Pokemon Conquest

Over the years, the Pokemon franchise has been a dominating force within the gaming market, releasing successful game after successful game. And it seems they’ve done it yet again with their latest release, Pokemon Conquest. Pokemon Conquest is a game that combines various elements to make a tactical strategy RPG that is sure to be fun for both old and new fans alike. The game carries with it everything that makes Pokemon’s ever loyal fan base continue to come back and grow with every new release. Pokemon Conquest is a fairly easy game that lacks a riveting, in-depth storyline but is fun nonetheless thanks to its gameplay and features. I personally found this game to be fantastic.

In this game, the Pokemon franchise teams up with Team Koei to create a crossover of Pokemon and another gaming series known as Nobunaga’s Ambition. Pokemon Conquest is a game that brings an interesting combination of Pokemon, warlords, turn-based gameplay, and adds a dash of Japanese history to the mix. This game contains elements from the Sengoku Period (also known as the ‘Warring States Period’) of Japan, a period of time where Japan was torn between political powers that seemed to be in a constant state of war with one another.

Pokemon Conquest takes place in the fictional region of Ransei, a region torn apart by the warring kingdoms. Ransei consists of seventeen kingdoms, one for each Pokemon type. The kingdoms were once united but torn apart by a legend. The legend says that if a warrior is to conquer all seventeen kingdoms and unite them beneath their rule, the Legendary Pokemon that created Ransei shall reveal itself to that warrior. As you advance in the game, you may notice something interesting about how Ransei is shaped. Because of this legend, all kingdoms are at war, each warlord hoping to conquer all the kingdoms and prove they are the strongest.

You play the part of the new and young Eevee-toting warlord of Aurora, a Normal-type kingdom located in Western Ransei. As you begin the game, you meet a shy girl named Oichi, a girl who will become your faithful ally. Oichi convinces you to attempt to unite the Ransei region and pledges to fight alongside you, offering you help as you advance through the game. As you conquer your first few kingdoms, Oichi tells you about the seemingly nefarious Nobunaga, a man who has set out on a similar journey to conquer Ransei. Nobunaga serves as your main enemy in this game.

In order to combat Nobunaga and his army, you must travel throughout the Ransei region, capturing kingdoms and recruiting warriors for your army. In order to recruit a warrior, you must either defeat them in four turns or defeat them with a super effective move, so this gives you incentive to plan your strategy carefully when attempting a recruitment. Failed to defeat a warrior in four turns? Then plan your moves out carefully so you defeat them with a super effective move. When you defeat a warlord, you capture their kingdom and it opens up for your use. Every kingdom has at least one battlefield for you to train, capture Pokemon, or recruit warriors in, though some have two battlefields. Every kingdom has a shop, though which kingdoms have what shops vary from kingdom to kingdom. Some kingdoms also have a gold mine. If you’ve got a warrior or two to spare, it’s a good idea to send them mining so you can keep your gold up to buy items with. However, each warrior only gets one action a month. So you cannot send the same warrior to battle and then send them shopping, you must choose battling or shopping for that month. So choose your warriors’ actions carefully. It is best to send the less used warriors shopping or mining and save the more used warriors for battling.

You may also set warriors as delegates for the kingdoms you conquer. Warriors who delegate can do a variety of things. You can tell them to mine for gold, train their Pokemon, or find new warriors to recruit. However, very little of the game focuses on the delegation of kingdoms. Most of the gameplay is focused around the battlefield.

Battles in this game take place on a turn-based, gridded battlefield, each battlefield having its own unique set of traps. For example, some battlefields have fencing traps where your Pokemon will be unable to move or attack for two turns. Other battlefields have elemental rods that can damage your Pokemon. You can only bring six Pokemon to battle with you, so choose your Pokemon carefully. You must think carefully and strategically about your moves in order to come out on top. You need to plan which Pokemon you bring, what attacks to use, and where you position your Pokemon. Some attacks such as Lapras’ Ice Beam (an attack that can hit three spaces in front of Lapras) can be useful in hitting multiple enemy Pokemon, but they can also be harmful if you haven’t thought carefully about your army’s positions. “Friendly Fire” is on in this game, you can hit your other Pokemon if you are reckless so watch out.

Each Pokemon gets only one move throughout the entire game, unless they evolve. For example, Staravia’s one move is Wing Attack until it evolves into Staraptor, then the attack becomes Brave Bird. This gives you more incentive to think carefully about which Pokemon you choose to use. As you advance in the game, linking with new Pokemon will become an option. If you are unsatisfied with your current partner Pokemon, you can head to a battlefield and link with a wild Pokemon.

To link with a Pokemon, you must play a mini-game where you need to press A at the right time to capture balls of light to bring you and the Pokemon closer. Seeing as this game is set in ancient times, there is no such thing as Pokeballs. Linking with a Pokemon is this game’s version of “capturing” a Pokemon. Each warrior as a “soul Pokemon”, meaning a certain species of Pokemon they can achieve a 100% link with. For example, the hero/heroine’s “soul Pokemon” is Eevee and the “Eeveelutions”. Your character will never achieve a 100% link with any Pokemon species except Eevee. Oichi’s “soul Pokemon” is Jigglypuff. You can get her a new partner (like I gave her Staraptor) but she will never be able to achieve a 100% link with any Pokemon except Jigglypuff. So explore and see if you can find each of your warriors’ “soul Pokemon”.

Pokemon evolve in this game through reaching a certain stat level or having something equipped. For example, in order to evolve Ralts into Kirlia, you must get Ralts’ attack to 94 for it to evolve. Stats can be increased by increasing the link with a Pokemon through battling, mining, or shopping. But other Pokemon such as Eevee need special conditions. For example, to get a Flareon you must equip a Fire Stone to your player and go to battle with Eevee. Eevee will evolve after the battle. But to get Espeon, you must have at least a 70% link with Eevee and do something in Illusio, the Psychic kingdom. Type advantages and disadvantages are still in play as well. So water is still weak to grass, grass is weak to fire, fire is weak to water, and the like with all the typings.

But battles are not all about the Pokemon though, warriors can also help out. Each warrior has their own ability that can either help out their Pokemon or all allied Pokemon. Some abilities help raise stats like Attack or Accuracy while other abilities heal HP or status conditions. However, a warrior’s ability can only be used once during the battle, so choose carefully on when to use it during the battle. Some battles aren’t all about defeating your enemy’s army though; some have little games to play. For example, one kingdom requires that you hold all four flags for five turns in order to win. Fail to do this or let your enemy do this and this means you lose. Each battle only gives you so many turns to win the battle in. If you fail to do so, you will get an automatic defeat. So make sure to watch how many turns you’ve got left.

Pokemon Conquest is a fun game with great tactical and strategic ideas, but strategy RPG veterans won’t find this game much of a challenge at all. However, strategy RPG novices may encounter a challenge and have to re-do a battle or two in order to complete the game. The game can serve challenging to those not used to this type of game. Pokemon Conquest does lack an in-depth storyline, the storyline the game has is very short and not all that captivating I must say. But what the game lacks in storyline, it makes up for in gameplay.

Pokemon Conquest definitely brings back all the charm that this franchise is known for and keeps fans coming back time and time again. It brings a refreshing change to the series for older fans and can be exciting for new fans. This type of spin-off is something I am interested in the Pokemon franchise doing again. I found this game to be highly enjoyable and would recommend it to any Pokemon fan. Admittedly, Pokemon Conquest is not a game everyone will enjoy as not everyone enjoys the thought and carefulness that Pokemon Conquest requires. However, the game is at least worth a try and something any Pokemon fan should look into trying.

The Pokemon franchise took a risk with the game as it is so different than the rest of the series, but the risk they took all paid off in a beautiful and successful way. For their first game like this, the Pokemon franchise did wonderfully on it. Of course, fans also have Team Koei to thank for their help in developing this game. Pokemon Conquest may be one of the best spin-offs this franchise has ever done. This game does live up to the good name this series has earned itself. The Pokemon series always impresses and they impressed many fans once again with this latest release.