Game 17 - Total War: Shogun 2 - Week 9 - Feb 20

otal War: Shogun 2 was like many others, a game I would have liked to play in it's release year but fell to the wayside for whatever reason. A good reminder that I should still play new games during this challenge, lest I find myself here again in 5 years. 

Off the back of Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun I wanted to continue my feudal journey. Initially I found it slow, but once I learnt the systems (and lost in my warm up) I was quickly sucked in and ready to begin my bid for Shogunate.

I'm a massive fan of the Civiliation series, and there are a lot of similarities here with the overworld. Managing resources, building, taxes, happiness, etc. However what stands out here is how well the personal stories develop from a number of design decisions. The depth of ranking between units, generals and agents. Being able to manage your bloodline, adopt, marry off daughters, risk and exchange a hostage, develop character retinues through retainers etc etc. What about my right hand ninja with a legendary ninjato and a braggart Samurai, never failing an assassination in 30 years of service with a career until the age of 63. Or a Metsuke who keeps a commoner repressing guard dog at his side, ever watchful over my capital city. No garrison required. Or my heir and general who is a master swordsman, who has a beautiful wife and a foxy mistress on his conquests, for the utmost bravado in battle. 

 I started my journey as the Shizamu clan and quickly found myself backed into a corner, having overused my Ninja (because why wouldn't I!?) I saw my enemies fall very quickly. While effective in battle, it did not last long as my early clan economy plummeted. No army could stand against my hardened veterans, the greatest Katana wielding Samurai in Japan (a Shizamu trait). However, when a legion of christian monks came over the hill I could not withstand the Christian revolt that had been bubbling. It rapidly devoured my upstart from the inside. The final scene shows my defeated Daimyo sitting at a table ceremony, reflecting as the rising sun bleeds through the Sakura trees. 

A nigh skirmish won

Distant blue wave emerges 

Lone Katana raised 

The Daimyo wakes up in his bed, safe in his fortress, sweating. Reflecting upon the nightmare as an omen, he reflects for the second time that night. To become Shogun, he must not follow the ways of his father as the sword has only limited them to this pocket of Japan. Bushido can wait, for he must focus on Chi as the path of balance. Following my first warmup campaign I focused almost exclusively on the right side of the technology tree. Where left is warfare, right is economics and diplomacy. Specifically I focused on markets and farms. Can you take Japan with a single well trained army? Not easily. However Koku buys swords and food feeds an army. To suppress conquered cities I'd build sake dens and temples, training monks and ninja to further suppress and sway religion. I quickly took the south island, and Kyoto was conquered after 19 years, 10 years short of the 1580 objective. A few years after being Shogunate my Daimyo's son and heir took the reins, a great warrior and swordsman. At this point my arts switched to warfare and by 1984 the new Shogunate had united all of Japan. 5 years permitting for one final glorious battle. 

Daimyo of the Shizamu clan as he recalls a pyrrhic victory on his path to Shogunate.

A statue of my Shogun in modern day Japan - nice twists like this add to the overall experience and personalize it to you.

While the battles are quite impressive generally - raining down arrows is always satisfying and pulling off a risky strategy or cavalry flanking maneuver will make your day - it's the real choreographed Katana fighting that make the game so satisfying to watch. Dodges, pirouettes, parries and follow up slashes with a coup de grâce. Blade deflected, elbow into chest, upward slash. Dodge side ways, grabbed helmet, thrown down to ground and downward strike. I could watch these absolutely beautiful animations all day and their only highlighted by the coolest unit in the game. Samurai Hero. Like other hero units, you can only have one and for good reason. These legends have three times as much melee prowess compared to your typical Samurai. They'll charge into the maw of 200 soldiers and come away slaughtering 80% without a single death. Fucking. Amazing. Such a satisfying end-game unit. They also have unique animations, doubling down on how fun Samurai are to watch.  Building these stories through warfare are what make this game so special. Creative Assembly nailed that. I can't wait to play Rise & Fall of the Samurai when I come back to this one day. And the dark dark well that is Total War: Warhammer I & II still awaits. 

The greatest katana wielding Samurai that ever existed, as the Shizamu thirty plan to Banzai!  

A fierce Taisho prepares for battle. 

The Samurai Heroes of Shizamu Banzai charge 180 archers in their first battle. Only 2 fall in the charge. Slaughtering the first wave with minor casualties they move on to the second. Struggling against the second wave of veteran Bow Samurai they achieve a narrow victory. As the survivors flee, Kisho Ninja hidden in the trees hunt them down with explosive slings. 6 Samurai heroes remain.  

The contingency plan...