Title: Zan II: Spirits
Release Date: 05/29/1992
Developer: Wolf Team
Publisher: Telenet
Here I was about to wrap up another month of games, and knowing nothing about this game previously, was hoping it was something like another mahjong or Japanese only platformer. Something that wouldn't take too much time. But of course, the Super Famicom instead throws another Sengoku era 4X game in the style of Nobunaga's Ambition, and unlike Nobunaga's Ambition it is only in Japanese.
Background
This game was developed by Wolf Team, the same studio that would eventually become the studio behind the incredibly popular Tales action RPG series. At the time, though, Wolf Team was a subsidiary at Telenet, and actually about a year away from a major restructuring that would see most of the original staff leaving Telenet and forming their own studio, which would in turn lead to a partnership with Namco. Telenet was a publisher known for working with three main developers: the aforementioned Wolf Team, Laser Soft, and Riot, and would be known for such series as the Valis and Cosmic Fantasy series.
This is actually the third game in what would be a seven game Zan series. The key distinguishing feature that differentiates this from Nobunaga's Ambition is cutting out a great deal of the diplomacy aspects of those games, and instead focusing purely on military conquest. Some titles in this series do seem to have supernatural elements, but this certainly isn't one of them, though it does show a Hannya mask in the opening title video. I kind of wish those elements were kept as this is too similar to Nobunaga's Ambition without it.
Gameplay
Much like Nobunaga's Ambition, the game plops you into a preselected location on a map of Japan, split into the realms of the many prefectures and realms of the various daimyo of the Sengoku period. The map of each "state" is dotted with Japanese style pagoda castles, temples, and forts, each with different values associated to defense of the fortifications themselves, number of soldiers manning the building, types of soldiers, etc. The goal is to consolidate your territory, build a sizable military, and then start expanding your area until you unite all of Japan under your banner.
With no translation there is not an easy way to navigate this game or understand what is going on. For this blog post, I watched Batista_Harpu's "SNES Side Quest" series and a good bit of his successful 10 hour playthrough. Here is what I gleaned from watching his campaign.
- Battles are done in an isometric hexagonal grid view with units displayed on the field in a similar way to a Fire Emblem or Shining Force game. The animations are nothing special, but it is certainly a distinguishing feature vs. the Ambition series.
- This game is incredibly menu heavy: each base has to be micromanaged, and soldiers continually produced in order to stand a chance of success. The production style reminds me of Civilization II or Advance Wars where each location can be assigned to produce units.
- Random events do seem to pop up throughout the game, such as a castle rebelling or sneak attacks from the enemy on certain locations.
- Each state has a main castle that serves as the location you want to overtake. Take that castle then the rest of the state falls.
- At the end of the game, each of the daimyos gather together to tell you how cool you are.
Music
The OST is pretty good actually. Check it out! Sounds very Final Fantasy IV at times.
Final Verdict
This game is really not up my alley. I am not a big lover of 4X strategy games or "conquer the map" games in the first place, and one in a language I can't read that is so menu heavy makes it a tough sell. Thanks to Batista for the incredibly useful playthrough.
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