Nobunaga’s Ambition: Awakening review

Still absorbing even with the push toward accessibility

Originally released four decades ago, the Nobunaga’s Ambition franchise threatens to outlive its perennial cover star. As anyone fond of Sengoku period history will remind you, the ambitious daimyō was only 47 years old when he was ambushed by his retainer Akechi Mitsuhide at the Honno-ji temple and forced to commit seppuku. During that span, Oda Nobunaga had gained control of most of Honshu, a once inconceivable feat.

Under producer (and Koei co-founder) Kou Shibusawa, The Great Unifier’s accomplishments have become a launching point. Like the fifteen previous franchise efforts, Nobunaga’s Ambition: Awakening lets players try to unite a fragmented Japan. But know that the war machine is an incredibly complex system, requiring a skillful balance of deft diplomatic skill, military might, and ensuring that you have enough resources to execute your objectives. On top of that, armchair strategists must contend with the procession of significant events of the era. Yes, Awakening delivers visual novel-style cutscenes which do a better job of storytelling than scrutinizing data.

AKB48’s or Luffy’s Ambition?

But like the previous games, you don’t have to play as Oda Nobunaga. At the start of a run, you’re free to lead any other clan across ten actual (as well as a single fictional one) scenarios then recreate the years of 1546 through 1614, while the computer can model an alternative reality based on your decisions. If you want a challenge, you can elect to play as Sukenori Ito, who begins with a modest army of 1500 soldiers and a single castle. Seemingly, Ieyasu Tokugawa has an easier job, with a quarter of a million soldiers, 79 castles, and 506 integrated counties.

Sure, it might sound like Tokugawa’s got it made. But you should probably factor in Yukimura Sanada’s skilled samurai yearning for the daimyō’s head, which reveals how the expansiveness of his mighty empire was a potential liability.  This Rashomon-like perspective of the tumultuous era is one of the great virtues of the franchise, as you get to see the Sengoku period from the point-of-view of different leaders. Regardless of clan choice, your first duty as daimyo should be to inspect your diplomatic status with your neighbors. Also, know that victory is aided by having a flexible approach.

Lately, the franchise has been able to edit the roster of officers, with a wide selection of portraits allowing for a tailored experience. And while the accompanying app to import portraits is a bit clunky, PC users can add their own likenesses right into the main game. There’s nothing quite like conquering the mainland with the assistance of AKB48, with options to set each idol’s parents, personality, and a despised rival officer. I just hope that it’s easy to import someone else’s pool of One Piece officers.

Frustration is Inevitable for First Timers

As with previous entries, heading into Nobunaga’s Ambition for the first time can be daunting. Instead of mastering the button combos of Koei Tecmo’s Samurai Warriors series, success hinges on making shrewd short- and long-term decisions and influencing the math underneath the game’s pervasive menuing. Expectedly, there’s a tutorial that explains some of the fundamentals. But largely, it shirks mentioning many of the nuances you’ll encounter during play. Instead, you’ll have to dive in to absorb as you can across each playthrough, learning what each stat means and how it can be swayed in your favor.

During your succession of campaign attempts, you’ll witness the range of difficulties a daimyo faces as his influence grows. Initially, you’ll focus on using whatever starting resources you start the game with- utilizing those assets to push your borders. The predicaments tend to be circular: soldiers require food and that food needs land to grow on. Meanwhile, gold opens trading possibilities, but is amassed through taxation of the area your clan controls. But since Awakening’s four different winning conditions all require a multitude of castles, you’ll learn the difficulty associated with protecting a sprawling set of potential targets.

Naturally, you can’t make all the middle management decisions yourself, that would slow an already sluggish turn-based game into an excruciating crawl. So, you’ll appoint retainers to look over newly acquired territories and to help at home. These automated micromanagers provide sage advice and will attempt to obey your direction—at least if you’re keeping them content by negotiating and/or promoting them regularly. Much like the world today, allegiances can be fluid, and getting backstabbed is an inevitability. It truly stings when your supposed allies gang up on you and push you toward one of the three game-ending situations.

In everything but Offensive Sieges, Size Matters

When the number of entries ascends into the double digits, franchises can struggle with change. Accessibility is a persistent issue with the Nobunaga’s Ambition series and Awakening attempts to simplify some of its predecessor’s more complicated mechanics. One example: district management has been streamlined, with appointees handling most of the administrative work. That relatively minor simplification won’t be nearly as contentious as the overhaul to the game’s battle system. Whereas you once had control over your armies now, they’re confined to pathways. The change means you’ll have just enough autonomy to execute a pincher attack or flank them, but that’s about as deep as the real-time warfare gets. But if you’re playing prudently, the number of skirmishes you are getting into should be restrained.

At present, Awakening only offers English voice acting. Since all the female officers sound the same and a trio of performers provides the utterances for the game’s subordinates, it’s evident that some shortcuts were made. Fortunately, Koei Tecmo has pledged to include the original Japanese voice performances in a forthcoming update. But the omission of such a crucial component is puzzling, especially given Awakening’s push toward adding historical contest.

But the bigger issue is that managing an emerging nation has been oversimplified. Domestic duties and combat have been simplified, smudging the sense of simulation that makes Nobunaga’s Ambition so absorbing. While it’s understandable that the development team and publisher would want to grow their audience, simplification isn’t a panacea. As the franchise has repeatedly demonstrated, minor decisions often have far-reaching consequences. Awakening is enjoyable, but some of the alterations mean it’s not quite as sophisticated as Sphere of Influence. 

Nobunaga’s Ambition: Awakening was played on
PC with review code provided the publisher.