is a

real-time Real-time or real time describes various operations in computing or other processes that must guarantee response times within a specified time (deadline), usually a relatively short time. A real-time process is generally one that happens in defined ...

strategy

war game A wargame is a strategy game in which two or more players command opposing armed forces in a realistic simulation of an armed conflict. Wargaming may be played for recreation, to train military officers in the art of strategic thinking, or to s ...

by Nihon Falcom. The game is considered to be part of the ''

Dragon Slayer A dragonslayer is a person or being that slays dragons. Dragonslayers and the creatures they hunt have been popular in traditional stories from around the world: they are a type of story classified as type 300 in the Aarne–Thompson classifica ...

'' series. It was originally released in 1991 for the

NEC PC-9801 The , commonly shortened to PC-98 or , is a lineup of Japanese 16-bit and 32-bit personal computers manufactured by NEC from 1982 to 2000. The platform established NEC's dominance in the Japanese personal computer market, and, by 1999, more th ...

, ported 1992 to the

Super Famicom The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a Fourth generation of video game consoles, 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South ...

and 1994 to the

Mega Drive The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master System. Sega released it in 1988 in Japan a ...

. In 1997, it was remade for

Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for ser ...

as ''Lord Monarch Online'' and released for free in both Japanese, and for the first time, English. ''Lord Monarch'' is one of the 42 titles included in the Japanese version of the

Mega Drive Mini The Sega Genesis Mini, known as the Mega Drive Mini in regions outside of North America, is a dedicated console modeled on the Sega Genesis. The Mini emulates the original console's 16-bit hardware, and includes 42 games ported by M2. It was r ...

Gameplay

Super Famicom version

The Super Famicom version is similar to the Sega Mega Drive version, except there are more themes in addition to the

medieval Europe In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

theme. There is a futuristic theme with robots, a fast food theme with French fries and soft drinks attacking

health food A healthy diet is a diet that maintains or improves overall health. A healthy diet provides the body with essential nutrition: fluid, macronutrients such as protein, micronutrients such as vitamins, and adequate fibre and food energy. A health ...

, a

Three Kingdoms The Three Kingdoms () from 220 to 280 AD was the tripartite division of China among the dynastic states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The Three Kingdoms period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and was followed by the West ...

era theme, and a

fairy-tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic, enchantments, and mythical or fanciful beings. In most cult ...

theme. The game is automatically paused until someone presses the ''Start'' button, so there is unlimited time for making alliances in the Super Famicom version—until the start button is pressed. This mode gives the player the advantage unlike the Sega Mega Drive version because the player may take time to choose a strategically advantageous ally. The Super Famicom version of ''Lord Monarch'' was one of the few games to support the Super Famicom mouse. A later version of the game was broadcast exclusively for Japanese markets via the Super Famicom's Satellaview subunit under the name ''BS Lord Monarch''.

Mega Drive version

The object is to destroy all the camps and

peasant A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasant ...

s of all the player's rival kingdoms under a strict time limit. Alliances can be formed near the beginning of the game to help the player. However, the alliance is only effective until the enemy alliance is defeated. Then the former allies declare war on each other. Victory through a cunning alliance is impossible because game rules dictate that there can only be ''one'' winner at the end of the game; that is why the two former allies need to go to war in order to claim the victory. Peasants have to do

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

tasks as well as

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

tasks. For example, bridges, monster-filled caves, and fences can be created or destroyed for the purposes of strategy. Peasants may also merge their units to become

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word , from Old French ...

s and eventually

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

s when there are enough units in that army. Players can play in either campaign (which consists of helping a king eradicate a rebel force) or battle mode (where players take on three rival kingdoms simultaneously while expanding their own nations). In battle mode the player can choose from a large array of different art styles, such as playing as a foreign Japanese army, animals trying to take over a forest, monsters in hell or even as a fast food business. These modes do not effect the gameplay in any way however each mode has its own unique levels. The simplistic

diplomacy Diplomacy comprises spoken or written communication by representatives of states (such as leaders and diplomats) intended to influence events in the international system.Ronald Peter Barston, ''Modern diplomacy'', Pearson Education, 2006, p. ...

system can never be used in a match after five minutes in the game, making it useful only for delaying war with a neighboring kingdom. Human units as well as

orc An Orc (or Ork) is a fictional humanoid monster like a goblin. Orcs were brought into modern usage by the fantasy writings of J. R. R. Tolkien, especially '' The Lord of the Rings''. In Tolkien's works, Orcs are a brutish, aggressive, ugl ...

s and demons are used for peasants, soldiers, and knights. Also, a leader can be a warrior, a magician, or a

shaman Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spir ...

. The player has a leader

avatar Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appeara ...

that must liberate hanged men from the gallows to be his assistant, collect

treasure chest Treasure (from la, thesaurus from Greek language ''thēsauros'', "treasure store") is a concentration of wealth — often originating from ancient history — that is considered lost and/or forgotten until rediscovered. Some jurisdictions leg ...

s from the countryside in order to gain a mass influx of gold, and force nearby cities to pay taxes. This turns the city's banners into the player's colors and at a random time, a

taxman "Taxman" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1966 album '' Revolver''. Written by the group's lead guitarist, George Harrison, with some lyrical assistance from John Lennon, it protests against the higher level of progre ...

appears and brings gold pieces to the player's castle to help with the war effort. Taxes must be controlled or else the player will go bankrupt and lose the game. Even the three computer controlled opponents must control their tax rates. There is a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

environment to the game in all levels of the game.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lord Monarch 1991 video games Dragon Slayer (series) Epoch Co. games Fantasy video games FM Towns games Fortyfive games Japan-exclusive video games NEC PC-9801 games PlayStation (console) games PlayStation Network games Satellaview games Sega Genesis games Super Nintendo Entertainment System games Video games developed in Japan Virtual Console games Multiplayer and single-player video games Nihon Falcom games