Samurai Cats

Nobunyaga no Yabou (のぶニャがの野望) is a social game adaptation of the Nobunaga's Ambition series which turns historical figures into cats with kitty themed names. It debuted to the public on the informal Japanese holiday, Cat Day. According to company executives, it is one of their most popular social games at the moment. It won the fan voted popularity award in Taiwan's Bahamut 2012 Game Awards.

The game's title is a portmanteau of Nobunaga's name and the onomatopoeia for a cat's meow (ニャ). Plans for an English localization might be in the works since Tecmo-Koei trademarked a somewhat related name, Samurai Cats, in 2011.

Since the game's inception the titular character, Oda Nobunyaga, has been the company's mascot for several historical festivals in Japan. He also appears at the company's booth within game shows and as a special guest in the lobby of voice actor events. Date Masiamune and Utsunomiyah Kunitsuna were also costumed mascots at Tokyo Game Show 2012.

Gameplay
The game's controls are simple. Players simply tap the touch screen (smartphones) or use the left-mouse button (PCs) to confirm their commands in the game. The game is played in real time, and timers are needed for nearly every action in the game.

Unlike the majority of the Nobunaga's Ambition series, the player primarily acts as the leader of their own forces. They are required to affiliate themselves with a clan and can randomly select their starting characters. The clan they first pick affects their base affinity rating with the land's daimyou. Sixteen clans are currently available. From west to east, the clans are:
 * 1) Ōtomo
 * 2) Ryūzōji
 * 3) Shimazu
 * 4) Mōri
 * 5) Chōsokabe
 * 6) Amago
 * 7) Miyoshi
 * 8) Ashikaga
 * 9) Saitō
 * 10) Oda
 * 11) Tokugawa
 * 12) Takeda
 * 13) Uesugi
 * 14) Hōjō
 * 15) Mogami
 * 16) Date

After the player completes Myaamoto Musashi's tutorial, the player is free to travel to different castles throughout the land. Wars can be fought against other players based on special campaigns or the player's current affinity level with the sixteen daimyou.

Five elements are used as resources throughout the game: fire, earth, wind, water, and void. Elements determines a card's stats and weaknesses and act as the resources for the player's village.

Each player is given a plot of land which exists in hammer space. They can build a maximum of nineteen buildings which can either strengthen their generals and troops, restore lost troops, and so on. More buildings can be earned based on the player's progress, and existing facilities can be upgraded using elements. Troops and troop supplies are imperative for traveling and initiating battles.

Battles are accessed on the world map. Pirates, ninja, and rioters are the common encounters in the game and will likely be the first icons to pop onto the screen. Friendly units appear as green icons on the world map. Occasionally, a random quest given on the world map can unlock a special enemy icon. The player will receive reports of their whereabouts each time they access the world map. Clicking on an enemy icon lists the rewards, time, and difficulty of the encounter. The player may then choose to initiate the command to subjugate the particular foe.

Before each battle, the player determines their army's commander and their army's formations; special abilities for generals can be learned within the village and can be assigned here if they should desire. Once the order is complete, the troops are sent. The player can only send one army at a time.

Results are given to the player as a detailed report after a short waiting period. Victory rewards the player with elements and other goods; stalemates grants a small amount of the battle's promised reward. If the player desires, they can watch a replay of the battle and change their formations accordingly for future encounters.

Special PVP tournaments or campaigns are routinely scheduled with the game's updates. News reports and the game's starting screen informs users of such events. The player can participate in them by clicking the main gate of their village and can register their particular team. Tournaments automatically has participants at maximum health and will not drain troops or special abilities. Matches between other players are random. Players who obtain a specific ranking for the can be additionally rewarded with treasures and a special card.

If there is no event currently being held, the player can still click on their village gate to initiate PVP matches with a randomly selected opponent. Winning these battles increases the player's fame and their overall ranking with other players. Fame changes the designations in present in their player profile and changes which buildings a player can construct for their village.

When the player runs low on resources, they can stop playing to have their village naturally restore their army. Mobage Coins (virtual money) can also be used to buy restorative items.

Cards
Wars, battles, and special quests rewards the player Nya Points. These points (or Mobage Coins) can be used to purchase a random character card. Once a the card has been obtained, it can be used to summon the pictured character immediately into the player's service. Any befriended Mobage users can also trade cards with another to complete their collection. Users with Mobage Coins can purchase multiple tickets or pray to the Cat God to obtain several cards in one sitting.

The card's rarity is indicated by the color its edges. Gray is common and pink is uncommon. Rare cards are silver and ultimates are golden. Treasure cards can only be earned through special means and have a rainbow background. New cards are routinely added to the game and reported on Japanese video game news sites.


 * Left side
 * Elemental Icon - located above character's name. This card's element is earth.
 * Stats - bottom numbers. From left to right: Attack, Defense, Speed, Virtue (ability to build up Special Attack Guage during battle), and Scheme (increases Special Attack's power; also increases defense against enemy Special Attacks).
 * Troop Type - bottom left icon. Troop types are infantry, cavalry, and riflemen. Infantry are strong against cavalry, and cavalry are strong against riflemen. Riflemen are the distance fighters who can dwindle a unit's health.
 * Cost - bottom right. Cost to have card within an army formation. The default limit Cost for each army is ten; this value gradually increases based on the player's performance.
 * Available Troops - bottom right hand number. The maximum amount of troops this card can lead into battle. It also serves as a current life bar for the particular card if it is wounded during combat.

From Top to Bottom:
 * Right side
 * Character Quote - Personality for the image.
 * Meritorious Service - Lists experience points for the character. Higher numbers increases the amount of Special Attacks the character can use and lowers the necessary resources needed to use it.
 * Training - Indicates the training level of the card. Training can be performed by dragging and clicking this card's icon on top of the appropriate building within the player's village. Training can also change the card's default stats based on the element used to train them. Elemental affinities are marked in the Stats section.
 * Elemental Levels - From left to right: fire, earth, wind, water, and void. Keeps track of current elemental level. Each card has their individual elemental levels which is told to the player during training. Elemental variety amongst cards increases the Special Abilities the card can use.
 * Special Abilities - Lists the abilities learned on the character card. These abilities can be learned after training and secured by pressing the double exclamation point icon which appears.
 * Character Type - Indicator for which special abilities can be learned in the game.
 * Flavor Text - Brief character biography to describe the historical inspiration of the character card. Includes the kitty's real historical name.

Aside from training, the player can strengthen cards by fusing them together. This alternate method can be used to further update a single card's Stats and Special Abilities. It can also be an effective method of recycling repeat cards the player might obtain. Characters who united under a theme within an army's formation can also perform stronger in battle. The Three Azai Sisters, for instance, will be stronger together.

The player can have thirty-six active generals at a time and can keep fifty cards in storage. These numbers can increase based on the headquarter levels found within the player's village.

Related Media
Nobunyaga no Yabou has had collaborations with all of Koei-Tecmo's current MMORPGs. Each MMORPG features unique kitty themed items with the event and players can be rewarded a special Treasure card of one of the game's characters. These crossovers cards can be seen on Nobunaga, Masamune, and Hanbei's pages. Other crossover collaborations include Hyakuman-nin no Nobunaga no Yabou, Sengoku Musou 3 Z Special and Dynasty Warriors 7: Empires.

The social game's collaboration with Nobunaga no Yabou Online included a "haircutting death match" publicity stunt between the producers of both products. It was a simultaneous collaboration with the wrestling group, SMASH!, and it celebrated the MMORPG's eighth year anniversary. Players of both games were rewarded special items and could decide whose hair would be cut on stage. The loser was the social game's producer.

Short animated flash cartoons of the Nobunyaga no Yabou characters were shown on episodes of Sengoku Nabe TV, a variety program which is loosely based on the Warring States period. A short promotional video with Nobunyaga's voice can be seen on Koei-Tecmo's Youtube.

A live quiz event was hosted at select Toshimaen amusement parks. Participants formed teams to outwit the other in a series of Warring States questions. Winners received a downloadable serial for a Treasure Omiichi card. Everyone who attended obtained postcards with additional serial codes.

This social game is one of the titles Koei is using for its collaboration with the live action film, Nobou no Shiro. Users who purchase a ticket using Famima's online service can receive a kitty version of the film's protagonist, Nyarita Nagachika. Another special campaign is scheduled for players in October. They can compete with one another to obtain a Nobou no Shiro themed prize and rank for their avatar.

Various merchandise for the game can be seen at Gamecity Shopping. Crane UFO dolls were available in select machines in Japan's arcades.