Sengoku

Seemingly out of nowhere, I came upon this game like a wandering ronin searching for a master. And it was many nights and a couple days that this game had me in its grip. I look back in nostalgia and look forward with anticipation to the next encounter I will have with this game.

Sengoku is a strategic “real-time strategy game” set in medieval Japan. Developed by Paradox Interactive, this game has a similar look to previous Paradox games like Pride of Nations, though a bit more refined. Also like previous titles, it bears a similarity to the overhead view of most of Sega’s Total War games. Therefore it doesn’t allow direct control of the battlefield should a skirmish break out, which I am all for. The fact that you aren’t dealing with the grunt work of directing all your units around a battlefield is what appeals most to me about this game. The same reason why I’m glad there isn’t a construction minigame when building a barracks or something. Now there’s an idea – Oh oh, out of stone, better put an order in to the mason, in the meantime I can sharpen my tools – Exciting stuff. Like I said I prefer not to have to deal with that stuff, I am a clan leader not an infantry sergeant.

Anyway, that being said, the interface can seem a little stark at times; the interface essentially being the overhead map with an overlay of command menus. It does the trick however and I had no complaints about it, except for a little more explanation as to what everything does, which will make the learning curve a little steeper than some games despite the perceived simplicity of early game functions as a small clan.

The whole point of the game is to become Shogun of Japan. You achieve this by controlling 50% (180!) or more of the provinces on the island, which is a lot. I said earlier that if you start off as a small clan of 2 provinces or so, things seem relatively simple at first, but as you acquire more provinces or kori and receive the title of kokujin for each of them things become more complex. The way it works is that kori or provinces are part of something bigger called a kuni which is historical region run by a daimyo, who must control or control kokujin that control all the kori in a kuni. Having fun yet? The tricky part is that you cannot personally control more than 5 kori without risking revolt of the filthy, dirty, ungrateful peasants. That means you need to grant titles to your relatives or close friends who will run them under your iron grip. Needless to say it gets very complex when you have 36 vassals under you controlling different kori and kuni all with their own ambitions and lusts for power. You not only have to be concerned by your enemies, but of your friends and relatives especially if you don’t have an heir to your seat.

Which brings us to the other big aspect of this game, diplomacy. How many wives does it take to rear a son? Depends, could be a whole lot if you have a trait which lowers your fertility. Unfortunately, there aren’t always a lot noble women available for marriage, especially if you are at war with everyone. You could always marry a relative, but you risk inbreeding, which is a yucky, yucky idea. Along with marriage, there are a bevy of options ranging from plots to go to war, trying to convince vassals of another clan that the grass is greener over in your yard, hiring ninjas to do your dirty work, hiring advisers etc.

I did want to mention a niggling detail that always annoyed me and something that could probably be fixed very easily. It’s when one of your advisers is off building or improving something and he dies and/or you replace him, your progress on that building/improvement goes back to zero. Does his vengeful spirit come back and destroy all his previous work? Are all the workers afraid they’ll have to call in a ghosthunter and listen to his phony pseudoscience and experience his awful dramatizations? If so, I understand.

I can’t help but feel I’ve only just touched the surface on things to do in Sengoku, but part of the fun is discovering stuff on your own. The last time I spent an entire day playing a game was Civilization 5, I liked Sengoku that much. If you like the grand stage strategy of the Total War series, you’ll probably like this deep, complex and rewarding game.