Samurai Warriors: Spirit of Sanada

Samurai Warriors: Spirit of Sanada (戦国無双 ～真田丸～, Sengoku Musou ~Sanadamaru~) is a spin-off Samurai Warriors 4: Empires game centering on the exploits of the Sanada clan. Its Japanese release coincided with the similarly named 2016 NHK Taiga drama Sanadamaru; this game even reuses the same Kou Shibusawa supervised 3D maps that are used in the drama and Nobunaga's Ambition: Sphere of Influence.

Hisashi Koinuma is the general producer and Osamu Mieda is producer. They remark that Koei has shared friendly relations with NHK ever since their Gunshi Kanbei collaboration. While the developers were working for the drama Sanadamaru, the wish to produce a Sanada-themed work involving Samurai Warriors began. The Japanese subtitle was permitted with NHK's full consent. Omega Force's goal for this particular game is to further emphasize the drama between the cast. The general concept is "forty-nine years of Yukimura", with the added aims of highlighting the historical feats of his father Masayuki.

Buy the game new to receive a Sanadamaru Nobushige costume for Samurai Warriors Yukimura. The Treasure Box edition includes an artbook, Six-Coined themed coasters, and an original soundtrack CD. Reserve the game at Gamecity Shopping to receive a red Sanada colored costume for Kunoichi. Other bonuses were offered at various Japanese stores.

Gameplay

 * Story Mode will revolve around Yukimura's life from early childhood to late adulthood. Key characters will age to match the story's chronological order.
 * Generic officers retain their customized appearance from Samurai Warriors 4: Empires.
 * New to the game are long-term battles which consist of separate skirmishes affected by a day and night cycle.
 * A castle town feature similar to Dynasty Warriors 7: Xtreme Legends will be included. Upon entering, players can purchase horses at the stable, interact with various characters, play other modes, or go fishing.
 * Similar to Warriors Orochi 3, players can bond with different characters by inviting them to the tea house.
 * Characters outside the main story are unlocked by finding conches and giving them to the shell collector.
 * Fishing and farming allows players to acquire rare materials used for synthesizing rare items or forming beneficial bonds with a character.
 * Other facilities include a Jizō monument, a curio store, a blacksmith shop, and much more.
 * Open-world exploration is provided by traveling the outskirts of the castle town. Players can find different types of items and materials or face random enemies for experience. The procurement of materials is necessary to strengthen weapons.
 * Advancing through the story adds new facilities and triggers special events between officers.
 * In battle, players can summon reinforcements by triggering "Next Move" which requires Sanada Coins to activate. These coins are earned by fulfilling battle sub-missions or gathering information in the castle town.
 * Downlodable content includes costumes.

Characters
The entire cast returns with the following new additions.
 * Masayuki Sanada
 * Chacha
 * Sasuke
 * Katsuyori Takeda
 * Hidetada Tokugawa
 * Lady Muramatsu - unique non-playable character

Related Media
From September 27 to 28, Yomiuri Giants fans could purchase acrylic key holders of Yukimura and Mitsunari donning the team's colors.

The game was featured in the Sanada Jūyūshi Garden Place on November 20 with Hisashi Koinuma as the event's main guest. The event included live paintings of Yukimura.

A complete guidebook of the game was published on December 10.