NOBUNAGA’S AMBITION: Awakening Complete Edition | Review

This copy of NOBUNAGA’S AMBITION: Awakening Complete Edition was provided by KOEI Tecmo.

Nobunaga’s Ambition is a series that has always been on the periphery of my understanding. I distinctly remember, for instance, being a young Snazzy and seeing the titles for rent on SEGA Genesis or Super Nintendo at my local Blockbuster. Yeah, it’s a series with that sort of pedigree. At the same time it has never been a series that strongly appealed to me. I’m not a strategy guy – I mean, I’ve put a few hours into a couple of Civilization games but that’s about the extent of it. Being a new Nintendo Switch 2 owner, however, has opened me up to new experiences. It is with that mindset that I approach Nobunaga’s Ambition: Awakening.

Gameplay

This review has taken me longer than I would have liked to come out, and the truth is that it rests entirely on the fact that Nobunaga’s Ambition is a game that is not very welcoming to newcomers of the genre, but is also a game with an incredible amount of content, polish, and depth. That being the case, I wanted to give the title the opportunity to win me over.

The title fully throws you into feudal Japan (at multiple points during the Sengoku period, depending on the campaign you chose), where you can select your clan and take control of the Daimyo (warlord) in order to play through various historical battles and moments, with the ultimate goal of conquering and unifying Japan. While there are “correct” historical outcomes to these events, the game allows the player to guide their own destiny. I chose the Oda clan for my campaign playthrough, as the tutorial mentioned it was a good choice for beginners, and it was also the clan of the eponymous Oda Nobunaga, which seemed like a fitting choice for my first Nounaga’s Ambition game.

As a Daimyo, you are in charge of all aspects of leadership for your clan. This is not just about combat or even about general growth and economic management of your territory. Conquest is a large part of the game, but so is people development and land development, and all three are connected in significant ways. For instance, if you conquer an enemy castle, you’ll want to install your own leader. That leader will have been hand picked and groomed by you. Eventually, you can develop the land to help fuel your war effort, and the prestige that comes with that will also develop the person you put in charge of the castle. See, full circle!

This really just scratches the surface of the gameplay loop. You can (and really, you need to in order to progress) create diplomatic ties with other clans. If you do not you will quite literally be attacked from all sides. You’ll need to supply your troops, you’ll need to build out different building types including markets, you’ll need to put your best people in the correct situations if you want to succeed. Even conquest isn’t entirely black and white, as you are provided with other options other than outright battle, such as infiltration or destroying resources.

Honestly, this game’s greatest strength can also be its greatest weakness: it’s one the most complex games I’ve ever played, and it was a daunting experience. As mentioned above, the game does have a tutorial that seems robust but given the depth and breadth of the gameplay it also just does not feel like enough. Oftentimes I felt like I was unsure on what to do next, and my first few battles were absolute disasters. This is not advice I have ever given for another game, but using online tutorials or browsing forums or videos is what made this game click for me.

The game controls are something I want to single out. I played my first dozen or so hours using the standard controller options and they were… fine, if a bit tedious. There are a lot of menus, and if you are not paying attention to the tutorial you’ll likely be lost. There are some menu shortcuts that help, but they don’t alleviate the problem. You know what does alleviate the problem, though? The Nintendo Switch 2 mouse. This might be THE reason to buy this game on Switch 2. It’s such a great use of the mouse functionality, as it makes it play much more like a standard PC strategy game.

Presentation

The presentation on this game is a mixed bag. The visuals never get in the way, so to speak, but it’s also not a showcase for what the Nintendo Switch 2 can do. The art in both animated cut scenes and static dialogue scenes more than get the job done. I’d put the music in a similar category. The one area that I feel really falls behind, though, is the voice acting. It’s not a “so bad it’s good” feature, rather it’s just bland and forgettable, and the game unfortunately does not have the option to use Japanese audio.

Verdict

I have had a hard time considering whether or not to recommend this game. It’s a dense and sometimes overwhelming experience, and I would not call it newcomer friendly. That being said, if you are a fan of strategy games, and have the patience to truly learn and understand this system, I feel like this will be a more than justified purchase.

7/10