16bit Chronicles: Super FamiComplete #52: Lord of Darkness (Redux)

Title: Lord of Darkness (NA) Super Nobunaga no Yabou: Bushou Fuunroku(JP)

Release Date: 12/21/1991

Developer/Publisher: Koei

Oh boy, another computer strategy game remade for the Super Nintendo. Not one of the genres that I look forward to with this blog.

Background

Now this series is one of the original CRPGs in general that started the strategy RPG genre. The game is very similar to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms style games, except that it is set during the Sengoku Period in Japan, a period when the local daimyos (regional governors and warlords) cast off the Bakufu style government (a military dictator under the Shogun) and each fought for power to rule Japan. Some daimyos fought for control, others for greater position, and some just for sport and to demonstrate military prowess. It lasted from about 1467-1608 CE in Japan, and it was incredibly damaging to the infrastructure of Japan. The most prominent and notorious of these daimyos is the person this game is based off of: Nobunaga Oda.

Nobunaga Oda was a minor daimyo at first, ruling over the Owari prefecturem yet quickly rose to prominence after defeating the powerful warlord Imagawa Yoshimoto at the battle of Okehazama, a battle where Nobunaga and his forces were outnumbered by about 25,000 to his humble 3,000. After this began a career of military conquest made famous by his disregard for religion (he famously burnt down several temples and slaughtered thousands of monks), ingenious but ruthless tactics, and his willingness to open up Japan to foreigners for trade purposes. Nobunaga became the first conquerer to truly unify most of Japan (at least the island of Honshu), and was also well known for his eccentricities ( his love of art and poetry namely). His career came to an end, though, when he was betrayed by one of his vassals, Mitsuhide Akechi, and was slaughtered in his home castle Honno-ji. Some say it was due to jealousy and a near constant torment from Nobunaga that this betrayal occurred; apparently Nobunaga had a love of the sauce, and would regularly get rowdy and start smacking Mitsuhide's bald head.

Nobunaga's legacy in popular culture is rather interesting though, as he is generally viewed as a malevolent figure hell-bent on conquest. In the Onimusha series, for example, he is viewed as a literal demon who is trying to conquer Japan in the name of Genma. In the Samurai Warriors series, he is nicknamed "The Demon King" and has a dark aura that surrounds him. This series, as well, is even named after Nobunaga's most famous quality: Nobunaga's Ambition. Now Lord of Darkness is the fifth game in this series, and it was one of the most widely ported. The point of the series is rather simple: you pick one of the provinces of Japan and its reigning Daimyo, and you try to conquer the rest of Japan. In this entrant in the series, you can choose from one of two scenarios: you can choose with everyone on equal footing at the start of Nobunaga's career, or you can choose towards the middle where he is surrounded by enemies.

This entrant in the series is best known for its new diplomatic options: you can barter for new technology, ask other leaders to join in a tea ceremony, etc.

Koei is the developer behind this game, who have become synonymous with the Three Kingdoms era in China and the Sengoku era in Japan through their Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Dynasty Warriors, Samurai Warriors, and Nobunaga's Ambition series. They are definitely more well known for their Warrior titles nowadays, which have begun to spill out into other pop culture properties with One Piece: Pirate Warriors and Hyrule Warriors.

The Gameplay

Well its turn based CRPG style strategy action. It is a hardcore game for hardcore fans. You really have to love strategy games in order to get involved in series like this. The amount of choices are really fun: you can resort to any sort of strategy you would like from diplomacy, to deception, to assassination, or just plain old warfare. I also like the detail that they put into this being historically accurate.

The history teacher in me loves it, but this is basically a game of Monopoly or Risk: the game will take a long, long, long, long, long time to complete. It also falls into the trap of Romance of the Three Kingdoms where the different "stories" you choose are really just a different table of starting conditions. There is no narrative thread other than ones you create through your imagination and how the game plays out. It is very much a board game translated into a early console game.

This game is very similar to Romance of the Three Kingdoms (heck it is even made by the same company), in that there are more modern versions of the game available that go into way more depth. I highly recommend checking them out if you would like the experience of a SRPG set in the Sengoku period.