Play Tenchi wo Kurau II - Shokatsu Koumei Den (Japan) Online

Tenchi wo Kurau II, released by Capcom for the NES in 1991, is an action game set in the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. It arrived late in the console's life, a time when developers were pushing the hardware to its limits, and it shows in the detailed sprites and large battle scenes. You don't see many games from that era attempting to depict warfare on this scale.

You control one of several generals, like Guan Yu or Zhang Fei, fighting through side-scrolling stages filled with enemy soldiers and officers. Your main goal is to defeat the opposing army's commander at the end of each stage. The combat relies on careful timing with your spear or sword; button mashing gets you surrounded and killed quickly. You also have a super attack that builds up as you fight, letting you clear the screen when things get too hectic. The game is fast and difficult, demanding that you learn enemy patterns and manage your positioning. It feels like you are leading a charge through a chaotic battlefield, not just playing a character.