Warriors of Fate
Introduction
Warriors of Fate was developed and published by Capcom for arcades, released in October 1992 under the Japanese title Tenchi wo Kurau II: Battle of Red Cliffs, making it the third Capcom game based on the Tenchi wo Kurau manga and the second actual video game adaptation, following 1989’s Dynasty Wars. Set during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history and loosely dramatizing events building toward the historic Battle of Red Cliffs, the game lets up to three players choose from a roster of warriors including Chinese folk hero Guan Yu, fighting through side-scrolling battlefield stages against waves of soldiers and larger enemy commanders. Combat blends typical beat ’em up brawling with weapon-based attacks and character-specific special moves, giving each playable warrior a distinct fighting style suited to the era’s arms and armor rather than the more contemporary settings most of Capcom’s other brawlers used. Later ported to the Sega Saturn and original PlayStation and eventually folded into the Capcom Beat ‘Em Up Bundle in 2018, Warriors of Fate stands out among Capcom’s early-90s arcade lineup for its unusually specific historical setting and its roots in a genuinely popular Japanese manga license.
