Nobunaga's Ambition

Nobunaga's Ambition (信長の野望・全国版) is the second title in the Nobunaga's Ambition series, and the first to be translated and released outside of Japan. First released September 1986 for PC-88SR, it was quickly ported for various Japanese PCs. A 50-province mode covering all of Japan was added, as well as revisions to graphics and gameplay. Releases for Famicom, Super Famicom, Mega Drive, PC Engine CD-ROM, PlayStation, mobile phones, Windows, and iOS were made subsequently. The NES release was titled Nobunaga's Ambition; it was released for Virtual Console on April 27, 2009 in North America.

Nobunaga's Ambition is a turn-based strategy game which can be played in different modes. Gameplay is similar to Koei's better known Romance of the Three Kingdoms game. Players begin by selecting either a 17 regions scenario or a larger 50 scenario. Then, the player must select a daimyo, each of which is rated attributes in several categories; Age, Health, Ambition, Luck, Charm and IQ. As the game progresses, these values change depending on events in the game. The age value represents a time limit of sorts, as an elderly daimyo becomes increasingly likely to die of old age or sickness.

During each of turn (one per season), players can issue one of several commands from a menu. They include: Recruiting new soldiers, Training the army, Buying Weapons, Increasing Peasant morale, Forming alliances or Hiring Ninjas to bribe & assassinate. When one player attacks another, there is a war fought over the defender's region. Battles are fought in an overhead-view hex battle map. Each player takes turn moving units and issuing orders, which include attack, move, bribe and surrender. The goal is to defeat all of the enemy units (or force them into surrender). Army units each have a certain weakness against other types of enemies, and are also affected by the terrain.

Story
In the 16th century, Japan's Sengoku ("Warring States") period divided the nation into numerous feudal states, each ruled by a daimyo. These daimyos would often go to war with each other. Many dreamed of conquering the land, becoming the Shogun and ruling the entire country. One of those daimyos was the ambitious Nobunaga Oda, a merciless ruler and a renowned strategist. Players take on the role of Nobunaga Oda or one of many other daimyos to try to conquer Japan. The player is tasked with achieving the ultimate goal of daimyo Oda Nobunaga: the conquest and unification of Japan. Selecting Oda Nobunaga is optional, however, as the player is also able to choose from a variety of other regional daimyos of the time.