Which is Better? Destiny of an Emperor or Inindo

There aren’t too many RPGs that use historical events as a backdrop on the NES and SNES. So, comparing two of them seems like a good idea to me. This time, I’m going to be looking at Inindo: Way of the Ninja and Destiny of an Emperor.

I have a lot of memories of playing Destiny of an Emperor, and barely any for Inindo. Going over games like this can be a little strange. Neither of these games are traditional RPGs, and they have some unique gameplay elements.

These games are a little odd, to say the least. Both games have a lot of characters that they don’t do anything with, and they’re both alternate history games. Shockingly, they weren’t made by the same company. I normally associate historical games with Koei, but one of these games was made by Capcom.

Because I’m comparing an NES game with an SNES game, I won’t be talking about graphics. I don’t think it is fair to compare these games in that way. Both games look good for the time they were released.

There are other differences between these two games. I’ll get into those as I look at these games. Let’s get into them and see what they have to offer.  

Game Descriptions/Overviews

Both of these games are alternate history stories where there is a point of divergence that creates something new. With Destiny of an Emperor, it has to do with Liu Bei being the one to unify China. With Inindo, it has to do with Oda Nobunaga living through a rebellion, so that your character can take his revenge.

Destiny of an Emperor is an alternate history of the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. It is based on a manga, which is an adaptation of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. In it, you try to unify China under Liu Bei. It is a turn-based RPG where you have a party of five generals.

Inindo: Way of the Ninja is an alternate history of ancient Japan where Oda Nobunaga wasn’t killed in 1581. You play as an Iga ninja who is seeking revenge for his village being destroyed. You have about twenty years to complete this task, and you can form a party of three characters. Battles are turn-based, but play more like a simple tactical RPG.

Those are the basics for both games. There are some similarities between them, and some pretty big differences. Let’s get into the main differences.

Main Differences 

Destiny of an Emperor and Inindo: Way of the Ninja are both alternate history turn-based RPGs, but that is where things end. They have differences in setting, gameplay, and story.

Destiny of an Emperor is all about unifying China. It follows the events of the manga, which means you’ll have alternate takes on historical battles and figures. Inindo is a revenge story. It is like an extended training montage where you learn the skill you need to defeat Oda Nobunaga.

There is a lot more exploration in Inindo. It has a very large world map, which is actually one of the problems with the game. Destiny of an Emperor is a bit more linear as you move through the game in more or less a straight line. There are some parts where you can do things out of order, but those are few and far between.

While these are both turn-based RPGs, they don’t take the same approach to combat. Destiny of an Emperor has you form a group of five generals with two in reserve. You have to have a tactician to use the “magic” in the game. You can have a lot of generals on your team, but you can only use five during combat.

Inindo has you form a party of three characters. You have to do more work to convince people to join you, and you can’t have any in reserve. In combat, you can move your characters on the battlefield like an over-simplified tactical RPG.

Those are the main differences between the two games that I can think of. There are more minor differences, which I might get into later. Let’s get into what each game does better than the other.  

What Does Inindo do Better?

There are a few things that this game does better than Destiny of an Emperor. It lets you explore more, has better combat, and has more character classes. Inindo feels like more of a traditional console RPG while still being unique.

This game has a very large map, and it doesn’t restrain the player in the same way that Destiny of an Emperor does. You can freely explore large sections of it, and new sections open up as you get further in the game. Since this game is like a lengthy training montage, I like how this is done.

The combat is better in this game when compared to Destiny of an Emperor. I like the movement, combat, and magic systems more. It feels like a simple tactical RPG, which is something I love. There are a few things that are off, but it is better overall.

Inindo has character classes. This is something that Destiny of an Emperor doesn’t do, aside from the tacticians. Having classes makes the combat more exciting and adds more strategy to it. There is a more involved and thought-out magic system, and things feel less random.

These are a few of the things that Inindo does better than Destiny of an Emperor. It has some very cool ideas, and I love how it tries something different from other RPGs. The combat looks and feels like a more evolved form of what is in Robotrek. Let’s look at what Destiny of an Emperor does better.

What Does Destiny of an Emperor do Better?

Destiny of an Emperor has several things going for it that I can say are better than Inindo. I like the setting more, getting new characters is easier, and I like that there is a core group of characters you need to recruit. While both games are unique, Destiny of an Emperor does a better job of standing out and being a good game.

I like the setting of China’s Three Kingdoms period more than 1500s Japan. I’m more familiar with it, and I like this game’s version of it. This low-fantasy interpretation of what happened is a lot of fun, even if it isn’t much different from the more popular versions.

Recruiting characters is much easier in Destiny of an Emperor. You don’t have to reach a specific level before you can get new party members, and most of them will join you willingly. There are several main characters that you meet during the course of the game, which is something that I always like.

Destiny of an Emperor has a collection of main characters that you have to find over the course of the game. This helps the characters to stand out more, and you get a better idea of their motivations. With Inindo, the only character who has a strong motive is the main character. The others just join you because they like you.

These are the big things that stood out to me when I looked at these two games. There are a lot of minor differences between them, but these were the major differences. Let’s get into which is better and which I want to play again.  

Which is Better Overall and Why? 

For me, Destiny of an Emperor is the better game. There is just more going on in this game. The story is better, and there is more to do. This game also does a better job of using the large number of characters in the game.

The game’s story is more enjoyable for me. I love the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and while this is an alternate take on it, I find it to be very good. Destiny of an Emperor also has a more interesting plot. It feels like what you’re doing is the most important thing in the game.

Both games have a huge cast of playable characters, and you have to convince some of them to join your side. Destiny of an Emperor does a better job of utilizing them, as you can recruit more of them at one time. It is also operating on a grander scale as your character represents armies instead of an individual.

I have way too many memories of this game. It is one of my favorite games of all time, and a game that I really enjoy playing. The setting is also more interesting to me. I love just about everything about it.

Which Would I Rather Play?

Inindo is the game I would rather play again. It has more to do with it being newer to me, and that I would like to go back and see if I can do better. There are also more options in the gameplay aside from the base story.

Inindo has a lot of characters, and I barely scratched the surface on party customization. For most of the game, I stuck with the same two companions and didn’t experiment as much as I could’ve. While they aren’t very developed, I would like to see how the gameplay changes with a different party construction.

This is also a period of history that I don’t know too much about. Maybe playing this alternate take on what happened will get me interested in it. That is what happened with Destiny of an Emperor and Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

Going back to play games like this can be a lot of fun. I didn’t know about this game until the late 2000s, and even then, I didn’t really give it a chance. It is a decent RPG that I can see growing on me the more that I play it.

Conclusion 

Comparing these games made me look at each of them a little differently. These are both alternate history games, and while they weren’t all that inventive with their stories, it is fun to see them side by side. This wasn’t a narrative genre that got used all that often in console video games in the early 1990s.

Destiny of an Emperor is one of my favorite video games, so anything going up against it is going to have a tough time beating it. Inindo is a good game, and I like the story, at least the setup for the story. There is an awkwardness that I don’t see in Destiny of an Emperor.

Neither game is bad, but one feels more polished than the other. Inindo was a good first start, but it felt like the game needed to be refined in some way. Both games have problems, but they aren’t by any means bad games. Destiny of an Emperor is a very fun and unique game, just like Inindo is.

If you liked this post, please check out the other posts in this series, such as Final Fantasy Mystic Quest vs Final Fantasy or Phantasy Star III vs Phantasy Star II.