Nobunaga's Ambition: Sphere of Influence

Sometimes it feels like there are two types of video game enthusiasts: those who adore strategy titles and those who can't stand them. It's a divisive genre that often demands patience, planning, and a lot of practice, but all of the best strategy games reward you appropriately for the amount of time and effort that you sink into them. In other words, you get back what you put in.

With great power comes great responsibility.

Its pace may be too plodding for some and it certainly seems somewhat backwards or dated in relief with other modern strategy games, but Nobunaga’s Ambition: Sphere of Influence still remains an ornate and absorbing title that kept me engaged for hours on end and surely will continue to do so.

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Over the years, Koei has clearly continued to refine it’s original strategy template, layering an interlocking mesh of game systems and mechanics. When the cogs start turning, Nobunaga’s Ambition becomes this intriguing spectacle as clans employ a variety of strategies in order to adapt, survive, and expand. Although far from perfect, this is likely the best grand strategy title you’ll find on a home console.

You can avoid fighting them at all, of course, but that leaves the game feeling a bit lacking. The diplomacy is well done, but without a robust battle system and satisfying nation-building to back it up, the game feels like it’s missing something – it’s all build-up with no pay-off. It’s a shame, because Sphere of Influence does some interesting things with the standard grand strategy formula. The way it mixes historical storytelling with freeform play is commendable, as is its focus ...

A long-awaited localization of a famed franchise that fails to make an impact. With little depth or strategy, this is a game designed for those who love Japanese history or are franchise diehards. Only that love will keep you wanting to play through the game more than once.

Nobunaga’s Ambition: The Sphere of Influence plays it straight, but fair, offering you the right level of politicking versus crushing military battles and financing, but its learning curve leads to a slow start. Really, in the current climate with XCOM 2 on the horizon, Civilization as popular as ever and newcomers such as Endless Legend entering the fray, it has to work extra hard to stand out and I feel that its slightly unfriendly outward appearance may ward off newcomers. But for those that brave the iron curtain, it rewards in buckets.