If you have no idea what Koei is, and that's a possibility, let me backtrack a little bit. It's a little hard to nail down the fundamental idea behind Kessen, but I think it's intended to be Koei for people who don't like Koei. The battle, the events leading up to it, and all the personalities and side-stories that had an influence on the larger picture are all presented as part of a vast cinematic tableau - it may sound like I have a touch of the hyperbole in me, but this game has a genuinely epic feel to it. Sekigahara is the decisive battle of the title, where you mass your forces, gather your generals, and fight a running campaign to eventually defeat Ishida (or Tokugawa, in the unlockable alternate campaign). Tokugawa raised an army to fight against the Toyotomi loyalists, and at the battle of Sekigahara in 1600, he defeated the western army of Ishida Mitsunari, destroying the last meaningful opposition to his eventual appointment as shogun. In theory, it was to be his son Hideyori, but Hideyori's weakness (he was a baby at the time) gave rise to a challenge from Tokugawa, one of Hideyoshi's generals. Toyotomi ruled the country with an iron fist from 1590 until his death in 1598, at which point turmoil arose over who would succeed him. Warlords attempted to unify the country, the most famous and almost successful campaign being waged by Nobunaga Oda in the latter half of the 16th century (the inspiration, of course, for the Nobunaga's Ambition games), but the first man to actually retake total control of Japan was Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who picked up where Nobunaga left off after his assassination. After the decline in the power of the emperor and the Ashikaga shoguns in the 15th and 16th centuries, Japan was essentially under the control of daimyo, local lords who exerted great influence in a small area - like Germany after the fall of the Holy Roman Emperors, or Italy during the Renaissance. When you first play the game, you take on the role of Tokugawa Ieyasu, one of the most powerful warlords in the period of turmoil that preceded the long peace of the Edo period. "Kessen" is Japanese for "decisive battle" - an appropriate title, because the events of the game are built around the most decisive conflict in Japanese history. Although I can assure you that nobody in feudal Japan wore armor that looked quite this silly, the people, places, and events in Kessen are for the most part entirely real, and a short history lesson might help some players appreciate the game a bit more. This is a major leap forward for Koei, to produce such a different take on the type of game that has been their core business for so long, but it's a gamble that's paid off, and with Kessen II already in the works and looking amazing, I wouldn't be surprised if the ascendance of PS2 also marks their step out of the niche that they've remained in for so long.Īllow me my little conceit. It helps, of course, that Kessen is one of the best-looking PS2 launch titles, and was produced by some of the most experienced masters of simulation game design. That's one of the coolest things about Koei's Kessen, because despite the highly fanciful visual presentation, this game is actually about real people, and its cinematic presentation brings them to life in a way that makes the strategy gameplay much more exciting. What real personalities wind up doing in the course of real events handily outmatches most creations of the imagination when it comes to holding my interest. As officers and their men gain levels, they can access additional particular assaults.It's funny because it's true, and if you disagree, you can shut up and borrow my copy of The Twelve Caesars or Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail. Each officer, including Nobunaga, will have their army available on the battlefield, and they can exercise control at any time. Choose officers, then position them on the field of combat so that they may best carry out their duties, then hand out commands and instructions. This game’s two most essential components are making plans and fighting each other. It keeps loyal to both strategic and action-based gameplay while introducing a few new elements along the way, such as the ability to acquire goods while engaged in combat. Like its predecessors, this game features many dramatic sequences. Nobunaga has one and only one objective: to conquer all of the lands and free his earth from all of its sorrow and suffering. In Kessen III, the player assumes control of Nobunaga Oda, and in contrast to the first two games in the series, the player is not given the option to select a side on which to play.
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