Complex historically based military strategy games aren’t for everyone, but if you are going to pick a shining example of the genre that has both semi-crossed into mainstream consciousness and truly stood the test of time then Koei Tecmo’s Nobunaga’s Ambition: Awakening Complete Edition is going to be high up in the conversation.
This comprehensive version of the 40th Anniversary version of Nobunaga’s Ambition, known as Awakening features the same time-honoured deep-dive into Sengoku-era Japanese military history, enabling you to take control of a mind-boggling array of key moments in Japan’s complicated past, controlling one of a huge array of real-life military leaders and feudal warlords, including our old pal Nobunaga himself of course.
Nobunaga’s Ambition: Awakening is very much a game for people who have dipped into the series before. Casual gamers will be initially baffled by the mammoth amounts of text and variables on offer. Indeed, when booting this one up everything was already set to Japanese and it took me a while to work out how to change this. I soon learned that this was also going to be tricky to play on the Steam Deck or even Nintendo Switch 2 due to the size of the text and the need to control proceedings with a mouse (though that’s not an issue on Switch 2, thankfully), so please bear that in mind if you happen to fancy hitting this one up on the go.
Once you start navigating Nobunaga’s Ambition: Awakening, you realise that it isn’t actually as impenetrable as you may have thought initially. Although there is an overwhelming amount of options, scenarios and menus, it isn’t entirely different from playing something like Civilization, or even Fire Emblem – just with the same level of complexity as something like Football Manager. It is very much one for fans of the series, however, and even though there is a tutorial of sorts which attempts to offer guidance and explain away the core gameplay, you really need to be on the ball with the ridiculous amount of military variables and complications.
There are a plethora of military tear-ups from 16th Century Japan to play through, and helpfully each one has a difficulty rating. The game renders a map of feudal Japan with real panache, and the cutscenes and artwork is a treat. Once you kick things off you are shown the glorious map which displays your territory, your friends and foes and your military units and holdings. The game takes place in turns, which are represented by calendar months.
The pace is by default very slow but you can choose to speed things up if you wish. Turns are split into three distinct “jobs”. As well as straight up “War” or combat, you also have Diplomacy and Clan Management, the latter being the one that you will invariably spend the most time with. You have to carefully manage your territories, your soldiers, and your flow of cash and supplies. Your armies need to be fed and watered and in order to do this you have to get your feudal overlord flex on and do stuff like farming, with all of the accoutrements like irrigation and developing markets to flog your wares.
You also have a counsel of advisors, a bit like in Civilisation titles, who give you nuggets of information or recommend a course of action on your next turn. Their suggestions aren’t always the most sensible however, depending on their experience and skill level, and of course being the big cheese the choice is always yours whether to go along with them or strike out on your own.
You do get the option to delegate tasks to your minions if you can’t be bothered to do everything yourself, depending on your standing and skill levels. And depending on which historical military figurehead you select, you have different perks and strengths and weaknesses to consider. As your experience grows you can upgrade both your main dude and your various officers and underlings to develop the efficacy and overall power of your kingdom, your army, and your strategic and diplomatic expertise.
With the gathering storm of enemy factions, alliances and knife-edge diplomatic decisions, not to mention keeping an eye on your resources, combat and building your coffers, things become a bit like spinning plates. One for the casual gamer; this isn’t. This features packed special edition has an incredible amount of scenarios, additional content and almost infinite replay value. Koei Tecmo has delivered a seriously impressive daimyo-em-up, which will truly delight fans of the decades old series, is ostensibly historically accurate, and has a rich level of detail that most titles only aspire to.
Don’t expect Nobunaga’s Ambition: Awakening Complete Edition one to feature on family games night, however if you are a fan of deep and complex military strategy and indeed Japanese military history, then it is a must-buy and arguably the most comprehensive Nobunaga’s Ambition to date.
