Nobunaga's Ambition: Sphere of Influence

 PC
Nobunaga's Ambition: Sphere of Influence Image
Metascore
70

Mixed or average reviews - based on 5 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
7.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 34 Ratings

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  • Summary: Become a Daimyo of the Warring States period of Japanese history in NOBUNAGA'S AMBITION, a historical simulation game of conquest and domination. It is the 30th anniversary of this series and this current release, NOBUNAGA'S AMBITION: Sphere of Influence, is the crown of the series.

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 5
  3. Negative: 1 out of 5
  1. Ragequit.gr
    Sep 25, 2015
    80
    Sengoku period aficionados will cherish the game, dedicating several hours trying to control Edo. Simple fans of strategy will also like it, but its limited scope might keep them engaged for a shorter period. In any case, Nobunaga's Ambition - Sphere of Influence is a remarkable effort, worthy of its pedigree.
  2. Brash Games
    Mar 2, 2016
    80
    Generally speaking, this is probably one of the better strategy games in this sort of time period you could get. There are a few flaws, and it’s certainly far from perfect, but even that helps to make the game endearing, and it’s just deep enough that it doesn’t get too dull too quickly. There’s a pretty much limitless amount of replayability, and there’s always something happening within the game, which helps to tide you over while you wait for the next major objective.
  3. Destructoid
    Sep 3, 2015
    75
    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.
  4. GameWatcher
    Sep 9, 2015
    65
    The diplomacy is well done, but without a robust battle system and satisfying nation-building to back it up, the game feels like its 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.
  5. Game World Navigator Magazine
    Oct 13, 2015
    46
    Comeback of a respectable series made be a respectable company – what could go wrong? Turns out, a lot. [Nov 2015, p.70]
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  1. Rock, Paper, Shotgun
    Dec 7, 2015
    It starts to fall apart if you look hard at the minutiae: the simplistic economy, infrastructure development, and the somewhat directionless AI. It’s charming and evocative, but the more I play it, the less substantial it gets.

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 6
  3. Negative: 0 out of 6
  1. Kai82
    Feb 21, 2020
    10
    A turn based strategy game worth playing hundreds of hours with deep gameplay mechanics and lot of strategic options. Be warned it takes a bitA turn based strategy game worth playing hundreds of hours with deep gameplay mechanics and lot of strategic options. Be warned it takes a bit of time (and research) to get into the game and to understand the well balanced mechanics. Nobunagas Ambition is a long running series of strategy games that started 1983 and is nearly unknown outside of Japan. You play as a Daimiyo (Feudal Lord / Prince) in the Age of the Warring States (Sengoku period) of Japan. In this time Japan was split into many principalities ruled by different clans who want to unify Japan. Gameplay: You chose a scenario during the Sengoku period, then a Clan (Huge variety in size and power) with its Daimiyo. Now the struggle for power begins. Each turn is a full month. As in real life you need retainers (Samurai) to help you. Each retainer (and Daimiyo) has different stats and abilities. Some are only good at warfare others are good at construction or agriculture and there are all rounders. The more famous Samurai / Daimiyo / Retainer have better stats and some have unique abilities. Stats will improve on a learning by doing base and abilities can be learned on the same base. Depending on your Clans size you have a number of action points you can use for upgrades and improvements (The higher the better) which will increase as your clan and “Sphere of influence” grows. For the basics stuff: For each City you control you chose to improve agriculture, commerce or military power. But be careful because these are connected. You can not start a war without provisions (agriculture). As Napoleon said: An army marches on their stomachs”. You can not muster all your soldiers and if you run out of supplies they will starve. Also without commerce (gold / money) you will also be underpowered or lose some options because you can not afford improvements or build stuff. Also as your population grows you can create new districts and build facilities which give you benefits. Important tip: Scout all areas with retainers with a high value for this task (Yes also those you starting in). They often find hidden resource that allows you to build better or special facilities and sometimes hidden paths / roads. You have also a castle or fortress you can improve. The improvements have various bonus effects (some are dependent on the facilities you build in the city) that help you a lot. Then there is the most ignored part, the roads. As you improve the roads above level 2 your cities will grow faster and you earn more money with commerce (Improves with each level. Max is 5 or 3 in mountain areas). Then there are the diplomatics task. You can send your retainers to scout (enemy)areas, secretly recruiting enemy retainers (Can join, betray former Daimiyo during battle or even join with their city in case of higher ranked ones. But only if they are discontent enough!), gather influence in tribes (Smaller clans that give all kinds of support), start diplomatic relations with other clans (Alliances give military support, support in negotiations with other Clan, marriage alliances etc.) and negotiations with the imperial court. The imperial court is also an underestimated mechanic. If you have enough influence you can force a truce on one enemy (not in a coalition ware fare!). Good option if you conquered enemy territory but could not stop their counter-attack fast enough to prevent losing that territory. Now you can prepare many rounds. Alternatively you can get courtesy titles (Need an increasing bribe / fee for each) that improve some stats which can be given as reward to retainers (increase loyalty) or as gift to other Daimiyo (Improve relations for a short time). There are also merchants were you can buy / sell supplies, buy horses and muskets (improve fighting strength) or get treasures with can also be used as rewards / gifts. Finally there are general polices that give benefits in some area and drawbacks in other (You must meet the requirements and pay money each turn for them) For the battles: You chose a Retainer as leader and optional up to 2 supporting Retainers (Always use 2 supporters as it improves your fighting strength) in each City. Then chose your troop size (Depend on availability and supplies), if you want supply them with muskets and horses and finally chose a target. As I said before you can not afford to be in war all times because it will drain your supplies fast (Except your clan has reached a size so big that it can support it). There you can use pincer attacks or pre build fortification if you planned in advance. Tip: I often won by distracting enemy armies with attacks on other Cities while blocking the parts to my main targets. They could not defeat the blocking army fast enough to stop me from conquering the main targets. There is of cause a siege mechanic which I can not explain because I run out of space for this… Expand
  2. pconners
    Sep 6, 2015
    9
    This is a deep, complex and rewarding strategy game. I haven't played the precursors in the series so I can't make comparisons, but I'veThis is a deep, complex and rewarding strategy game. I haven't played the precursors in the series so I can't make comparisons, but I've played a lot of turn-based strategy games and this compares well. Beware, the underlying system is complex and not for the casual gamer. That makes it rewarding for the more involved strategy gamer, with a well thought through economic and military system. Koei have been making these games for 30 years and it shows, it's polished, well-balanced and the AI can present a decent challenge.

    In terms of features, the game offers standard empire management fare, with the object being to build up up your starting province(s) and conquer the bulk of 16th century Japan. The beauty comes in the well crafted interaction between different components: provinces generate money, supplies and troops, each must be developed using characters and labour points, labour points grow with population, population grows organically and by conquest and can be sped up with improvements (built by characters), characters also lead and influence armies and carry out covert operations, and so on. The game does a nice job of presenting interesting choices based on limited resources.

    I haven't played it long enough, but I suspect it's main drawback is that there isn't a huge difference in playstyles between different games and starting clans, which will limit replayability. This is offset by the quest system, which offers historical targets and quests for your clan. you can ignore them but they give nice bonuses and add a story feel to your campaign.

    This game just sucked most of my weekend and definitely has that one-more-turn feel to it.    … Expand
  4. huans171
    Sep 12, 2015
    9
    Best strategy game ever, beat shogun2 by miles, however the battle mode lacks features and gameplay can get repetitive over time. Hope theBest strategy game ever, beat shogun2 by miles, however the battle mode lacks features and gameplay can get repetitive over time. Hope the next version can implement rpg elements such as start as a general pf the clan instead of the head of the clan to make politic more complex.… Expand
  5. kingdonutlilac
    Sep 29, 2015
    9
    As of a longtime fan of this genre I was surprised to find this on steam. If you played previous iterations of it or RotK games you know whatAs of a longtime fan of this genre I was surprised to find this on steam. If you played previous iterations of it or RotK games you know what this is about. After clearing a few scenarios I found one of funniest features in the game is creating custom officers. I created new factions/clans from all over the place. Adding unique custom portraits, stats, and bios was a blast. Imagine adding Liu Bei into the conflict or even someone like John Cena. Overall if you are a fan of genre I recommend getting it. For those who are not give it a rental on console or on steam on pc so you will be able to refund it if you don’t like it.… Expand
  6. Unicron35
    Feb 24, 2023
    8
    Most streamlined title in the series yet. Nice graphics. Amazing soundtrack and officer artwork. Smooth accessible UI. Screen resolutionMost streamlined title in the series yet. Nice graphics. Amazing soundtrack and officer artwork. Smooth accessible UI. Screen resolution resets each time you launch the game.

    NA SOI is a love letter to the fans.    … Expand
  7. Troublewalking
    Oct 13, 2015
    8
    Great update of the classic Nobunaga's Ambition. I really love the way they fixed this game. I personally love the Romance of the ThreeGreat update of the classic Nobunaga's Ambition. I really love the way they fixed this game. I personally love the Romance of the Three Kingdom's series more. So you know where this review is coming from[RTK 3 PC is my all time favorite]. And after looking at the video of RTK 13 that will also release in the U.S. all I can do is wonder why NA got all the love. If you love classic Koei games or grand strategy games this game is a must have.

    I got this game on Steam and it is wonderful. But I strongly recommend you only buy it for PS4. As if anything goes wrong Steam's customer support is horrendous. People wait months to recover accounts, and they don't even back their advertised prices.

    Lesson learned, and I recommend you buy this for PS4. I was going to buy a Steam Machine, but thanks to the bad Steam customer support, I have learned the error of my ways and I will soon have a PS4 to sit next to my XB1 instead of a Steam machine.    … Expand

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