<h2>Trivia</h2><p>Before it became a real game, it was a fictional one mentioned in the South Park episode Make Love, Not Warcraft. Despite that, the developers claims this game have not be inspired by that episode.</p>

The second game in Koei's Nobunaga's Ambition series of historical simulation-strategy games set in the warring states era of Japan, and the first to be released outside of Japan.

<h2>Overview</h2><figure data-align="right" data-img-src="https://static.giantbomb.com/uploads/original/0/124/919361-na3.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-919361" data-size="small" data-ratio="1" data-width="450" data-embed-type="image" style="width: 450px"><a class="fluid-height" style="padding-bottom:100.0%" href="https://static.giantbomb.com/uploads/original/0/124/919361-na3.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-919361"><img alt="The title screen." src="https://www.giantbomb.com/a/uploads/original/0/124/919361-na3.jpg" srcset="https://www.giantbomb.com/a/uploads/original/0/124/919361-na3.jpg 450w" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" data-width="640"></a><figcaption>The title screen.</figcaption></figure><p>Nobunaga's Ambition is the second in a <a href="/nobunagas-ambition/3025-1211/" data-ref-id="3025-1211">long-running series</a> of historical strategy games set against <a href="/japan/3035-37/" data-ref-id="3035-37">Japan's</a> <a href="/warring-states-era/3015-4006/" data-ref-id="3015-4006">Warring States era</a>. Its title refers to <a href="/nobunaga-oda/3005-1921/" data-ref-id="3005-1921">Nobunaga Oda</a>, one of the most powerful warlords of the era, who was on a path to unifying Japan under his rule until his assassination in 1582. In the game, the player attempts to do what Nobunaga could not, and unite all of Japan.</p><p>The game was released on multiple home computers, similar to its predecessor, but was also ported to various consoles as well. It was also the first game in the series to be localized into English. The Japanese subtitle, Zenkokuban, means "Country-Wide Edition".</p><h2>Story</h2><p>As the title suggests, the player is tasked with achieving the ultimate goal of warlord Nobunaga Oda; the conquest and unification of Japan. Selecting Nobunaga Oda is optional, however, as the player is also able to choose from a variety of other regional daimyos of the era.</p><h2>Gameplay</h2><figure data-align="right" data-img-src="https://static.giantbomb.com/uploads/original/0/7383/274615-nobunaga_s_ambition_03.png" data-ref-id="1300-274615" data-size="small" data-ratio="0.75" data-width="640" data-embed-type="image" style="width: 640px"><a class="fluid-height" style="padding-bottom:75.0%" href="https://static.giantbomb.com/uploads/original/0/7383/274615-nobunaga_s_ambition_03.png" data-ref-id="1300-274615"><img alt="The territorial map of Japan." src="https://www.giantbomb.com/a/uploads/scale_small/0/7383/274615-nobunaga_s_ambition_03.png" srcset="https://www.giantbomb.com/a/uploads/original/0/7383/274615-nobunaga_s_ambition_03.png 640w, https://www.giantbomb.com/a/uploads/scale_medium/0/7383/274615-nobunaga_s_ambition_03.png 480w, https://www.giantbomb.com/a/uploads/scale_small/0/7383/274615-nobunaga_s_ambition_03.png 320w" sizes="(max-width: 320px) 100vw, 320px" data-width="320"></a><figcaption>The territorial map of Japan.</figcaption></figure><p>The player may choose from four campaign scenarios including:</p><ul><li>Battle for the East (beginning in 1560)</li><li>Daimyo Power Struggles (1560)</li><li>Ambition Untamed (1571)</li><li>Road Towards Unification (1582)</li></ul><p>In each scenario, the player must first select a daimyo to play as, and also determine the daimyo's statistics, which are defined by Health, Ambition, Luck, Charm, and IQ. Each statistic is ranked on a hundred-point scale. The progression of time is structured in a turn-based manner. When in the map view, the passing of a turn corresponds to a change in season, and each turn during battle corresponds to the passing of a single day. As time passes, daimyos and officers age and will eventually die of natural causes. As the game progresses, the player must allocate resources to raise a capable military force, encourage a productive economy to support both military and civilian expansion, and support the peasants in order to sustain their respect and loyalty.</p><p>Battles take place in maps that are divided into 5x10 grids with terrain types such as hills, mountains, villages, rivers, plains, and castles. The player may achieve victory in battle through numerous means, among which include 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.</p><p>Outside of battle, the player can make numerous decisions that affect domestic and diplomatic policy as well as military decisions that affect troop strength and allocation. Such actions include transporting soldiers, rice and gold between fiefs, which can be used to strengthen regions at the expense of others. Taxes may be raised or lowered to adjust the income level and the land may be cultivated to boost productivity, though raising taxes or choosing to cultivate will also lead to a decrease in loyalty among the peasants. Expanding a town allows for greater tax income, as well, but also leads to a reduction in loyalty. If loyalty drops too low, the peasants may rise up in rebellion.</p><p>To ward against floods, the player can adjust the level of flood control, though the higher the control, the lower the productivity. It is also possible to recruit soldiers or ninja for the military, train the troops, and provide rice to the peasants and troops as a means to raise morale. On the diplomatic side, in addition to going to war, it is also possible to encourage good relations between rival factions by ratifying a non-aggression pact or arranging a marriage. Alternatively, the player can also send spies to keep tabs on rivals or work to win over a rival's own peasants. Merchants can be approached in order to buy weapons, buy or sell rice, or borrow money. It is also possible for the player character daimyo to fall ill, and so if necessary, the player may need to spend time to recuperate.</p><p>If a player does not wish to control every aspect of governing, it is also possible to allow the computer AI to govern aspects of selected fiefs.</p><h2>Reception</h2><p>The Nobunaga's Ambition series has garnered several awards over the years. According to Koei's website, various releases in the series have won <i>Log-In</i> magazine's "BHS Prize", the "Minister of Post &amp; Telecommunications Prize", Nikkei BP's 12th, 13th and 14th annual "Best PC Software" awards, and <i>CD-ROM Fan'</i>s "Fan of the Year 2001 Grand Prize".</p><p>In <a title="North America" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_America" rel="nofollow ">North America</a>, where it was released almost five years after its Japanese release, critical reception was also positive. Evan Brooks of <i>Computer Gaming World</i> enjoyed the game greatly, and in the September 1988 issue rated it as "Highly Recommended", with a score of 4/5 stars. 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 <a href="//www.giantbomb.com/hexagon/3015-1894/" data-ref-id="3015-1894">hex</a> map battles, and noted that it used <a href="//www.giantbomb.com/rpg-elements/3015-3603/" data-ref-id="3015-3603">RPG elements</a>, including assigning various <a title="Statistic (role-playing games)" href="//www.giantbomb.com/stat-tracking/3015-255/" data-ref-id="3015-255">statistics</a> and <a href="//www.giantbomb.com/attributes/3015-1681/" data-ref-id="3015-1681">attributes</a> to a selected persona, a <a title="Persistent world" href="//www.giantbomb.com/daynight-cycle/3015-92/" data-ref-id="3015-92">time system</a> where each turn represents a year, as the daimyo ages and eventually dies of old age, and a multiplayer option. In his review, he noted, "This reviewer was glued to his computer for 13 hours, stopping at 3:00 am. Not since <a href="//www.giantbomb.com/gunship/3025-2401/" data-ref-id="3025-2401">Gunship</a> has this occurred. The end result is that the computer gamer <i>must</i> have, at least, one Koei game in his inventory!" <i><a title="Compute!" href="//www.giantbomb.com/compute-publications/3010-2808/" data-ref-id="3010-2808">Compute!</a></i> 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.</p><p> </p><p> </p>

Nobunaga's Ambition (Super Nintendo Entertainment System – Nintendo Switch Online)

A Koei strategy war sim set in the Sengoku era of Japan. It is the fourth game in the Nobunaga's Ambition series.

<h2>Overview</h2><p>The fourth of Koei's <a href="//www.giantbomb.com/warring-states-era/3015-4006/" data-ref-id="3015-4006">Sengoku era</a>-set strategy games, Nobunaga's Ambition: The Lord of Darkness ("Nobunaga no Yabou: Bushou Fuuunroku", or "Nobunaga's Ambition: Record of Generals in Turbulent Times") is a war sim in which the player controls one of many daimyos (warlords) attempting to take over Japan.</p><p>The game expands to cover all of Japan's territories, a feature introduced in the second game but dropped in the third, and introduces subordinate generals that assist the daimyo in battle and lend him their strength. The generals were originally introduced in Nobunaga's Ambition's sister series <a href="//www.giantbomb.com/romance-of-the-three-kingdoms/3025-388/" data-ref-id="3025-388">Romance of the Three Kingdoms</a>.</p>

Nobunaga's Ambition: Lord of Darkness (Super Nintendo Entertainment System – Nintendo Switch Online)

Romance of the Three Kingdoms 4: Wall of Fire
Sangokushi IV
Sangokushi 4

The fourth entry in Koei's Romance of the Three Kingdoms strategy game series.

<h2>Overview</h2><p>Romance of the Three Kingdoms IV: Wall of Fire (JP: Sangokushi IV) is the fourth entry in <a href="//www.giantbomb.com/koei-ltd/3010-3247/" data-ref-id="3010-3247">Koei's</a> long-running strategy game franchise based on the historical novel <a href="//www.giantbomb.com/romance-of-the-three-kingdoms/3025-388/" data-ref-id="3025-388">Romance of the Three Kingdoms</a>. The subtitle "Wall of Fire" is a reference to the Battle of Chibi (Battle of Red Cliff) in which a navy commanded by <a href="//www.giantbomb.com/cao-cao/3005-2443/" data-ref-id="3005-2443">Cao Cao</a> of <a href="//www.giantbomb.com/wei/3035-2083/" data-ref-id="3035-2083">Wei</a> was destroyed in a successful fire attack. The loss stunted his conquest's momentum and was partially responsible for allowing two other kingdoms, <a href="//www.giantbomb.com/wu/3035-2084/" data-ref-id="3035-2084">Wu</a> and <a href="//www.giantbomb.com/shu/3035-2085/" data-ref-id="3035-2085">Shu</a>, to rise to power.</p><h2>Gameplay</h2><p>As in other entries of the series, Wall of Fire is a turn-based strategy game in which the player takes control of a ruling officer with the ultimate goal of conquering all of China through warfare and diplomacy. Each in-game turn spans a single month, during which time officers under the player's control can be assigned various domestic, diplomatic and militaristic tasks. These tasks rage from overseeing farmland and attempting to court officers to the player's side to drafting and training new soldiers.</p><p>When going to battle, the player must first organize the troops under the participating officers by assigning specific numbers of soldiers to each officer, as well as assigning a unit type. In battle, each turn lasts a single day, during which each unit under the player's control is granted one movement action and one attack or special action such as taunting the enemy or proposing a duel.</p>

Romance of the Three Kingdoms IV: Wall of Fire (Super Nintendo Entertainment System – Nintendo Switch Online)

A privateer simulation/RPG that lets the player conquer the seven seas through trade, piracy, and exploration. It is known as Daikoukai Jidai II in Japan and is the sequel to Uncharted Waters.

<h2>Overview</h2><p>Uncharted Waters 2: New Horizons is the sequel to the original <a href="/uncharted-waters/3030-11595/" data-ref-id="3030-11595">Uncharted Waters</a> game. The game involves sailing and trading around the world in the in 16th-century as the captain of a ship or fleet of ships. Although mostly popular in Asia, the game was released on the SNES, PC, Playstation and Genesis systems.</p><h2>Characters</h2><p>There are six playable characters in New Horizons:</p><h3>Joao Franco</h3><p>Son of the Portugese nobleman Leon, who seeks to follow the family tradition of exploration. The task given to him by his father is to find the lost city of <a href="/atlantis/3035-399/" data-ref-id="3035-399">Atlantis</a>.</p><h3>Catalina Erantzo</h3><p>Spanish naval officer who turns to a life of piracy. She seeks to uncover the truth about who is responsible for the deaths of her brother and her fiancé.</p><h3>Otto Baynes</h3><p>Fights for the glory of England as a commissioned privateer. Aims to hamper the efforts of Spain in Europe and defeat the Spanish fleet.</p><h3>Ernst von Bohr</h3><p>Dutch cartographer, who receives a mission from his friend, the cartographer Mercator, to create a map of the entire world.</p><h3>Pietro Conti</h3><p>Italian adventurer who inherited his father's debt. Travels the globe to find treasure and somehow repay the debts.</p><h3>Ali Vezas</h3><p>Merchant from Turkey. Coming from meager beginnings, he seeks fortune though trade as he searches for his lost sister, Sapha.</p><h2>Gameplay</h2><p>Although <a href="/open-world/3015-207/" data-ref-id="3015-207">open ended</a>, New Horizons does have specific story lines based on the character the player choses to play as. The different characters start out in locations based on their nationality, with different skills and equipment, as well as different crew. For example, if the player decides to play as Joao Franco, they begin collecting crew and buying trade goods. They also get a first mate, a friend of Joao's father, as well as a ship bookkeeper who wants Joao to find a distant land in the east in return for his services. These extra characters are unique to Joao Franco's game story, and each of the other characters will have similar encounters with unique characters.</p><p>The people the player meets along the way become great assets as they add valuable skills to the expedition. Continuing with the previous example, a skilled bookkeeper will be able to help the player character determine if the prices of goods are too high, as well as where to find bargain prices for certain goods. This leads to a large part of the game, at least for some of the characters in the game: trade.</p><p>As the player character travels though the plethora of ports that can be found in the game, they will discover trading posts that sells local goods. The player can buy and sell as much as they want as long as they have enough room in the cargo holds of their ships, and enough gold. The cargo hold is also used to store food and water for the crew of the fleet, so this is a major balancing act that must be carefully contemplated. Every port has a specialty item that can be purchased at a reduced price. Some ports are controlled by a particular regime, e.g. the Ottoman Empire or Kingdom of England. This will lead to taxation of every transaction, unless the player has a tax exemption document from the leader of that particular faction.</p><p>Sailing is a major part of this game and the player will spend much of their time on the world's perilous oceans. Once the player has built up a capable fleet, they can begin travelling across these oceans, discovering new lands, creatures, and exotic landmarks. These discoveries will impact the game depending on the character and the nature of the discovery. Some discoveries will harm the crew and some will bring them great fortune. As mentioned earlier, the major concern when travelling is the amount of food and fresh water the player has with them. Given enough food the player's fleet can travel for weeks, although they may not always get as far as they would like due to storms and pirates. Depending on the season, certain oceans are dangerous to fare though, and can even be deadly if the player's ships are too far from shore and unable to make an emergency landing.</p><p>Piracy is another aspect to the game where the player can either be the aggressor or the victim. Certain ship types can be loaded with cannons, and can take down enemy ships. Duel the captain of another fleet and the player may take over some of their ships or goods. Swords and armor becomes important factors during duels, and can be acquired at the different ports for a price. Missions can be aquired from guild quarters in some of the larger ports. These missions can either consist of finding a port, finding an exotic animal, or defeat a notorious pirate. When playing as a non-pirate being attacked by pirates can be very dangerous, depending on the crew delegation the player has decided on. The player can decide what percentage of their crew is tasked with navigation, lookout and combat. Set Navigation to 0%, and get nowhere, set Lookout to 0% and see only things directly next to the fleet. This is another element that must be balanced depending on the type of game the player seeks to play.</p><p>There are other gameplay components such as port investments, where the player donates part of their gold to the economy of a port. Investment over time will allow the given port to prosper and become a source of the best ships or the best source of a certain trade good. What ports to invest in is up to the player to discover. The player can also borrow money from banks which will eventually send loan sharks after the player if their debts remain unpaid for too long.</p>

Uncharted Waters: New Horizons (Super Nintendo Entertainment System – Nintendo Switch Online)