Nobunaga's Ambition
NES-NZ-USANobunaga's Ambition(tm)Instruction ManualKoei - Strategy Game Series---We supply the past...The last battle of Oda NobunagaHigh above the gates of Honno Temple, a great white banner fluttered gently inthe early morning breeze. There were no colorful symbols upon its face, onlyfive words written in black ink:RULE THE EMPIRE BY FORCEThese words were first spoken by the daimyo Oda Nobunaga, many years ago.Then, he was still only one lord among the many warlords who battled forsupremacy during the bloodiest time in Japan's history. This period is calledthe Warring States period, and that is exactly what it was: a time when Japanwas divided into many little states, each ruled by a daimyo (lord). Thesedaimyos battled endlessly for control of the country.About this time, a young and ambitious daimyo named Oda Nobunaga seized theOda clan from his brothers, and took control of the province called Owari.From there, he launched attacks on nearby countries, and quickly came to ruleall of central Japan. He was the first daimyo to get this far in his quest forsupremacy.Now, on the morning of June 2nd, 1582, his banner boldly announced hispresence in the city of Kyoto. Yet, beneath his fearsome standard, Nobunagaslept restlessly.On the top of the nearby Rono hill, field marshal Akechi Mitsuhide gatheredhis troops around him. The first light of dawn cast a shadow across his face,masking his dark features. The men, armed with spears, swords, and rifles,whispered nervously while they waited for their leader to speak.You see, Mitsuhide had once been Nobunaga's greatest general, and had foughtin may campaigns alongside his master. His love for his lord was so strong,that once, in order to convince the enemy Hatano clan of Nobunaga'strustworthiness, he gave them his own mother as a hostage. This was a tragicmistake. Nobunaga betrayed the Hatanos and Mitsuhide's mother was put todeath. Ever since, Mitsuhide was sullen and quiet in the presence of his lord.The men were ready for action. Rumors has been spreading for weeks of how theywere to go into action in southwestern Japan. With north and central Japanalready accounted for, victory in the southwest would spell final success forNobunaga. Surely it was the excitement of such a thought that caused theirleader, Mitsuhide, to savor this moment, and draw out this silence. Then,Mitsuhide spoke."My men, I know how eager you must be for battle. For weeks, you have listenedto the battle reports from the southwestern front. I expect that you are readyto march this very morning, ready to die for your master.""I, too, showed such loyalty to my master, once. But no longer. From today, Iam your master, not Nobunaga. You will not march to battle in the southwest,because his enemy is not yours. Your enemy is my enemy."Mitsuhide paused, and pointed directly at the banner of Lord Oda."And my enemy is the Honno Temple."Oda Nobunaga woke to the sound of distant gunfire. He was immediately alert,and in a single practiced motion, leaped from his sleeping mat and drew hissword. With his back against the wall, he held his sword at the ready, andlistened. Just then, Mori Ranmaru, Nobunaga's young page, burst into the room.Ranmaru bled from several small sword wounds, and his uniform was torn andsoaked. His eyes were wide with terror."My Lord! We are besieged!" he cried."By how many? And how did they manage to get past Mitsuhide's guards? Answerme at once!"Ranmaru was near tears as he answered, "The enemy numbers over 13,000, andthey are none other than your own troops, led by field marshal Mitsuhide.""Mitsuhide? A traitor? Unbelievable!" Nobunaga's voice dropped to barely awhisper. Then, with great speed, he donned his battle armor and stalked outof the room.---IntroductionCongratulations! You have purchased a game that has been a bestseller in Japanfor over five years! The version you've bought has been improved many timesbefore arriving in America. We think Nobunaga's Ambition combines the best ofentertainment and education. But don't worry! All this means is that theevents and characters are based on real life. You don't have to know a lot ofJapanese history to play this game, but knowing a little will make playingthis game much more fun!The timeNobunaga's Ambition takes place during Japan's civil war period, from 1467 to1568. The wars began with the fall of Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa in 1467.Without the Shogun, the government fell apart and daimyos fought amongstthemselves for the right to be the new Shogun of Japan. This continued forabout 100 years. Then, in the year 1568, Oda Nobunaga became powerful enoughto choose a new shogun for Japan and the Warring States Period officiallycame to an end.The settingThe situation in Japan was similar to America during her Civil War, butinstead of being devided into only North and South, Japan was divided intohundreds of feudal states. Each state, or "fief", was ruled by a powerful lordcalled a "daimyo". Every daimyo ruled his fief like a little country, andevery daimyo believed that he was the most fit to be shogun.Without any central government, the daimyos began to fight among themselves,usually for no reason at all. Daimyos that vere victorious became power-madtyrants. Revolts and uprisings among peasants, soldiers, even monks becamecommonplace. Daimyos that were not victorious were killed. The country wasthrown into violent confusion.The three great daimyosUnifying the country in the face of so much chaos was too great a task for anyone man. Japan was finally unified by three great daimyos: the great OdaNobunaga, his successor Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu.The character of each of these three men is best summed up in a simple storytold to Japanese children. Imagine these three men sitting in a simple room.At the center of the room is a small cuckoo that refuses to sing for them.When asked what they will do, Nobunaga quickly said "I would kill the bird."Hideyoshi replied, "I would force the bird to sing." Ieyasu merely said, "Iwould wait until it wanted to sing."Oda Nobungag (1534-1582)Nobunaga was not the first daimyo to dream of ruling the country, but he wasthe first to make his dream a reality. By the time of his death, Nobunaga hadmanaged to conquer all of central Japan. It was Nobunaga who started the finalunification of Japan, and if he hadn't been killed by a tracherous general, heprobably would have finished it.Nobunaga was an outstanding military commander. On many occasions, he defeatedarmies much larger than his own. Besides strategy, his cruelty was legendary.When a group of monks called the Ikko Sect rebelled against him, he burneddown their temple. When they rose again, he massacred the priests and theirfamilies. This was Nobunaga's method for dominating Japan. His motto was:"Rule the Empire by Force."Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536-1598)When Nobunaga was killed by Akechi Mitsuhide, his ambition of unifying Japanwas picked up by his general, Hashiba Hideyoshi. After destroying thevillainous Akechi Mitsuhide, Hideyoshi continued to build on Nobunaga'sdomain. He won over all the southern islands of Kyushu and Shikoku, andoutlasted his remaining enemies in the north. He became the greatest militarypower in Japan, and changed his name to Toyotomi Hideyoshi.But, military strength was not enough. Although none of the other daimyos werepowerful enough to challenge him, they did not call him master. Hideyoshi wasreally just a lowly farmer who had made good. His low birth made it impossiblefor him to become shogun. And, when Hideyoshi died of old age in 1598, thecountry was leaderless again.Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616)When Nobunaga died, Ieyasu refused to accept Hideyoshi as his master. He knewhowever, that a war was not the answer, and decided to be patient and wait.When Hideyoshi passed away, Ieyasu seized his chance.After Hideyoshi's death, Japan was split into two opposing sides: the East,under Tokugawa Ieyasu, and the West, under Ishida Mitsunari. In the year 1600,the two armies met in the Battle of Sekigahara. Tokugawa Ieyasu emerged thevictor, and, after nearly twenty years of patient service under both Nobunagaand Hideyoshi, he became the supreme ruler of Japan. The government he builtwas so stable that it lasted for almost 300 years. These 300 years of peaceare called the Tokugawa Period.---... You make the historyGame set up1. Make sure the power switch is OFF.2. Insert your Nobunaga's Ambition game pak as described in your Nintendo   Entertainment System manual.3. Turn the power switch ON.4. After the opening screen has been displayed, press any button to begin game   preliminaries.How to play1. How to use the controllerThe number of the controller you should be using will always appear on thelower right corner of the screen.a) Answering Yes or No questions   To answer a "Y/N" question, press the Control Pad arrow pointing to the   desired answer.b) Entering numbers   To select a number, press the UP arrow on your Control Pad to increase the   number and DOWN to decrease it. If you wish to make a number with more than   one digit, press the RIGHT arrow after you have selected the first digit   and proceed as before to select another digit. Make sure that you don't   press Button A until you have finished entering your number because the   number that is shown will be entered.2. Scenario selection   You can choose between two scenarios. Scenario One is simpler and consists   of the 17 fiefs (states) of central Japan, while in Scenario Two you must   unify all 50 fiefs of Japan.a) 17 fief game   Starting date: Spring of 1560   You can be the leader of one of the 17 fiefs that make up the central   region of Japan.b) 50 fief game   Starting date: Spring of 1560   You can be the leader of one of the 50 fiefs that make up all of Japan.3. Displaysa) Main Display   The present conditions in your country are shown in this mode. Any commands   about running your country or about negotiating with other countries are   also given in this mode. You have one turn for every season of the year.   You may issue one order per fief per season.b) Battle Display   Whenever one of your fiefs goes to war or is attacked, the screen will   switch to the battle display. (See WAR and BATTLEFIELD COMMANDS.)---Before you start1. New Game/Load DataIf this is the first time you've played the game, or if you are starting a newgame, you should select Y to a new game. If you want to continue a game yousaved earlier, you should select N.2. Selecting ScenarioYou will be asked to choose between the 17 fief game and the 50 fief game.3. Viewing Battles Between Other CountriesDuring the game, computer controlled daimyos will often invade one another. Ifyou enter Y, you may watch these battles on the battle display.4. Selecting Number of PlayersOne to eight may play. If there is more than one person playing, each playermust answer the following questions 5 through 7 before the next player cananswer.5. Selecting FiefWhen you select a fief, you become that fief's daimyo. In the 50 fiefscenario, the map is divided into 7 sections, in the 17 fief scenario, only 2sections. See MAIN DISPLAY II on how to view all the other fiefs.6. Setting Daimyo AbilitiesWhen you start out, the maximum ability value is 109. The value of theseabilities will change during the game. The maximum value these abilities canreach is 210.a) Health: The healthier your daimyo is, the less likely he is to become ill.   Since there are some commands a sick daimyo cannot give, you should try to   keep your daimyo's health as high as possible. Health values will decrease   every spring and anytime there is an epidemic. If your health reaches zero,   your daimyo will die!b) Drive: This value represents how badly your daimyo actually want to unite   Japan. Your drive will increase every time you win a battle.c) Luck: As in all games, the luckier you are, the better your chances are of   winning. Luck will decrease whenever marriage negotiations fail. Of course,   there are no commands you can give to increase this value because like in   real life, it will change on its own.d) Charm: This value represents your daimyo's popularity. The greater this   value, the more loyalty your daimyo can expect from his peasants and   soldiers. This value will increase when you give rice or gold to your   peasants or win a war.e) IQ: Your daimyo's intelligence influences the effectiveness of many   commands. IQ will increase when you win a battle and decrease when you   lose.7. Selecting Skill Level   This number will determine how difficult the game will be, if you select 1   it won't be as hard as if you select 5.---Main display I1) Current year, seasin and fief number.2) The name of the daimyo, his portrait, and the type of fief.3) Daimyo's ability values.4) Country data.5) List of orders.6) Current market price. Prices will change throughout the year.Main display IIIf you press Button B you will leave the main display and find your positionon the map.Since you can only see some fiefs at a  time, use the UP or RIGHT arrows tolook at the next selection of the map to the NORTH, and the DOWN or LEFTarrows to look at the next section to the SOUTH (this is identical to Command18