Genpei ToumaDen
Encyclopedia
is a side-scrolling action game
produced by Namco
that was released as a coin-operated video game
in in Japan
, and in Europe
with Genpei name only. It runs on Namco System 86
hardware. Over a decade later, the game was released in America and Europe in the video game compilation Namco Museum Vol. 4
under the title of The Genji and the Heike Clans.
painting landscape fighting enemies as they appear. The game offers three types of action: Small Mode (standard), Big Mode (standard, but with large characters and usually boss fights) and Plain Mode (viewed from an overhead perspective). Most stages have torii
, which are used to transport the player to a different stage. On most stages featured in Side Mode and Plain Mode, there are multiple torii that can be entered which will lead to different routes on the map. In Big Mode, however, there is only one torii at the end of this type of stage.
The leading character is a historical Japanese samurai
, Taira no Kagekiyo
(also known as Akushichibyōe Kagekiyo
) who fell in the Battle of Dan-no-ura
at the end of the Genpei War
. In Genpei Tōma Den, he was resurrected and fights Minamoto no Yoshitsune
and Saito Musashibo Benkei
over the Imperial Regalia of Japan
, as well as to defeat his enemy Minamoto no Yoritomo
.
The game also features the Sanzu River
, a place believed in Japanese Buddhism
to separate "the current life" and "the afterlife", resembling the concept of the Underworld
or Hell
(The river is often identified with the River Styx in Greek Mythology
). Therefore, some mythological characters like Emma-o
(閻魔大王; literally "Enma Dai-o"), god of the Underworld, and the Sun Goddess Amaterasu
appear in the game.
home computer. Like most arcade games ported to the Sharp X68000, this version of Genpei Tōma Den was nearly identical to the game's arcade counterpart. The game was also ported to the PC Engine
(the Japanese TurboGrafx-16
) and released on March 16, 1990. The PC Engine version was also released for the Wii
's Virtual Console
.
Genpei Tōma Den was also featured on the Namco Museum Vol. 4 compilation game for the PlayStation
game console, released in 1996 for Japan and 1997 for the U.S. and Europe. For the U.S. and European releases, the game was re-titled as The Genji and the Heike Clans. This would be the first time the original Genpei Tōma Den would make an appearance outside of Japan.
cartridge for play. This package was titled Genpei Tōma Den: Computer Boardgame.
Genpei Tōma Den: Kan no Ni, a sequel to Genpei Tōma Den, was released on April 7, 1992 exclusively for the PC Engine
. Surprisingly enough, this game also had an American release titled Samurai Ghost
for the TurboGrafx-16. This was the only Genpei Tōma Den game released outside of Japan before Namco Museum Vol. 4.
. He also appeared as a playable character in the Japan-only RPG
titled Namco x Capcom
. In the game he teams up with Heishirō Mitsurugi from Soul series
and Tarosuke from Shadow Land. In addition, Yoshitsune, Benkei, Yoshinaka and Yoritomo also appeared as bosses. In Tales of Eternia
(known as Tales of Destiny II in the U.S.), he appeared along with Rick Taylor from the Splatterhouse series
in the Aifread's Tomb dungeon to bar the player from advancing through certain doorways. In Tales of Phantasia: Narikiri Dungeon
there's a Kagekiyo's costume to be worn. Kagekiyo's armor also appears in the character creation mode of Soul Calibur III
, in which it is possible to create a character in his likeness. In Tekken 6
is possible to customize the character Yoshimitsu in order to make him similar to Kagekiyo.
Action game
Action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes diverse subgenres such as fighting games, shooter games, and platform games, which are widely considered the most important action games, though some...
produced by Namco
Namco
is a Japanese corporation best known as a former video game developer and publisher. Following a merger with Bandai in September 2005, the two companies' game production assets were spun off into Namco Bandai Games on March 31, 2006. Namco Ltd. was re-established to continue domestic operation of...
that was released as a coin-operated video game
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
in in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, and in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
with Genpei name only. It runs on Namco System 86
Namco System 86
The Namco System 86 arcade system board was first used by Namco in 1986. It was succeeded by the more powerful Namco System 1 arcade board.-Namco System 86 Specifications:Processors:* Main CPU: Motorola 6809 @ 1.536 MHz...
hardware. Over a decade later, the game was released in America and Europe in the video game compilation Namco Museum Vol. 4
Namco Museum
Namco Museum refers to the series of video game compilations released by Namco for various 32-bit and above consoles, containing releases of their games from the 1980s and early 1990s...
under the title of The Genji and the Heike Clans.
Gameplay
The player makes his way along a Yamato-eYamato-e
Yamato-e is a style of Japanese painting inspired by Tang Dynasty paintings and developed in the late Heian period. It is considered the classical Japanese style...
painting landscape fighting enemies as they appear. The game offers three types of action: Small Mode (standard), Big Mode (standard, but with large characters and usually boss fights) and Plain Mode (viewed from an overhead perspective). Most stages have torii
Torii
A is a traditional Japanese gate most commonly found at the entrance of or within a Shinto shrine, where it symbolically marks the transition from the profane to the sacred...
, which are used to transport the player to a different stage. On most stages featured in Side Mode and Plain Mode, there are multiple torii that can be entered which will lead to different routes on the map. In Big Mode, however, there is only one torii at the end of this type of stage.
The leading character is a historical Japanese samurai
Samurai
is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...
, Taira no Kagekiyo
Taira no Kagekiyo
Taira no Kagekiyo , also known as Kazusa no Shichirō , was a samurai of the Taira clan who took part in the Genpei War of Japan, against the Minamoto clan....
(also known as Akushichibyōe Kagekiyo
Taira no Kagekiyo
Taira no Kagekiyo , also known as Kazusa no Shichirō , was a samurai of the Taira clan who took part in the Genpei War of Japan, against the Minamoto clan....
) who fell in the Battle of Dan-no-ura
Battle of Dan-no-ura
The ' was a major sea battle of the Genpei War, occurring at Dan-no-ura, in the Shimonoseki Strait off the southern tip of Honshū. On March 24, 1185, the Genji clan fleet, led by Minamoto no Yoshitsune, defeated the Heike clan fleet, during a half-day engagement.The Taira were outnumbered, but...
at the end of the Genpei War
Genpei War
The was a conflict between the Taira and Minamoto clans during the late-Heian period of Japan. It resulted in the fall of the Taira clan and the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate under Minamoto Yoritomo in 1192....
. In Genpei Tōma Den, he was resurrected and fights Minamoto no Yoshitsune
Minamoto no Yoshitsune
was a general of the Minamoto clan of Japan in the late Heian and early Kamakura period. Yoshitsune was the ninth son of Minamoto no Yoshitomo, and the third and final son and child that Yoshitomo would father with Tokiwa Gozen. Yoshitsune's older brother Minamoto no Yoritomo founded the Kamakura...
and Saito Musashibo Benkei
Saito Musashibo Benkei
, popularly called Benkei, was a Japanese warrior monk who served Minamoto no Yoshitsune. He is commonly depicted as a man of great strength and loyalty, and a popular subject of Japanese folklore.-Biography:...
over the Imperial Regalia of Japan
Imperial Regalia of Japan
The , also known as the Three Sacred Treasures of Japan, consist of the sword Kusanagi , the mirror Yata no Kagami , and the jewel Yasakani no Magatama...
, as well as to defeat his enemy Minamoto no Yoritomo
Minamoto no Yoritomo
was the founder and the first shogun of the Kamakura Shogunate of Japan. He ruled from 1192 until 1199.-Early life and exile :Yoritomo was the third son of Minamoto no Yoshitomo, heir of the Minamoto clan, and his official wife, a daughter of Fujiwara no Suenori, who was a member of the...
.
The game also features the Sanzu River
Sanzu River
The Sanzu River , or River of Three Crossings, is a Japanese Buddhist tradition and religious belief similar to the River Styx...
, a place believed in Japanese Buddhism
Buddhism in Japan
The history of Buddhism in Japan can be roughly divided into three periods, namely the Nara period , the Heian period and the post-Heian period . Each period saw the introduction of new doctrines and upheavals in existing schools...
to separate "the current life" and "the afterlife", resembling the concept of the Underworld
Underworld
The Underworld is a region which is thought to be under the surface of the earth in some religions and in mythologies. It could be a place where the souls of the recently departed go, and in some traditions it is identified with Hell or the realm of death...
or Hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
(The river is often identified with the River Styx in Greek Mythology
Greek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
). Therefore, some mythological characters like Emma-o
Yama (Buddhism and Chinese mythology)
Yama the name of the Buddhist dharmapala and judge of the dead, who presides over the Buddhist Narakas , "Hells" or "Purgatories". Although ultimately based on the god Yama of the Hindu Vedas, the Buddhist Yama has developed different myths and different functions from the Hindu deity...
(閻魔大王; literally "Enma Dai-o"), god of the Underworld, and the Sun Goddess Amaterasu
Amaterasu
, or is apart of the Japanese myth cycle and also a major deity of the Shinto religion. She is the goddess of the sun, but also of the universe. the name Amaterasu derived from Amateru meaning "shining in heaven." The meaning of her whole name, Amaterasu-ōmikami, is "the great August kami who...
appear in the game.
Ports
The game's first port was released in 1988 for the Japanese Sharp X68000Sharp X68000
The Sharp X68000, often referred to as the X68k, is a home computer released only in Japan by the Sharp Corporation. The first model was released in 1987, with a 10 MHz Motorola 68000 CPU, 1 MB of RAM and no hard drive; the last model was released in 1993 with a 25 MHz Motorola 68030...
home computer. Like most arcade games ported to the Sharp X68000, this version of Genpei Tōma Den was nearly identical to the game's arcade counterpart. The game was also ported to the PC Engine
TurboGrafx-16
TurboGrafx-16, fully titled as TurboGrafx-16 Entertainment SuperSystem and known in Japan as the , is a video game console developed by Hudson Soft and NEC, released in Japan on October 30, 1987, and in North America on August 29, 1989....
(the Japanese TurboGrafx-16
TurboGrafx-16
TurboGrafx-16, fully titled as TurboGrafx-16 Entertainment SuperSystem and known in Japan as the , is a video game console developed by Hudson Soft and NEC, released in Japan on October 30, 1987, and in North America on August 29, 1989....
) and released on March 16, 1990. The PC Engine version was also released for the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
's Virtual Console
Virtual console
A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...
.
Genpei Tōma Den was also featured on the Namco Museum Vol. 4 compilation game for the PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
game console, released in 1996 for Japan and 1997 for the U.S. and Europe. For the U.S. and European releases, the game was re-titled as The Genji and the Heike Clans. This would be the first time the original Genpei Tōma Den would make an appearance outside of Japan.
Related games
On October 21, 1988, Namco released an interactive board game based on Genpei Tōma Den, which also used a FamicomNintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
cartridge for play. This package was titled Genpei Tōma Den: Computer Boardgame.
Genpei Tōma Den: Kan no Ni, a sequel to Genpei Tōma Den, was released on April 7, 1992 exclusively for the PC Engine
TurboGrafx-16
TurboGrafx-16, fully titled as TurboGrafx-16 Entertainment SuperSystem and known in Japan as the , is a video game console developed by Hudson Soft and NEC, released in Japan on October 30, 1987, and in North America on August 29, 1989....
. Surprisingly enough, this game also had an American release titled Samurai Ghost
Samurai Ghost
Samurai Ghost, released in Japan as , is a 1992 action game released by Namco for the TurboGrafx-16. The game is the sequel to Genpei Tōma Den, and is the first game in the series to be released outside Japan...
for the TurboGrafx-16. This was the only Genpei Tōma Den game released outside of Japan before Namco Museum Vol. 4.
Other appearances in media
Kagekiyo has made a few appearances in other video games developed by Namco. He became a featured playable character in the Wonderswan Color game Namco Super WarsNamco Super Wars
Namco Super Wars is a tactical role-playing game developed by Namco and published by Bandai for the Wonderswan Color. It is a crossover game, featuring characters from several classic Namco titles.-Gameplay:...
. He also appeared as a playable character in the Japan-only RPG
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
titled Namco x Capcom
Namco x Capcom
is an action RPG/tactical RPG hybrid game for the PlayStation 2 console, developed by Monolith Soft and featuring characters from games produced by companies Namco and Capcom.- Storyline :...
. In the game he teams up with Heishirō Mitsurugi from Soul series
Soul (series)
The is a weapon-based historical fantasy fighting game series by Namco Bandai Games. The series revolves around a sword that, after years of bloodshed and hatred, gained a soul of its own, the Soul Edge, and the sword forged to counter it, Soul Calibur. The series is special in that each character...
and Tarosuke from Shadow Land. In addition, Yoshitsune, Benkei, Yoshinaka and Yoritomo also appeared as bosses. In Tales of Eternia
Tales of Eternia
is a Japanese PlayStation action role-playing video game released by Namco on November 30, 2000, selling 873,000 copies and later ported to the PlayStation Portable on March 3, 2005, selling 398,000 copies. Tales of Eternia's characteristic genre name is...
(known as Tales of Destiny II in the U.S.), he appeared along with Rick Taylor from the Splatterhouse series
Splatterhouse
is a beat 'em up arcade game developed and published by Namco. It is also subsequently the title of the entire series of games released in home console and personal computer formats....
in the Aifread's Tomb dungeon to bar the player from advancing through certain doorways. In Tales of Phantasia: Narikiri Dungeon
Tales of Phantasia: Narikiri Dungeon
is an RPG for the Game Boy Color released by Namco on November 10, 2000, selling 136,000 copies. Tales of Phantasia: Narikiri Dungeon's characteristic genre name is . It is the first sequel in the Tales series, which normally does not have connected storylines...
there's a Kagekiyo's costume to be worn. Kagekiyo's armor also appears in the character creation mode of Soul Calibur III
Soul Calibur III
is a fighting game produced by Namco and is the sequel to Soulcalibur II and is the fourth overall installment in the Soul series of fighting games...
, in which it is possible to create a character in his likeness. In Tekken 6
Tekken 6
is a fighting game developed and published by Namco Bandai. It is the eighth game in the Tekken franchise. It was released in Japanese arcades on November 26, 2007 as the first game running on the PlayStation 3-based System 357 arcade board. The game received an update, subtitled Bloodline...
is possible to customize the character Yoshimitsu in order to make him similar to Kagekiyo.