A man who loved a story too much built a world where others could live inside it.
In 1985, Yoichi Erikawa — writing games under the pen name Kou Shibusawa, borrowed from his admiration for Meiji industrialist Shibusawa Eiichi — released Romance of the Three Kingdoms for the PC-88 simply because he wanted more people to know the story he loved. At the time, the Three Kingdoms narrative was barely known in Japan. The Famicom port arrived in October 1988 at ¥14,800 — equal to the cost of the Famicom console itself — because his wife Keiko insisted that a game requiring this much craft should not be sold cheap. Koei's motto was 'E&E': Entertainment and Education. The design philosophy held that history should not be a fixed textbook but an open stage: if ten people play the same game, ten different stories unfold. What Erikawa built was not merely a game. It was a demonstration that a single person's obsession with the past could become other people's doorway into history.
About this game
Koei's grand strategy game set in China's Three Kingdoms era, ported to the Famicom in 1988 after its original PC release. Players take the role of a warlord managing provinces, economy, diplomacy and warfare to unify the land. It became a defining title in Koei's long-running historical simulation lineage.
Gallery
The Story Behind
Romance of the Three Kingdoms was created by Koei, a company founded in 1978 by husband-and-wife team Yoichi Erikawa and Keiko Erikawa after their family dye business collapsed. Yoichi — a history enthusiast who taught himself BASIC programming on a Sharp MZ-80C his wife purchased for his 30th birthday — believed no existing game made meaningful use of history, so he built one himself. The original PC-8801 version launched in December 1985, adapting Luo Guanzhong's 14th-century Chinese novel about the warlord struggles of the Han dynasty's collapse into a grand-strategy simulation with 255 officers and five scenarios. Koei ported the game to Famicom in October 1988, bringing turn-based province management, diplomacy, and warfare to a mass console audience at a time when the format was almost unheard of on home systems. The game bore the credit 'A Kou Shibusawa Production' — the pen name Yoichi Erikawa used to keep his roles as company president and game developer separate.
Tricks & Tales
The Famicom cartridge was priced at 14,800 yen — the same cost as a Famicom console itself — reflecting Keiko Erikawa's firm belief that a product made with one's whole heart should never be sold cheaply. Compared to the PC original, the Famicom port improved the graphics but simplified the ruleset: the plundering and wandering commands were removed, certain diplomatic land-exchange options were cut, and battlefield combat was capped at a maximum of 30 turns. Each playthrough is different because the game's five scenarios and 255 historical officers create a branching web of political intrigue — characters can appear to offer loyalty before betraying the player. The franchise grew to 14 mainline entries and over 9.5 million units sold worldwide, and its character roster directly seeded the Dynasty Warriors series when Koei reimagined the same cast as action heroes in 2000. In 2016, Koei Tecmo formally named its historical strategy division 'A Kou Shibusawa Production,' turning a one-man pseudonym into an enduring studio brand.
Collector's Guide
Region & Compatibility
Famicom and NES are the same hardware family but use physically incompatible cartridge formats — Famicom carts have a 60-pin connector and a narrower shell, while NES carts use a 72-pin connector with a wider housing. You cannot insert a Famicom cartridge into a North American NES slot without an adapter, and vice versa. The Famicom itself has no lockout chip, so any Famicom cartridge from Japan will run on a Famicom console regardless of origin. If you are buying a Japanese Famicom cart to play on a NES, you will need a 60-to-72-pin physical adapter; if you own a Famicom, Japanese-market software is your native format and no workarounds are needed.
Maintenance Tips
The gold-plated edge connectors on Famicom and NES cartridges pick up skin oils and oxidation over decades — a gentle wipe with a cotton swab dampened in 90% or higher isopropyl alcohol, stroking along the length of the pins rather than across them, is the accepted standard. Let the alcohol fully evaporate before reinserting. The old habit of blowing into a cartridge is folklore: the moisture in breath causes slow corrosion of the contacts over time, and any improvement you felt came from the act of re-seating the cart, not from the breath itself. Nintendo eventually updated its own troubleshooting guidance to say explicitly: do not blow into your Game Paks.
Going deeper
Explore the machine this game ran on, and what to check before you buy or care for one:
What to Watch Out For
Before buying, these are the points worth knowing — from someone who handles original Japanese Sangokushi (Romance of the Three Kingdoms) copies regularly.
Will this Japanese Famicom cartridge work on a North American Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)?
No, not without an adapter. The Famicom uses a 60-pin edge connector while the NES uses a 72-pin connector with a physically different form factor — the two are incompatible at the cartridge slot level. Third-party adapters exist that bridge the pin difference and allow Famicom cartridges to run in a NES. On a Japanese Famicom, NES cartridges face the same incompatibility in reverse. To play Japanese Famicom software, you need a Japanese Famicom, a Famicom-compatible clone console, or a NES fitted with an appropriate adapter.
How should I clean a Famicom cartridge to ensure reliable play?
Apply 90% or higher isopropyl alcohol to a cotton swab and gently wipe the gold-plated PCB edge contacts on the base of the cartridge. Never blow into the cartridge — breath moisture accelerates contact corrosion over time. If cleaning is needed inside, Famicom cartridges use 3.8mm security game bit screws (not standard Phillips); a security bit screwdriver is required to open the shell without damage. Note that most Famicom boot failures originate in the 60-pin console slot rather than the cartridge itself — cleaning the console slot contacts separately with a contact cleaning tool is often the more effective fix.
Before You Buy
Things worth knowing before you buy Sangokushi (Romance of the Three Kingdoms)
A short checklist for buying a used Famicom cartridge wisely — useful with any seller, anywhere.
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Choose a seller who tests it before shipping
A copy that has actually been powered on and checked is a known quantity. An untested one is a gamble you only settle after it arrives.
Look for a seller who states it was function-tested and says what they confirmed. A serious seller can tell you exactly what was checked.
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Make sure it fits your console
This is a Japanese Famicom cartridge with a 60-pin connector; a North American NES uses a 72-pin slot, so it will not fit directly.
Play it on a matching Japanese console or a region-free system, and confirm the listing states the region.
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If this title saves your progress, check the battery
Cartridges that save use a small coin-cell battery that fades over decades — a dead one wipes your save without warning.
Ask the seller whether the save function was tested. Replacing the battery is possible, but doing so erases any existing save.
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Check that the contacts are clean
Dirty edge contacts are the most common cause of startup and sound trouble in cartridges of this age.
Choose a seller who cleans the contacts before shipping. A note that it was tested and cleaned means the basics were handled.
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Confirm it is genuine, not a reproduction
Sought-after titles are targets for reproduction boards with replacement labels.
Ask for a photo of the circuit board and look for factory markings. Favour a shop with a licensed second-hand dealer permit (古物商) — by law its stock has a traceable origin, your simplest guard against fakes.
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Read the seller's reviews and return policy
A 100% positive record across thousands of sales is close to a guarantee — packing, communication and problem-solving all work for everyone. A return policy protects you if something is off.
Read the feedback and confirm a clear return window before you buy.
The last step before buying anywhere is knowing what it's worth.
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