Nobunaga's Ambition (video game)
Nobunaga's Ambition (信長の野望・全国版, Nobunaga no Yabō: Zenkokuban) is a 1986 strategy game by Koei, focused in the Sengoku period of the history of Japan. A part of Koei's "Historical Simulation" line of titles, it was published on several platforms such as DOS-compatible personal computers, Amiga, NES, Sega Genesis and the SNES. It is the second game in the series and also the first Nobunaga's Ambition title to be released in English. The player has the objective unifying Japan as Oda Nobunaga or as any of the other daimyos present in the game. Several revisions were made to the gameplay since the first game, as well as a 50-province mode which expanded the game's map to feature all of Japan.
| Nobunaga's Ambition | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Koei |
| Publisher(s) | Koei |
| Series | Nobunaga's Ambition |
| Platform(s) | MSX, NEC PC-8801, NEC PC-9801, NES, Game Boy, Mega Drive, SNES, DOS, Mac OS, Amiga, 3DO Interactive Multiplayer, PC Engine Super CD-ROM², PlayStation 2 |
| Release | PC Famicom
|
| Genre(s) | Grand strategy wargame Historical simulation Turn-based strategy RPG |
| Mode(s) | Multiplayer |
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 battles until the opposing force has exhausted its supplies.
The player can make many choices during the campaign, such as, 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 (hint: when one has no idea of what to do, train the troops.)"[1]
Reception
In North America, 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,[2][3][4] 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 game play, user interface, and documentation.[5]
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.[6] They 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."[7]
References
- Brooks, Evan (September 1988). "Nobunaga's Ambition". Computer Gaming World (51): 48{{inconsistent citations}}
- Brooks, Evan (September 1988). "Nobunaga's Ambition". Computer Gaming World (51): 12, 34, 48–9.
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!
- Brooks, M. Evan (October 1990). "Computer Strategy and Wargames: Pre-20th Century". Computer Gaming World. p. 11. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
- Brooks, M. Evan (June 1993). "An Annotated Listing of Pre-20th Century Wargames". Computer Gaming World. p. 136. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
- Randall, Neil (January 1989). "Nobunaga's Ambition". Compute!. p. 94. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
- "Nobunaga's Ambition". GamePro (58). IDG. May 1994. p. 118.
- "Nobunaga's Ambition". GamePro (60). IDG. July 1994. p. 126.