Doesn't work.
Tried a few different fixes but the game just freezes on launch.

I remember playing this as a Kid and always wanting to go back and beat it, unfortunately, it hasn't aged as well as I remember. Invisible timers, units not following orders, clunky controls and an unfortunate tendency for the AI to ignore each other and focus solely on me caused a great deal of consternation. I have no doubt this is the game that I remember from my youth, but It isn't quite the fun blast from the past I remember.

The game is also lacking a lot of it's charm thanks to the absence of the narrator, and having to jump through a lot of hoops to get the game running on modern systems. Sadly, unlike Hogs of War - another game from my childhood i got to play again recently - Populous: The Beginning doesn't hold up to the memories I had of it. I have no doubt that, if I stuck it out and got familiar with the... limitations of the game, became familiar with it's quirks and it's difficulties, that i'd be able to have some fun with it, but honestly, I'm just not feeling the drive to try.