Update: February 17, 2004
After stocking the Japanese version of Sengoku Musou last week, NCS brings in the Asian Chinese language edition this week. Each copy of the game will include a large (18 x 12") and heavy (About 1 lb) mouse pad which features artwork of the major heroes in the game. Sanada Yukimura, Akechi Mitsuhide, Hattori Hanzo and others are on the pad while the visage of Oda Nobunaga in the background lords over them all. The flipside of the mousepad reads "Cutting Mat 4530" with a grid design and we're assuming that it's meant to serve a dual purpose as a platform for slashing up chuck, roast, ham, bologna and other deli meats.
Sengoku Jidai translates into "The age of the country at war," which was what Japan had boiled up into between 1467 and 1573. With the Ashikaga Shogunate unable to mediate disputes between the 260 feudal houses (daimyo) that had sprung up by 1467, a volatile situation began to fester. The daimyos considered themselves separate and independent of the 259 other daimyo - in essence, splitting Japan into 260 countries with allegiances to no one. Standing armies in every daimyo would soon be put to use.
The Onin War (1467-1477) saw every feudal house in Japan battling against each other in a struggle for total domination of the country. The one daimyo that was able to wrest control from the others would become the sole survivor, so to speak, and to that end, Oda Nobunaga, Tokugawa Ieyasu and Toyotomi Hideyoshi emerged in their bids to unite all of Japan under one house. It is under this backdrop that Sengoku Musou begins... One general or leader may be chosen from to rally the troops to war - Sanada Yukimura, Akechi Mitsuhide, Hattori Hanzo are a few familiar names but players may also create original characters as well. Played similarly to the well regarded Sangoku Musou series of games, protagonists charge into battle and lead soldiers into war, swing swords, use special skills and shed a lot of blood in order to take over garrisons and diminish enemy troops. View a larger photo of this item.
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