Samurai Warriors: Empires Vs Nobunaga’s Ambition

Koei Tecmo evidently has an undying love for the Warring States period, as made abundantly clear in its hack-and-slash and real-time strategy conduits, Samurai Warriors: Empires, and Nobunaga’s Ambition. Its devotion to the historical narrative of the Sengoku era is so blatant, in fact, that it’s almost impossible to lose sight of the countless iterations that each respective anthology has developed. And it begs the question: which of the two series has managed to depict the events by the book, and which one has often failed to spin a convincing yarn? Well, that’s just it.

Firstly, there’s the case of acknowledging the elephant in the room, which is the genres themselves; neither of the two feature the same gameplay style. On the contrary, Samurai Warriors and its Empires subsidiary is a hack-and-slash series by trade, whereas Nobunaga’s Ambition is a strategy series, straight up. But as far as the actual premise of each title travels, both feature a similar tale, which is Oda Nobunaga’s ascension as the first “Great Unifier” of Japan. But more on that shortly.

The question we’re attempting to crack, really, is which of the two acclaimed series is the better choice for those looking to experience the era for the first time? But to answer that, we’re going to have to break down a few components and start from scratch. Care to join us for the ride? Here’s what you need to know about both sagas, and which of the two you should aim to explore first.

What Is Samurai Warriors: Empires?

Samurai Warriors: Empires is the strategy-based extension to the hack-and-slash Samurai Warriors saga, which, as a collective, has been around for just shy of twenty or so years now. That’s roughly two decades less than Nobunaga’s Ambition, which debuted way back in 1983, by the way.

Like Dynasty Warriors: Empires, the strategy-centric Empires subsidiary depicts several of the key battles of the Sengoku era. Rather than dropping you straight into a historically accurate timeline, however, Empires instead offers a series of custom-made goals, officers, and seasonal objectives. Like Dynasty Warriors: Empires, then; a free-flow experience that combines relatively straightforward intermissions of base-building and social interactions with instantly recognisable hack-and-slash A-to-B gameplay. It’s Samurai Warriors, basically — but with a little more wriggle room to personalise the battles, characters, and outcomes.

Unlike its Han Dynasty-focused cousin, Samurai Warriors: Empires doesn’t let you control a single officer, but an entire faction instead. As one of said factions, you must work to accomplish a series of tasks spread out between battles and branching scenarios, all of which culminate in a finale that sees the future of Japan placed into the hands of its rightful ruler. Simple enough, right? Well, more or less.

What Is Nobunaga’s Ambition?

Nobunaga’s Ambition is a different type of ball game, mainly down to the fact that it places a harsher focus on the strategic components than the actual combat. And while real-time combat is very much a part of the general infrastructure of the conquest process, the core gameplay mostly revolves around the actions you make between battles. And when we say actions, we’re talking about building alliances, expanding fortifications, and establishing operations to assist in broadening your efforts to unite the lands under one banner.

While Oda Nobunaga’s vision of unification is the primary focus in the Nobunaga’s Ambition entries, it isn’t the path that you alone have to pursue. On the contrary, with other regional daimyōs to play as, you can set out to conquer Japan in any way you see fit, either through brute force, or forging alliances to create a productive and ever-evolving economy. And with multiple scenarios to sift through, this essentially means you can have the flexibility of experimenting with various approaches and strategies without being restricted to, say, a single end-all experience.

Gameplay

As far as gameplay goes, Samurai Warriors: Empires and Nobunaga’s Ambition are notably different from one another. And while the ultimate goal of each series is to unify the provinces of Japan, the journey to achieve such an ambitious feat features two completely different pathways. Battles, officers, and locations are depicted in a similar fashion, true, but playing out each scenario is split between either a hack-and-slash approach, or a top-down real-time strategy one. Knowing which genre you prefer will no doubt steer you towards the right anchor point, regardless.

There are, of course, the strategy aspects of the two series to take into account, too. Between battles, players must also work towards developing the economy and solving the underlying issues that affect the citizens of each region of Japan. Granted, there’s a lot to onboard during these phases — especially in Nobunaga’s Ambition, a series that pours the majority of its efforts into devising new obstacles for you to clamber over. Samurai Warriors: Empires, on the other hand, isn’t quite as exhausting, as it squelches down a lot of primary features into the battles themselves.

Verdict

To answer the original question of which of the two sagas is the better choice: it’s Nobunaga’s Ambition, mainly down to the fact that, gameplay-wise, it delves a lot deeper than Samurai Warriors. As a series that has been gradually evolving since 1983, the latest iteration, Nobunaga’s Ambition: Awakening, is the culmination of every great asset merging into one full-on experience that blends the best of real-time combat with traditional strategy and world-building. And while it loses out on the hack-and-slash combat that Samurai Warriors hones, it definitely makes up for it in every other way imaginable — right down to the in-depth UI.

Having said all that, Samurai Warriors: Empires isn’t a bad series to assist you in getting your foot in the door, either. It isn’t quite as complex, and is arguably less in-depth than its Warring States counterpart — but it is a fantastic love letter to the period, as a whole. And it’s fair to say that, if you’ve ever thrown yourself into any of the Warriors worlds, then you’re sure to find a great deal to love about Empires. But if you’re after something that’s a little more hands-on and technical, then Nobunaga’s Ambition is the ideal solution.

It all boils down to personal preference, really. As both series feature vastly different gameplay styles, it’s fair to say that, while one person may enjoy the tribulations of unifying Japan through the use of strategic planning, others may prefer to spend less time devising strategies and more time swinging swords about for morale-boosting perks. Bottom line is, if it’s a strategic love letter that you want, then Nobunaga’s Ambition will provide you with the tools needed to compose it. For something a little less convoluted, aim for Samurai Warriors: Empires. You’ll get your money’s worth, either way.