Saihai no Yukue

Saihai no Yukue (采配のゆくえ) is a strategy adventure game for the Nintendo DS. The game's setting is in the Warring States period in Japan with the main focus of the game being Sekigahara. The player is Mitsunari Ishida and he needs to monitor the activities of his army, issuing orders to his units and drilling them to test their loyalty. It plays in a similar manner as Capcom's Ace Attorney series. Aside from the different genre style, the setting in this game is cartoony and brighter than the Samurai Warriors series.

A rough translation of the title could either be "Onwards to Order" or "The Saihai's Whereabouts". The saihai is a tool used by war commanders while shouting out orders, but the word is also used as a pun for command or orders (i.e.: "Saihai wo toru" is a Japanese phrase which can mean "Take command"). It's also the object that Mitsunari carries in the game.

The people who developed this game also developed the Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors series. The director is the producer from Dynasty Warriors 6 and the scenario writer previously worked on Dynasty Warriors 5 and Bladestorm: The Hundred Years' War.

Gameplay
While there is only one main story mode, the basic gameplay is split into five phases.


 * Prologue - story sequence that occurs before each chapter in the game.
 * Strategy - the information gathering stage. This is where Mitsunari will speak and learn about various generals. He can also search other locations in the game for clues that can work in his favor. The info he's given is charted in a log for the players to remember in battle. It charts brief character bios, battle tactics, objects, and quotes.
 * Battle - where the Western and Eastern Armies clash. Here, Mitsunari can order his men from his main camp. There are two basic modes for this sequence.
 * Heaven's Eye - bird's eye view of the field. Each army is represented by their name and a colored marker. Western generals are tinted red while the Eastern armies are colored blue. Clicking on a particular unit on the DS touch pad will allow Mitsunari to order it. He can tell them to report their situation, attack with a maneuver, move, or withdraw. At select times in the game, Mitsunari also uses this power to order a unit to defeat multiple enemies at once. This is done through a mini puzzle sequence that can only be put into action once the player correctly solves it.
 * Interrogation - where Mitsunari personally deals with either a reluctant ally officer or an enemy general. More often than not, these sequences are needed to convince the opposing party about Mitsunari's view of the situation. If he weakens their mental defenses, Mitsunari can use his divine power to view into the mind of the other person and use their words to his advantage. This is where the log from the Strategy phase comes into play.

Mitsunari only has a limited amount of times to succeed in the Battle or Interrogation phases. In battle, the icon to represent his lifebar are five arrowheads located in the upper right side of the dual screen. During the interrogation phase, his chances are represented through five yellow fans. If he loses all of his arrows, Mitsunari will lose the battle; if all of the fans are lost, he will lose the respect and control of that particular unit.

There are five chapters in the game but they're divided into long subsections. Once players beat the game, they can play it once more to explore alternate story paths and experience slightly different endings.

Characters
While the majority of the cast are called by their family names, certain characters will be identified by their given name as they speak in text boxes. These characters are noted with an asterisk below.

Western Army

 * Mitsunari Ishida *
 * Sakon Shima *
 * Tamaki
 * Yoshitsugu Otani *
 * Hideie Ukita
 * Yukinaga Konishi
 * Yoshihiro Shimazu *
 * Toyohisa Shimazu *
 * Hideaki Kobayakawa
 * Hidemoto Mori
 * Hiroie Kikkawa
 * Ekei Ankokuji *
 * Takenori Akashi
 * Riatsu Atomo
 * Hyogo Mai
 * Tamehira Hiratsuka
 * Katsushige Toda
 * Masaie Natsuka
 * Morichika Chosokabe

Eastern Army

 * Ieyasu Tokugawa *
 * Masanori Fukushima
 * Naomasa Ii
 * Tadaoki Hosokawa
 * Yoshimasa Tanaka
 * Okatsu no Kata
 * Nagamasa Kuroda
 * Takatora Todo
 * Tadakatsu Honda *
 * Masanobu Honda *
 * Terumasa Ikeda
 * Saizo Kani
 * Sadamichi Inaba
 * Masanari Inaba
 * Sadatsugu Tsutsui
 * Shigekado Takenaka
 * Yoshiakira Kato
 * Takatomo Kyogoku
 * Tatsuya Togawa
 * Nagachika Kanemori
 * Kazumasa Ikoma
 * Hirotaka Terazawa
 * Yoshinaga Asano
 * Kazutoyo Yamanouchi
 * Nagamasu Oda
 * Yorikatsu Hirao

Others

 * Lady Yodo
 * Garasha Hosokawa *
 * Hatsu
 * Hideyoshi Toyotomi
 * Toshiie Maeda
 * Yoshinobu Satake

Image Song

 * Taboo
 * Performed by Kumi Koda
 * * used for commercials

Allusions

 * Since the same developers worked on both titles, the Saihai no Yukue Mitsunari appears again as a soul in Toukiden.

Trivia

 * When the game was announced at the 2008 Tokyo Game Show, two cat mascots were there to present the product at Koei's press release. Their names are "Ishida Mitsunyan" and "Shima Sakonyan". They, along with "Otaninyanbu", are famous mascot characters for the Sengokumaru sector in Hikone, Shiga.
 * Idol Kohinata Eri cosplayed Tamaki at the Samurai Drama Live 2009 event, a sengoku jidai themed event where Koei also announced their plans for the thirteenth Nobunaga's Ambition game.