The Sengoku Era, also known as the Warring States period, was a long and brutal period of civil war. From the fall of the feudal system in 1467, to its re-establishment in 1615, it was a field of constant conflict to see who would arise from the power vacuum — the warring samurai, or the Pure Land Buddhist rebels who wanted to be free of samurai rule entirely?
It’s important to note that before the Sengoku period, the people who held the most power was the shogunate, or collective of generals. They held noble status, and usually came from powerful families. So when the civil unrest began, it enabled many low-ranking individuals to rise through the social tiers and become some of Japan’s greatest conquerors.
In other words, they were an antithesis to the formerly rigid social classes, pressed under the heel of the samurai. While the samurai in most contemporary popular works are mythologized as highly-skilled personifications of chivalry, most of them were quite ruthless, even to commoners.
Still, many dramatizations of the Sengoku Period prevail, especially in video games. These games particularly focus on the sengoku busho, or it put it roughly “shogun boom,” when the never-ending battles produced many generals who were technically and strategically talented.
Popular Examples
The premier example of these dramatizations is the Sengoku Basara series, a hack-and-slash game which depicts battles a fast-paced, with more youthful portrayals of generals at the helm.
Sengoku BASARA 3 Ieyasu Tokugawa Play (2)
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Another notable game series is the Nioh series, an action RPG (role-playing game) centered around the rise and usage of yokai (supernatural monsters in Japanese folklore) during the Sengoku Period:
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Nioh 2 – All Boss Fights (No Damage)
Nioh 2 All Main Story Bosses “No Damage” & Ending Nioh 2 – All Bosses “NO DAMAGE” SOLO (PS4 PRO) Mezuki 00:08 Enenra 01:58 Yatsu-no-Kami 04:30 Imagawa Yoshimoto 06:34 Kamaitachi 10:02 Saito Yoshitatsu 12:30 Tatarimokke 14:16 Magara Naotaka 15:40 Azai Nagamasa 19:14 Saika Magoichi 23:20 Gyuki 26:00 Kasha 28:28 Ryomen Sukuna 31:26 Maeda Toshiie 33:10 Shibata Katsuie 35:18 Tokichiro 37:24 Hachisuka Koroku 40:06 Daidara Bocchi 41:40 Shuten Doji 46:24 Lady Osakabe 49:28 Tokichiro (Hideyoshi) 51:48 Kashin Koji 53:28 William 56:30 Otakemaru 58:38 Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbgzzzXVWWeV9hjsSDE91d3FUglL2fnMk Subscribe For More…
And of course, there is the standalone title Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, a critically-acclaimed action/adventure game with fast-paced combat and Buddhist-inspired lore.
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice – Gyoubu Oniwa Boss Fight
Subscribe for more! ⇨ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdaluuQuE5GoOlULA2PGKmA?sub_confirmation=1 ☆ Gyoubu Oniwa boss fight in Sekiro Shadows Die Twice. Gyoubu is a general on a horse guarding a gate. Sekiro Gyoubu Masataka Oniwa Boss Battle. BFD, Boss Fight Database.
As you can imagine, the aforementioned games are quite popular. However, here are three more video games set in the Sengoku period that you may not know about.
Pokémon Conquest
Pokémon Conquest is a 2012 tactical RPG by KOEI TECMO, developed for the Nintendo DS. A crossover of the long-standing Pokémon and Nobunaga’s Ambition franchises, it centers around the unification of the feudal Ransei Region. Unlike the main Pokémon series, the player acquires wild Pokémon by “linking” with them, rather than capturing them. The “link” is established by a rhythm-based minigame, similar to Dance Dance Revolution.
Wild Pokemon linking with wild Pokemon in Pokemon Conquest
Uploaded by MudFan on 2017-04-10.
The conquest outlined in the story is known as the Ransei Legend. Because the region’s Warriors and Warlords are all pursuing the legend, the entire region has fallen to violence and disrepair. The player character is also a newly-minted Warlord, though they choose to take a more peaceful approach to the unification. If the player successfully unifies the Ransei Region, they will encounter the Legendary Pokémon; the region’s creator.
Pokemon Conquest – (U) Intro & First Battle
This game is finally in English. I’ll try to get some Wi-Fi battles in the future Follow me on twitter! http://www.twitter.com/OfficialShofu facebook fanpage: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Shofu/140008339409352 Also, check out my personal channel, where I upload skits, blogs, and other funny stuff! http://www.youtube.com/user/ShofuTV Finally, check out my music channel!: http://www.youtube.com/user/WDFAmusic
While the crossover was initially met with surprise in both the Japanese and international communities, the thematic elements of Pokémon and Nobunaga’s Ambition are actually quite similar. They both focus on dominating the world, region by region, until a legend is created, either via the discovery of a Legendary Pokémon, or a warlord rises as the highest conqueror of the land:
“Tell me more about the Pokemon and the Sengoku Era crossover.”
Ishihara Tsunekazu (President of the Pokemon Company): The title ‘Nobunaga’s Ambition’ holds a lot of weight among video games, doesn’t it? But for me, I think of it less as a Sengoku-themed game, and more of a ‘new regional fantasy world‘ altogether.
Erikawa Yoichi (President of Koei Tecmo): For most people, the Sengoku era is a fantastical concept, right? Since ‘Pokemon’ is also a fantasy, I think they’ll find it interesting for a fictional military commander to fight a fictional battle in a fantasy world.“What does the Sengoku Era and Pokémon have in common?”
Translated excerpt from “Details of Pokemon Conquest finally revealed! Heads of both companies answer your questions! (January 20, 2012, NLAB IT MEDIA)
Erikawa: Conquering gym leaders in various regions is what makes Pokemon so fun. Same goes for Nobunaga’s Ambition when it comes to conquering the various regions in Japan. In that sense, they have something in common.
Koinuma Hisashi (Co-Producer of Pokemon Conquest): This game has a similar playing style to the gym leader battles, so they’re well suited for each other.
Robo Aleste
Robo Aleste is a 1992 scrolling shooter by Compile, developed for the Sega CD. It takes place in an alternate version of the Sengoku era, where everyone pilots mecha, or large-scale mechanized robots. Mecha is a common trope and even subgenre of Japanese anime, so one can assume that it would have wide appeal.
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The game opens with a strong and superbly localized narration that not only summarizes the common aspects of the Sengoku era, but it truly makes the player feels as if they are part of a larger, historical intrigue. The storytelling is so seamless that it’s easy to accept the more mechanized aspect of the plot. Robo Aleste alludes to the real-life foreign influence of technology during that time — however, instead of guns, foreigners brought mecha to Japan.
Mega-CD Longplay [057] Robo Aleste
http://www.longplays.org Played By : MadMatty One of a very few standout titles on the Sega CD. The developers seemed to know what they were doing and the qualities of a good arcade game are here. great Audio and lovely gfx especialy for Sega cd not to mention the fluid 60fps!.
Notable historical figures, including Oda Nobunaga, serve as the in-game bosses — he in particular has a robot ninja army, known as the White Fang. One of the player characters, Kagerou, is the sole survivor of said army, and takes it upon himself to fight Oda’s enemies.
The 16-bit visuals still hold up today, along with its punchy, house music-inspired soundtrack. Though it received lukewarm reviews upon release, Robo Aleste is a rare find for those who enjoy scrolling shooters with a strong narrative. However, like most rare games these days, it has a steep asking price with no known digital ports available.
Inindo: Way of the Ninja
Inindo: Way of the Ninja is a 1991 RPG by Koei, originally developed for the PC, but it eventually was developed for the Super Nintendo. Of the three games, Inindo is the most historically accurate. It chronicles an Iga ninja’s quest for revenge on Oda Nobunaga, who destroyed the player character’s village.
The game begins in 1582, and the player character must kill the character by 1601 — historically known for the rise of the Tokugawa Shogunate — or it’s game over. A more traditional RPG, the mechanics of Inindo center around dungeon crawls, turn-based combat, and making allies during the ninja’s journey.
Inindo – Way of the Ninja – [Speedrun 3:39:47] Elveskz
My best time for this Rpg for Super Nintendo. Leaderboard: https://www.speedrun.com/inindo_way_of_the_ninja
The forging of alliances seems to hold a lot of weight in Inindo, and it involves a lot of conversations at Inns and Tea Houses. It’s a pretty long game, with the above-linked speedrun clocking in at over three hours. However, it’s best suited for those who like fantasy RPGs and accurate dramatizations of historical events.
What other Sengoku-themed games have you played? For those who are familiar with other Japanese eras (Meiji, Taisho, Showa, Heisei, etc), what kind of games would you have developed based on theses eras? Let us know on social media.