survival horror or an action RPG, and I like how it works in this game. While it feels like a series of side quests, they all tie into the main story quite well. Nothing felt out of place with this game.

While I normally side with the games that send you on a quest to find your party members, I feel that Sweet Home did an excellent job of making your five party members feel important. In some RPGs, you’ll have a party member who feels out of place, but that wasn’t the case here.

Sweet Home also has the advantage of being new to me. I’ve only played it once, and I’ve found it to be a lot of fun. I really like the horror setting and the graphics. The story is also excellent.

Which Would I Rather Play?

At this point, I would rather play Sweet Home. While it is a unique game, it is closer to the other RPGs that I’ve played on the NES, SNES, and Genesis. The setting is what I love about the game more than anything.

The whole game takes place in a mansion. There are other people in the mansion, and you’ll come across clues left for you by another group of people who tried to defeat the ghost. You’ll also find clues about how the mansion became haunted, and the tragic backstory of the family that called this place home.

Sweet Home is a game that I want to play again! I love the gameplay, story, and graphics. The enemies look creepy, there are traps in the game, and it felt like there were more secrets I didn’t find during my first playthrough. Because I’m still new to this game, it is the one that I would love to play again.

Conclusion 

Comparing things to either of these games can be hard to do. They’re both very different, and don’t have a game that you can point to as being the same. This was a case where I think one is better, but I would rather play the other because it is newer to me, and I want to try to figure it out.

I was really interested in seeing what Sweet Home had to offer. Knowing that it was partially the inspiration for Resident Evil is cool, and I can see a few things in this game that would end up in that series. I can definitely see why this game wasn’t brought to North America, given how games were being changed at that time.

I had more fun with Sweet Home than I did with Destiny of an Emperor. While I really like both games, I would rather go back and play Sweet Home. It is a better RPG overall, and I like how you can see some gameplay elements that would be refined in the Resident Evil series.

If you liked this post, please check out my other comparisons of retro RPGs, such as Dragon Quest vs Final Fantasy or Phantasy Star vs Destiny of an Emperor.