Guruguru Dungeon Nobunyaga

Guruguru Dungeon Nobunyaga (ぐるぐるダンジョン のぶニャが; translated as: "Circling Dungeon Nobunyaga"), officially abbreviated as Gurunyaga (ぐるニャが), is a free-to-play social game and the second entry in the Nobunyaga no Yabou series. It was first announced during Koei Tecmo's Network Business Strategy Conference in 2014. Gurunyaga reuses visuals from its base with different gameplay and an original main narrative based on the Nobunaga Kouki.

Hirohisa Hiroshige returns as the producer. Tezuka Ichiro is the scenario writer. The opening animation is done by MMF Group Inc.. Music is being handled by a sound director with experience in Samurai Warriors and Taiko Risshiden. Date Masiamune is the PR ambassador for this title, beating Oda Nobunyaga for the right in various promotional presentations.

According to Hiroshige, the overall goal for both Nobunyaga titles is to appeal to light users. Gurunyaga was created to expand the company's presence in the smartphone and social media market and to further explore the kitty appeal found within its base. The 3D dungeon aspect draws inspiration from Minesweeper by being designed to have results that are difficult to predict for players. Slots were added based on popular social game trends and fused with the dungeon mechanic to create "an exciting smartphone experience". Plans to release and localize the game in Asia and the West are currently underway.

Plot
The protagonist's name and gender is chosen by the player; the default name for the protagonist is Masami (まさみ). He/She is a normal second year high school student who meets a mysterious man one day after school. He/She touches a cat ear shaped tea bowl the man drops and is transported to the kitty version of the Warring States period. The student becomes kitty-like in this world and is armed with a magical war fan. He/She eventually learns that they have arrived on the Oda side of Nagaragawa; Toukiteirou finds and recommends him/her to Oda Nobunyaga. The protagonist is recruited without delay.

As they seek to reinforce Nobunyaga's father-in-law, Nobunyaga is shot and killed by enemy infantry. The tea bowl in his hands shines and time is reset to before he is shot. The protagonist and Nobunyaga soon realize that they alone retain their memories from the previous timeline, but his magical tea bowl becomes deactivated. Nobunyaga notices the protagonist has the same tea bowl and orders him/her to join him in his fight against fate as his strategist. The protagonist hopes to someday return to his/her home world.

Gameplay
Players are expected to create a team of character cards. The overall game flow is a repeating cycle of expending Energy to challenge dungeons a team, leveling up the player avatar rank with experience earned from cleared dungeons, and using the loot to help fortify the player's team. Energy is naturally restored by one point every five minutes of real time.

Ranks operate like role-playing game levels and determine a player's maximum Energy capacity, potential followers, and the team's highest Cost rating. Higher ranks randomly boost these three parameters. Ranks are needed to complete advanced dungeons and to fulfill player missions for additional rewards.

Avatars can join groups and/or choose another player's leader to aid them during dungeons. If both players agree to follow one another, they can gain bonus Kitty Medals and potential support in dungeons. Kitty Medals can be used to draw cards from the normal gacha. Groups have an off screen village to foster by completing a set of secondary missions. Stronger villages will offer bonus magic to add to participating player teams. Weekly prizes are also given to players based on their village rank.

Sets of character parts can be accessed from the main menu to edit an avatar's appearance. Alternate outfits can be earned by competing story chapters or by completing the limited events. These decorative accessories are modeled on preexisting Nobunyaga characters, offer no special bonuses for wearing them, and cannot be altered from their presented state; they only grant customization options for players. Other options within the profile menu are the ability to change the player's greeting message to other players and a chance to rename their protagonist. Gender cannot be altered after it is selected, yet there are no exclusive benefits for character sex.

In game Gold can be purchased using real world currency. Gold can be used to instantly recover Energy, continue from a defeated boss, gain access to the rarer gacha options, and increase maximum card capacity (one coin adds five slots). Free gold can be earned by completing campaign conditions or by victoriously clearing specially marked dungeons in the first try.

Dungeons
Main story dungeons prelude with a short story sequence centered on the protagonist and his/her companions. Text can be tapped manually, put on auto play, or skipped entirely. Story scenarios can be watched again after the player completes the entire story chapter. The goal for every dungeon in the game is to defeat the map's boss with at least one team member alive.

Dungeons take place on a flat 3D square grid through a first person view. Players can move their team forward or backward by tapping the arrow keys on the center of the touch screen. Swap the screen left or right to have teams face the respective direction. Players can choose to stay in one spot for a turn to avoid enemy detection. Ninja traps are hidden across the map and trigger one of the possible effects when the team lands on their square:
 * Shuriken: damages team.
 * Bomb: decreases team health and relocates them to a random place on the map.
 * Hurricane: relocates team to a random place on the map.
 * Rice Ball: restores team health.

Combat starts by making contact with an enemy unit and occurs in a separate screen. Team positioning on the dungeon map determines whether a party receives a preemptive strike. If the enemy approaches the player's team from the side or rear, they have the advantage and can attack first. The player can attempt the same conditions to gain their team's initiative. Enemies can surround the team if they are surrounded at any time on the dungeon map.

Press the war fan at the bottom of the screen to begin the slots, the main method of attacking. Standard slots have three spinning reels, and each reel is marked with colored blocks and numbers. Players can keep track of which symbols they can select by keeping their eyes on the white square adjacent to each reel. Time the tap for each reel to earn results. If the player takes too long, their time will run out and their turn will end prematurely. Items for each reel regenerate after each turn.

A monochrome block represents one of the five Nobunyaga elements and can accumulated to afford summoning magic. Once its appropriate shade is shining in the bottom interface, the player can tap it before starting their slots to unleash the elemental deity on the enemy party. Rainbow colored blocks are Cat God blocks and automatically grant x9 attack to whoever character is adjacent to it. The player may randomly experience reels entirely blessed by Cat God blocks that lets the entire team attack with x9.

Numbers represent the character cards within the player's team. Their participation is based on whether the player stops the reel with their corresponding number. Attack power is multiplied by the number of times a character appears in the stopped reels. Get two in a row vertically or diagonally to activate the special ability for the numbered character(s). Earn three in a row for numbered character(s) to increase their attack to x15 and to activate a bonus reel. Bonus reels have the potential to increase the pictured character(s)' attack power by intervals of five if the player stops the character icon(s) within the center of the bonus reel. It ends if the player fails or if the bonus timer runs out. x50 is the maximum amount that can be earned.

One square movement and one turn in combat absorbs a turn from the turn counter seen at the top of the GUI. The standard turn count is 50 although certain maps may place a new turn restriction onto players. Ideally, players should complete the map before the counter (the team's war supplies) runs dry. If it hits zero, the teams' health will gradually decrease each turn it is empty. Mutual followers can randomly restore the counter by five.

Treasure is plopped onto the map and can be found from defeated foes. Occasional treasure thieves can carry rare treasure but can escape the map if the player neglects to find them. Shrines bestow bonus loot and an instant teleporation service. If the player has opened every treasure box and defeated every enemy on the map, the shrine can warp the team directly to the map's boss.

Map exploration expands the mini-map presented within the upper left hand corner, and it can be consulted by tapping it. Bosses are represented as violet triangles, and all other enemy units are red. Treasure boxes are golden boxes and shrines are green. Each map has a secret zone which will remain hidden on the mini-map unless the player's team discovers and unlocks it. Players have the option of spending two Gold to reveal the entire map without exploration.

Locating landmarks unearths kitty gravestones at their location. Should the player suffer defeat and choose to not continue with Gold, they have the option to use the Corpse Slot. The Corpse Slot selects the player's character mascot to ask for help through social media (Twitter, Google +, or Line). If someone responds to their request, the player's team can restore their position from one of the kitty gravestones they had placed from their previous attempt. Unused kitty gravestones can alternatively reward bonus currency during the map evaluation screen.

Cards
A maximum five cards can be assigned to a given team. Cards still follow the elemental attribute, Cost, and troop type system of its predecessor. Rarity is rated as Divine (天) ⇒ Ultra (超) ⇒ Special (特) ⇒ Rare (上) ⇒ Common (普). Treasure (宝) cards continue to be exclusive to limited time campaigns and are placed between Ultra and Special. Card stats can be seen by tapping on a character icon and are simplified to the following parameters:
 * Level: current card level. Maximum level capacity is determined by card rarity and reincarnations. Card levels can only be gained by strengthening cards in the card menu. Strengthening requires the player to fuse unused cards to their target and to sacrifice Kitty Coins (in game currency earned from dungeons) to complete the process.
 * Health: self-explanatory.
 * Attack: self-explanatory.
 * Reincarnation: counts the number of times a card has been awakened. Once the card reaches its maximum level, it can be reincarnated in the card menu. The player requires Kitty Coins, an exact duplicate of the card, and the appropriate elemental priestess card(s) to complete the process in the card menu. Resets the fused card's level to one but increases their optimal health and attack ratings. Rarity decides the maximum number of reincarnations available to each card.
 * Growth Type: regulates the amount of health and/or attack earned per level. Varies between slow (health bias), fierce (attack bias), or standard (balanced).
 * Special Ability: triggers with at least two in a row in battle. Potency is set by ability level; its level can increase with reincarnations.
 * Leader Ability: activates if the card is the first card in the team. Certain leader abilities trigger under specifically noted conditions. Leader cards are targeted by the enemy the most and cannot be replaced by player followers if they fall in battle.

Swipe the description area within the card screen once to the right to read each character card's flavor text. Tap on the character icon again to read the character's quote. While the character portrait is enlarged, scrub along the top of his/her head to pet them and receive a new quote of appreciation; bonus Kitty Coins can be rewarded for pleasing him/her. Quotations and flavor text for the returning character cards are the same ones used in the first title. Cards debuting in this title have new quotes and biographies available.

The default card capacity is thirty. Players can sell unwanted cards at any time to obtain Kitty Coins. Summoning spells can be altered within the team creation menu.

Players who register their GPS location can draw from the gacha within one of Japan's prefectures. Characters are divided by their historical or mythological relevance to each prefecture and are exclusive to this feature.

Related Media
Purchase Medyfas cat food with a Oda Nobunyaga sticker on it to receive a serial code for a Treasure Yukimura card. This card can be used in either this game or Nobunyaga no Yabou. Use the QR Code at GameDash! to receive a Treasure Toshiie card.

Prior to the game's public release, a preregistration Twitter campaign was held. Participants who entered automatically received a Rikyu Sen serial code and could participate in slots to earn additional cards. If they received all ten character cards during the campaign, they were rewarded with a Treasure Masiamune card. It was hyped by Hiroshige and the series mascots along with Nobunaga no Yabou 201X in the March 23 live stream of Appli no Gakkou. Interested viewers can watch a digital archive of the full broadcast on Youtube.