Jeremy Parish

NES Works 135: Nobunaga's Ambition (Patreon)

Published:

2024-05-08 12:05:43

Imported:

2024-05

Content

Another massive monstrosity of a game! NES, please, I am begging for you to go easy on me just this once.

Honestly, I don't really have Manager Brain, so games like Nobunaga's Ambition sorta slide off my grey matter like someone opened up my skull and applied a healthy coating of teflon. So don't look for incisive opinions about this game or cool super-strats. Instead, you'll have to settle for an episode that is mostly talking around the topic... which, admittedly, is pretty easy when the topic is as storied and significant as Nobunaga's Ambition.

Files

No fief, no life: Nobunaga's Ambition | NES Works 135

Another one of those monster-sized games with a massive legacy lands on NES. There really was something in the water in summer 1989, huh? I guess that's what they mean when they say the NES had The Juice. The Juice was the mysterious thing in the water. In this case, we have a console adaptation of a groundbreaking Japanese computer game—their own take on the hex-based war simulations that the American grognards loved so much. Unlike Dragon Warrior, Nobunaga's Ambition was not built from the ground-up for consoles; this is a computer game through and through, and it makes few concessions for play on a two-button controller on a system marketed to kids. Nobunaga tosses you into the deep end and expects you to swim, and it isn't afraid to stick you with a game over before you make your first move. It's confusing, overwhelming, and opaque, and it makes no apologies for any of those things. Naturally, it became a long-running series and transformed Koei into one of the most powerful and sustainable game publishers in the world. Production notes: Video Works is funded via Patreon (http://www.patreon.com/gamespite) — support the show and get access to every episode up to two weeks in advance of its YouTube debut! Plus, exclusive podcasts, eBooks, and more! Why watch when you can read? Check out the massive hardcover print editions of NES Works, Super NES Works, and Virtual Boy works, available now at Limited Run Games (https://limitedrungames.com/collections/books)! SG-1000 Works: Segaiden Vol. I is available NOW, and Metroidvania: The First Decade is due in 2025. NES footage captured from Analogue Nt Mini. Video upscaled to 4K with RetroTink 4X and 720p with xRGB Mini Framemeister.