Nobunaga's Ambition

Nobunaga's Ambition (信長の野望) is a series of turn-based strategy video games first released in 1988 by the Japanese video game developer Koei.

It has been released on a variety of gaming platforms including the Nintendo Entertainment System, Nintendo Game Boy, Sega Mega Drive, 3DO Interactive Multiplayer, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, PlayStation 2, Virtual Console and the Xbox 360. The title was also released for Macintosh as well as Amiga and computers with DOS-compatibility.

Story
Nobunaga's Ambition takes place during the Sengoku period of feudal Japan. As the title suggests, the player is tasked with achieving the ultimate goal of warlord Oda Nobunaga: the conquest and unification of Japan. Selecting Oda Nobunaga is optional, however, as the player is also able to choose from a variety of other regional daimyos of the time.

Gameplay
The player may choose from four campaign scenarios including: "Battle for the East" (beginning in 1560), "Daimyo Power Struggles" (1560), "Ambition Untamed" (1571) and "Road Towards Unification" (1582). In each scenario, the player must allocate resources to raise a capable military force, provide a productive economy to support both military and civilian expansion and support the peasants in order to sustain their respect and loyalty. Gameplay is taken in turns, with each turn in the map view corresponding to a season and each turn during battle corresponding to a day. The player may achieve victory through numerous means, among which are forcing the enemy to retreat, destroying the enemy command unit, or prolonging battle until the opposing force has exhausted its supplies.

Titles in the series
For MSX1
 * Nobunaga no Yabou: Shodai
 * Nobunaga no Yabou: Zenkokuban

For MSX2
 * Nobunaga no Yabou: Shodai
 * Nobunaga no Yabou: Zenkokuban
 * Nobunaga no Yabou: Sengoku Gunyuuden
 * Nobunaga no Yabou: Bushou Fuuunroku

For Nintendo Entertainment System/Nintendo Famicom
 * Nobunaga's Ambition (Japanese release date 1987)
 * Nobunaga's Ambition II (Japanese release date 1989)
 * Nobunaga no Yabou: Zenkokuban (Nobunaga's Ambition in the US)
 * Nobunaga no Yabou: Sengoku Gunyuuden (Nobunaga's Ambition 2 in the US)
 * Nobunaga no Yabou: Bushou Fuuunroku (Nobunaga's Ambition: Lord of Darkness in the US)

For Sega Genesis/Mega Drive
 * Nobunaga no Yabou: Zenkoku Han (Japanese release date December 19, 1991)
 * Nobunaga no Yabou: Bushou Fuuun Roku (Nobunaga's Ambition in the US. Japanese release date September 15, 1993)
 * Nobunaga no Yabou: Haouden (Japanese release date February 25, 1994)

For Super Nintendo Entertainment System/Super Famicom
 * Nobunaga's Ambition (Japanese release date 1991)
 * Nobunaga's Ambition: Lord of Darkness (NA release date 1994)
 * Nobunaga no Yabou: Haouden
 * Nobunaga no Yabou: Tenshoki

For Sega CD/Mega CD
 * Nobunaga no Yabou: Haouden (Japanese release date 1994)

For PlayStation:
 * Nobunaga no Yabou: Haouden
 * Nobunaga no Yabou: Tenshoki
 * Nobunaga no Yabou: Returns (original MSX Nobunaga no Yabou: Shodai Remake)
 * Nobunaga no Yabou: Shouseiroku
 * Nobunaga no Yabou: Reppuuden

For PlayStation 2:
 * Nobunaga no Yabou: Ranseiki
 * Nobunaga no Yabou: Soutensoku
 * Nobunaga no Yabou: Tenka Sousei (Nobunaga's Ambition: Rise to Power in the US, released on February 5, 2008)
 * Nobunaga no Yabou: Kakushin (Nobunaga's Ambition: Iron Triangle in the US, released in 2009)

For Wii:
 * Nobunaga no Yabou: Kakushin (with Power Up kit) (Nobunaga's Ambition: Iron Triangle in the US, Japanese release date 2008)
 * Nobunaga's Ambition (released on April 27, 2009 in North America)

For Xbox 360:
 * Nobunaga no Yabou: Tendou (信長の野望･天道)(released on March 4, 2010 in Japan)

For handheld systems:
 * Nobunaga's Ambition for Game Boy (信長の野望 ゲームボーイ版)
 * Nobunaga's Ambition for Bandai WonderSwan (信長の野望 for ワンダースワン)
 * Nobunaga's Ambition for Game Boy Color (信長の野望 ゲームボーイ版2)
 * Nobunaga's Ambition for Game Boy Advance (信長の野望)
 * Nobunaga's Ambition for Nintendo DS (信長の野望DS)''
 * Nobunaga's Ambition 2 for Nintendo DS (信長の野望DS2)''
 * Nobunaga's Ambition VI, VII, and VII (with Power Up kit) were also released for the PlayStation Portable
 * Nobunaga's Ambition for iPhone

For PC:
 * Nobunaga no Yabou: Kakushin
 * Nobunaga no Yabou: Tendou

Reception
The Nobunaga's Ambition series has garnered several awards over the years. According to Koei's website, various releases in the series have won Log-In magazine's "BHS Prize", the "Minister of Post & Telecommunications Prize", Nikkei BP's 12th, 13th and 14th annual "Best PC Software" awards and CD-ROM Fan's "Fan of the Year 2001 Grand Prize".

Fan reception has been positive, with GameSpot's users rating the original Nobunaga's Ambition an overall score of 8.8 of 10.