Sango Fighter
Encyclopedia
Sango Fighter is a fighting game
for DOS
made by the Taiwanese
Panda Entertainment and released in 1993. Set in the Three Kingdoms
period of Chinese history, it is very similar to Street Fighter
, but with historical context.
Shareware developer and publisher Apogee Software
was planning on licensing and releasing the game in the United States under the title Violent Vengeance, but the plans for the deal fell through. Instead, the game was distributed in English under its original title by a Taiwanese company named Accend, albeit without official permission from Panda Entertainment.
In 1995, Taiwan's fledgling 16-bit Super A'can
game console saw release of a cartridge version of Sango Fighter, completely programmed inhouse by a single employee of Panda Entertainment. Being a rushed port from the PC version using a confusing and buggy Super A'can
development kit, this version of the game suffered from stale, awkward gameplay and quite a few glitches.
The game was illegally port
ed to the Sega Master System
console, with the name Sangokushi, and released only in South Korea
. This port is one of the larger games in the console library, with 8 megabit
s of data size.
A sequel was released in 1995, Fighter in China 2, with more characters and more detailed graphics. Fighter in China 2 also featured a conquest mode in which the player attempted to unify the empire by invading other nations. In addition, the kingdom of Wu was added to the game.
There may have also been a planned, but unfinished 3D sequel by Panda Entertainment. However, the former owner of Panda's intellectual properties stated that no records of any such title exist.
"Sango" is a rough romanization of Three Kingdoms. Using pinyin
, it would be romanized as "san guo".
While Sango Fighter was quite popular in Taiwan, a lawsuit by C&E Inc. (producers of the PC fighting game Super Fighter
) stopped Panda Entertainment from distributing the game, let alone adapting it to other machines. Thus the game was never able to reach its full market potential.
The following additional characters are available in Sango Fighter 2.
Cao Cao is not a playable character in Sango Fighter 2, but he retains a role as a character within the story. Liu Bei
, Sun Quan
, Sima Yi
, Zhuge Liang
and Zhou Yu
also serve as story characters.
It is also interesting to note that, even though Sun Ce served as leader of the kingdom of Wu historically before his death, in Sango Fighter 2, he is made a subordinate of his younger brother.
. Following this, on June 18, 2009, both Chinese and English language editions of the game were released as freeware on the Official Sango Fighter Website.
Fighting game
Fighting game is a video game genre where the player controls an on-screen character and engages in close combat with an opponent. These characters tend to be of equal power and fight matches consisting of several rounds, which take place in an arena. Players must master techniques such as...
for DOS
DOS
DOS, short for "Disk Operating System", is an acronym for several closely related operating systems that dominated the IBM PC compatible market between 1981 and 1995, or until about 2000 if one includes the partially DOS-based Microsoft Windows versions 95, 98, and Millennium Edition.Related...
made by the Taiwanese
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
Panda Entertainment and released in 1993. Set in the Three Kingdoms
Three Kingdoms
The Three Kingdoms period was a period in Chinese history, part of an era of disunity called the "Six Dynasties" following immediately the loss of de facto power of the Han Dynasty rulers. In a strict academic sense it refers to the period between the foundation of the state of Wei in 220 and the...
period of Chinese history, it is very similar to Street Fighter
Street Fighter
, commonly abbreviated as SF, is a series of Fighting Games developed in Japan in which the players pit the video games' competitive fighters from around the world, each with his or her own unique fighting style, against one another...
, but with historical context.
Shareware developer and publisher Apogee Software
3D Realms
3D Realms is a current video game publisher and former video game developer based in Garland, Texas, United States, established in 1987...
was planning on licensing and releasing the game in the United States under the title Violent Vengeance, but the plans for the deal fell through. Instead, the game was distributed in English under its original title by a Taiwanese company named Accend, albeit without official permission from Panda Entertainment.
In 1995, Taiwan's fledgling 16-bit Super A'can
Super A'Can
The Super A'can is a console that was released exclusively in Taiwan in 1995 by Funtech Entertainment. At first glance it appears to be a Super Nintendo clone with the case and controllers bearing a strong similarity to the Japanese version, but inside is a Motorola 68000, similar to the Sega...
game console saw release of a cartridge version of Sango Fighter, completely programmed inhouse by a single employee of Panda Entertainment. Being a rushed port from the PC version using a confusing and buggy Super A'can
Super A'Can
The Super A'can is a console that was released exclusively in Taiwan in 1995 by Funtech Entertainment. At first glance it appears to be a Super Nintendo clone with the case and controllers bearing a strong similarity to the Japanese version, but inside is a Motorola 68000, similar to the Sega...
development kit, this version of the game suffered from stale, awkward gameplay and quite a few glitches.
The game was illegally port
Port
A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....
ed to the Sega Master System
Sega Master System
The is a third-generation video game console that was manufactured and released by Sega in 1985 in Japan , 1986 in North America and 1987 in Europe....
console, with the name Sangokushi, and released only in South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
. This port is one of the larger games in the console library, with 8 megabit
Megabit
The megabit is a multiple of the unit bit for digital information or computer storage. The prefix mega is defined in the International System of Units as a multiplier of 106 , and therefore...
s of data size.
A sequel was released in 1995, Fighter in China 2, with more characters and more detailed graphics. Fighter in China 2 also featured a conquest mode in which the player attempted to unify the empire by invading other nations. In addition, the kingdom of Wu was added to the game.
There may have also been a planned, but unfinished 3D sequel by Panda Entertainment. However, the former owner of Panda's intellectual properties stated that no records of any such title exist.
"Sango" is a rough romanization of Three Kingdoms. Using pinyin
Pinyin
Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...
, it would be romanized as "san guo".
While Sango Fighter was quite popular in Taiwan, a lawsuit by C&E Inc. (producers of the PC fighting game Super Fighter
Super Fighter
Super Fighter is a fighting game for IBM-PC systems running MS-DOS. It was developed by C&E, Inc. of Taiwan, and first released in Taiwan on February 20, 1993...
) stopped Panda Entertainment from distributing the game, let alone adapting it to other machines. Thus the game was never able to reach its full market potential.
Characters
The following is a list of the playable characters from Sango Fighter.- Guan YuGuan YuGuan Yu was a general serving under the warlord Liu Bei during the late Eastern Han Dynasty of China. He played a significant role in the civil war that led to the collapse of the Han Dynasty and the establishment of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period, of which Liu Bei was the...
- Zhang Fei
- Zhao YunZhao YunZhao Yun was a military general who lived during the late Han Dynasty and early Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. For most of his career, Zhao served the warlord Liu Bei, playing a part in the establishment of state of Shu Han...
- Ma ChaoMa ChaoMa Chao was the oldest son of Ma Teng and a military general during the late Han Dynasty and early Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. In Luo Guanzhong's historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, he received the nickname "Ma Chao the Splendid" due to his elaborate armour and grand skill...
- Huang ZhongHuang ZhongHuang Zhong was a military general serving under the warlord Liu Bei during the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history. He was most noted for his victory in the Battle of Mount Dingjun, in which his force routed that of Xiahou Yuan, who was slain during battle...
- Xiahou DunXiahou DunXiahou Dun was a military general serving under the warlord Cao Cao during the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history. Cao Cao's original family name was Xiahou, but his father Cao Song was the adopted son of the eunuch Cao Teng, so Xiahou Dun and Cao Cao share blood relations...
- Xiahou YuanXiahou YuanXiahou Yuan was a military general serving under the warlord Cao Cao during the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history. He was killed in the Battle of Mount Dingjun against Liu Bei's general Huang Zhong in 219, and was given the posthumous title of Marquis Min , literally meaning "sympathetic...
- Xu HuangXu HuangXu Huang was a military general serving under the warlord Cao Cao during the late Han Dynasty era of Chinese history. He served the state of Cao Wei, founded by Cao Cao's successor Cao Pi, during the Three Kingdoms period...
- Xu ChuXu ChuXu Chu was a warrior who lived during the late Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. He served as a bodyguard to the warlord Cao Cao. Gigantic and strong, yet simple-minded and honest, Xu Chu was referred to as "Dumb Tiger" by his fellow men...
- Dian WeiDian WeiDian Wei was a military general serving under the warlord Cao Cao during the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history. Famed for his enormous strength, Dian Wei excelled in wielding dual halberds, each of which was said to weigh 40 jin...
- Lü BuLü BuLü Bu was a military general and later a minor warlord during the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history. According to the Records of Three Kingdoms, Lü Bu was highly-skilled in horse-riding and archery, and was thus nicknamed "Flying General"...
- Cao CaoCao CaoCao Cao was a warlord and the penultimate chancellor of the Eastern Han Dynasty who rose to great power during the dynasty's final years. As one of the central figures of the Three Kingdoms period, he laid the foundations for what was to become the state of Cao Wei and was posthumously titled...
The following additional characters are available in Sango Fighter 2.
- Zhang LiaoZhang LiaoZhang Liao was a military general serving under the warlord Cao Cao during the late Han Dynasty and early Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. He participated in many campaigns, including those against Yuan Shao's clan and the Wuhuan tribes...
- Gan NingGan NingGan Ning was a military general serving under the warlord Sun Quan during the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history. He was born in Linjiang, Ba Commandery .-Early life as a pirate:...
- Taishi CiTaishi CiTaishi Ci was a military general during the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history. He served several warlords, including Kong Rong, Liu Yao, and Sun Ce.-Early life:...
- Huang GaiHuang GaiHuang Gai was a military general who served the warlord Sun family of Eastern Wu for three generations during the late Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history...
- Sun CeSun CeSun Ce was a military general and warlord during the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history. He was the oldest of the children of Sun Jian who was killed during the Battle of Xiangyang when Sun Ce was only 16. Sun Ce then broke away from his father's overlord, Yuan Shu, and headed to...
Cao Cao is not a playable character in Sango Fighter 2, but he retains a role as a character within the story. Liu Bei
Liu Bei
Liu Bei , also known as Liu Xuande, was a warlord, military general and later the founding emperor of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history...
, Sun Quan
Sun Quan
Sun Quan , son of Sun Jian, formally Emperor Da of Wu, was the founder of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. He ruled from 222 to 229 as King of Wu and from 229 to 252 as Emperor of Wu....
, Sima Yi
Sima Yi
Sima Yi was a general and politician of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. He is perhaps best known for defending Wei from Zhuge Liang's Northern Expeditions...
, Zhuge Liang
Zhuge Liang
Zhuge Liang was a chancellor of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. He is often recognised as the greatest and most accomplished strategist of his era....
and Zhou Yu
Zhou Yu
Zhou Yu was a military general and strategist who served his close friend, the warlord Sun Ce, during the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history...
also serve as story characters.
It is also interesting to note that, even though Sun Ce served as leader of the kingdom of Wu historically before his death, in Sango Fighter 2, he is made a subordinate of his younger brother.
Super Fighter Team
On February 24, 2009, the full legal rights to both Sango Fighter and its sequel were acquired by the North American company Super Fighter TeamSuper Fighter Team
Super Fighter Team is a video game development, production and publishing company whose primary focus is on producing new games for classic systems such as the Sega Genesis and Atari Lynx, among others...
. Following this, on June 18, 2009, both Chinese and English language editions of the game were released as freeware on the Official Sango Fighter Website.