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| Genghis Khan | |
|---|---|
North American cover art for NES version | |
| Developer(s) | Koei |
| Publisher(s) | Koei |
| Composer(s) | Yoko Kanno |
| Series | Genghis Khan |
| Platform(s) | MSX, Nintendo Entertainment System, Amiga, MS-DOS |
| Release | PC-9801
|
| Genre(s) | Turn-based strategy |
| Mode(s) | Single-player or Multiplayer |
Genghis Khan, original full title Aoki Ōkami to Shiroki Mejika: Genghis Khan (蒼き狼と白き牝鹿・ジンギスカン), is a 1987 turn-based strategy game developed by Koei, originally released for the NEC PC-9801,[1] MSX and Sharp X68000 in 1988,[2][3] the DOS and NES in 1990,[4][5] and the Amiga in 1990.[6] It is actually the second game in the series, after a 1985 Aoki Ōkami to Shiroki Mejika, also for PC-88, PC-98, and MSX.
The game takes the player inside the virtual life of either Genghis Khan or one of his archrivals. The player must arrange marriages, father children, appoint family members to governmental positions, and fight in order to conquer the Old World. Armies must be drafted and soldiers must be trained if the player is to rule the lands from England to Japan .
The game has two different ways to play. The first is Mongol Conquest, which begins in the year 1175 A.D, which is a one player mode. Players assume control of Lord Temujin and they must conquer the land by keeping their economy stable, having their army ready to fight, and by attacking other lands. The second is World Conquest, where the goal is to conquer every opposing country.
World Conquest, which begins in the year 1206 A.D, is started by choosing the number of players and difficulty. It supports 1-4 players. Players must choose who they want to be; Genghis Khan (Mongols), Alexios I (Byzantine), Richard (England ), or Yoritomo (Japan ). Then each player must randomly select the stats of their leader and successors. The player must stop a random number to choose the certain stat. This is done until all stats are chosen for the certain character, but they can be redone. After everyone is ready to go, the game begins. The countries of Eurasia cycle through; when it goes through a country, it means they have used their turn. When it comes to a player's country, they get to make three choices. These choices include training the troops, buying a certain product/quantity from a merchant, drafting soldiers, sending a treaty, or going to war. Each act takes one choice away until the three choices are used; then the cycle continues. Once every country has used their turns, the season changes and the cycle goes through again, but in a different order. Seasons determine when the players must pay own troops, when the farmers harvest the crop, when food must be distributed, etc.
In 1989, Computer Gaming World called Genghis Khan "the toughest, most satisfying, and richest historical simulation, yet!".[7] In a 1990 survey of pre-20th century wargames the magazine gave it four out of five stars,[8] and in 1993 three stars.[9] Orson Scott Card viewed it unfavorably, writing in Compute! that compared to Romance "the tedium is back" regarding gameplay,[10] but another reviewer for the magazine stated that Genghis Khan is an "excellent" prerequisite to a real leadership experience because it forces the players to gauge own resources before making decisions.[11] In 2008, Armağan Yavuz, the co-founder of Turkish developer TaleWorlds cited Koei's Genghis Khan as an influence on their Mount & Blade series.[12]
Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This lengthy approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]
Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]
In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]
On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]
In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]
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