Nobunaga's Ambition(tm) 

Instruction Manual 

Koei - Strategy Game Series 

compiled for Home of the Underdogs by Underdogs, http://www.theunderdogs.org
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We supply the past... 

The last battle of Oda Nobunaga 

High above the gates of Honno Temple, a great white banner fluttered gently in 
the early morning breeze. There were no colorful symbols upon its face, only 
five words written in black ink: 

RULE THE EMPIRE BY FORCE 

These words were first spoken by the daimyo Oda Nobunaga, many years ago. 
Then, he was still only one lord among the many warlords who battled for 
supremacy during the bloodiest time in Japan's history. This period is called 
the Warring States period, and that is exactly what it was: a time when Japan 
was divided into many little states, each ruled by a daimyo (lord). These 
daimyos battled endlessly for control of the country. 

About this time, a young and ambitious daimyo named Oda Nobunaga seized the 
Oda clan from his brothers, and took control of the province called Owari. 
From there, he launched attacks on nearby countries, and quickly came to rule 
all of central Japan. He was the first daimyo to get this far in his quest for 
supremacy. 

Now, on the morning of June 2nd, 1582, his banner boldly announced his 
presence in the city of Kyoto. Yet, beneath his fearsome standard, Nobunaga 
slept restlessly. 

On the top of the nearby Rono hill, field marshal Akechi Mitsuhide gathered 
his troops around him. The first light of dawn cast a shadow across his face, 
masking his dark features. The men, armed with spears, swords, and rifles, 
whispered nervously while they waited for their leader to speak. 

You see, Mitsuhide had once been Nobunaga's greatest general, and had fought 
in may campaigns alongside his master. His love for his lord was so strong, 
that once, in order to convince the enemy Hatano clan of Nobunaga's 
trustworthiness, he gave them his own mother as a hostage. This was a tragic 
mistake. Nobunaga betrayed the Hatanos and Mitsuhide's mother was put to 
death. Ever since, Mitsuhide was sullen and quiet in the presence of his lord. 

The men were ready for action. Rumors has been spreading for weeks of how they 
were to go into action in southwestern Japan. With north and central Japan 
already accounted for, victory in the southwest would spell final success for 
Nobunaga. Surely it was the excitement of such a thought that caused their 
leader, Mitsuhide, to savor this moment, and draw out this silence. Then, 
Mitsuhide spoke. 

"My men, I know how eager you must be for battle. For weeks, you have listened 
to the battle reports from the southwestern front. I expect that you are ready 
to march this very morning, ready to die for your master." 

"I, too, showed such loyalty to my master, once. But no longer. From today, I 
am your master, not Nobunaga. You will not march to battle in the southwest, 
because his enemy is not yours. Your enemy is my enemy." 

Mitsuhide paused, and pointed directly at the banner of Lord Oda. 

"And my enemy is the Honno Temple." 

Oda Nobunaga woke to the sound of distant gunfire. He was immediately alert, 
and in a single practiced motion, leaped from his sleeping mat and drew his 
sword. With his back against the wall, he held his sword at the ready, and 
listened. Just then, Mori Ranmaru, Nobunaga's young page, burst into the room. 

Ranmaru bled from several small sword wounds, and his uniform was torn and 
soaked. His eyes were wide with terror. 

"My Lord! We are besieged!" he cried. 

"By how many? And how did they manage to get past Mitsuhide's guards? Answer 
me at once!" 

Ranmaru was near tears as he answered, "The enemy numbers over 13,000, and 
they are none other than your own troops, led by field marshal Mitsuhide." 

"Mitsuhide? A traitor? Unbelievable!" Nobunaga's voice dropped to barely a 
whisper. Then, with great speed, he donned his battle armor and stalked out 
of the room. 

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Introduction 

Congratulations! You have purchased a game that has been a bestseller in Japan 
for over five years! The version you've bought has been improved many times 
before arriving in America. We think Nobunaga's Ambition combines the best of 
entertainment and education. But don't worry! All this means is that the 
events and characters are based on real life. You don't have to know a lot of 
Japanese history to play this game, but knowing a little will make playing 
this game much more fun! 

The time 

Nobunaga's Ambition takes place during Japan's civil war period, from 1467 to 
1568. The wars began with the fall of Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa in 1467. 
Without the Shogun, the government fell apart and daimyos fought amongst 
themselves for the right to be the new Shogun of Japan. This continued for 
about 100 years. Then, in the year 1568, Oda Nobunaga became powerful enough 
to choose a new shogun for Japan and the Warring States Period officially 
came to an end. 

The setting 

The situation in Japan was similar to America during her Civil War, but 
instead of being devided into only North and South, Japan was divided into 
hundreds of feudal states. Each state, or "fief", was ruled by a powerful lord 
called a "daimyo". Every daimyo ruled his fief like a little country, and 
every daimyo believed that he was the most fit to be shogun. 

Without any central government, the daimyos began to fight among themselves, 
usually for no reason at all. Daimyos that vere victorious became power-mad 
tyrants. Revolts and uprisings among peasants, soldiers, even monks became 
commonplace. Daimyos that were not victorious were killed. The country was 
thrown into violent confusion. 

The three great daimyos 

Unifying the country in the face of so much chaos was too great a task for any 
one man. Japan was finally unified by three great daimyos: the great Oda 
Nobunaga, his successor Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu. 

The character of each of these three men is best summed up in a simple story 
told to Japanese children. Imagine these three men sitting in a simple room. 
At the center of the room is a small cuckoo that refuses to sing for them. 
When asked what they will do, Nobunaga quickly said "I would kill the bird." 
Hideyoshi replied, "I would force the bird to sing." Ieyasu merely said, "I 
would wait until it wanted to sing." 

Oda Nobungag (1534-1582) 

Nobunaga was not the first daimyo to dream of ruling the country, but he was 
the first to make his dream a reality. By the time of his death, Nobunaga had 
managed to conquer all of central Japan. It was Nobunaga who started the final 
unification of Japan, and if he hadn't been killed by a tracherous general, he 
probably would have finished it. 

Nobunaga was an outstanding military commander. On many occasions, he defeated 
armies much larger than his own. Besides strategy, his cruelty was legendary. 
When a group of monks called the Ikko Sect rebelled against him, he burned 
down their temple. When they rose again, he massacred the priests and their 
families. This was Nobunaga's method for dominating Japan. His motto was: 
"Rule the Empire by Force." 

Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536-1598) 

When Nobunaga was killed by Akechi Mitsuhide, his ambition of unifying Japan 
was picked up by his general, Hashiba Hideyoshi. After destroying the 
villainous Akechi Mitsuhide, Hideyoshi continued to build on Nobunaga's 
domain. He won over all the southern islands of Kyushu and Shikoku, and 
outlasted his remaining enemies in the north. He became the greatest military 
power in Japan, and changed his name to Toyotomi Hideyoshi. 

But, military strength was not enough. Although none of the other daimyos were 
powerful enough to challenge him, they did not call him master. Hideyoshi was 
really just a lowly farmer who had made good. His low birth made it impossible 
for him to become shogun. And, when Hideyoshi died of old age in 1598, the 
country was leaderless again. 

Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616) 

When Nobunaga died, Ieyasu refused to accept Hideyoshi as his master. He knew 
however, that a war was not the answer, and decided to be patient and wait. 
When Hideyoshi passed away, Ieyasu seized his chance. 

After Hideyoshi's death, Japan was split into two opposing sides: the East, 
under Tokugawa Ieyasu, and the West, under Ishida Mitsunari. In the year 1600, 
the two armies met in the Battle of Sekigahara. Tokugawa Ieyasu emerged the 
victor, and, after nearly twenty years of patient service under both Nobunaga 
and Hideyoshi, he became the supreme ruler of Japan. The government he built 
was so stable that it lasted for almost 300 years. These 300 years of peace 
are called the Tokugawa Period. 

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... You make the history 

Game set up 

1. Make sure the power switch is OFF. 
2. Insert your Nobunaga's Ambition game pak as described in your Nintendo 
Entertainment System manual. 
3. Turn the power switch ON. 
4. After the opening screen has been displayed, press any button to begin game 
preliminaries. 

How to play 

1. How to use the controller 
The number of the controller you should be using will always appear on the 
lower right corner of the screen. 
a) Answering Yes or No questions 
To answer a "Y/N" question, press the Control Pad arrow pointing to the 
desired answer. 
b) Entering numbers 
To select a number, press the UP arrow on your Control Pad to increase the 
number and DOWN to decrease it. If you wish to make a number with more than 
one digit, press the RIGHT arrow after you have selected the first digit 
and proceed as before to select another digit. Make sure that you don't 
press Button A until you have finished entering your number because the 
number that is shown will be entered. 

2. Scenario selection 
You can choose between two scenarios. Scenario One is simpler and consists 
of the 17 fiefs (states) of central Japan, while in Scenario Two you must 
unify all 50 fiefs of Japan. 
a) 17 fief game 
Starting date: Spring of 1560 
You can be the leader of one of the 17 fiefs that make up the central 
region of Japan. 
b) 50 fief game 
Starting date: Spring of 1560 
You can be the leader of one of the 50 fiefs that make up all of Japan. 

3. Displays 
a) Main Display 
The present conditions in your country are shown in this mode. Any commands 
about running your country or about negotiating with other countries are 
also given in this mode. You have one turn for every season of the year. 
You may issue one order per fief per season. 
b) Battle Display 
Whenever one of your fiefs goes to war or is attacked, the screen will 
switch to the battle display. (See WAR and BATTLEFIELD COMMANDS.) 

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Before you start 

1. New Game/Load Data 
If this is the first time you've played the game, or if you are starting a new 
game, you should select Y to a new game. If you want to continue a game you 
saved earlier, you should select N. 

2. Selecting Scenario 
You will be asked to choose between the 17 fief game and the 50 fief game. 

3. Viewing Battles Between Other Countries 
During the game, computer controlled daimyos will often invade one another. If 
you enter Y, you may watch these battles on the battle display. 

4. Selecting Number of Players 
One to eight may play. If there is more than one person playing, each player 
must answer the following questions 5 through 7 before the next player can 
answer. 

5. Selecting Fief 
When you select a fief, you become that fief's daimyo. In the 50 fief 
scenario, the map is divided into 7 sections, in the 17 fief scenario, only 2 
sections. See MAIN DISPLAY II on how to view all the other fiefs. 

6. Setting Daimyo Abilities 
When you start out, the maximum ability value is 109. The value of these 
abilities will change during the game. The maximum value these abilities can 
reach is 210. 
a) Health: The healthier your daimyo is, the less likely he is to become ill. 
Since there are some commands a sick daimyo cannot give, you should try to 
keep your daimyo's health as high as possible. Health values will decrease 
every spring and anytime there is an epidemic. If your health reaches zero, 
your daimyo will die! 
b) Drive: This value represents how badly your daimyo actually want to unite 
Japan. Your drive will increase every time you win a battle. 
c) Luck: As in all games, the luckier you are, the better your chances are of 
winning. Luck will decrease whenever marriage negotiations fail. Of course, 
there are no commands you can give to increase this value because like in 
real life, it will change on its own. 
d) Charm: This value represents your daimyo's popularity. The greater this 
value, the more loyalty your daimyo can expect from his peasants and 
soldiers. This value will increase when you give rice or gold to your 
peasants or win a war. 
e) IQ: Your daimyo's intelligence influences the effectiveness of many 
commands. IQ will increase when you win a battle and decrease when you 
lose. 

7. Selecting Skill Level 
This number will determine how difficult the game will be, if you select 1 
it won't be as hard as if you select 5. 

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Main display I 

1) Current year, seasin and fief number. 
2) The name of the daimyo, his portrait, and the type of fief. 
3) Daimyo's ability values. 
4) Country data. 
5) List of orders. 
6) Current market price. Prices will change throughout the year. 

Main display II 

If you press Button B you will leave the main display and find your position 
on the map. 

Since you can only see some fiefs at a time, use the UP or RIGHT arrows to 
look at the next selection of the map to the NORTH, and the DOWN or LEFT 
arrows to look at the next section to the SOUTH (this is identical to Command 
18 ). Press Button A to return to the main display. 

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Daimyo abilities and fief conditions 

1 Age Daimyo's current age. 
2 Health Daimyo's physical condition. 
3 Drive Daimyo's level of ambition. 
4 Luck Daimyo's level of good fortune. 
5 Charm Daimyo's level of popularity. 
6 IQ Daimyo's level of intelligence. 
7 Gold Amount of gold in the fief. 
8 Debt Gold owed to the merchant. 
9 Town Value of the town. 
10 Rice Rice in store. 
11 Output Rice production per farm. 
12 Dams Value of the dams in the fief. 
13 Lylty Peasant loyalty to their daimyo. 
14 Wealth Peasants' economic situation. 
15 Men Army size in thousands. 
16 Morale Army's loyalty to their daimyo. 
17 Skill Army's level of training. 
18 Arms Ratio of weapons to men. 

1. Age 
Every spring each daimyo grows one year older, and any daimyo who should die 
now because of old age will die. A high health value can lengthen your life. 

2-6. Daimyo abilities 
These abilities, health, drive, luck, charm, and IQ, are explained in detail 
in the section called BEFORE YOU START. 

7. Gold 
Most of your gold comes from your yearly taxes collected in fall, although you 
can also get it by borrowing from merchants or by selling rice. The amount of 
gold you collect usually depends on the value of the town and the degree of 
peasant loyalty. 

8. Debt 
Debt is the total amount of gold you owe the merchant. Loans will be 
automatically taken out of your gold supply in fall. 

9. Town value 
The value of your town shows how will off your fief is. Town value increases 
the amount of taxes you collect in fall, and your ability to borrow gold. 

10. Rice 
You collect rice together with gold each fall as tax. To collect the most 
taxes, make sure to keep your output, peasant loyalty and tax rate high. You 
can also buy or sell rice to the merchants. Rice is necessary to feed your 
army during both peace and war. If you run out of rice during a battle, you 
automatically lose! 

11. Output 
This value reflects how much rice you can produce. Command 7 , will 
increase your fief's output, but it will also make your peasant loyalty and 
dams value go down. Sickness and typhoons will make your output go down. 

12. Dams 
If your dams value is high there is less of a chance that your land will be 
flooded by typhoons in summer. Therefore, you should keep it as close to 100 
as possible. 

13. Loyalty 
Loyalty represents how loyal your peasants are to you, their lord. A high 
value means they will give you more rice and gold in fall, and a low value 
means that they may actually be plotting to rise against you. You can raise 
loyalty with Command 14 but it will fall if you increase taxes or 
output. 

14. Wealth 
Wealth shows how much money and land your peasants have and it affects the 
amount of taxes you collect and your peasant loyalty. 

15. Men 
Men shows the number of soldiers in your army in units of one thousand. You 
may increase your men with Command 10 . Your army's morale, skill 
level and arms level will go down every time you take in fresh recruits. 

16. Morale 
Morale is the level of loyalty of your soldiers. A high morale means your 
soldiers will gladly fight until death if you command them to, however if 
their morale is low they are likely to defect to your enemy during war or 
rebel against you during peace. You may increase your morale with Command 14 
. 

17. Skill 
Skill shows how will trained your men are. If your skill value is high you 
might be able to defeat a larger army during battle. Command 11 will 
raise your men's skill level. 

18. Arms 
A well equipped small army can often defeat a larger, poorly equipped one. 
Therefore you should keep your army both will equipped and well trained. 

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Game events 

1) Seasonal events 

a) Spring 
Every spring each daimyo grows one year older and all health values go down 
by one point. 

b) Fall 
Fall is the time for taxes. The amount of rice and gold collected will depend 
on your fief's level of output, town value, and peasant loyalty and wealth. 
Your men must be paid and fed in fall. If your fief cannot support these men, 
they will leave. 

2) Natural disasters 

a) Typhoons 
Typhoons come only in summer. Your output will go down after a typhoon. Keep 
your dams value high to avoid some of the damage caused by the typhoons. 

b) Plague 
Sickness may break out in any season. It will reduce the health value of your 
daimyo and, if he is a weakling, maybe even kill him. Plague will also cause 
the number of your men to fall. 

3) Rebellions 

a) Military revolt 
Military revolts will usually occur when your army morale is low and your 
daimyo isn't very popular. If a military revolt occurs in your home fief, the 
screen will change to the battle display and your daimyo will lead the 
defending men. However, if it occurs in a vassal fief, the battle will be 
fought by the general in command. 

b) Peasant uprising 
Uprisings occur when your peasant loyalty is low and your daimyo isn't very 
popular. If an uprising occurs in your home fief, you can either give them 
gold or go to battle with them. In fief 4, Kagaetchu (in the 17 fief game), 
and fief 21, Kaga (in the 50 fief game), peasant uprisings never occur. 

4) Bidding 
If a neighboring daimyo is killed by peasants or died because of sickness then 
the computer will ask you if you want to bid for his land. This gold must come 
from your home fief. 

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Main display commands 

Each turn you have 21 commands to choose from. To choose a command, move the 
cursor using the UP and DOWN arrows on the control pad and press Button A when 
you have made a selection. Use Button B to cancel any wrong selections you 
make. Press the LEFT arrow on your control pad to see commands 1 through 12, 
and the RIGHT arrow to see commands 13 through 21. 

1 Move Move men and/or daimyo 
2 War Attack a neighboring fief 
3 Tax Change tax rate 
4 Send Send rice and/or gold to another fief 
5 Dam Construct dams for flood control 
6 Pact Ask another daimyo to sign a peace treaty 
7 Grow Plant new fields to raise output 
8 Marry Try to marry another daimyo's daughter 
9 Trade Summon the merchant 
10 Hire Recruit men or hire ninja 
11 Train Train the army 
12 View Look at conditions in other fiefs 
13 Build Expand town to raise value 
14 Give Give rice or gold to peasants or men 
15 Bribe Lure peasants into your fief with gold 
16 Assign Change distribution of the units in your army 
17 Rest Raise health by resting 
18 Map View country layout 
19 Grant Grant the computer permission to rule one of your fiefs 
20 Other Game options 
21 Pass Skip a turn 

Command 1 
Use this command to move your soldiers or your daimyo to one of your 
neighboring fiefs. Your daimyo must be moved with at least one unit of men, 
and cannot move when he is ill. 

Command 2 
Use this command to attack a neighboring fief. See WAR for details. 

Command 3 
Use this command to set your tax at any rate between 0 and 100 percent. But 
remember if you ask for too much your peasant loyalty will go down and they 
may actually give you less. 

Command 4 
Use this command to send rice and/or gold to one of your other fiefs. There is 
a limit to how many supplies each fief can hold and you must discover this 
limit on your own. 

Command 5 
Use this command to build dams in your fief to avoid the damage caused by 
typhoons. The maximum value is 100. 

Command 6 
Use this command to ask another daimyo to ally with your. When you ask, your 
rival will either ask you to pay a certain amount of gold or turn your down 
flat. If you pay the gold, you will have a pact. However this pact doesn't 
completely guarantee that you won't be attacked by your ally. Every year your 
treaty will become weaker, until it reaches a point when either you or your 
rival may break it. 

Command 7 
Use this command to increase your fief's output by growing new rice fields. 
Growing rice decreases your dams value and your peasant loyalty. 

Command 8 
Use this command to ask another daimyo if you may marry his daughter. If he 
lets you marry her you will have a stronger alliance than with a pact because 
he will be part of your family. This alliance, like a pact, may also be broken 
over time. 

Command 9 
Since merchants are always travelling, they are not always in every fief. The 
only fiefs where you can always find merchants are Yamashiro and Settsuizumi. 

a) Loan 
The merchant lends you gold depending on how high your town value is. You may 
give another command after receiving a loan. 
b) Repay 
Pay off a debt in part or full with this command. 
c) Sell rice 
Sell rice to the merchant with this command. 
d) Buy rice 
Buy rice from the merchant with this command. 
e) Buy arms 
Buying weapons will increase your men's arms value. 

Command 10 
Use this command to recruit men and ninja. Ninja come in units of one and 
soldiers in units of 1000. 

a) Men 
When you recruit men, your morale, skill, and arms values will go down. You 
must pay and feed your soldiers each fall and you cannot releasae them from 
the army once you have hired them. 

b) Ninja 
Unlike soldiers, the skilled ninja are hired for one specific mission and must 
be sent out immediately. 
1) Peasant uprising 
Your ninja will spread nasty rumors in another fief to lower its peasant 
loyalty and try to start an uprising. 
2) Military revolt 
Your ninja will spread nasty rumors in another fief to lower its morale and 
try to start a military revolt. 
3) Destroy dams 
Your ninja will try to blow up dams in a rival's fief. 
4) Assassination 
Your ninja will try to assassinate one of your rivals. Daimyos with a large 
army or a high IQ are difficult to kill, but even if you are unable to kill 
them you will probably lower their health. 
5) Arson 
Your ninja will try to set fire to a rival's town. 

Command 11 
Use this command to get your men into shape and raise their skill level. 
Training your soldiers doesn't cost gold, nor does it reduce any other values. 

Command 12 
Use this command to look at other fiefs. Send out a spy for ten units of gold 
who will return with the information - if he isn't caught. 

Command 13 
Use this command to raise your town's value. A high town value means you will 
collect more gold in fall. 

Command 14 
Giving gold or rice to the peasants or men will increase their loyalty and 
wealth and will also increase your charm. 

Command 15 
Use this command to hire a spy for ten units of gold. This spy will give out 
more of your gold to peasants in a rival's fief in order to bring them into 
your own fief. If your spy succeeds the peasant loyalty in your rival's fief 
will go down and some of his peasants will come over to your fief. 

Command 16 
Each daimyo's army is made up of three infantry units, one cavalry unit, and 
a rifles unit. Use this command to reassign them. The commanding infantry unit 
cannot be decreased to zero, and the rifles unit is usually restrictd to about 
twenty percent. To reassign men, use the LEFT and RIGHT arrows on the control 
pad to choose the unit you want to change, then use the UP arrow to increase 
the men in that unit and the DOWN arrow to decrease. Remember you must 
decrease at least one unit's size before you can increase any other unit 
sizes. Press Button A when you are finished. 

Command 17 
Use this command to raise your daimyo's health value. Enter the number of 
seasons you want to rest, and during that time the computer will take over for 
you. If a rival attacks while your daimyo is resting, the computer will handle 
defense. 

Command 18 
Use this command for the same purpose as Button B, to switch between different 
maps of the country. 

Command 19 
Use this command to turn as many vassal fiefs as you like over to the 
computer. You must give this command from your home fief. The computer can 
develop fiefs in four ways: 
a) Industrial: The computer will increase your town value and peasant wealth. 
b) Military: The computer will increase your army's size, your soldiers' 
morale, and your arms. 
c) Balanced: The computer will develop industry, farming, and military factors 
equally. 
d) Farming: The computer will increase your output and peasant loyalty. 
* Note: Fiefs under direct control are listed as "direct", abbreviated "Dir." 

Command 20 
The following are game options: 
a) Sound on/off: Turns sound effects on and off. 
b) Animation on/off: Turns animation on and off. 
c) Display wait: Changes the amount of time that messages are on the screen. 
1 is the shortest display and 9 is the longest. 
d) Save game: Since there is only one save file, if you save a game, you will 
erase any game that you have already saved before. Games are saved at the 
end of the season you are in when you give the save command. So after you 
give this command make sure to continue the game until the computer lets 
you know it has been saved. 
e) Watch others battle: Use this command to watch other daimyos battle. 
f) End game: Ends the game, so make sure to save first, if you want to 
continue the game later. 
* Always turn off the power by holding the reset button down and 
simultaneously pressing the power button. This will protect your data. 

Command 21 
Use this command to waive your turn in any fief for that season. 

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Battle display 

When you attack or are attacked by a rival, or are watching others battle, the 
screen will change to the battle display shown above. 

1) Name and number of the fief where the battle is happening, year and season. 
2) Daimyo names and data on the armies at war. 
3) Battlefield terrain. 
4) The battlefield dispaly is divided into three screens. These arrows show 
whether there is another screen to the left or the right. Use the LEFT and 
RIGHT arrows on the control pad to change battlefield screens. 

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Topographical map 

1. Out of the fief 
This area isn't part of the battlefield, so you can't go into it. 

2. Plains 
Flat land. Plains are not a very good place for battle because they offer no 
offensive or defensive advantage. 

3. Hills 
Hills are better for both offensive and defensive purposes. 

4. Mountains 
Completely impassable. Think of them as a wall. 

5. Water 
This includes lakes, rivers and oceans. This terrain is also impassible. 

6. Town 
Although the town is not as good as the hills for battle, it offers more of an 
advantage than the plains. However, when used as a battleground, the town will 
be damaged and its value will decrease. 

7. Castle 
Best position for both offense and defense. If the castle is taken by 
attacking men, the morale of the defending army will decrease. 

Unit Markers 

1. Unit number: The usual number of units is five, but you can change this 
number with Command 16 . With this command you can also change your 
men's distribution. 
a) Unit 1: This unit is called the command unit and is led either by the 
daimyo himself (unit number "0"), or by one of his generals (unit number 
"X"). If this unit is destroyed, the war is lost! Unit 1, like units 4 and 
5, are infantry units or foot soldiers. They aren't as powerful as the 
cavalry unit or the well armed rifles unit. 
b) Unit 2: The cavalry unit. Each army may have only one of these units, which 
are twice as powerful as any infantry unit. 
c) Unit 3: The rifles unit. Each army may have only one of these units, which 
are trice as powerul as a cavalry unit. 

2. Daimyo flag: This flag will appear on all the daimyo's units. 

3. Unit strength: This shows the number of men in thosands. When this number 
drops to zero during the battle the unit will be destroyed. 

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War 

Troop deployment 
Positioning units is the first stage of war. Since the defending army places 
its men first, it can put them anywhere on the map. The attacking army, 
however, can only place its men in the area near the fief from which it 
attacked. It may not place men in the castle or town. When placing your men, 
use the control pad to move the cursor and press Button A when you decide 
where to put the unit. 

Combat 
After both sides have placed their units, the battle begins. The defending 
army issues one command to each of its units and then the attacking army has 
its turn. A day passes after both sides have issued one set of orders. 

Victory 
A war ends when: 
a) One side runs out of rice. 
b) One side's command unit is destroyed. 
c) One side retreats. 
d) If the battle doesn't end within one month, the defending side wins. 
e) If both sides are destroyed at the same time, the defending side wins. 

After the war 

1. When the attacker wins 
If the attacking side wins, it will take over the losing fief. If the daimyo 
himself was in the losing fief, the winner will also take over all his vassal 
fiefs. 

2. When the defender wins 
If the defending side wins the war, any soldiers, rice or gold left behind by 
the loser become his property. If the attacking daimyo was killed in the 
battle, the defending side takes over all of his vassal fiefs. 

3. After having suppressed a revolt or an uprising 
Your army or peasant loyalty, depending on the case, will go down after 
fighting your own soldiers or peasants. 

--- 

Battlefield commands 

There are six different commands you can use in battle. With the UP and DOWN 
arrows of the control pad move the cursor to a command and then select the 
command with Button A. Use Button B to cancel. 

1 Move Move the unit to a bordering square 
2 Attack Attack an enemy unit in a bordering square 
3 Bribe Recruit soldiers from an enemy unit with gold 
4 Flee Surrender and retreat 
5 Pass Give no order to that unit for that turn 
6 View Get information on the two warring daimyos 

Combat command 1 
Use the UP or DOWN arrows on the control pad to choose the direction you want 
to move in, then press Button A to move. 

Combat command 2 
Use the UP or DOWN arrows on the control pad to choose the direction you want 
to attack in, then press Button A to move. 

Combat command 3 
Use this command to bribe enemy soldiers to come over to your army. It may be 
given only by the command unit, and only when you have more units of gold than 
soldiers on the field. The loyalty of your own men and your army strength will 
decide whether you are successful or not. 

Combat command 4 
Use this command to retreat to one of your bordering fiefs leaving all your 
gold, rice, and soldiers behind. It may only be issued by the commanding unit. 

Combat command 5 
Use this command to waive one unit's turn for that day. You may also issue 
this command by pressing Button B. 

Combat command 6 
This command will display a chart showing the warring daimyo's abilities. You 
may give another order after using this command. 

--- 

Great daimyos of the warring states period 

The following men are Japanese heroes, famous for their power and 
intelligence. Reading these stories will help you understand what it took to 
be a great daimyo in the days of Nobunaga. 

1. Oda Nobunaga (1534-1562) of Owari 
Nobunaga was a rebel from the start. He disobeyed his nurses and parents and 
was disliked by most people who know him. He soon gained a reputation for 
being an arrogant young man. But, as he got older, he began to show the 
makings of a great daimyo. As soon as he came of age, he convinced the other 
daimyos to accept his leadership of the Oda Clan. He then wiped out the rival 
Imagawa Clan in an ambush to become the undisputed ruler of the province of 
Owari. 

Nobunaga realized that if he befriended the shogun he could do as he pleased, 
So, in the year 1568, he marched into the capital city of Kyoto and declared 
Ashikaga Yoshiaki the new shogun. So great was Nobunaga's reputation, that no 
one challenged him. However, their friendship was short-lived. Nobunaga rarely 
listened to the shogun's commands and always did as he pleased. Ashikaga was 
insulted, and secretly formed an army to attack Nobunaga at the Anegawa River. 
But, the hardy Nobunaga survived and took revenge by crushing the two clans 
which has been in the attack: the Asakura Clan and the Asai Clan. 

By this time, Nobunaga's rival, Takeda Shingen, had died of old age, and 
Nobunaga had allied with the monks of the powerful Ikko sect. It began to look 
as if Nobungag would be able to unify Japan. 

But, while preparing for battle in the Chugoku region, Nobunaga was betrayed 
by one of his own generals. The villainous Akechi Mitsuhide attackedhim in the 
Honno Temple with his own troops. Nobunaga died the glorious death of a 
Japanese warrior by committing hara-kiri at the age of 49, in the Summer of 
1582. 

2. Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616) or Mikawa 
Tokugawa Ieyasu was the founder of a 300 year period in Japanese history 
called the Tokugawa Era. Strangely enough, this great leader spent his 
childhood as a hostage of the Imagawa Clan. When he grew older and saw the 
Imagawa Clan starting to lose power, he allied himself to Oda Nobunaga. Ieyasu 
was very wise and patient, and always knew who was actually in power. It was 
because of this ability to be in the right place at the right time that he 
became such a powerful man. 

After Nobunaga died, Ieyasu allied with Nobunaga's successor, Toyotomi 
Hideyoshi. When Hideyoshi died, Ieyasu went to war against the Toyotomi Clan 
and defeated them, fulfilling Nobunaga's ambition of a united Japan. Ieyasu 
lived to be 75 years old, and is still well remembered in Japan for his 
cleverness and ruthlessness in negotiations. 

3. Takeda Shingen (1521-1583) of Kai and Shinano 
In the 16th century, the name of Takeda Shingen struck such terror into the 
hearts of the other daimyos that he was given the nickname "the Tiger of Kai". 
They say that the first time Tokugawa Ieyasu saw Takeda Shingen, he wet his 
kimono and ran for his life. Even when he was young, Shingen was ruthless. 
Under his leadership, the Takeda Clan conquered every fief in the area. 
Shingen's reputation grew as quickly as his power. 

At Mitaka, Shingen battled against the combined armies of Tokugawa Ieyasu and 
Oda Nobunaga and easily defeated them. Yet, for all his power, Shingen could 
not overcome old age and died at the age of 53. 

4. Uesuge Kenshin (1530-1576) of Echigo and Kozuke 
Kenshin's childhood may have seemed more suited for a priest's life than a 
daimyo's. He enjoyed his studies very much, especially Buddhism, one of the 
major religions of old Japan. However, beneath his apparent mildness lay a 
fierce fighting spirit. 

While trying to conquer the province of Echigo, he clashed head on with the 
army of Takeda Shingen. He skillfully evaded Takeda's troops and fought "the 
Tiger of Kai" in one-on-one combat. Although Kenshin didn't lose to Shingen, 
he wasn't as lucky against Oda Nobunaga. Many of the warlords of Japan 
considered Kenshin's death to be the loss of "a man and leader too good for 
the times." 

5. Shimazu Takahisa (1514-1571) of Satsuma and Osumi 
Shimazu Takahisa dreamt of uniting Kyushu, the southernmost island of Japan. 
For years his father had struggled agaisnt all the lords of the province, and 
his last will was that his son finish the job of unification that he had 
begun. Every time Takahisa lost a battle and felt he couldn't go on, he would 
remember his father's last words and take courage from them. After much 
bloodshed, Takahisa eventually conquered the whole island of Kyushu. 
Unfortunately, Takahisa's success did not escape Toyotomi Hideyoshi's watchful 
eyes. Although Takahisa fought bravely, even the memory of his father couldn't 
prevent his defeat at the hands of Hideyoshi. 

6. Date Terumune (1543-1585) of Rikuzen 
Date Terumune was a nobleman from birth. He came from one of the oldest and 
most respected families in Japan. Because of his background, Terumune was 
crowned the 16th lord of the Date Clan by the Shogun himself, Ashikaga 
Yoshiteru. 

However, even noblemen cannot escape their destiny, and Terumune's life was 
ill-fated from the start. No matter what he did, bad luck plagued him. He was 
given a strong young son named Masamune, but soon discovered that he was 
unstable. It is said that Masamune plucked out of his eye when he was young 
because it was infected. Thus, he was nicknamed "the One-Eyed Dragon". 

Terumune's bad luck continued. He was captured by his archenemy, Hatakeyama 
Yoshitsugu and taken prisoner. When his son heard the news, he stormed 
Hatakeyama's castle and in a fit of rage accidentially killed his own father, 
as well as Hatakeyama. In the end, Terumune's noble birth was no match for 
destiny and bad luck. 

7. Mori Motonari (1497-1571) of Aki and Nagato 
Mori Motonari was a brilliant man, maybe the greatest strategist of the 16th 
century. He was also very cruel and while still a youth, he killed all of his 
brothers to make sure that he would inherit his father's lands. His father 
died and Motonari quickly rose to power. 

When he went to battle, Motonari was very good at gathering information on 
the enemy daimyos while never letting others know how strong his own armies 
were. He would defeat his enemies by tricking them and making them look like 
fools, rather than by wasting his well-trained soldiers in battle. 

Motonari carried the guilt of murdering his brothers all his life. When he was 
dying, he called his three sons to his bedside. He asked a servant to bring 
him some arrows and picking one up, easily snapped it in two. He then asked 
each of his sons to try to break three arrows together and none of them were 
able to. Motonari then explained to them that they were like the three arrows 
and that if they worked together they would be invincible. But, if they didn't 
cooperate with each other, their enemies would snap them in two as easily as 
the single arrow. 

8. Hojo Ujimasa (1538-1590) of Musashi, Izu, Sagami, and Shimousa 
During Nobunaga's time, not many daimyos lived long enough to see their sons 
inherit the throne. THe Hojo family however, ruled over the Kanto district of 
central Japan for more than 100 years. When Ujimasa took over as daimyo, the 
Hojo Clan was very powerful. They ruled from the impregnable Odawara Castle. 

Unfortunately, Ujimasa was a very poor judge of men. At his best, he was an 
average leader, but as his worst, he could not tell the difference between a 
loyal servant and an enemy assassin. Ujimasa's total lack of good sense led 
the once powerful Hojo clan to failure. In 1575, after repeated official 
warnings, Odawara Castle was destroyed by the army of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. 

9. Imagawa Yoshimoto (1519-1560) of Totoumi and Suruga 
Yoshimoto was born a member of the Imperial Family. He was trained in the ways 
of a nobleman and warrior, isolated from the real world within his parents' 
castle. Unfortunately when his parents died, Yoshimoto wasn't ready to become 
the clan leader. While trying to make peace with an enemy clan, Yoshimoto took 
their young master hostage. Little did he know that this boy would later take 
the name of Tokugawa Ieyasu, and go on to rule Japan. 

However, it was not Ieyasu who would bring about Yoshimoto's death. Yoshimoto 
made his last mistake by publicly insulting Oda Nobunaga, who took revenge by 
ambushing and killing Yoshimoto at the Battle of Okehazama. 

--- 

Epilogue 

The once beautiful Honno Temple, which has stood for years as a safe haven for 
weary travelers, was now only a blackened ruin. The great white flag hung in 
tatters from a broken pole. The grounds around the temple were filled with the 
bodies of fallen soldiers, and the air was thick with smoke and death. Yet, 
within the temple, the sounds of fighting could still be heard. 

Nobunaga's wounded sword arm hung useless at his side. He leaned wearily 
against the back wall of a large guestroom. At the door, two of his men 
battled valiantly to hold off a mob of fresh attackers. He could not see if 
anyone else from his personal guard was still alive. The hall outside was 
crowded with hundreds of Mitsuhide's rebel troops. Beside him, as ever, was 
Ranmaru. The page had picked up a spear and was prepared to move in if one of 
the last defenders should fall. 

Nobunaga was suddenly snapped out of his gloom by Mitsuhide's voice giving 
orders in the hall. 

"Swordsmen fall back! Give the riflemen room to fire! We'll shoot out way in! 
There's no escape for him now!" 

Nobunaga lost all hope. Mitsuhide was no fool. He would not risk letting a man 
as dangerous as Nobunaga go free. Resigned to defeat, Nobunaga made a fateful 
decision. Opening the door to an adjacent tearoom, Nobunaga motioned for 
Ranmaru to enter. He followed him inside, hoping his guards could last but 
five more minutes, and shut the door. 

"Ranmaru, I am the greatest daimyo in Japan, and will not die like a helpless 
dog. I will die with honor." 

Ranmaru understood immediately. In ancient Japan, an honorable death for a 
warrior was by his own hand - by ritual suicide. 

"Of course, my lord. It will be an honor to serve as your second." 

"Quickly, then. Help me with my armor and take my sword. It is sharp, and 
the final blow must be clearn." 

As Runmaru brought the heavy sword down upon its victim, Nobunaga's last 
thoughts were of a poem he had written long ago called "Atsumori". 

A man's life is fifty years 
In the universe what is there but 
dream and illusion? 
Is there any born who does not die? 

Thus, Nobunaga died, betrayed by an evil vassal. He fulfilled his own 
prophecy - "A man's life is fifty years," and died at the age of 49. 

--- 
 

