An Empire In The Palm Of Your Hand: Total War Battles: Shogun

‘Total War Battles: Shogun’ is the initial foray of SEGA/Creative Assembly’s Total War franchise into the world of handheld devices, and it’s one of the best games available for the IPhone/Ipad (and soon the Android). Unlike their recent PC release ‘Fall of the Samurai’, ‘Battles’ makes no pretensions to historical accuracy. Instead, it concentrates on delivering a fun, easy to learn game with ‘real time battles’ between samurai armies and varied types of levels that are deceptively deep in testing a player’s tactical skills. It contains elements of several types of ‘phone games’-tower defense, building, and puzzle being a few. It’s an extremely well-designed game that produces a campaign that will give players over ten hours of fun on their first playthrough, but that does so in bite-sized chunks of five to fifteen minutes-just perfect for a cell phone game.

The backstory is your typical Taiga Drama fodder-after his father is betrayed and killed in battle, the heir of the Crane clan must take revenge on the back-stabbing Takeda-but yet, not all is as it seems (is it ever?). Aided on the diplomatic side of things by his sister Itomi, the Crane heir presses on in a quest that eventually puts him in position to be named Shogun. There’s a lot of voice acting, almost all of it surprisingly well done.

The game has 41 levels divided into regular and side maps. Regular maps must be played to complete the game and side maps are optional. Levels each have a specific objective. Many of the levels that might seem odd at first are important for teaching skills that make the going much easier in the late game. For example, many side levels focus on producing a certain amount of a specific resource within a time limit-or cramming a certain number of specific buildings into limited space. One of the big attractions of the game for us was the sheer variety of missions-whether it was slaying the opposing general, burning an enemy village, defending your ground for a specific amount of time, retrieving a messenger’s body, recruiting elite troops, escaping an ambush, resource production, sneaking past an enemy force undetected, or even placing eight shrines in a valley for a bunch of ungrateful monks that deemed the last mission of placing seven to be not challenging enough. Some missions allow the player to place his own buildings and recruit his own troops on the fly, while others give you a preset pool of troops and force you to make do with them. One thing to keep in mind is that your troops can only move forward-they CAN’T go backwards (that’s against Bushido, y’know). Don’t be caught with your entire force forward and no reserves left to combat the sneaky ninja that infiltrated your camp.

EDIT: We've had some requests on how to pull off 'The Eighth Shrine' mission. Just because we love you all, here's one of the possible solutions (cobbled together from three screenshots)-an excellent one, since it uses the bare minimum of fourteen buildings:

Building an ‘economy’ is one of the more important steps for many of the levels. This consists of constructing a chain of buildings, each tied to an important resource. Proper placement of each is essential-every building has a different footprint and gains advantages for being constructed in a suitable area. Blacksmiths produce more iron when located near stones, and loggers more wood on the outskirts of woods. There are trading posts, monasteries, dojos, barracks, and shrines as well. 

These buildings, when combined with the resources they produce, build troops. With enough gold and iron, a blacksmith churns out cannon and matchlock gunners. The spirit produced by a shrine along with iron for weapons allows a dojo to produce samurai. Wood and gold will recruit archers, spearmen, and ninja at the local barracks. Monasteries produce warrior monks and war banners that speed up the production of resources. And of course, if you need fighting men quickly, filthy gold will allow you to hire ronin. This all sounds somewhat complex, but the game has an effective learning curve, adding a bit with each level instead of bombarding new players with everything at once. By the way, if you’re looking for a superb Japanese themed town building game for the Iphone/Ipad, try out ‘Oh! Edo Towns’. One of our favorites. Anyway…

Troops have different strengths and weaknesses. Spearmen are strong on melee defense and against cavalry. Ranged troops can attack from afar, even over obstacles in the case of archers and cannon. Warrior monks are weak in direct combat but excellent when adding their strength to another unit. Ninja are deadly and can sneak through most enemy units undetected but can’t be aided by leadership. Cavalry are perfect for getting somewhere in a hurry and samurai are killing machines. Players will learn quickly the best ways to deploy them-samurai work great operating from cover against enemy gunners while supported by warrior monks and gunners of their own. Experienced wargamers will have an advantage here, as the maps are laid out in a traditional wargame hexagonal grid, and the same tactics that work on tabletop games work here-placing units on alternate hexes for defense (using the three hex ZOC in front to stop enemy advances) being one of the more useful old standards. Using terrain chokepoints to minimize losses and effective use of cover for both offense and defense will go a long way towards racking up big scores.

Finally, leadership and command play a big part towards winning any battle. If the player’s daimyo isn’t under attack, he can formulate ‘orders’ that can be applied to their forces. These include reinforcement (replacing a unit’s losses), slay them all! (boosting a force’s attack strength), sustain (temporarily making a unit invincible), rain of steel (hitting the enemy around a unit with a volley of arrows), and veteran (promoting a unit to the ‘next step up’-such as making a ronin samurai and turning a samurai unit into elite samurai). Orders take time to ‘formulate’ so having a good anticipatory sense is vital to having the correct ones around when you need them. We found that effective usage of orders made our armies virtually invulnerable, taking no losses even in the tougher late stages of the game.

Now, we hope you got all that, because the enemy isn’t just sitting by playing Parcheesi, watching Noh plays, and dallying with shrine maidens while your master plan comes together. It’s relentless, and if you take your time placing and producing your buildings and getting some troops recruited, you’ll find them burning down your city before you know what hit you.

Graphics are obviously not going to be up to the standard of the PC Total War games-‘Battles’ is large at 250+ megs, but can’t compare to the 30 gigs of Shogun 2. However, they’re very colorful and attractive, and there is a nice variety of maps-swamp, woods, plain, valley, mountain bridge, Kyoto, beach, and more. Game music is taken straight from the Shogun 2 soundtrack.

There are leaderboards (see below), achievements (19 with four of them being ‘secret’-we found ‘em, though), and local multiplayer. The multiplayer function is a bit awkward, especially on an Iphone, with two sets of player hands constantly getting in each other’s way. Multiplayer battles can go on a LONG time between skilled players, since units are generated randomly and neither player gets an advantage. It does contain some nice features, such as three different maps (each with a unique challenge for players) and three different eras to choose from. Genpei armies feature melee troops only, Sengoku armies add higher end samurai units and archers, and Boshin armies break out the matchlocks and cannon. Yeah, remember, I said it wasn’t historical, but it is fun. CA claims that a ‘Melee Mode’ is on the way that will allow players to choose a difficulty level and enter into free battles with any and all of the features they’ve unlocked.

While it’s expensive for an app at $6.99, it’s well worth every penny. It’s good looking, well thought out, addicting, sounds great, and bug free. Better yet, we were surprised after beating the game when we received a code to unlock the Sendai faction in the main Total War: Shogun 2 Fall of the Samurai game. Nice marketing move on CA’s part.

And at the time of this writing, we’re the #1 Ranked Player out of 25,102! We iz teh Main Man. 


Reminds me of the opening days of "Shogun 2" when the Samurai Archives "Matsuken Boyz" team of Obenjo, Kitsuno, and ourselves won the very first "Shogun Takeover" campaign. The team's performance was so overwhelming it looks like they've retired the game in our honor...

Total War, Total Fantasy: Shogun 2-Fall Of The Samurai

 Any time a developer puts together a game based on an historical event, there’s going to be a tradeoff between accuracy and playability. Whether it’s a tabletop sim or a computer game, some situations just aren’t easily recreated, or would cause a serious problem with game balance. Even the most accurate Japanese history sims like Magitech’s “Takeda” series (that uses actual maps of castles and cities and features some battles that even the developers say are impossible to win-just as they were in history), Paradox’s “Sengoku”, or Si-Phon’s “Genpei Souran: Shogun E No Michi” have to take liberties with history in order to give the player some flexibility in options and play style (to say nothing of dispensing with a lot of micromanagement and recordkeeping). Other games like the Nobunaga No Yabou (Nobunaga’s Ambition) series stray from history even further, introducing abstract arcade style battles and making certain characters supermen that tower over everyone else. Which brings us to today’s selection-Creative Assembly’s “Total War Shogun 2: Fall of the Samurai”. Fall of the Samurai is a ‘stand-alone/expansion’ that purports to recreate the turbulent times of the Bakumatsu and early Meiji period where the Tokugawa Shogunate fell and the samurai class was abolished. While CA’s Shogun games have often played fast and loose with history, this time around they’ve managed to take things a step further and create a Japan that has more in common with the Union and Confederacy of the American Civil War than it does the supporters of the Shogunate and Emperor. Total War has become Total Fantasy. 

Take a look at the box artwork above for Fall of the Samurai-it tells you all you really need to know about the game. An American officer brandishing a revolver shares the cover with a samurai in traditional elaborate armor. If this doesn’t bring to mind a certain blockbuster movie starring Tom Cruise, then CA’s marketing department hasn’t done its job. The modernization of Japan and the influence exerted on it by Western countries (particularly England, France, and the United States-for whatever reason, the Russians, Prussians, and the Dutch are omitted) are the focal point of the game, and about forty years of real time are telescoped into the 6-12 years that the game plays out in. This results in armies on both the Shogunate and Imperial sides that wield an incredible amount of firepower and highly developed naval forces-far more than Japan would ever have been able to accumulate or more importantly, afford. To accommodate the wishes of the game’s largely European and North American player base, CA has not only given them ‘Foreign Veteran’ agents (think Nathan Algren from “The Last Samurai”, or historical French advisor Jules Brunet) that can join Japanese armies and engage in combat/duels, but also allows players to field Western army units. That’s right-you can have units of US Marines (or their British/French counterparts) under the direct command of the Shogunate. Now, we can see allowing these units to appear in the game as allies. After all, it only makes sense that a US/Brit/French unit would defend the commercial interests of their country in Japan-and that sometimes this might have them fighting alongside the Shogunate or Imperialists. But to have them under the DIRECT CONTROL of the Japanese? Ridiculous. It serves no function other than to let Westerners shoehorn their own culture into the ‘mystique’ of the samurai-something which has been going on since (at least) “James Clavell’s Shogun” and movies like “The Hunted”, “The Barbarian and the Geisha”, and the glorious “Bushido Blade” but rarely this blatantly. Want some laughs? Check out some of the game cinemas, where the Emperor sans his retinue is shown chatting with Western advisors at the dockyards in 1864, or the Shogun is shown doing the same thing (and depicted in Court Robes at that). 

Don’t even get us started on the myriad of different unit types that can be fielded. Past players of the Total War: Shogun series already know that CA loves to throw in ‘chrome’ units that have little to no historical justification. The player base just loves ‘em whether they existed or not. In the past we’ve seen units armed exclusively with katana or no-dachi-yeah, right. Crossbow ashigaru? This ain’t China, bub. Fall of the Samurai has Imperial Infantry, Line Infantry, Shogunate Guards, Imperial Guards, Republican Guards, Tosa rifles, Kihetai, Shogitai, Yugekitai, Tortoises, Phoenixes, Red Bears, Black Bears, White Bears, Dragons, and Tigers, oh my-and more. All of these represent virtually the same type of unit-Japanese troops armed with Western rifles. The only difference is that Japanese units tended to get impressive sounding names rather than numbers, but CA gives them all different stats, special attacks, and abilities. If they wanted to differentiate troops, a much better way would have been to do so by the type of rifles they were armed with (they did do this with cavalry)-something that was a big factor in making the Imperialists stronger than the Shogunate. One interesting side note is that while Shogun 2 has at least three different female units, Fall of the Samurai has none-despite the fact that women played a much, much bigger part in the Boshin war than they did during the Genpei War or Sengoku Jidai.

Economic development gets the same treatment. While you can’t build railways in every province, you can put together an impressive network that stretches from one end of Honshu to the other. Of course, what the developers seem not to have realized is that the first railway in Japan wasn’t completed until 1872, and was an extremely short line between Tokyo and Yokohama. This means that the short campaign (ending in 1870) shouldn’t have them at all, and that even the long campaign (which runs until 1876) shouldn’t have any sort of rail net-what existed in Japan at that time were a handful of very short, isolated lines. Quite simply, Japan couldn’t afford to build them. Rails were probably thrown into the game for their ‘kewl’ factor-CA obviously hasn’t read Dan Free’s book.

The game map is also a massive failure, being province based instead of han based. We understand they wanted to build on the regular Shogun 2 map, which is province based. And they did add parts of Ezo and a few other islands. And yes, there were over 200 han during the Edo period, which would have made things a bit too complex for some players. However, using provinces instead of han virtually strips the game of any claim to realistic starting positions-not to mention leaving out many important clans. In many cases the daimyo given for the han seem to be invented out of whole cloth (we’re getting to that), as were their loyalties to the Shogunate/Imperialists. The set-up you see is about as abstract as it gets. A province based map also ensures that the Tokugawa Shogunate has no real footprint on this version of Japan-and as you can see by the map in this thread on the Samurai Archives, they had the largest holdings in Japan.

This brings us to the game’s largest failing. You can play as all four of the Imperial ‘Satchotohi’ factions who were the prime forces that brought an end to the Bakufu-Satsuma, Choshu, Tosa and Hizen (represented by Saga). But you CAN’T play as the Tokugawa Shogunate, the single most powerful faction in Japan and ruler of the country-five times wealthier than the closest daimyo. The Tokugawa are virtually invisible in-game. If you look at ‘Edo’ domain in game, they give its daimyo as Matsui Yasuhide, a fictitious name. If they meant Matsudaira Yasuhide-then he was far north of Edo in 1864, and even when he was transferred to Kawagoe in 1866, wouldn't be considered part of Edo-Kawagoe was a separate han. Nope, totally wrong-how hard would it have been to just use Tokugawa Iemochi, the Shogun who did count Edo among his holdings? Instead we get Aizu and some minor loyal factions like Obama, Jozai, Nagaoka, and latecomers Sendai. Why? While the spread out nature of the Tokugawa holdings might have presented a problem to an accurate in-game representation, it also would have provided players with a unique challenge-a faction that has huge holdings and a foothold in every part of the country but whose exposed position and fragile condition leaves it wide open to conquest. It just seems to us the Tokugawa were left out because the developers wanted to avoid the play balance problems that might have cropped up. However, leaving them out pretty much cripples the entire game. Fall of the Samurai might as well be called “Total War: Kick the Shogun’s Ass”-a theme reflected in the ‘historical’ battles, all of which give players control of Imperial Forces under Saigo ‘Worms’ Takamori.

And what about those historical battles? As a microcosm of the game’s failure as a sim, let’s take a look at one of them, the Battle of Osaka. This isn’t the famous series of battles that took place in 1614-15 between the Toyotomi and Tokugawa, but rather the action in 1868 that followed the Battle of Toba-Fushimi. What did the Fall of the Samurai developers get right? Well, mostly just the stuff in the opening and closing cut scenes. Tokugawa Yoshinobu did indeed abandon his troops, board an American ship (although the game doesn’t bring that up) while waiting for one of his own to pick him up, and then return to Edo. And the Imperials did indeed burn large areas of the castle after occupying it. Pretty much everything else here is wrong. 

For all intents and purposes, there was NO “Battle of Osaka” in 1868-the Shogunate troops largely followed the leader when Yoshinobu abandoned the castle, and the few that were left surrendered the castle peacefully to the Imperial army. Instead, the game has the player assaulting a force over three times their size that’s entrenched in one of the strongest castles ever built in Japan. This would not have ended well for the Imperials had this been the case-one only has to look about ten years into the future when a small Imperial force held off Saigo Takamori’s attackers at Kumamoto Castle to see what the outcome would have been. The casualties during a playthrough of this single battle end up being about twice what the total was for the entire Boshin War. The layout of the town of Osaka is completely wrong, but not as bad as the depiction of the castle. The extent of the defenses, the schematics and number of the different ‘maru’, the bridges running into the castle, even the location of the site of the tenshu are all wrong. There’s a nicely developed railroad running from the harbor area into town, but as we’ve already seen, Japan wouldn’t even see a rudimentary railroad for four more years.

The game action encourages players to bombard the turrets of the castle, which are holding gunpowder that will eventually be used to blow bridges (usually when players try to cross them). Scoring a single hit on a turret causes a 4^th of July explosion that forces the enemy to abandon their defenses. Now how stupid would a defender have to be to put their gunpowder in such an exposed position? Historically, Osaka Castle’s gunpowder store building is one of the few original Tokugawa structures to survive to the present day-precisely because it was located well within the grounds and built to stand up to a bombardment. 

But perhaps one mistake exemplifies the developer’s disregard for history more than anything else. In the game there’s a really nice tenshu sitting right at the back of the Osaka defenses. In looks, it resembles the original Toyotomi castle far more than the Tokugawa version that replaced it. Of course, this fact really isn’t all that important because in 1868 OSAKA CASTLE HAD NO TENSHU. It was struck by lightning and burned to the ground around 200 years earlier (1665) and was never rebuilt.  

So you would think after all this bitching that we hated the game-but that isn’t the case. We love it! While it’s basically worthless as a simulation, it does give one a sense of the essential issues of the Bakumatsu/early Meiji periods. At the heart of everything is modernization and forming bonds with foreign nations. To do so or not? Not doing so will keep your people happy, but leave your military and economy weak and exposed. Doing so strengthens your economic base and gives access to advanced units, but also ties up more of your resources in policing an increasingly restless populace. Rebellions are far more likely the more modernized your faction becomes and can easily destroy you from within. Allying with the United States, British, or French will also give players the opportunity to gain those Marine units we complained about a few paragraphs back-not to mention unique ships like the HMS Warrior, which could decimate enemy fleets all on its own.

Graphically, the armies of the Bakumatsu are depicted in a realistic and accurate matter. They look great. No one can do ‘real time battles’ like CA. Taking direct command of your artillery batteries is great fun and becoming skilled at this will make many battles (particularly the historical ones) much easier. Naval battles are spectacular, with ships blowing up, taking torpedo hits, getting rammed, hammered by shore batteries, and reduced to splinters by nigh-invincible ironclads-all based on real ships and detailed to the max. Game sound adds much to the goings-on with the crackle of gunfire, the scream of incoming artillery, the deafening roar of a broadside, and the clang when two ironclads ram each other. Special mention should be made of the game soundtrack-it’s outstanding, possibly the best game soundtrack we’ve ever heard (even better than the one for Yoshitsune Eiyuuden Shura). While it’s heavily Western influenced (and actually sounds quite a bit like “The Last Samurai” soundtrack) it does have a few Japanese motifs mixed in.

Gameplay accurately reflects the new world of advanced firearms and artillery. Players who are used to success by taking the direct approach in Shogun 2 are in for a rude awakening in Fall of the Samurai. Marching directly towards the enemy is a quick way to lose an entire army. Opposing forces are quick to seek cover and to bolster each other with overlapping fields of fire. Players are rewarded for being patient and meticulous, outmaneuvering the enemy and putting their big guns out of commission with counter-fire. While players can make the choice to eschew modernity, doing so will result in an extremely difficult and uphill battle. We suggest new players try out the historical battles before tackling the campaign just to become adjusted to combat. Trying to wind your way through the mountains of Aizu with armies waiting in ambush on all sides and multiple batteries of Armstrong and Parrott guns looming over the pass is quite the task-and just a warm-up for the final assault on the castle. While spear and sword units have lost much of their utility, they’re still very useful in certain situations, and can easily turn the tide of battle for players who can use them correctly.

Naval warfare in Fall of the Samurai is massively stepped up from Shogun 2. You will no longer be able to concentrate on developing your army at the expense of your navy. Navies can now support land forces with artillery fire, bombard port defenses, economic centers, and shore batteries, and interdict enemy amphibious invasions. A navy is now vital to developing an economy as well as defending it.

Victory in the game is much different than that in Shogun 2. There it was more about conquering Japan for yourself. In Fall of the Samurai, it’s more about ensuring that your faction comes out on top. Personal conquest matters less, but supporting your allies in the Shogunate (or your fellow traitors in the Imperial forces) becomes high priority. Brave players can also take the opportunity to form an independent republic, telling both the Shogun and Emperor to go screw themselves. As expected, this is for the very brave and capable, as it results in virtually every other faction declaring war on you and the defection of many of your agents and forces.

 

And oh yeah, there are geisha in the game. But not the killing machine geisha of past Shogun titles. Nope, here they’re back to doing what they do best-enchant, inspire, entertain, and distract all of the men. Especially those gaijin foreign veteran agents, who were no doubt as helpless against Japanese women as they are these days. At any rate, the killing is now left to new agents like those same foreign agents, the Shinsengumi, and Ishin Shishi. Not to mention our old friend the Shinobi.  

A word here on Online Multiplayer. Many players don’t bother with multiplayer, just sticking with the single player campaign. We’ve played a bit of it, and it’s a mixed bag. Creative Assembly has put together a fun and varied multiplayer experience with several different game modes and an option for up to four playable avatars (we use one each for Genpei, Sengoku, Boshin Shogunate, and Boshin Imperialist). You can play as a standard Shogun 2 army or a Fall of the Samurai army, even pitting the two against each other in land combat (not naval combat-that would be a King Kong sized mismatch). But the player base, particularly in the Ranked matches, can be wretched. Many matches are not decided by individual skill, but rather by players that find exploits in the game system (whether it be Loan Swords or Tosa Rifles) and milk it for all it’s worth (and then bitch like hell when CA patches the exploit). Many veteran players mod their games to use functions like the ‘debug’ camera, giving them a huge edge over players that don’t know about it. And we’ve played more than a few matches where opponents with incredibly good won-loss records show just how they got them-when they’re taking a pounding and ready to lose, they simply break their internet connection. Viola, no loss! And the verbal abuse spilled out by angry teenagers in ranked matches (whether they’re winning or losing) is enough to burn the ears off a hardened sailor. Take our advice and skip ranked matches. Unranked matches are a much more pleasant experience with a more laid back player base, and after all, the whole idea of the game is to have fun.

So is it worth picking up Fall of the Samurai? Yes, indeed. For all its failures as a sim, the tradeoff is a game that is eminently playable and engaging. It looks great. It sounds great. It plays great. For around $29, it’s also a steal. Players would be wise to approach it much like the movie it channels, “The Last Samurai”. Spectacular action, fun and exciting, and involving-but with everything taking place in a Japan that has only the names and places in common with the real thing. It’s a fantasy land that seems to have been developed more as a beta test for the next Total War game (which by all indicators is going to involve the Victorian Era/US Civil War). Yes, CA really should hook up with a reliable Japanese historian (not Stephen Turnbull, a crass opportunist who’s as careless and sloppy as they come) to weed out some of the more obvious and easily avoidable errors. But they’ve still managed to produce a game that looks and plays wonderfully and that conveys the general circumstances and atmosphere of Bakumatsu era Japan. Historically, it’s Total Fantasy-but paradoxically the fantasy of every gamer with an interest in this period of Japanese history.

Unasaka, Domain Of Chaos: Animeigo’s “Sword of Desperation”

You won’t find Unasaka Han on any map of Edo Period Japan, but it seems like it was an extremely eventful place. Loyal retainers routinely fell afoul of Ukyou clan leadership and had to be exterminated ('Twilight Samurai' and ‘The Hidden Blade’), children were used as chess pieces in succession struggles ('The Samurai I Loved'), and there was even a case of a blind man dueling an official that had sexually violated his wife (‘Love and Honor’). The latest from Unasaka involves what looks to be an unprovoked assault on the Lord’s favorite consort by one of the clan’s most stalwart samurai, resulting in her death. It's all chronicled in Animeigo's new DVD release of 2010's "Sword of Desperation".

Unasaka Han was a fictitious creation of writer Fujisawa Shuhei. According to Animeigo’s program notes, he based it on the historical Shonai Han (officially Tsuruoka Han) which was located in modern day Yamagata Prefecture. Many of his popular historical novels were set here, including the ones mentioned above that were adapted into movies. The English title makes it sound much like a Nemuri Kyoshiro film from the 1960’s, a series starring Japanese film legend Ichikawa Raizo that often used ‘Sword of…’ to tag its entries. “Sword of Desperation” also shares with it two other things the Kyoshiro series was known for-a healthy distrust of corrupt authority and a climatic final swordfight featuring an exotic, secret sword technique. While you won’t see Kyoshiro’s ‘Full Moon Cut’ (Animeigo will have that covered later in the year with ‘Sleepy Eyes Of Death Box set 3’), the Japanese title for the film will give a hint of what’s to come-“Hisshiken Torisashi”, or the “Bird-Catching Desperate Sword”. And when this technique is revealed, it’s DEFINITELY worth the wait…

The film opens with a Noh play being performed for the benefit of the daimyo of Unasaka fief, Ukyou Tayuu (Murakami Jun). When the performance ends, it’s not the daimyo who starts the applause-rather, it’s his consort Renko (Seki Megumi). Ukyou follows suit along with the rest of the crowd. The daimyo’s party begins to file out when suddenly one of his retainers, Kanemi Sanzaemon (Toyokawa Etsushi), abruptly pulls Renko out of the procession, pins her against a veranda beam, and runs her through with his sword. Either he REALLY disagrees with her opinion of the play, or there’s more here than meets the eye…

…and this becomes even more apparent when Sanzaemon isn’t executed or sentenced to commit seppuku-instead, his stipend is reduced from 280 koku to 130 and he’s placed under a year of house arrest. The reduction in his stipend reduces his household staff to an elderly maid and his niece Rio (Ikewaki Chizuru). While most samurai would surround themselves with as much luxury as possible during their year at home, Sanzaemon takes his punishment seriously-he has his servants board him up inside a small, rough storehouse. During the next year he forgoes bathing, shaving, and occupies himself by wood carving and mulling over the past. During the next year we gradually discover the chain of events that led to Sanzaemon’s murder of Renko.

Sanzaemon is shown in happier days having a picnic with his wife Mutsue (Toda Naho) and Rio. A foreshadowing of his special sword technique is shown when he helps two boys capture a small bird with a stick. While Sanzaemon seems content, conversations with his fellow infantry captain Hoshina Junai (Kohinata Fumiyo) reveal that the clan is experiencing rough times. The weak-willed daimyo Ukyou is dominated by his greedy and haughty consort Renko-she’s the stereotypical ‘evil woman’ of samurai movies (think of Kurosawa Akira’s films ‘Ran’ and ‘Castle Of The Spider’s Web/Throne of Blood’). She thinks nothing of suggesting to Ukyou that the castle’s accountant Anzai be ordered to commit seppuku when he suggests slashing castle luxuries in order to help out local farmers. Instead, the only slashing he’s doing involves his stomach. Renko also wants an expensive restoration done to Koboku Temple (as the temple has agreed to make her father abbot). Crushing taxes push the farmers into a rebellion that is only headed off when the daimyo’s kinsman, Obiya Hayatonosho (Kikkawa Koji), promises to intercede on the farmer’s behalf. Even so, Renko offhandedly remarks that the leaders of the farmers should be killed-and Ukyou has it done.

By now, Mutsue has passed away from a ‘wasting sickness’ and Sanzaemon, seemingly wishing to join her in death, decides to kill Renko for the good of the clan-bringing us full circle and back to the present. Sanzaemon is released from house arrest but still seems disinterested in life, seeing only his niece Rio (who develops an unhealthy fascination with washing his back) and refusing all visitors. He leaves home for a time, embarking on a journey where he visits Renko’s grave (at the refurbished Koboku Temple, naturally) and later runs across Obiya Hayatonosho. Finally, three years after his assault on Renko, Sanzaemon is called to the castle by Deputy Chief Retainer Tsuda Minbu. He’s mysteriously given his full stipend back and made Chief Bodyguard to Ukyou, even though the daimyo obviously despises him. Sanzaemon is told “not to show your face to me all the time” and to take his position outside the room rather than inside. The puzzled Chief Bodyguard offers his resignation to Tsuda but it’s refused. It seems that Sanzaemon and his ‘bird-catching’ sword technique will be needed to deal with the threat of Obiya Hayatonosho, who has had enough of the Lord’s high-handed ways and lack of compassion. Everyone expects Obiya to attack Ukyou at some point, very soon…but is he the real enemy? In Unasaka, one can never be sure where the next treacherous bastard might come from.

Much like ‘Twilight Samurai’, ‘Hidden Blade’, ‘Love and Honor’, and ‘The Samurai I Loved’, “Sword of Desperation” is a quiet, slow paced, introspective film grounded in the real world of Edo Period Japan-at least until the final reel, where all the stops are pulled out and a bloodbath of massive proportions takes place. While this might seem to be jarring and potentially hurt the film, director Hirayama Hideyuki manages to make the transition seamless and a natural outgrowth of the plot. Subtle touches abound in the film-the Noh play in the beginning describes the treachery of a shape shifting fox and its death at the hands of heroic retainers, clearly shadowing Sanzaemon’s upcoming assault on Renko. Daimyo Ukyou’s given name ‘Tayuu’ can be read as “high ranking Noh actor”, also linking the incident to the Noh play. The carving we see Sanzaemon working on during his imprisonment is of a bird-a bird that brings to mind his sword technique. The same carving is later shown to be a treasured possession of Rio. Also during Sanzaemon’s year of imprisonment, the change of seasons is used to both highlight and accentuate the different flashbacks as well as reflecting Sanzaemon’s moods. Even obvious techniques (like detailing each character’s name and position in the clan as they appear during the opening scene) make the film easier to follow and establish the different characters.

“Sword of Desperation” was nominated for six Japanese Academy Prizes, including Best Actor (Toyokawa), Best Supporting Actor (Kikkawa Koji as Obiya), Best Editing, Best Sound, Best Lighting, and Best Cinematography. The lighting and cinematography are indeed outstanding, with crisp, bright colors and vistas that highlight the change of seasons that Japanese filmmakers are so fond of. The editing is also excellent, with a story that uses multiple levels of flashbacks communicating itself effortlessly and gracefully. It’s done largely by ‘fading in’ to flashback sequences in black and white with voice overs from the previous scene still being played out, the film changing back to color and then later switching to black and white again as the flashback wraps up (and voiceovers from the next scene being laid upon it). It sounds a bit confusing but works great.

The best actor nomination for star Toyokawa Etsushi seems to have been given largely due to his popularity and what is for him an unusual role. As Kanemi, he’s largely unemotional and detached, rarely speaking and usually seen in a glum state. This is in contrast to other roles he’s played (such as the title character in 2004’s “Tange Sazen”, or acting alongside mythological creatures in 2005’s “The Great Yokai War”). In one way, it is an excellent performance as he has nailed the essence of the character-but the character, while a model of Bushido, is rather uninteresting. While there is no question Kanemi is at heart a compassionate and thoughtful man, the character has little charisma. Thankfully the situation centering on him provides all the drama needed.

Animeigo again excels in providing a clear translation with easy to read subtitles. The transfer is colorful and well done. Extras include an extensive gallery of stills along with trailers for “Sword of Desperation”, ‘The Samurai I Loved’ (a film we enjoyed even more than “Sword”), and ‘Bushido: The Cruel Code of the Samurai’ (our favorite Animeigo release). Since the film is not an historical epic, program notes are slim and largely give a general history of the Edo Period. There are also short biographies for star Toyokawa, director Hirayama, and source writer Fujisawa. Curiously, there’s no title given on the title screen-we don’t recall seeing this happen on too many DVD titles.

Sword of Desperation provides jidaigeki fans with the heart and humanity of Yamada Yoji’s “Samurai Trilogy” while also gifting chanbara hounds with an exciting climatic swordfight that echoes the Ichikawa Raizo films its title seems to be an homage to. It’s another chapter in the story of Unasaka Han-a record that continues to write itself in the blood splattered across the tatami mats in the halls of power. Watch it before the Shogun gets wind of things and confiscates the Han. You can order “Sword of Desperation” directly from Animeigo at a discount HERE or from Amazon.

All images copyright & courtesy of 2010 Sword Of Desperation Production Committee

Evil Spirits, Smelly Swordsmen, and Drunks: Albe Pavo's "Sake & Samurai"

Hiya, kids! It’s yer old pal, the Brickster, settin’ pen ta paper in his inaugural offerin’ on the SA’s Shogun-ki. Now, while some may take this as a sign of the Age of Mappo’s advent, the rest’a you can enjoy my hard-hittin’ commentary on the important issues of the day-as long as the day in question happened in pre-modern Japan. While we were gonna do a review of some sweater vest-wearin’ college egghead’s thesis on why everyone that likes “Kill Bill” and “The Last Samurai” is a die-hard racist, instead, we’re gonna take a look at the excellent new card/board game “Sake & Samurai” from Albe Pavo. I mean, who’s more familiar with either sake or samurai than the Brickster? And as a special bonus, we’re not only doin’ a review of this kewl game but includin’ an interview with the game’s designer, Matteo Santus! Before we commence to reviewin’, here’s the backstory to the game from its official press release:

“A few samurai warriors are sitting at a table in a small inn, talking and bragging about swords, women and honour. Sake flows freely, but not even the cellars of Bishamon, the God of War, could quench the thirst of Japan’s greatest swordsmen. Servants run for cover, knowing full well where all this is going. Suddenly an eerie silence fills the common room. On the table, only one full cup remains. Who will get the last drink? Will it be the elder of the group, or shall the greatest warrior have it? Time seems to stretch to infinity, until one hand makes a move towards the cup. Such insolence! This insult shall not be tolerated! The elder goes for his sword... We shall never know whether the bold samurai was taking the cup for himself or only to hand it over to his venerable companion. It does not matter: all warriors take offense and draw their katana, joining the fight at the call of SAAKEEE!”

YEEESSSSSSS!!!!! Admit it-you’ve seen this scenario in one form or another in practically every chanbara or jidaigeki film ever made, especially those starrin’ Mifune Toshiro. Most samurai had more arrogance and shorter fuses than your average gang-banger. And now you can bring the action of those thrillin’ films of yesteryear home in the ultimate party game for samurai otaku-“Sake & Samurai”. When I first heard about this game from Tatsu over at the SA, I KNEW I had to have it, and he was able to set me up with one. Even better, I was able to get a copy of the special ‘Superalcoholic Edition’ that was released for the Lucca Comics & Games convention in Italy-after all, the Brickster deserves nothin’ less! The game is good for three-eight players (nine for the special edition), although you can make do with two (each playin’ two samurai). It takes about 35 minutes to finish with four players. The first thing we noticed is that the game components are extremely well done-they’re sturdy and will hold up to repeated play. The artwork is exemplary (yeah, I used a thesaurus)-very detailed, attractive, and each of the nine characters has a completely unique look. The sake drink markers are cool little pieces of clear glass.

The object of the game is to be the drunkest samurai still standin’ at the end of the Sudden Death round. In game terms, drunkenness is judged by the amount of sake drinks taken from the masu by each player. This isn’t as easy as it sounds-each drink taken impairs the abilities of the swordsmen, and grabbin’ too many too early will make players a hooched up stumblebum unable to defend themselves. Sake can be burned up in an emergency to play an extra card or draw a card at an opportune moment, but then you’ve lost it for good. Players who ignore drinkin’ in order to concentrate on swordplay and killin’ their opponents run the risk of lettin’ a low lyin’ lush squeak by with the win-not to mention givin’ the dead players a good shot at ultimate victory. Ya see, when you’re killed in the game, you don’t drop out-you become an onryo (a spirit with a GRUDGE) and a minion of the jealous and thirsty God of Death, Enma. Enma makes the dead players his slaves, havin’ them work as a team (and usin’ the front of the cards rather than the backs) to steal sake from the masu, torment the livin’, or use their awesome magikal powerz to move around sake, cards, and player positions. Yes, you can die and STILL win the game! How cool is that? Only in Japan. As you can see, it’s a delicate balancin’ act each player has to perform-when to drink, when to fight, and even when to die.

Players can choose from such famous swordsmen and warriors as Ito Ittosai, (Yagyu) Jubei Mitsuyoshi, Musashi Miyamoto, Yagyu Munenori, and (in the special edition) Yamanaka Shikanosuke. There are also several characters that weren’t noted as swordsmen-Date Masamune, Hojo Masako, Takezaki Suenaga, and Tomoe Gozen. Sengoku Basara to the contrary, Date wasn’t known as bein’ a particularly good swordsman. Masako was a big time mover and shaker in the late Heian/Kamakura eras, but likely couldn’t tell her tsuka from her kissaki. Takezaki was the bumblin’ samurai whose goofy antics were immortalized in the Mongol Invasion Scrolls. And Tomoe-well, fictional character. But so what? The game designers knew all this, but figured they’d be just as much fun to play as the other guys. Each character has their own special ability and toughness (the amount of wounds they can sustain before dyin’). Players make their own gameboard by placin’ their samurai cards with blocks between each-each block represents one step between opponents, and affects what weapons can be used against a foe. Distances can be closed (which opens up the distance to the opponent on your other side), and you can never pass by a foe, since a’course samurai never give way. At game’s start (before the free-for-all breaks out), each player is sittin’-this allows a one-time Iaido strike while yer still sittin’, but once you stand, you’ll never sit down again-at least while yer livin’.

One of the cooler card mechanics is that you can use the text on the card or one of the four values it gives for movement, attack, defense, or (best of all) drinkin’. This means that there’s really no such thing as a bad hand of cards-every card has somethin’ useful on it. In an emergency, you can also burn up your soul to access the cards that comprise your life force-this costs you wounds and brings you closer to death, but might provide you with the boost you need to avoid a fatal strike or come out on top. For all the options the game gives you, it’s actually pretty easy to learn. It’s a great party game as well since everyone tends to survive one way or the other until endgame.

While goin’ through the rules, we were also amused as hell by the sense of humor the game showed. Whimsical rules abound, like requirin’ the other players to refer to the senior combatant with an honorific added. Since the Brickster was the honored elder, I made ‘em call me “El Conquistador”. Some of the deadliest attacks in the game come from throwin’ riceballs or ramen at your foes, or usin’ some rude bodily function to keep them at bay (like “Strategic Stench”, a technique the historical Musashi was noted for). You can even make your dastardly foes spew up their sake, causin’ em to lose a turn. Minions are provided, and they prove to be perfect cannon fodder for their ‘sensei’, absorbin’ killin’ blows and sacrificin’ themselves on hopeless, idiotic attacks. Albe Pavo has even included an origami masu to place the ‘sake drinks’ in, and they challenge the players to ‘prove themselves’ by foldin’ it up correctly. The game really draws you into the settin’-you’ll have the feel of bein’ in a chanbara film and bustin’ up the local tavern, as well as those other sword-carryin’ clowns who stand between you and the last drink.

While all that technical stuff is great, it remained to be seen just how much fun the game was. So the Brickster put together an all-star team of drinkers from the Studio-me, my wife and co-star Koyori, and two extras that happened to walk by (Mushi Takezo and Chiba Kaede). While you can set the game in several locations (each with its own special benefits and drawbacks), this bein’ our first try we stuck with the sake den. We did amend the rules a bit-samurai boards are supposed to be random but we all picked our own. Takezo took the character he played on season one of “Abarenbo Gaijin”, Miyamoto Musashi. Kaede (who plays one of Ko’s shrine maidens on the show) took Tomoe Gozen. Ko took Hojo Masako, a perfect choice since they’re both gorgeous, intimidatin’, and fearsome women. The Brickster took Date Masamune, since we’re both notorious fer bein’ one-eyed, although in vastly diff’rent ways. We also used our “Ayame, Princess Of The Iris Blossom” plate to hold the sake drinks instead of the origami masu, which the Brickster had ruined earlier by tryin’ it out fer real. And just to add a tad more realism to the proceedin’s, we decided to down a real cup of sake every time we gulped a ‘virtual one’ in the game. There were also penalty cups to be quaffed, just like in every Japanese drinkin’ game, with circumstances to be determined by the Brickster’s infinite wisdom. The gals decided they wanted shochu while the Brickster and Takezo stuck to sake blessed by the deities of Fushimi Inari Taisha. Here’s the initial board setup:

As you can see, the Brickster used “Nomihoudai”, his special sake set crafted by Sen No pRikyu in the 16^th century, as a psychological ploy against the other players. Hey, Japanese women can drink most adults under the table, so I needed all the help I could get. Kaede, havin’ the toughest character (Tomoe), was set upon by Takezo and Ko in the early rounds while the Brickster amused hisself by drinkin’ and chuckin’ the occasional riceball at their noggins. Things turned ugly when it dawned on the others that I was bogartin’ the masu, and the Brickster found hisself on the receivin’ end of some deadly thrown chopsticks, a monstrous belch, and brought to his knees by a card that gave him blurred vision. As sloshed as my character was in game terms (not to mention real life), he had nothin’ to play to keep it from happenin’. However, Ko took pity at my plight and knocked Kaede out of the game on the next turn with a three point naginata strike that made her character an instant spirit. This distracted Takezo who turned his attention to Ko, allowin’ the Brickster to take him down for good with a ranged shot of Burning Ramen. Takezo joined Kaede in the spirit world and Koyori drew the final sake drink from the masu-plungin’ us into the Sudden Death round. After the first Sudden Death round, the Brickster and Koyori were tied at three drinks each and the dumbass spirits of Enma had none. Hah! I ain’t fraid’ of no ghost. As per the rules, they had ta commit seppuku because “Pride does not vanish after death”. So that left me and Ko to fight it out for final supremacy.

You’ll notice that the Brickster’s ‘sittin’ counter is still there at endgame. Yeah, that’s right-I got through the entire rumble without havin’ my samurai get outta his chair! This has as much to do with my brilliant strategy as it does Date Masamune (or me) bein’ a lazy bastard. The other players got caught up in swordplay and fightin’ each other, losin’ sight of the final goal-bein’ the drunkest samurai still alive. If I learned anythin’ from Lex Luthor in “Justice League Unlimited” it was to never lose sight of the final goal, and get everyone else to do your dirty work for you. Me, I sat back, knocked down sake every round, instigated the others into attackin’ each other (like “Hey, Kaede, I don’t care what Koyori says-I don’t think yer ass is fat”), and defendin’ myself on the rare occasions I got assaulted. In other words, it was a lot like real life.

Things began to get interestin’ when Kaede, no longer in the struggle but still gamely sluggin’ back shochu, began to perform the traditional Shinto dance “Ama no Uzume”, which looked even better when performed topless. However, a smack to the back of my head by Ko brought me back to the unfoldin’ struggle. Since I was still sittin’, I still had the option of usin’ my deadly Iaido attack and also had a hand fulla kickass cards. I chuckled as I began to slap down the card that would spell Ko’s doom, but she gave that petulant, drunken glare that said “Don’t even THINK about playing that card unless you want the rest of your life to be a barren, living hell”. Rememberin’ that the wise general knows when to lose the battle to win the war, I burned up one of my sake drinks and then played a card that I knew would net me nothin’, makin’ Ko the happy winner and relegatin’ the Brickster to the loser’s circle. But remember what I said about never losin’ sight of the final goal? Ko, bein’ flushed with victory and large amounts of alcohol, unceremoniously booted out our guests and proceeded to take the Brickster as her prize, makin’ me the big winner of the evenin’.

So as you can tell, we had a great time playin’ the game-lotsa laughs and some good competition that went down to the wire. This got the Brickster thinkin’ that it might be fun to see just what the hell was goin’ through the minds of the designers when they put this game together-they’re definitely my kind of people. So we contacted the game’s designer Matteo Santus to find out the story behind this little gem.

BRICK: Tell us a little bit about Albe Pavo-how the company got started, its projects to date, and some projects we can look forward to in the future.

MATTEO: We’re three friends who love boardgames and did game designing for fun for many years...one day I thought: why not publish our projects? They are good! And so here we are, the white peacock was born! We love history, love games and love to fight each other over a board! And also we love to design and to bring new ideas to life!

We have many projects in the works: we are working on a game completely different from our previous ones-its name is WINTER TALES and it's about fables. And we also have other games under development...what do you think of "BEER AND VIKINGS"? It will be stand-alone and compatible with "SAKE & SAMURAI"!

BRICK: Most samurai games revolve around bushido, loyalty, bravery, and all sorts’a BS centerin’ on the myth of the 'noble samurai'. "Sake & Samurai", however, revolves around drunken, violent, and petty ronin swordsmen with attacks like Musashi's "Strategic Stench", vomitin’, and food fights-showin’ the warriors of old Japan as they really were. Why’d you forego the traditional approach and stick to reality?

MATTEO: History is never polished and clean. Bravery, loyalty, bushido, nobility: all so great as to reach the heavens! But Samurai lived on earth and on earth there is mud and dirt and blood and.. Sakeeee!!! Have you ever seen the film "7 Samurai" (Shichinin no Samurai) by Kurosawa? There you can find our kind of Samurais! :D We wanted to portray the code of bushido in the gloom of a tavern, all around the same table with the precious Sake running down! But we did not want to be too serious, so we imagined these dirty versions of the noble samurai! "Take this! Chopsticks in your eyes!!! "

BRICK: Lettin’ defeated players return as spirits to bedevil their former foes (and also gettin’ a shot at a piece of the win) is a brilliant game mechanic. How’d this end up in the game?

MATTEO: If you eliminate from the game one of your friends this could be sad! And in party games this can be a big mistake! Here, if you die, you became a spirit: everybody knows that! And what is worse than an angry spirit with thirst and lust for Sake? But Spirits are dead, so don't do the same things as living people! So we designed their gameplay completely different and we really like the way they play! We've been inspired both in mechanics and graphic design by Japanese histories of ghosts.

BRICK: Was includin’ cards for Hojo Masako and Tomoe Gozen done to get the ladies to try their hands at the game? I’m all fer that!

MATTEO: Surely it is good, but many times ladies want to play as a man: the bigger-dirtier-uglier, the better! And ladies can be really cruel with a sword in their hands…like in Kill Bill!

BRICK: Well, if there was a card for Hagfat in the game, you could be both female and the biggest-dirtiest-ugliest. Speakin’ of which, the artwork for the game looks great and goes well with the theme. Can you tell us a bit more about the artist, Jocularis?

MATTEO: Jocularis is an extremely versatile painter! We plan the game together so he is not only the "visual designer" for Albe Pavo, but has participated in every step of the game design development too. In “Munera” we chose to have a design connected to the "old school" masterpieces of Pompei, for example. Here in Sake, you can see a humorous point of view of the Samurai. This was carefully decided during Game Design steps. The visual aspect of the game should appear perfectly related to the game mechanics and theme. All should work together to give you the experience of a good play: Jocularis is the man trying to resolve this complex design.

BRICK: Guessin’ from the game's backstory and action, it looks like you've seen your share of chanbara and samurai movies. Besides my own classics like “Shogun Sexecutioner” or “Maeda Keiji, Sengoku Stud” what films or TV shows would you suggest watchin’ to set the mood for "Sake & Samurai"?

MATTEO: We loved the movie "The 7 Samurai" of Kurosawa, where the samurai were so human: dirty and rough! Also the manga "Vagabond" about Musashi Miyamoto’s history is really wonderful. About paintings we looked a lot at Hokusai, and all Ukiyo-e Art.

BRICK: What are some “Sake & Samurai” strategy tips you can impart to players?

MATTEO: Strike at the right time at who is drinking more than you: not too early, not too late! And if things get bad, join the dark side: became a spirit!

BRICK: Finally, what’s your opinion on the age old question-"Is it better to have your sake or to drink it?"

MATTEO: Drink it! Then find more and drink again!

BRICK: Thanks, Matteo! Gotta say, I never knew a game designer could have such a sense’a humor. Best’a luck to you and Albe Pavo in the future.

So there ya have it. “Sake & Samurai” is a game that can be appreciated by casual players, chanbara film enthusiasts, and drunks of all persuasions. It’s a pretty easy game to just sit down and play (especially if you grab the ‘quick start’ rules from its page on Boardgame Geek) and unlike some card/boardgames where you can get screwed by a bad hand, your skill at maxin’ out the advantages of your cards is the determinin’ factor. There’s fightin’, drinkin’, bad manners, dancin’, singin’, and hot chicks. Although the dancin’, singin’, and chicks are usually prompted by the drinkin’ rather than built into the game. It’s just like a typical night out at any of Kyoto’s most exclusive nightspots, but you can enjoy it in the privacy of your own home and not have to worry about bouncers, the cops, or high-strung terchy yakuza thugs. “Sake & Samurai” is both fun and challengin’, and the perfect party game. Our group loved it and it’s a good bet you will too-check it out on the Albe Pavo website, or look for it from other online boardgame distributors.