Nobunaga’s Ambition: Awakening Preview and Q&A with Director Ryu Michi

When it comes to countywide diplomacy, few strategy titles have consistently hit the mark like Kou Shibusawa’s twin strategy lines of Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Nobunaga’s Ambition. Each title provides a glimpse into historical warfare (with the usual embellishments) in their respective countries and time periods. While the Nobunaga’s Ambition series has only seen a fraction of its titles released to a global audience, each title brings something unique to the fields of Sekigahara and surrounding provinces.

From the year 1546 when Kipposhi was born through the siege of Osaka in 1614 that saw the end of the Toyotomi clan, Nobunaga’s Ambition: Awakening puts players into the role of daimyo in a Japan in need of unification. In each scenario, players can pick any clan across the whole of Japan (an archaic tool from the launcher menu lets players create up to 1,000 custom officers with a rather clunky and outdated interface) with the lofty goals of national unification, although each scenario does come with recommended clans to align with first.

Unifying Japan is just as difficult as it sounds, with so many conflicting views and ideologies pitted against one another. Nobunaga’s Ambition: Awakening’s core gameplay is centered around three pillars to expand the sphere of influence and achieve the dream of unification: domain control. Whether through diplomacy, dominion, or doing battle, the player daimyo will slowly expand their territories ever outward through a series of menu selections that come alive with random events and requests from those that serve under you. Under the (optional) tutorial of your page, instructions can be given out to freely develop and expand the territories on an individual basis.

Time passes freely across months at a time, with time stopped as the player sifts through menus to determine the next steps in their grand strategy. With each month that passes, taxes are collected, political rivals make their move, and an ever-growing feed of events and requests come to the player to freely choose how they wish to proceed. It’s in the minutiae of tactics and diplomacy that players can dig deep into the systems and achieve the grand dream of unification in their own manner.

Nobunaga’s Ambition: Awakening truly shines in Siege battles and has been improved over the previous entry, Taishi, in this regard. Strategies can be given on an officer-by-officer basis and those on the defending end can activate a wide number of defensive structures and stratagems to fend off any invading armies. As the Daimyo, players will largely watch the battles take place as their strategy is acted out, rather than providing direct influence to their officers, so it’s an ideal experience for those that enjoy the ranks of Football Manager rather than actively being on the pitch.

Nobunaga’s Ambition: Awakening won’t be the most technically demanding title, as the minimum system requirements need only a modest i3-3220, 4GB of RAM, and a GTX 660 (2GB) to handle wartime diplomacy at the lowest spec. Nobunaga’s Ambition: Awakening will be available on PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and PC (Steam) on July 20th.

With the release date less than a month away, we interviewed Producer and Director Ryu Michi.

Many strategy fans may have played a Romance of the Three Kingdoms title and NOBUNAGA’S AMBITION: Awakening is their first title in the series. What advice can you give to players that may be familiar with RotK?

If you have played Koei Tecmo’s Romance of the Three Kingdoms series, I think you will be able to play NOBUNAGA’S AMBITION series. There are more clans than in Romance of the Three Kingdoms, so you can enjoy it in a variety of ways. If you are interested in Japanese history, please try it once.

It’s been almost one year since NOBUNAGA’S AMBITION: Awakening launched in Japan. What feedback has the development received from the Japanese audience, and what has been implemented in the English release?

We definitely received a lot of valuable feedback. We introduced siege battles, which was the biggest request, improved usability, adjusted the balance, and many other details. The English version of the game will of course reflect all of this, so please look forward to it!

Are there plans for DLC or future updates beyond the Power-Up Kit available at launch?

Unfortunately, there is nothing I can share at this moment.

Officer Play was one of the most notable additions to NOBUNAGA’S AMBITION: Sphere of Influence. Can you explain why the feature did not return for Awakening? Are there plans to include it in a future update?

We understand that there is a lot of interest in the warlord play style. However, NOBUNAGA’S AMBITION: Sphere of Influence – Ascension was an experimental spin-off, so to speak.
Since NOBUNAGA’S AMBITION: Awakening is a main series entry, it is not to say that we did not revive it, but rather that we were developing the main content of the game.
If there are a lot of requests, we can consider the warlord playstyle, but first we need to make sure this game sells in order to talk about what to do next (laughs). Please keep pushing the excitement around the game so we can sell many copies (laughs).

Can you discuss the changes to combat coming in NOBUNAGA’S AMBITION: Awakening?

NOBUNAGA’S AMBITION: Taishi mainly fought on battle maps, but this time it’s more similar to the style of NOBUNAGA’S AMBITION: Sphere of Influence, not only being able to fight on the main map but also be able to enjoy the more detailed battles when there are Daimyō (warlords).
Furthermore, in battles, when the player’s small army defeats the enemy’s big army, a new system called Authority is activated. When the word spreads that a small army beat the large enemy, enemies might start to switch sides so players can turn the tide of the war.

What tools or options will players have to customize their campaign, such as a new player that may not understand the depth of tactics and strategy required?

In NOBUNAGA’S AMBITION: Awakening, the retainers make suggestions actively. If you follow their advice, you can proceed well enough through the game. The default setting is set so that those good suggestions come out, so please don’t turn it off by mistake (laughs).
Also, I recommend starting at the beginner level first to learn about the game. The enemy’s attacks are slower so you proceed at a more comfortable pace.

What customization will players have to create their own officers and bring them into a scenario in NOBUNAGA’S AMBITION: Awakening?

Players can change everything that an ordinary officer has, and I think it’s fun to try to unify Japan by changing their abilities and many characteristics as they like!

How has AI improved for Awakening over prior NOBUNAGA’S AMBITION titles? Will AI be less predictable?

This time the enemy AI is said to be quite tough (laughs). They barely attack recklessly, so you need to have a well-planned strategy. I think players will enjoy the strategic growth of the game, such as advancing with a competitive advantage over the enemies. However, we didn’t make it too complicated so that players couldn’t predict. Complex games don’t necessarily mean they’re interesting so we are careful to make this series as simple as possible so that everyone enjoys it.
Also, the retainer AI offer various suggestions. They give feedback to you when you forget something, and they also start to attack at just the right time. They will help you when you need them so please listen carefully and depend on them.

What were the biggest challenges in localizing NOBUNAGA’S AMBITION: Awakening for a global audience?

It was hard to localize because this title has lots of words (laughs). It takes a lot of effort just to check all the text, and also there are various divergences that looked awkward when combined.
Also, I think it must have been hard for voice actors because there were many pronunciations that people don’t usually say today. But I’m grateful that they acted very well and were convincing.
Anyway, I want players in Europe and North America to enjoy it, so please look forward to it as we have been developing it without sparing any effort.

Will NOBUNAGA’S AMBITION: Awakening feature both a Japanese and English dub?

It will only include the English dub. If there are many requests from our players, we will consider including both.

Will NOBUNAGA’S AMBITION: Awakening be compatible with the Steam Deck?

Steam Deck is a very fascinating hardware and of course we are working on it. This title will support Steam Deck in the future. Please look forward to it!

Is there cross-save functionality between the PC, PlayStation 4, or Nintendo Switch versions of NOBUNAGA’S AMBITION: Awakening?

Unfortunately, this title will not support cross-save.

Are there any officers or collab content that will not be available in the English version of NOBUNAGA’S AMBITION: Awakening?

At the moment, there are no plans for collaborations, but there is nothing that is not included in the English version. Rest assured that the English version has the same content as Japan/Asia’s WPK version.

Currently, there are seven playable scenarios when players begin NOBUNAGA’S AMBITION: Awakening. Will the other Scenario DLC offered as preorder bonuses in Japan be unlockable through regular play or future patches? I personally want to play The Battle of Nagashino-Shitaragahara.

Unfortunately, there is nothing I can share at this moment. If there are many requests from our players, we may consider releasing those DLCs.

Thank you for your time.