When talking about classic strategy game series, Nobunaga's Ambition is undoubtedly an unignorable presence. Since its inception, it has attracted countless players with its deep strategic gameplay, rich historical background, and captivating daimyo experience. The sixteenth installment of the series, Nobunaga's Ambition: Awakening was released last year, and now the Nobunaga's Ambition: Awakening with Power-Up Kit (hereinafter referred to as Nobunaga's Ambition 16 PK) has been launched with new mechanics and improvements, adding a fresh face and challenges to this iconic series. Through my experience with the newly released Nobunaga's Ambition 16 PK, I feel the game is relatively balanced and polished. Notably, the delicate adjustments made by Koei Tecmo on various aspects has brought the overall daimyo experience closer to reality.

First, let's talk about civil affairs. Nobunaga's Ambition 16 PK introduces a brand new Policy system that includes faction-specific policies, such as the Oda clan's "Dawn of Revolution" (for rapid expansion) and the Takeda clan's "Laws of Kai" (to strengthening cavalry), among others. It also features universal policies like "Easy Commerce" (to enhance commerce) and "Standing Army" (to increase troop limit), which not only reflect the unique characteristics of different factions but also provide players with more freedom to explore their strategies, unlike the previous game’s Resolve system that limited the gameplay of each faction. However, one disdvantage of the policy system is the relatively high maintenance cost for small factions. Once a policy is implemented, it cannot be canceled, which somewhat limits the flexibility that I was hoping for.

On the other hand, the brand new County mechanism in Nobunaga's Ambition 16 PK truly embodies a more realistic daimyo experience. Each castle has several counties, and the Castle's income is determined by the level of development in each county. You have the option to either assign Land Holders to automatically develop the counties or manually specify the development of the land under your direct control. This means that apart from the Main Base, all other castles and their respective counties are entirely managed by the appointed officers, leaving you with limited intervention. Instead, you can provide general plans and directions to the Castle Lords, allowing them to autonomously develop the Castles under their control.

In the real world, different regions' affairs should be entrusted to local officials to promote efficiency, enabling the higher-ups to focus on broader political matters. While previous installments did allow delegation of such details to the AI, I believe the latest County system could better reflect the division of labor between the daimyo and their vassals, providing a more immersive experience.

Speaking of the relationship between daimyo and vassals, the Honor system in Nobunaga's Ambition 16 PK adds more significance to the officer’s ranks. In the past, whether in the Nobunaga's Ambition series or the Romance of the Three Kingdoms series, we usually focus solely on talents. As long as an officer has high abilities and reasonable loyalty, he would often be immediately promoted to a Castle Lord, without much consideration for the feelings of our other veteran retainers.

However, in this installment, the Honor system limits the positions that subordinates can be appointed to. For instance, newly recruited officers can only gradually accumulate merits and promotions. It is not until they become Infantry Leaders before being eligible to become holder of a county; and only after reaching the rank of Samurai Leader can they assume the role of a Castle Lord, and so on. Though this may not bring too many surprises to the gameplay, it does indeed reflect a more realistic feudal system that limits appointments based on ranks.

The rank of an officer also plays a significant role in the new Overseer and Conservator systems in Nobunaga's Ambition 16 PK. Only officers with a rank of Captain or higher can be appointed as Overseers, granting your faction the ability to implement more policies or reduce the maintenance cost of existing policies. Some officers even have the ability to unlock faction-specific policies. For example, appointing a general with the "Way of the Oda" Overseer trait unlocks the "Dawn of Revolution" policy.

As for the Conservator position, only officers with a rank of Senior Retainer or above, or the daimyo of a vassal clan, are eligible for appointment. Conservators can provide unique perks, such as increasing maximum troop capacity or increasing crops. However, these advantages come with certain drawbacks, such as reduced income from commerce or decreased loyalty of the officers, making it a double-edged sword.

Both Overseer and Conservator systems complement the Policy mechanism, presenting a more comprehensive strategic gameplay, but the only catch is that once a general is relieved of their appointment, they cannot be reappointed, which somewhat limits the flexibility of these systems.

In terms of Marching, the game has abandoned its previous mechanism where all units must gather in one city before going on an expedition, and instead introduced a new road width restriction. Main roads can accommodate up to four units, while smaller roads can only accommodate two. For example, a city connecting two main roads can be flanked by a maximum of eight enemy units simultaneously, leaving the rest of the enemy forces idle in the rear. This change affects the total number of units that can participate in Battles and Sieges, preventing dominant warlords from overwhelming the weaker ones with pure numbers.

Furthermore, due to the existence of the County system, every time a unit passes through an enemy county, they must spend time occupying it, significantly reducing the marching speed of the attacking force. While some players may find the marching speed in this game too slow, I personally believe that it establishes an appropriate balance mechanism. It restricts the potential for players and AI to rapidly expand through snowballing. Moreover, it also reflects the real-world limitations of road space during military campaigns and the situation where the defending side would not allow enemies to easily traverse through their territories.

In Nobunaga's Ambition 16 PK, the Battle gameplay has undergone a significant transformation by moving away from the open battlefield mode and embracing a grid-based map approach. To achieve victory, players must advance their morale bar by defeating enemy units and occupying Key Points on the map. Only when the morale bar is completely filled or all enemy units are eliminated can you claim victory. This change unfortunately reduces the complexity and uncertainty in Battles and Sieges, which might disappoint players who enjoy traditional real-time strategy (RTS) combat.

One significant issue is the reduction of uncertainties on the battlefield, particularly the absence of elements like fog of war and freedom of movement. Essentially, you can simply pause the game immediately at the start of a battle, devise your tactics, give out orders to your troops, and then just let it roll. Most of the time you would hardly get outmaneuvered by the AI. The map's restricted movement also makes pincer attacks too OP, leaving almost no room for encircled forces to escape. While the highest-level AI might attempt to avoid flanking by detouring or retreating strategically, in practice, it may not pose a significant challenge. Consequently, Battles and Sieges in this installment have become relatively straightforward, and you might find it easier to achieve victories even when outnumbered in troops.

For many casual players, the dream of conquering Japan with weaker warlords has always seemed unattainable. However, in Nobunaga's Ambition 16 PK, there is good news for those aspiring to such a challenge. In addition to easier battles, the game has made changes to the conquest of Castles. If Castles are captured through warfare, their development status will generally be reset. This means that stronger warlords cannot immediately launch a new offensive, giving weaker warlords a chance to recover. This not only restricts both players and AI from rapid expansion but also simulates the real-world consequences of warfare, where civilians will suffer casualties and resources will become scarce.

Whereas for players who enjoy playing small or newly established factions, the Authority mechanism is a delightful addition. After winning against a stronger faction, the Authority effect is triggered, which can range from improving the attitude of neighboring daimyo towards you to directly annexing nearby cities into your territory. These new mechanics undoubtedly add a layer of intrigue and excitement to the "rise from the bottom" style of gameplay.

Nevertheless, one aspect that might be subject to scrutiny is the game's approach to reset a Castle’s development. Instead, the game could possibly consider a more nuanced approach, where the level of damage to a captured land would be based on the scale and duration of the war.

Interestingly, Nobunaga's Ambition 16 PK introduces an entirely new mechanism that treats all the officers in a Castle as a single unit, with the Lord’s abilities as the primary factor. The abilities of other officers in the same Castle are then taken into account to slightly raise or lower the Castle’s abilities. Additionally, the individual traits of each warlord are integrated into the Castle's overall traits, and having officers with the same traits will also enhance their level and effects.

This innovative design allows even weaker officers to contribute effectively. For example, by placing an officer with the "Eloquence" trait under a Lord with high Politics, the Lord could then carry out diplomatic missions more efficiently.  What's even more intriguing is that when an officer’s Affinity towards the Lord is high, the Castle's abilities will further receive a slight boost. This means that even a mediocre Lord coupled with a group of kindred spirits can form a powerful unit under your banner.

It is pretty evident that Nobunaga's Ambition 16 PK has introduced numerous new mechanisms and improvements to deliver a more authentic and immersive experience as a Sengoku daimyo. Despite some imperfections in the civil affairs system, the game still retains the unique essence that makes the series stand out. Especially the introduction of the County mechanism which brings this installment closer to my ideal vision of a perfect civil affairs gameplay in Nobunaga's Ambition.

Though I am personally disappointed with the departure from the open battlefield mode, a change that I loved in the previous two installments, the overall military gameplay has arguably become more balanced, particularly for players who enjoy taking on challenges with smaller or newly established factions. For newcomers, while the game may seem complex due to the series' characteristic depth, I find its difficulty to be still manageable. As such, I believe that Nobunaga's Ambition 16 PK is definitely worth a try for gamers seeking a rich and rewarding daimyo experience.

And that concludes Lluvia’s review of Nobunaga’s Ambition Awakening with Power Up Kit (Chinese version) on PC.