Nobunaga's Ambition Explained

Nobunaga's Ambition
Developer:Koei
Publisher:Koei
Koei Tecmo
Genre:Wargame, turn-based strategy, tactical role-playing
Creator:Kou Shibusawa
First Release Version:Nobunaga no Yabō
First Release Date:March 1983
Latest Release Version:Nobunaga's Ambition: Awakening
Latest Release Date:July 20, 2022

is a series of turn-based grand strategy role-playing simulation video games.[1] The original game was one of the first in its genre, being released in March 1983 by the Japanese video game developer Koei.[2] [3] Nobunaga's Ambition takes place during the Sengoku period of feudal Japan. The player is tasked with achieving the ultimate goal of warlord Oda Nobunaga: the conquest and unification of Japan. Selecting Oda Nobunaga is optional, however, as the player is also able to choose from a variety of other regional daimyōs of the time.

Games in the franchise have been released for Microsoft Windows, MS-DOS, the Nintendo Entertainment System, Game Boy, Sega Genesis, 3DO, Super Nintendo, PlayStation, Sega Saturn, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Macintosh, MSX, and Amiga. As of March 2018, the series has shipped more than 10 million copies worldwide.[4]

Gameplay

The player may choose from four campaign scenarios, including "Battle for the East" (beginning in 1560), "Daimyo Power Struggles" (1560), "Ambition Untamed" (1571), and "Road Towards Unification" (1582). In each scenario, the player must allocate resources to raise a capable military force, provide a productive economy to support both military and civilian expansion, and support the peasants in order to sustain their respect and loyalty. Gameplay is taken in turns, with each turn in the map view corresponding to a season, and each turn during battle corresponding to a day. The player may achieve victory through numerous means, among which are forcing the enemy to retreat, destroying the enemy command unit, outlasting an invading force, or prolonging battle until the opposing force has exhausted its supplies.

The player can make many choices during the campaign. According to Evan Brooks of Computer Gaming World: "One may transfer soldiers between fiefs, go to war, increase taxes (which causes a decrease in peasant loyalty which may lead to rebellion), transfer rice or gold to another fief, raise the level of flood control (which decreases productivity), make a non-aggression pact or arrange a marriage, cultivate (which increases productivity, but decreases peasant loyalty), use a merchant (to buy/sell rice, borrow funds, or purchase weapons), recruit for the military (soldiers or ninja), train the army (which increases fighting efficiency), spy on a rival, expand a town (which increases taxes collected, but decreases peasant loyalty), give food/rice to peasants/soldiers (to raise morale), steal peasants from rival daimyos, allocate military strength, recuperate (even a daimyo can get sick), turn over a controlled fief to the computer for administration, or pass a turn."

Games

Mobile platforms

Game Boy
WonderSwan
Game Boy Color
Game Boy Advance
Nintendo DS

Sony PlayStation Portable

Sony PlayStation Vita

These were released in Asia (in traditional Chinese versions), with physical copies for both versions with and without power up kit, on top of the Japanese versions released.

Nintendo 3DS

Online games

Reception

The Nobunaga's Ambition series has garnered several awards over the years. According to Koei's website, various releases in the series have won Log-In magazine's "BHS Prize", the "Minister of Post & Telecommunications Prize", Nikkei BP's 12th, 13th, and 14th annual "Best PC Software" awards, and CD-ROM Fans "Fan of the Year 2001 Grand Prize".[11]

In North America, where it was released five years after its Japanese release, critical reception was also positive. The game was positively reviewed by Computer Gaming World, where reviewer Evan Brooks gave it four stars out of five. He introduced the game as "a detailed economic / diplomatic / political / military simulation of the unification of Japan in the Sixteenth Century." He praised the graphics for being "among the best that this reviewer has ever seen for the IBM" and the 5x10 hex map battles, and noted that it used role-playing game elements, including assigning various statistics to a selected persona, a time system where each turn represents a year, as the daimyo ages and eventually dies of old age, and a multiplayer option. He stated that he "thoroughly enjoyed Nobunaga's Ambition", concluded with a "Highly Recommended" rating,[12] [13] [14] Compute! similarly praised the IBM PC version, calling it "one of the best strategic war games ever designed for a personal computer" and citing the gameplay, user interface, and documentation.[15] In the May 1990 edition of Games International, John Scott called this program "One of the best strategy games around." He gave the game a perfect rating of 10 out of 10 for gameplay.[16]

The console versions had a more lukewarm reception. Reviewing the SNES version, GamePro praised the control interface and combat system but opined that the game essentially offers nothing to set it apart from Koei's previous historical simulators.[17] The magazine rated the Genesis version similarly, saying that "Like all Koei games, Nobunaga has an easy-to-use but detailed menu-driven interface that activates a load of complex commands."[18]

In 1996, Next Generation listed the series collectively as number 34 on their "Top 100 Games of All Time", commenting that, "Lead designer Shou Kibasawa is a tactical genius who realizes that domestic and military strategies are interconnected, and that fielding armies can only be accomplished after building an infrastructure to support them. As a result, Nobunaga's Ambition boasts a level of strategic complexity few other series can come close to matching."[19]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Andrew . Vestal . The History of Console RPGs . . 1998-11-02 . 2011-01-06 . gspot_consolehist . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090608225623/http://www.gamespot.com/features/vgs/universal/rpg_hs/nes8.html . June 8, 2009 .
  2. Web site: Koei History. Tecmo Koei. 19 February 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120215015014/http://www.koeitecmo.co.jp/company/history/koei.html. 15 February 2012. dead.
  3. Web site: Nobunaga's Ambition Rekindled for PS2 ]. https://web.archive.org/web/20110629035202/http://www.1up.com/news/nobunaga-ambition-rekindled-ps2 . 2011-06-29 . . 1up.com. 22 April 2018.
  4. Web site: Nobunaga's Ambition series tops 10 million shipments. 30 March 2018.
  5. News: Poker, Planes and Platform Games Fuel Players' Ambition. Nintendo of America. 2009-04-27. 2009-04-27.
  6. Web site: Nintendo - Official Site - Video Game Consoles, Games - Nintendo - Official Site.
  7. Web site: New Nobunaga's Ambition Game Revealed for Switch, PS4, PC. Anime News Network. April 25, 2017. May 1, 2021.
  8. Web site: シミュレーションゲーム史に燦然と輝く『信長の野望』シリーズの最新作、『信長の野望・大志』がついに始動 - ファミ通.com. ファミ通.com. 27 April 2017 . 22 April 2018.
  9. Web site: PV第1弾『信長の野望･大志』. https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211213/In6ot6_gxcM . 2021-12-13 . live. YouTube. 3 August 2017 . August 4, 2017.
  10. Web site: Nobunaga's Ambition: Awakening - Official Announcement Trailer . ign.com . 30 March 2023 . 31 March 2023.
  11. Web site: KOEI Company Introduction. 2007-07-19. https://web.archive.org/web/20070608013826/http://www.koei.co.jp/english/html/introduction/intro_03.html. 2007-06-08. dead.
  12. Evan. Brooks. Computer Gaming World. September 1988. 51. 12, 34, 48–9. Nobunaga's Ambition. Nobunaga's Ambition is a detailed economic / diplomatic / political / military simulation of the unification of Japan in the Sixteenth Century. ... The graphics for Nobunaga's Ambition are among the best that this reviewer has ever seen for the IBM. While much of the graphics are composed of maps, the small touches reveal the craft that went into this product. Thus, when the daimyo distributes rice to the peasants, a vignette shows the lord throwing sheaves to the peasants who gratefully pick it up; as taxes are increased, the peasants flow with tears. When war begins, the screen changes to a 5x10 hex area for the execution of the battle. Terrain is effectively delineated as hill, mountain, village, river, plain, or castle; deployment is dependent on the route of invasion. ... After deciding upon a daimyo, one must select a persona. Akin to role playing games, characteristics are composed of health, ambition, luck, charm, and IQ. Generally, one should reselect if any single characteristic is under 80 (especially luck and/or IQ; there is nothing worse than a stupid daimyo). ... Each turn (year) is composed of four seasons, during which the daimyo ages (and will eventually die of old age). Each daimyo may accomplish one action each season for each fief he personally controls; these actions often affect other parameters of play. ... This reviewer thoroughly enjoyed Nobunaga's Ambition. ... Koei stresses that Nobunaga's Ambition is both a solitaire and a multi-player game. ... Highly Recommended. This reviewer was glued to his computer for 13 hours, stopping at 3:00 am. Not since Gunship has this occurred. The end result is that the computer gamer must have, at least, one Koei game in his inventory!.
  13. Computer Strategy and Wargames: Pre-20th Century . Computer Gaming World . October 1990 . 16 November 2013 . Brooks, M. Evan . 11.
  14. An Annotated Listing of Pre-20th Century Wargames . Computer Gaming World . June 1993 . 7 July 2014 . Brooks, M. Evan . 136.
  15. Nobunaga's Ambition . Compute! . January 1989 . 10 November 2013 . Randall, Neil . 94.
  16. Scott. John. May 1990 . Nounaga's Ambition. Games International. 14. 49.
  17. Nobunaga's Ambition. GamePro. 58. IDG. May 1994. 118.
  18. Nobunaga's Ambition. GamePro. 60. IDG. July 1994. 126.
  19. Top 100 Games of All Time . Next Generation. 21 . . September 1996. 59.

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