Uncharted Waters

Uncharted Waters (大航海時代, Daikoukai Jidai) is the first game of the Uncharted Waters series. Its Super Nintendo port in Japan is called Super Daikoukai Jidai.

Kou Shibusawa's goal for this game was to let players re-enact the romance and adventure of the Age of Exploration. Noriyoshi Ourai illustrated the game's cover. Music was composed by Yoko Kanno.

Gameplay

 * See also Uncharted Waters/Legend

The game's beginning date is set to February 21, 1502. The protagonist is a 16th century navigator. The player can name him, randomly adjust his stats, and name their flagship. Default names will be used if the player chooses not to make their own.

His goal is to restore his family's lost prestige. The player is free to accomplish this by exploring new lands to trade goods or fighting other fleets for treasure. Exploring and trading is the earliest and easiest method of gaining fame. until they accumulate enough gold to develop their fleet. Up to 60,000 gold pieces can be held at a time.

Marrying Princess Christiana becomes one of the main goal for winning the game once the protagonist has earned enough fame.

Adventure
The adventure phase involves traversing the vast seas in search of new trade routes. Prior knowledge of history and geography can be helpful in remembering the locations of each port in the world map. When sailing, the player must constantly be aware of their surroundings and not make any unnecessary movements. Navigation not only takes up time and resources, it is also affected by the elements. Water currents vary between regions and may entrap unwary fleets. Wind direction, on the other hand, can either speed up or slow down ships while changing yearly.

Three types of oceans are found in the game: temperate, arctic, and tropical. Temperate oceans are commonplace in Europe and have little to no currents. Arctic oceans reside at the very ends of the world map, bearing dangerous currents in certain areas while offering very few ports to sustain the player. Tropical oceans have the strongest currents and are rife with natural disasters. Though few in numbers, disasters can cause tremendous consequences for the player without warning.

The number of days a fleet can travel depends on the total amount of supplies they have with them. Crewmen will die if they are left without food or water, so restocking those particular resources in harbors is essential. Loading lumber is optional, but can be useful when making emergency repairs.

Facilities
Most ports contain various facilities that provide the player with different options and commands. At least half of them require gold to be spent, though haggling for better prices is a viable option for some facilities. Investing in a port's economy or industry raises their affiliation with Portugal while reducing ties with Spain and the Ottoman Empire. If the player's relationship with a particular nation is very low, they may be barred from entering that nation's port unless they bribe the guard for access. Hostility gradually decreases over time. Note that the supply port has no other facilities other than the harbor itself.

A rank system is included to denote the player's influence as well as their ability to gain financial backing from the King of Portugal. Higher ranks are required in order to court Princess Christiana.

To obtain a rank, fame points must be accumulated in order to earn the king's trust. Fame rises by performing various feats which include finding new lands, completing miscellaneous requests, or defeating hostile ships. It decreases if the player fails a mission or refuses it entirely. The maximum amount of fame one can have is 50,000.

When summoned by the king, the player may be asked to import certain goods, deliver letters, find randomly generated treasures, or eliminate specific fleets. Treasures in particular are acquired in two ways: by determining their location on the map or defeating their current owners. Information on their whereabouts can be gathered at the inn, though some backtracking may occur especially if the treasure is in the hands of roving pirates. Achieving these tasks opens up new requests that yield more fame.

Navigators rely on sailing levels to steer ships more efficiently. Higher levels allow them to not only handle larger vessels, they even lessen dependency on crosswinds and currents. A single day of sailing is worth 10 experience points whereas 10 days yield 400 points. Experience is also accumulated by discovering new ports.

Battle
The battle phase of the game takes place on a grid-shaped map, only occurring when players initiate combat with another ship or vice versa. An opposing fleet will always take the first turn upon ambushing the player whereas the latter is given a 50% chance to do so as the aggressor. If a disloyal navigator joins the battle, they may defect and take their vessel with them; the most effective way to avoid this is to keep their loyalty high at all costs.

Battles cannot be done during the night, leaving both fleets a limited amount of time to act before sunset approaches. Each side can deploy a maximum number of five vessels including the flagship; the player's forces are highlighted in green while the opposing fleet is marked in red. Ships are destroyed once their crewmen count or hull durability is depleted. To win, the player must sink the enemy's flagship or force them to retreat. Likewise, the destruction of the hero's flagship results in a game over. Defeating the opposing side allows the player to take the enemy's goods for themselves so long as their ships have more than enough space. This is a good way to replenish supplies while out at sea.

There are two common types of ships one may come across: merchant fleets and warships. Merchant fleets are few in number and easy to dispatch, though the rewards are just as minor. Warships are difficult to take on even with the right equipment, but their ships are likely to contain precious cargo. If the player keeps on attacking vessels owned by the three major powers, they will eventually be deemed a pirate and become a target for constant retaliation. This type of gameplay should not be attempted until the player has a sizable fleet built for this endeavor.

Characters

 * Leon Franco
 * Rocco Alemkel
 * King of Portugal (王マヌエル, King Manuel) - Leon's liege and the ruler of Lisbon. He becomes the player's patron once they earn a proper rank for the first time.
 * Princess Christiana (クリス, Chris) - Leon's love interest who 14 years old. Originally betrothed to a prince from Spain, she may choose to marry the protagonist if they have courted her repeatedly. Near the game's finale, she is kidnapped by Turkish pirates and must be rescued for the story to end..

Differences between ports

 * The PC version includes a more detailed interface for navigation. This trend would be applied to the sequel and it spin-off.
 * Event stills for port facilities are found in the PC and Genesis versions.
 * Voice acting is included in the X68000 port.
 * The mobile port keeps the protagonist's stats fixed while giving two of the recruitable mates, Fernando and Marco, their own scenarios.
 * The Classic Game version has updated graphics for character portraits, areas, and event stills.

Expansions/Spin-offs

 * Mobile Daikoukai Jidai

Related Media
One guidebook for the game was published by KOEI on February 1991. A soundtrack CD includes game music and an original image song. This vocal song was reprinted onto Koei Soundware Vocal Collections Vol. 1.

Image Song

 * PRINCESS CHRIS
 * Performed by Keiko


 * Nanatsu no Umi he (SEVEN SEAS)
 * Performed by Kumi Sano