Nobunaga's Ambition: Sphere of Influence - Ascension Reviews

Nobunaga's Ambition: Sphere of Influence - Ascension is ranked in the 60th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
Unscored
Nov 1, 2016

All in all, there’s some clever refinements and additions to the original game. The things that worked before remain unspoiled while a few blemishes also remain.

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7 / 10.0
Oct 25, 2016

Deep but ugly and with a horrible control scheme on consoles, this game may entertain those who enjoy the deep strategy games, but may be too dense for everyone else.

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50 / 100
Dec 15, 2016

Nobunaga’s Ambition: Sphere of Influence – Ascension is a very deep, complex, and well made game with high quality experiences from the lowest to the highest level of rule in Feudal Japan.  It is also a tease, showing you all of this quality without taking the time to actually explain itself. Frustrating camera controls and a total lack of guidance leave a bad taste in the mouth when the game so easily could have avoided both and been truly great.

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ZTGD
Top Critic
7 / 10.0
Nov 21, 2016

I find myself in an odd situation where I felt miserable playing Nobunaga’s Ambition, mostly because it’s just not the kind of game that I enjoy. However, at the same time, I couldn’t help but be impressed at the level of depth and polish in the overall experience. Still, it remains that this game did nothing to make me want to delve deeper into the genre of Grand Strategy.

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66 / 100
Nov 8, 2016

That being said, you probably already know if you’re going to like Ascension or not because the changes aren’t significant enough to attract strategy fans that were put off with the previous release.

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Chris Wray
Top Critic
8 / 10.0
Oct 27, 2016

Sphere of Influence - Ascension takes you on a more personal journey through the Sengoku Jidai period of Japan. Take control, rise through the ranks and explore an even more detailed game than the original. This standalone expansion improves on the original in almost every way.

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9 / 10.0
Nov 11, 2016

Ascension is a fantastic stand-alone that is a superior game in every way to its predecessor. It’s perfect for both new players and veterans and both with have plenty of content to get their teeth into.

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7.5 / 10.0
Nov 26, 2016

A great Sengoku period strategy game with thousands of unique historical figures that sadly doesn't offer much beyond the previous release in the series.

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3.5 / 5.0
Nov 5, 2016

Fans of understatement would describe Nobunaga’s Ambition: Sphere of Influence – Ascension as sprawling.

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9 / 10.0
Nov 8, 2016

Koei went out of their way to listen to fan concerns and criticism of the vanilla game and provide the player with an amazing, worthwhile experience; which is why I am completely comfortable with recommending this game to anyone who’s fan of strategy games or Japanese history. On top of everything else, Koei continues to show that strategy games work on consoles, and my PS4 version is my preferred way to play.

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7 / 10.0
Nov 25, 2016

Nobunaga's Ambition is a turn-based strategy sim that does it's best to impress. Although it may not be my cup of tea, it will currently come as a welcome entry to fans of the genre.

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72 / 100
Nov 12, 2016

Nobunaga's Ambition: Sphere of Influence - Ascension offers a more accessible approach than its predecessor, while bringing its historical chops and in-depth 4X mechanics to the forefront to make for an engaging experience.

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91%
Oct 28, 2016

The attention to detail is absolutely insane. The graphics are really good. It’s hard to believe it only took Tecmo Koei just two years to develop a game with this level of detail. There is also dual audio available, for those of you that prefer to play with the original Japanese voices. You can customize the game’s difficulty to your liking or you can use the pre-set difficulties for each scenario. There is a ton of content in this one, and after writing my Nobunaga’s Ambition: Sphere of Influence – Ascension Review, I can easily recommend that you get the game today. If you’re looking for a complex and robust strategy game, this is the one you need!

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GameSpew
Top Critic
8 / 10
Nov 3, 2016

Ascension is at its best when you allow it to wow you, let it win you over… It requires as much patience as the developers had, but it rewards you. With that, Nobunaga’s Ambition: Sphere of Influence – Ascension is a staggering accomplishment, and a pretty darn good game, too.

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Oct 30, 2016

Despite largely being a repackaging of last year's game, 'Nobunaga's Ambition: Sphere of Influence - Ascension' makes smart changes to the formula that immediately pay off. The new game still controls a bit wonky using a controller, but the revamped user interface does make the strategy title more accessible. The future looks bright for Tecmo Koei's strategy series, and its new focus on individual officers is definitely the way to go.

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Nov 4, 2016

Unifying Japan has never felt so personal. Ascension is as much about your own story as it is about Japan's, and what will be best for your clan is not always necessarily what will be best for you.

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Oct 25, 2016

This game, like its predecessor, is very niche and very serious, but it’s a very worthy and very intelligent complement to last year’s Nobunaga’s Ambition.

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6 / 10.0
Oct 24, 2016

A massive, hard strategy game, Nobunaga’s Ambition: Sphere of Influence – Ascension is a hard sell for anyone other than the devoted strategy fan

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4.5 / 5.0
Nov 15, 2016

Nobunaga’s Ambition: Sphere of Influence – Ascension is a hell of a game built upon an already solid framework. This blows the already great Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIII out of the water, and is an essential purchase for anyone who enjoys complex strategy games, or has a passing interest in Japanese history.

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7.2 / 10.0
Dec 14, 2016

A great strategy title that hides itself behind some pretty inaccessible beginnings. What it lacks in visual flair it more than makes up for in strategic depth. The political system especially gives a great simulation of the trials of leadership. For strategy fans, this should definitely be on your radar. For anyone new to the genre, give it a go but be prepared to exercise patience while you learn how the game works.

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