The Official Nintendo Magazine has a great article about Joe Merrick’s (of Serebii fame) 170+ hours of playing Pokemon Conquest. If only we were all lucky enough to be able to play this game today, let along for 170+ hours. So, if you’re sad about this fact then read below and follow through to the site to finish up!

Serebii founder Joe Merrick has enjoyed playing this Pokemon spin-off.

There have been lots of Pokemon spin-off games in recent years with the Pokemon Ranger and Pokemon Mystery Dungeon games, plus Rumble and PokePark. Still, when the then titled Pokemon + Nobunaga’s Ambition was announced in December, it shocked the fans somewhat due to its ties with the Nobunaga’s Ambition franchise. Now it’s coming to the west as Pokemon Conquest, I’m going to tell you why you should look forward to the English-language version.

For those not in the know, the Nobunaga’s Ambition franchise are strategy RPGs based on a period in Japanese history when Oda Nobunaga helped start the unification of all the regions in Japan in the 16th century. However, seeing as this is Pokemon Conquest, we’re playing in the Ransei region which is shaped like an Arceus.

As I run Serebii.net, I have had the privilege of playing the games since Japanese launch to get as much information as possible out to the public. As such, I have spent the last three weeks playing Pokemon Conquest non-stop.

Your character is in control of one of the 17 nations of the Ransei region and the first person you meet is Oichi, a warlord with a Jigglypuff. He’ll aid you in your quest to unify the region which is done by defeating various warriors and warlords in turn-based battles, taking each nation until all nations are unified under your flag.

At first, you have to interact with the overworld map, sending your warriors to the various nations you control to shore up their strength. You can also purchase various items, raise the level of the nation and recruit new warriors or wild Pokemon. This is done through the battles which make up the core of the game. Battles are turn-based as in the main Pokemon games and all the mechanics you’d expect to find in Pokemon games are here such as Type Advantages and Critical Hits. There are some differences, though.

Levelling is based upon a Pokemon’s link with the warrior. As it increases, the stats increase, just like within the games. However, each Pokemon is only limited to one move which is specific to their species. This initially feels like it’s far too restrictive but it actually helps you plan your strategies.

Each warrior can only use one Pokemon at a time, but they can have a certain amount of Pokemon to choose from on the overworld. They can recruit new wild Pokemon in battle through linking, with their potential link being based upon type and species. Each warrior has a group of Pokemon that they can attain the 100% best link with. The rest will have a cut off at any point from 30% to 98%. In addition to that, warriors and warlords have their own stats that determine their strength and intelligence and even have their own special ability which can boost Pokemon in battle.

Click here to read the full article
Source: Official Nintendo Magazine

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