Welcome to EXPlay, (Explain & Play) the review series where we care not for scores but tell it how it is when it comes to every game we get our hands on, whilst also taking the time to include some lengthy gameplay, to give you the reader, the chance to shape your own impressions and views whilst watching and reading. In this explanatory review, we’re covering Nobunaga’s Ambition: Awakening – Complete Edition by developer, Koei Tecmo:
Nobunaga’s Ambition: Awakening – Complete Edition (Nintendo Switch 2)
Both developed and published by Koei Tecmo, Nobunaga’s Ambition: Awakening – Complete Edition, is a launch day title for the Nintendo Switch 2 that has a number of additions and changes from the previous release of the game that came to Nintendo Switch in 2023.
If you are unfamiliar with the series Nobunaga’s Ambition: Awakening is a real time strategy game set in the Sengoku period of feudal Japan. It was quite volatile during this time period as all the clans and heads of feudal states (Daimyos) were in conflict with one another to expand their territories by taking neighboring lands. Oda Nobunaga, known as the fool of Owari, of the Oda Clan was one such Daimyo who had his head and his heart set on unifying Japan. While you can play with the Oda Clan in mind, there are other clans that you can take charge of from other significant moments in time.
Whoever you decide to be as your commander, the goal is generally the same: Establish and reinforce your state to increase its prosperity and army so you can expand your regime across the neighbouring territories. How you go about it requires tact and building up trust with some of your neighbouring clans. This may include going into negotiations with them to bolster alliances so that they may come to your aid when you are in trouble. It is also worth pointing out that this is a two-way relationship as you will be required to provide them with reinforcements as well when they are in need of it.
No matter what course you take in the game, be it dimplomatic, or all out warfare, you will need to raise funds to finance your expansion. The lands under your ownership can be developed to increase provisions and receive tributes or taxes from the people who live there. In return, you can develop these territories by adding markets, depots, fortresses, and gardens to improve certain conditions that will be beneficial to you as they will yield better results in the long run.
Every action you take in Nobunaga’s Ambition: Awakening – Complete Edition take time to before they are realised. Building a trading station can take around 60 in-game days which equates in real time as 60 seconds or so. You can speed up the process be increasing the game speed but this can work both in your favor and against, as it gives you little time to respond to potential threats or meet certain goals. You can slow time back down again though or temporarily pause time so use these options to your advantage as you see fit.
Just like previous iterations in the series, Nobunaga’s Ambition: Awakening – Complete Edition is primarily strategy simulation game that has you managing resources in order to fund your campaigns. Combat is almost like playing a game of chess where you move your units around the battleground and try to defeat the enemy units via sheer force or by catching them in pincer attacks. Full front assaults work in your favour if you have a far greater fighting force than they do. The pince attack however, allows you to attack enemies on multiple fronts. If you units are not stronger than the opposing force, a pincer attack will increase your chances of success. Battles are won when the enemy leader has been defeated but it will require some strategy to secure victory as it is all to easy to fall into a trap and get defeated yourself.
On occasions during your playthrough, you will receive suggestions from fellow officers in your clan. They can request all sorts of potential opportunities like investing in the development of one of your territories, or even cripple the stability of a neighbouring nation via riots or other covert actions. How you consider each request is ultimately down on you so do weigh up the options on whether you take on the request or not as they can sometimes backfire and a simple act could end up with the entire army of an opposing nation laying waste to your defenses and claiming your lands for their own.
If you want to know what really sets this game apart from the previous versions of this game, the Nintendo Switch 2 version has enhanced visuals and 4K support, even more officers to enlist, more scenarios to play including the Birth of Nobunaga, all previous DLC included and the icing on the cake… Mouse Controls! Throughout my time playing this game, I will say that mouse controls are definitely the way to with this game. It is so much easier to navigate menus and move the cursor swiftly and elegantly between the settlements and castles of your controlled states. In fact, you can very easily play this game with a single Joy-Con 2, which is how I have spent the majority of my time playing this game.
When I previously played and reviewed Nobunaga’s Ambition: Awakening on the Nintendo Switch, I admitted that the game was a little too complex for my liking. This time around for Nobunaga’s Ambition: Awakening – Complete Edition, I found it a lot easier to get to grips with it for some reason. Perhaps I learned that I didn’t have to fight every neigbour around my borders and that I could befriend some of them instead, it would actually pay off in the long run by having strong allies I could rely on. The battles were a lot more engaging and the beseiging of enemy castles was a lot of fun too!
Even though I have found myself becoming a convert to Nobunaga’s Ambition: Awakening – Complete Edition, it might be a hard sell for those who already have previouse versions on other platforms. Mouse controls is most definitely a plus but the fact that you cannot bring over your saved progress from the Nintendo Switch version over to the Nintendo Switch 2 version may cause some potential players to give it a miss. If you haven’t played the Switch version though and are looking for a decent enough simulation game that is a Civilization-like, Nobunaga’s Ambition: Awakening – Complete Edition may well be of interest to you.
Game Specifications:
Developer:Koei Tecmo
Publisher: Koei Tecmo
Platform: Nintendo Switch (Digital)
Genre: Adventure, Strategy
No. of Players: 1 (Single System)
Release Date: June 5, 2025
Price: $69.99
File Size: 12.4 GB
Nintendo.com Listing
