Nobunaga's Ambition: Sphere of Influence

[Jordan]

Coming out on September 1, Nobunaga's Ambition: Sphere of Influence is a localization of Nobunaga's Ambition Souzou and its power up kit. It's a game I am definitely looking forward to. Koei for once seems to be putting all the bells and whistles on this one. It will run at 60 FPS, have an English dub, come with the expansion pack included (never before done in the West) and feature multiple scenarios all the way up to Sekigahara.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/392470/

Anybody else gonna pick this up?

[Kong Wen]

I've pre-ordered it on PS4 already. Do you know if the PS4 version is going to have the PUK included as well? I'm so pumped about this game.

I'll probably buy it on Steam as well, just to be able to play with different people, take advantage of mods, and boost Koei sales in the hopes that it will convince them to release Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIII in the West.

[Pluvius]

Interesting to see a game that's been on Steam in Chinese/Japanese for a while get localized. I wonder if that will happen for any of the other Chinese/Japanese games on Steam?

Rob

[Kong Wen]

Interesting to see a game that's been on Steam in Chinese/Japanese for a while get localized. I wonder if that will happen for any of the other Chinese/Japanese games on Steam?

Just curious, did you have the Japanese version of the game? Does that entitle you to the localized / Sphere of Influence version, or would that be getting released as a completely different SKU?

[Pluvius]

Just curious, did you have the Japanese version of the game? Does that entitle you to the localized / Sphere of Influence version, or would that be getting released as a completely different SKU?

No, that hasn't went on sale for nearly cheap enough to buy even if I was so inclined. The only offer stated on the localized game's page is a $10 off pre-order discount.

Rob

[Jordan]

I've pre-ordered it on PS4 already. Do you know if the PS4 version is going to have the PUK included as well? I'm so pumped about this game.

I'll probably buy it on Steam as well, just to be able to play with different people, take advantage of mods, and boost Koei sales in the hopes that it will convince them to release Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIII in the West.

I believe that the PS4 version is exactly the same game, albeit optimized for console controls obviously. In other words, the PS4 version will also be a localized edition of Souzou+the PUK.

On Steam at least, the game costs $60.00. However, it will be on sale for $50.00 and come with several additional scenarios if you buy it during the first week it comes out. I'm not sure how the console versions are going to work, but they probably come with similar preorder bonuses or something.

[Jordan]

I bought this on Day 1.

My impressions thus far have been pretty good. I like how the focus is on strategy but there is an option to go into a tactical mode for battles. The battles aren't particularly deep, but it does feel like you get something out of micromanaging them rather than purely leaving them to the AI.

The game does feel a bit overwhelming at first. The tutorial isn't very good, to be honest. It covers some barebone basics, but you won't really get a hang for how the game works until you start a campaign. Some aspects of the game also feel somewhat alien to me. For example, loyalty is much more fluid in this game compared to Koei's other games. Officers will frequently defect, betray, etc. but this is a double-edged sword since you have to constantly worry about both your own officers and your adversaries' personnel. Defying previous Koei strategy games further, it's actually a good idea to appoint a low loyalty officer as the lord of a castle. They will gain loyalty that way and you are not at risk of the castle flipping if they do decide to defect.

I'm also not sure yet how to move troops around from one base to another. Gold and supplies are global (empire-wide) rather than local, but shuffling troops around seems a bit tough.

I originally wanted to go right into Sekigahara, but once I actually started that scenario I got wet feet and decided to start a bit more humble. I created a clan of Rance characters and positioned myself roughly around Hizen province in Kyushu. Now that I'm a bit more familiar with the game mechanics, I think I might start over again and try a different position. I still have a lot to learn about how the game works, but it's definitely fun thus far. The heavy personnel focus of Koei strategy games is still there, but there's definitely some new ideas at play as well. I also am greatly enamored of the officer editor, which on PC also comes with a portrait editor. This lets me add all the Rance characters I want and actually use their portraits from Alicesoft's games, which is awesome.

I do lament the fact that Koei did away with the technology tree of Iron Triangle. I feel like that added a lot of depth to the series and actually made it somewhat reminiscent of the Civilization series. In its place, Koei implemented a "policy" system which is monthly and costly. I don't feel it's a perfect substitute, but maybe I will discover more about it as I play a bit more.

[Kong Wen]

Nice! I picked this up on day 1 as well, taking advantage of a nice PSN discount from PLAY 2015.

I think the tutorial is actually fine for newcomers to the series, because it gets you acquainted with the basics of what kind of stuff you need to prioritize just to start the game. One of the biggest roadblocks of grand strategy can be what you're supposed to do first. While you (Jordan) and I are more familiar with Koei strategies, others who haven't played them could definitely benefit from learning how basic development and diplomacy work.

I created the custom Kong clan and started in Kyushu as well. I haven't figured out how to move troops around either. I suspect you can't, since each city has a troop limit. I marched a deployed unit from one city to another, and when I entered the city with my officer, it said the troops went back home. We'll see.

I was also interested in how loyalty works in this game. I didn't realize until too late that loyalty and discontent stats are separate, so I spent a TON of money raising an enemy officer's discontent to 100 to try to recruit him, but he was too loyal to join me! I'm not sure how to counter discontent on my own officers, either, besides expensive special item gifts. Everything is pretty expensive.

One thing I've noticed is that Labour seems to be the AP-style turn-limiting stat/resource in this game. Having started in a tiny fort, I only had 2 AP at my disposal, with no way of raising it unless I conquered new territory. It keeps you moving, but it also means you can't really turtle in a corner and play an isolationist game.

I really like all of the customization options so far. Full officer editor, scenario editor, and a detailed difficulty level breakdown.

[Jordan]

The inability to transport troops around strikes me as odd, but I guess that the game is trying to encourage road building so that you can simply move your units faster from your more distant outposts. I also have moved my headquarters around a couple of times so that it's in the middle of my demesne. I haven't really gotten big enough to start making provinces and delegating orders to them, though.

The customization options are definitely awesome, and I also like the wide array of scenarios available from the start. I've been playing the birth of nobunaga scenario.

[Humphries90]

Really wish I had something to play this on.