Nobunaga’s Ambition Awakens | Review – A step forward, but…

It represents another case of a registrable trademark, with numerous parallels to the Musou titles of the company of the same name incredible successes in the oriental marketwhich, however, will probably not be able to establish itself equally on the European stage without specific consumer niches.

We are talking about a brand that was already founded in 1983 and on the occasion of its 40th anniversaryrecently witnessed the launch of his latest project called Nobunaga’s Ambition Awakening – a title that reflects years of effort to make the experience for lovers of the acts of war that shaped the history of feudal Japan as comprehensive and satisfying as possible.

Our review of the version pcwe specify it right in those first few lines, has allowed us to outline the contours more clearly an experience whose management mechanisms remain very complexdespite some innovations that make the gameplay more attractive and improve the overall experience.

But let’s proceed in order in our review.

A general’s ambition

As with its predecessors, Nobunaga’s Ambition Awakening throws the player in 16th century Japantorn apart by disputes between numerous warlords – named daimyo – Intention to unite the country under a single banner.

It is a historical period full of fundamental events for the socio-political development of the entire nation, which also led to significant contamination at the cultural level, where various warlords – important illustrious personalities of the time – imposed domination influence at the expense of the weakest.

In this unstable climate, where alliances between the various factions form and fall with disarming ease, the player can choose a start date for the game from a variety of options and a daimyo with relative territories to be managed in the round.

From the first options it is referred to as Nobunaga’s Ambition Awakening you represent the largest chapteramong hundreds of territories and factions, not forgetting over a thousand officers well differentiated by personalities and actual game attributes.

Obviously, KOEI TECMO didn’t hide its penchant for attributing character and abilities to certain more relevant figures of the time—as in the case of the Takeda clan, Imagawa, or Oda Nobunaga himself—but also drew from smaller factions Interesting features can be discovered that make each game unique.

territorial management Nobunaga’s Ambition Awakening It ranges from carefully observing the different regions to analyzing the districts they belong to and the individual cities that can grow and expand within them.

All by feeding a barely equal micromanagement of their own faction even among the West’s most celebrated and celebrated strategists touching the sphere so much diplomatic so much financiallywithout forgetting the looks War-.

Of course, all that glitters is not gold, and that is true Nobunaga’s Ambition Awakening. For example, they remain goal-oriented barriers to entry discourage the novices and the simple curious, with an infinity of information to be managed on the screen in a rather chaotic way, requiring a few hours to understand and master.

However, it must be emphasized that we have done so a small tutorial at the beginning of the gamethrough which you can at least get a rough idea of ​​the main activities to be carried out on the dense game map, but all in all it’s a bit of an introduction and you’ll need to arm yourself with a lot of patience to wriggle your way out of the many options available .

Essentially, there will be moments when a few minutes will risk screwing up plans that have taken a long time, forcing us to contemplate the consequences of a paper-only decision that takes into account the many variables that exist to experience firsthand.

We’re talking about choices that have distinguished the Koei Tecmo range from the start and that, for better or for worse, characterize it. An experience that is satisfying up to a pointwhich is difficult to compromise even for more experienced players.

A kingdom that you can manage with one click

Among the novelties to praise Nobunaga’s Ambition Awakening we have a real one System that allows you to delegate an incredible number of tasks to your officers and lieutenants for the management and growth of individual cities or smaller districts.

This also means that you can follow an incredible number of them on the screen interventions And Advicevery important to understand how to act for the benefit of your faction (we recommend playing). a reliable mouse like this Logitech available from Amazon).

In fact, there is no shortage of interfaces, menus and various hints that appear before our eyes at every opportunity in Matryoshka, in some cases activating real missions that, if followed with a certain logic, will allow you to get some bonuses.

Obviously, every decision carries risks and opportunities that need to be properly weighed And it’s not enough to simply devote yourself to every piece of advice or task suggested by the various advisors to put your clan in the spotlight.

We’re talking about a system that, as we reiterate, doesn’t in any way facilitate the experience of Nobunaga’s Ambition Awakening as a whole, but rather shifts the player’s focus and affirms a certain complexity – which is both satisfying and evokes a degree of frustration.

This is particularly so in the case of the management of larger clans, where – between the surveillance of the territories, the various armies and advice that literally rains from the sky at the first opportunity – Games need strong nerves.

It is an element that cannot be considered only positively, since there will be games that risk diverting the players’ attention from the numerous and faithful historical jewels that the game is full of.

Considered management on feudal Japan map Real time for all factions (similar to what is suggested in for example). Crusader Kings IIIBy excluding moves, the “Pause” button becomes a central feature to help the player try to work through the matter at hand with the appropriate priorities.

However, it is not always possible to have the feeling of complete control over what is happening both in our clan and in the neighboring territories; Basically, there is no shortage of moments Nobunaga’s Ambition Awakening where forward-looking planning leaves room for improvisation.

As for the clashes, however, in addition to the automatic settlement of the various disputes, it is possible that the main clashes – just like the sieges of cities or castles – take place personally on the battlefield.

In these situations Nobunaga’s Ambition Awakening offers satisfying and surprisingly more intuitive gameplay than its predecessorswhere the map is divided into predetermined routes and, like a real spider’s web, limits the directions of movement of the different battalions.

A solution that counteracts the administrative complexity already mentioned, offering more immediate war options, while leaving a certain freedom in controlling the trajectories of the different battalions to capture certain points, useful for improving the morale of the troops and favoring the encirclement of the enemies.

Too bad we still don’t have a clearer division of the different units on the battlefieldin most cases limited to a standard infantry that does not always manage to do justice to the qualitative (rather than quantitative) mass of the forces involved.

From the perspective of technician, Nobunaga’s Ambition Awakening it doesn’t record who knows what progress has been made compared to its predecessor. One stands out positively Better maintenance of the game interface and for the different menus, as well as for the dialogues between the different generals – proposed in light novel style, pleasant to follow for the main historical events.

On the other hand, the result of the textures needs to be improved, both on the urban areas of the overview map and in the actual clashes, where fluctuating results are also highlighted for the animations of the different soldiers.