"If you don't play this game, you're punishing yourself."

I first saw this when my friend Brian downloaded it. I had heard about it, but didn't know much about it. This guy's opinion on games means a lot to me (He first showed me Chrono Trigger, Icewind Dale, and Neverwinter Nights, among others.), and he held this game pretty highly. I saw it in EB Games about 6 years later, for 10 bucks, and bought it, honestly, for the ninjas. Then I really saw how great everything about this game is.

Story 10/10
Simple, and historically accurate, even if that doesn't mean much. It's the time of the Sengoku Jidai, or "Warring States". You lead a clan (Of your choosing), and embark on a quest to become Shogun.

Graphics 8/10
Not too bad then, dated by now. The battle sequences are not drop-dead gorgeous, but the in-game FMVs are pretty awesome.

Sound 10/10
I LOVE traditional Japanese music. I find it very relaxing. That's one reason that I liked the main-map music. The battle music is pretty cool, too. The music has all the Japanese instruments, from the flutes to the Shamisen.

Gameplay 10/10
Absolutely awesome. Pick a clan and bring the other clans to their knees through a strategy that you would find entertaining. Build up incredible numbers of simple units and kill? Go for it. Get a concentrated group of godly-powerful units and obliterate those in your path? Sounds good. Use Ninja and other stealth units to make your opponent crumble from the inside and slay him while he's weak? That's my favorite way. It's all your choice. There are tons of units, cities to be made, rebels to destroy, rivals to slay, and a country to lay in the palm of your hand. Get to it!

Buy or Rent?
Like I said before, if you want to punish yourself, don't buy it. If you're a masochist. Otherwise, you go out, right now, and you buy this game! Amazon has it, and whatever store you happen to have around probably has a copy or two. It's a couple years old, so it's pretty easy on the wallet. BUY IT NOW!!!

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 07/21/06