Shogun: Total War

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Total War Series

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Shogun: Total War was the first game in the Total War series and was released by Electronic Arts in June of 2000.

Shogun: Total War, also known as STW, is a history-based strategy game that combines turn-based provincial development with real-time battles. The player assumes the role of one of seven daimyos (Uesugi, Shimazu, Oda, Mori, Imagawa, Takeda, Hōjō) attempting to unite feudal Japan during the Sengoku period ("The Age of the Country at War") and become Shogun. Sun Tzu's The Art of War is central to the game; its precepts are quoted often and its strategies are recommended.

Features

Gameplay

Shogun: Total War is focused on samurai warfare in the Sengoku period of Japanese history, which lasted from the mid-15th century to the beginning of the 17th century. The game puts the player in the position of a Japanese daimyo with the objective of conquering Japan through military might, diplomacy, espionage, trade, and religion - thereby taking the position of shogun. Shogun incorporates two main areas of play: The turn-based campaign map is where the player moves their armies, conducts diplomacy, builds the infrastructure of their provinces and performs various other tasks necessary to run their faction. The real-time element of the game allows the player to assume command of one of their armies and personally direct the course of any battles that take place. The three-dimensional battles are notable for including new aspects such as morale which had usually been ignored by computer war games prior to STW. Many of these features are generally more typical of table top gaming.Sieges are played out using the same engine as the battles in the field. The advantage to the defender comes from the narrow gateway to the castles which prevents a larger force from attacking with more than a small part of its strength.

Factions

File:Shogun Total War map.jpg

Much of the game takes place on a turn-based strategy map of Japan

The game consists of seven factions which the player can choose to play as each one of Japan's historical clans. The island of Kyūshū and the southwest end of Honshū incorporates the Shimazu, Mōri and Takeda clans, while the Oda and Imagawa clans control the central parts of Honshū. The northern parts of Honshū are home to the Uesugi and Hōjō clans. While each clan has access to the same broad units and technology and begins the game with roughly the same amount of land, each clan has a specific advantage in a particular area. For instance, the Imagawa clan trains more efficient espionage agents, while the Takeda clan can produce higher quality cavalry,the Uesugi faction recruits Samurai Archers at a lower cost than the other factions, etc.. Smaller, independent factions are represented as rebel clans and ronin.

The 7 playable factions in Shogun, with their faction colour:

• Hojo (Purple)
• Imagawa (Light Blue)
• Mori (Red)
• Oda (Gold)
• Takeda (Black)
• Shimazu (Green)
• Uesugi (Dark Blue)

The Mongol Invasion expansion added a new, unique faction, the Mongols.

Campaign

An overview of the key events of each season (turn) is displayed

The main campaign of Shogun: Total War involves a player choosing a clan and moving to eliminate their enemies and become shogun of feudal Japan. Each faction controls various historical provinces. Each province allows for the cultivation of farmland, and the construction of border watchtowers and a castle. Certain provinces possess natural resources that require a mine to be constructed to tap into. Coastal provinces may also construct ports to increase trade. Each castle has space to expand with a variety of military buildings and dojos, which allow for specific army units and agents to be produced. However, each castle can only support a certain number of auxiliary buildings. Castles can be upgraded to increase their defences and resilience to a siege. The production of units and construction of buildings is limited by the amount of koku the player has; koku is generated depending on the strength of the faction's economy and harvest. Units and buildings take time to produce; each turn represents one season.

During each turn, the player is able to move units about the map. Units come as either armies or agents and can only be moved to a province that borders the one in which they reside. However, both agents and armies can travel longer distances using ports, allowing them to move from one coastal province to another with a port in a single turn. Armies consist of military units such as spearmen, cavalry and archers. Should an army enter a battle, these units will be reproduced for the game's real-time tactics mode. Each army is led by a general that possesses an honour rating that rises and falls with the general's success or failure; if a general repeatedly endures defeat, they may commit seppuku. The faction daimyo and his heirs are also represented as generals—if a daimyo is killed and has no available heirs, the faction is eliminated from the game.

When an army is moved into an enemy or neutral province, it will engage in battle with whatever hostile armies already reside in the province. An army may also lay siege to a province's castle; after a determined amount of time, a castle's supplies will run out and the garrison will be forced to surrender if it does not break the siege or receive relief. A siege may cause damage to the castle's buildings, requiring repairs to be sought.

A video plays after a ninja has attempted a assassination.

Several agents are available to each faction. The basic agent is the emissary, which can be used to negotiate alliances and ceasefires, as well as attempt to bribe enemy or neutral armies to join the player's faction. As factions build up their infrastructure, other agents become available, such as ninja and shinobi, the former assassinates enemy generals and agents, while the latter can spy on enemy provinces or perform counter-insurgency in home provinces. Each agent has an honour rating that determines how successful they may be at any particular mission. As the game progresses, the player will come into contact with European traders; first the Portuguese Jesuits, who will exchange arquebuses for money and the adoption of Catholicism by the clan, and later the Dutch, who will sell arquebuses without requiring a conversion. If a faction changes from Buddhism to Catholicism, it is given the ability to produce Jesuit priests, who in addition to acting as emissaries, convert the population, therefore making rebellions due to religion less likely.

Historical Battles

Some of feudal Japan's greatest battles were recreated based on the expertise of some of the period's leading historical authorities.

Religions

• Buddhism- standard religion of the Japanese factions.

• Christianity- optional religion, which can be obtained by accepting the Portuguese deal.

Warfare

File:Shogun Total War siege.jpg

A siege battle underway in the game's real-time tactics element

The battle system forms the second area of gameplay. Unlike the campaign part of the game, players control battles in real-time. However, should the player choose, the game can automatically resolve battles on the campaign map, taking into account factors such as strength of numbers, weapons and terrain. Outside of the main campaign mode, players can participate in recreations of the historical battles that comprised the Sengoku period. In each battle, players are given access to an army consisting of a variety of units. Units come in the form of samurai and ashigaru, and fall into the categories of archers, spearmen, cavalry and heavy infantry. Each unit has its own intrinsic advantages, disadvantages, cost and overall level of effectiveness.

Players must use contemporary tactics and formations with the units they have available to defeat their enemies; the teachings of Sun Tzu's The Art of War are integral to the tactics used by the game artificial intelligence and for the player to succeed. The terrain of the battlefield and the weather impact on how a battle is fought. Each unit has morale, which can increase if the battle goes well for their clan, or decrease in cases such as heavy casualties or the death of the general. If a unit's morale is broken, they will rout; in certain circumstances, however, routing units may be rallied by the general. Victory in battle is achieved by causing every enemy unit to rout, or by killing the opposing army. Armies can lay siege to castles, replacing open land battles with close-quarters combat within the confines of the castle walls.

Units

The unit roster in Shogun Total War is small in comparison to the later games, with all factions in the original game sharing the same unit roster. However each faction recieves a discount on purchasing a particular unit, and furthermore some provinces grant an experience bonus to units of a particular type recruited there.

Japanese Factions

• Infantry Units:
  • Yari Ashigaru (Light Spearmen)
  • Yari Samurai (Heavy Spearmen)
  • Samurai Archers
  • No-Dachi Samurai (Offensive Infantry)
  • Naginata Samurai (Defensive Infantry)
  • Warrior Monks (Elite Infantry, not available to Christians)
  • Arquebusiers (Basic firearm unit, unlocked through trade with Europeans)
  • Musketeers (Superior late-game firearm unit)

• Cavalry Units:
  • Yari Cavalry (Light Lancers)
  • Cavalry Archers
  • Heavy Cavalry (Heavy Melee Cavalry)
  • Hatamoto (as Heavy Cavalry, bodyguard of a general and not recruitable)

• Agents (on the strategic map):
  • Diplomat
  • Shinobi (Spy)
  • Ninja (Assassin)
  • Jesuit Priest (Diplomat for Christian factions)
  • Legendary Geisha (late-game Elite Assassin)

The Mongols

The Mongol Invasion expansion added a new faction and with it a set of new units:

• Infantry Units:
  • Korean Skirmishers (Light Infantry, javelins)
  • Korean Spearmen (Heavy Spearmen)
  • Korean Guardsmen (Heavy Infantry)
  • Thunder Bombers ("Grenadier" infantry with bombs)

• Cavalry Units:
  • Mongol Light Cavalry (Superior Cavalry Archers)
  • Mongol Heavy Cavalry (Heavy Melee Cavalry)

Additionally, the Japanese factions gained several new units in the expansion:

• Japanese Units in MI:
  • Naginata Cavalry (Medium Cavalry)
  • Battlefield Ninjas (Elite stealth unit)
  • Kensai (Elite Swordsman, extremely powerful 1-man unit)
  • Ashigaru Crossbowmen (MI Campaign only, replaces gunpowder units)

Expansions and sequels

Shogun Total War had one expansion, Mongol Invasion. Its main addition was to add a new campaign set in 1230, played as either the invaders or as Japan, hypothesizing a successful Mongol landing in Japan. This campaign had only 2 factions, the Hojo (possessing all of Japan) and the new faction, the Mongols. The gameplay of this campaign was notable in that the Mongols were unable to recruit troops in any conquered provinces, but instead had to rely on reinforcements periodically appearing in coastal provinces to replenish their troops. In addition to this campaign, the expansion also added "eras" to the original campaign, as well as several new units and Historical Battle Campaigns, Campaigns played through Historical Battles.

Creative Assembly also subsequently released Shogun Total War: Warlord Edition, a compilation package containing both the original game and the expansion, and featuring a new introductory movie. The Total War series has been continued with Medieval: Total War, Rome: Total War, Medieval II: Total War, Empire: Total War. and Napoleon: Total War.

In June 2010, it was confirmed that a direct sequel to the original game was in development, entitled Shogun 2: Total War. The game is planned for release on March 15th 2011.