Pokémon Conquest

Pokémon Conquest (Japanese: ポケモンノブナガの Pokémon + Nobunaga's Ambition) is a spin-off between the Pokémon and  series of games, a first for the franchise. It was released in Japan on March 17, 2012, in North America on June 18, 2012, in Australia on June 21, 2012 and in the United Kingdom on July 27, 2012.

Following a series of news regarding surprising announcements from both and the, the game was revealed on December 17, 2011, at the Jump Festa event itself, with the official site launching soon after.

The game takes place in the Ransei region. Various Pokémon from the first five generations appear in this game. The game is Nintendo DSi enhanced.

The game has received a manga adaptation.

Development
Pokémon Conquest was the second collaboration between Nintendo and Tecmo Koei, with the first being the Murasame Castle mode in Samurai Warriors 3. Because Tsunekazu Ishihara was a fan of Nobunaga's Ambition and Tecmo-Koei president Kou Shibasawa was a fan of Pokémon, this presented an opportunity to work with each other. Among one of the key design elements of Ransei was the fact that the first Nobunaga's Ambition game featured 17 regions, just as there were 17 different Pokémon types at the time. Among Koei's game franchises, this is the first collaboration effort for Nobunaga's Ambition; all previous collaborations had been through the Warriors series (though a true Nintendo-themed Warriors game would not arrive until  years later). In deference to this, character designs for Pokémon Conquest were primarily taken from Samurai Warriors 3 as opposed to a Nobunaga's Ambition game.

For Pokémon Conquest, each of the Warlords' initial (Rank I) costumes are based on their default costumes from Samurai Warriors 3, and an original costume when they rank up to Rank II. (The exceptions are Nobunaga, where this is reversed, and Hideyoshi, whose Rank I and Rank II costumes are taken from Samurai Warriors and Samurai Warriors 3 respectively; his Rank III costume is original). There are some minor modifications in character appearances and costumes between the two games, however:
 * Some characters' costumes were altered to better associate them with their Perfect Link Pokémon: for example, Motonari's hair was turned green to better resemble, while Kunoichi's outfit became primarily black instead of white, in order to better associate her with.
 * Some characters' appearances were altered to better express their Samurai Warriors 3 characterizations: for example, Mitsunari, Kiyomasa, and Masanori are all depicted as children in Pokémon Conquest to reinforce Nene acting as a mother of sorts to Hideyoshi's retainers.
 * Almost all of the characters are depicted without their weapons, though some remain if they are not particularly "weapon-like": for example, Shingen and his iconic war fan, Motochika and his shamisen, Ujiyasu and his cane, and Okuni and her parasol.
 * Some clan crests are altered to incorporate a Pokémon motif: Oichi's costume has a number of Poké Ball symbols where the Azai clan crest was in her Samurai Warriors 3 costume, while Yukimura's costume has Poké Balls as part of the Sanada clan crest instead of coins.

Similarly, the choice of Perfect Link Pokémon for a given Warlord may be influenced by their Samurai Warriors 3 personality or moveset:
 * Motochika's attacks are primarily based on the water element in Samurai Warriors 3, hence his pairing with.
 * Kanbei's appearance resembling a ghost in some side story missions is the inspiration behind his pairing with.
 * Tadakatsu's reputation of being the Samurai Warriors series' unbeatable foe is the inspiration of pairing him with.

Of the Samurai Warriors 3 cast, only four characters (Nagamasa Azai, Katsuie Shibata, Sakon Shima, and Toshiie Maeda) are not also present in Pokémon Conquest.

Gameplay
Pokémon Conquest features a turn-based strategy battle system. Up to six on each side are positioned on the battlefield, one for each participating Warrior, and both sides take turns moving and attacking with their Pokémon. Each Pokémon has a single move. A battle is won or lost when the engaging army manages or fails to achieve the victory conditions, which vary by location, within a numbered amount of turns, which also vary by location. When a battle is fought, the strength of the link (which is this game's analogy to experience points) between participating Pokémon and their respective Warriors will usually increase. Battles can be fought in, or against other kingdoms, which are conquered upon victory. Free Warriors (including Warlords) can be recruited to the player's army if they are defeated in a way that meets one of several.

Pokémon in the game can grow in strength by increasing their link with their Warrior. A Pokémon's move will strengthen as the link increases, signified by +1 (20% link), +2 (40% link), +3 (60% link), +4 (80% link), or +S (100% link), being added to the move's name. Depending on how well matched a pair is, the maximum value of the link between the two varies, with most Warriors only able to achieve a 100% or Perfect Link with a single species of Pokémon. Aside from growing more powerful, Pokémon may evolve when their link reaches a high enough percentage, though there are also Pokémon which evolve through other conditions such as the use of specific items. Warriors can also establish links with Pokémon other than the one they started with, though only one can be used by each Warrior in a given battle at a time. Certain Warriors will have a more difficult time finding their Perfect Link than others, as some Pokémon only appear on special, random occasions. However, through the use of a password these Pokémon can be found much more easily. In the case of legendary Pokémon, which certain Warlords share Perfect Links with, they each have their specific criteria required for appearing.

The game makes use of the seventeen Pokémon types as of Generation V and their respective weaknesses, resistances, and immunities. Pokémon also have various Abilities, many the same as in the main series games, and many unique new additions. Warriors also have Warrior Skills that can be used once per battle, which have various effects such as powering up or healing Pokémon. Warriors can also equip items, which can provide additional effects such as stat increases or in-battle effects.

Aside from battling, Warriors can perform other actions within their kingdom, such as buying items at the and mining for gold. However, Warriors can only make one action per month. This means a Warrior who is picked to buy from a Shop cannot be chosen to battle or mine for gold afterwards, as they have used up their action for the month, and the same is said for any other executed action. In the case of purchasing from Shops, the action only counts if the player actually buys or sells something, meaning that one can browse without using up the turn. Besides Shops and mines, various other locations are available per kingdom, such as Ponigiri Shops. Feeding a Pokémon these will increase its. Warriors can also battle at wild Pokémon kingdom locations or neighboring enemy kingdoms. A maximum of 6 Warriors can be present in one kingdom, and Warriors can be transported between the player's kingdoms.

Also, instead of using up every Warrior's turn, the player can choose to delegate a kingdom by picking one of three options: Train (increase link), Search (recruit more allies), or Develop (increase gold and spend on leveling kingdom locations up). All Warriors who have not used up their action during the month by the player will automatically Train, Search, or Develop at the end of the month. All kingdoms the player controls, besides the player's main kingdom, can be delegated.

Random kingdom events will also occur at times. Some events may occur depending on the player's current funds or an item in the inventory. Sometimes bandits will steal an item or a Warrior's Pokémon, or a traveling merchant may arrive selling rare items. Weather is another occurrence that may raise the Energy of Pokémon depending on their type; for example, a heat wave raises the Energy of Pokémon. Kingdom events which occur at the start of a month, such as buying items from a traveling merchant, do not use up a Warrior's action for the month.

Players may save their progress at any point in time during single-player mode, even during a battle.

Muliplayer mode
There is also a multiplayer local wireless mode in which two players may battle each other. In this, the host can decide to place no limit on the Pokémon's link (in which case, the highest registered value in the Gallery is chosen), or can choose to restrict the maximum link between 10-100, in multiples of 10. The host also chooses the battlefield, and allocates whether the player will attack or defend (the host can also choose "random", in which case, the player is randomly assigned to attack or defend.)

Plot of The Legend of Ransei
Legend has it that the one who will be able to conquer all seventeen kingdoms of Ransei will bring the return of the region's. Players begin in the story known as.

The player (as either the Hero or Heroine) starts off in the nation of Aurora with their partner, having just become the most recent Warlord. They then meet up with Mitsunari, Kiyomasa, and Masanori, who taunt the player, stating that they aren't ready to be a Warlord. At this point, two Warriors from the neighboring nation of Ignis quickly challenge the player to battle. Oichi joins in the battle to support the player.

After defeating the duo, Oichi relays the details of the legend of Ransei, and sets the player off on a quest to unite the 17 nations. The player first challenges Hideyoshi's nation of Ignis, then moves on to battle Motonari in Greenleaf and Motochika in Fontaine. Along the way, the player learns how to recruit other Warlords and link with wild Pokémon.

From there, the player is able to conquer Violight, led by Ginchiyo; Chrysalia, led by Yoshimoto; and Pugilis, led by Yoshihiro. At this point, the nations of Terrera and Illusio, led by Kenshin and Shingen respectively, become available for conquering. However, when the player goes to challenge one of them, they will not accept the challenge, stating that the player is not yet ready to face them, and turn the player's forces back. At this point, whichever nation the player went to will send forces back to the nation in which the player resides (either Pugilis or Chrysalia), and the player must defend their nation from the attack.

Upon a successful defense, the player will undergo a Warrior transformation, allowing them to successfully challenge the nation. After defeating either Kenshin or Shingen's forces, both will join the player on their quest to unite the nations. At this point, Nobunaga himself appears before the player, stating his own aims to conquer Ransei (and in doing so, debates with Oichi, who is revealed to be his sister, about his goals).

Following this, the player can then conquer the nations of Cragspur, led by Ujiyasu; Avia, led by Masamune; Viperia, led by Nene; and Yaksha, led by Kotarō. Upon defeating one of these nations, Keiji will appear and give the player three evolutionary stones—the Fire Stone, Water Stone, and Thunderstone—which will allow the player to evolve their into,  or  if they so choose.

After defeating the rest of the area's Warlords, the three nations of Nobunaga's highest aides will appear: Spectra, led by Nō; Valora, led by Ieyasu; and Nixtorm, led by Mitsuhide. Upon defeat of these three, the final nation, Dragnor, appears, and the player is able to battle Nobunaga himself.

Upon conquering the final nation, a cutscene will play in which several pillars of light shoot out from across the nation and converge on a tower in Dragnor. When the player enters the tower, they find the legendary Pokémon awaiting them. Arceus tells the player to link with it, and the battle begins. When the player successfully links with Arceus, Nobunaga appears and reveals that he planned all along for this to happen. He secretly wanted to get Arceus appear so that he could strike it down and prove to the region that the legend was unimportant. Nobunaga, along with Nō, Ieyasu, Mitsuhide, Hideyoshi, and Ranmaru, then challenge the player's party to the final battle.

Upon defeating Nobunaga, the player brings peace to the land of Ransei, allowing each Warlord leader to rule their respective nations once again. Arceus goes off, telling the player it will appear again when the time is right.

Blurb
Warlords and Pokémon unite to conquer the land!

Characters
In Pokémon Conquest, players take control of Warriors' Pokémon. Each Warrior in the game, excluding the Hero/Heroine, is based on someone from Japanese history, with several notable ones portraying Warlords in the game. There are also multiple non-playable characters, with unique character designs, such as the Messenger or the male Farmer.

Stories
After the first story,, eight other stories are unlocked, allowing the player to play through several different stories as different characters. Each episode has a specific goal that must be complete in order to clear it, ranging from uniting the region to defeating a certain number of Warlords to collecting a certain number of Pokémon. Notably, the player won't be allowed to replay The Legend of Ransei despite being able to replay all other stories. Instead, players can only unlock a final story after clearing any 33 stories. This story is an altered version of the first story.

Downloadable stories and events
In addition to the above stories, several more may be unlocked via Wi-Fi. Much like missions from Ranger Net, the stories require unlocking. Events are also available through Wi-Fi, and these events can only happen during certain stories.

Kingdom events
Certain events can occur in kingdoms at random or when certain conditions are met that will affect gameplay. These events are predetermined several months in advance. Not all events are available in every story.

Messenger
A Messenger will sometimes appear at the start of the month. The Messenger will alert the player when there is an approaching invasion, when there is a rare Pokémon appearing in a kingdom, and when certain kingdom events appear.

Professor
A Professor will offer advice about basic game mechanics once every story during May of Year 1.

Traveling merchant
One of the traveling merchants may visit, offering a large selection of rare items. These merchants have higher prices but offer evolution items as well as high quality supplies.

New Year's celebration
If the player owns, a New Year's celebration will be held in January of the new year. This will strengthen the link between Warrior and Pokémon in all kingdoms the player rules over.

Weather
Rainstorms, snowstorms, or heat waves can appear in kingdoms. They will be signified by an icon of a rain cloud, snowflake, or a sun appearing over the affected kingdoms. They will maximize the Energy of Water, Ice and Pokémon respectively in those kingdoms.

Farmers
Sometimes one of the Farmers will show up and ask for a monetary donation of 1000, 2500 or 5000. If the player donates to the farmers three times, they will hold a festival the month after the third donation to thank for the support. This will maximize the Energy of Pokémon in the main kingdom. The farmers will also give the player three rare gift items, with the rarity of the item increasing with larger donations. Donations of 1000 will yield items available in Lv. 2 s. Donations of 2500 will yield items available in Lv. 3 Shops. Donations of 5000 will yield single-use held items and equipment that can only be bought from the traveling merchant. The amount donated the third time determines the rarity of items received.

If the farmers are rejected three times, the farmers will rebel and decrease the Energy of Pokémon present in the main Warlord's kingdom by three levels.

Cold
Warriors may be affected by a cold which will render the Warriors unable to perform any actions. The cold may last several months and can spread to Warriors in adjacent kingdoms. Colds can be cured with.

Hay Fever
Warriors may be affected by hay fever which will render the Warriors unable to perform any actions. The hay fever may last several months. Hay fever can be cured with.

Attractive kingdom
Warriors from other kingdoms will visit one of the player's kingdoms where they can be battled and recruited.

Full kingdom
When the number of Warriors in the player's army reaches a certain number, the Warriors will celebrate and the Energy of their Pokémon will increase by three levels.

Stolen item
A gang of bandits may steal an item belonging to the player's army, and must be defeated in order to recover the stolen item.

Stolen Pokémon
A gang of thieves may kidnap a Princess's, and must be defeated in order to receive a reward item from the Princess. In the event that the player does not manage to defeat the gang of thieves, or simply let them escape without battling, the Princess will still get her Lilligant back. However the thieves will retain the reward item.

Training trip
A Warrior in the player's army may ask for permission to go on a training trip, after which (if permission is granted) he or she will be absent for several months. If the Warrior travels with a Pokémon with a Perfect Link, the Warrior will send the player letters while gone. Along with the letter, the Warrior will also send a rare item which cannot be bought from Shops (such as Razor Claw and Ornate Helmet). After several months, the Warrior will return with his or her Pokémon, with their Link increased by 15%, rounded down.

If the Warrior travels with a Pokémon which does not have a Perfect Link, the Warrior will not send letters and will come back early with a new Pokémon met and linked with during the trip.

Losing a battle
When a battle is lost, a Warrior may go on a trip without permission from the player. The Warrior will return some time later with three rare items.

Disappearing Pokémon
A Pokémon that shares a 100% link with its Warrior may briefly disappear, returning with one or more items.

Dissatisfied Warriors
When the player does not use a recruited Warrior in a kingdom for a certain number of months, the Warrior will become dissatisfied and an angry face will appear on their profile page. Once they are used in the kingdom, the angry face disappears during the next month. If the recruited Warrior isn't used for a few months after the angry face appears, the Warrior will leave the army.

Warriors not in battle
Warriors that have not been used in a battle against an opposing army for a while may assist in war efforts by giving 3 s,, s, s, s or s.

Strengthened opposing armies
When the player has conquered at least half of the available kingdoms and the strength of the player's army is considerably higher than opposing armies, civilians from opposing nations will notice and the strength of their army will increase. This may involve an Officer with a Gabite, who will considerably strengthen the armies of nations adjacent to the player's kingdoms.

In a similar yet distinct event, when the strength of the player's army is higher than opposing armies, all enemy kingdoms will have their strength increased to a small extent.

Four guardians
When the player has conquered at least half of all available nations, four Warriors including Warlords are made guardians of one stat each (Power, Wisdom, Charisma, and Capacity), appointed to the Warrior with the highest values for each particular stat. This maximizes the Energy of their Pokémon, and prevents them from leaving the army.

Passwords
Certain Pokémon will appear in one kingdom the month after their password is typed in the Password section. After a password is used, it may not be used again unless save data is cleared. However, some Pokémon, such as Pikachu, have multiple passwords, which allow for more than one appearance. This is due to passwords occupying one of 64 slots. When a slot is taken up, a password that would use that slot cannot be used.

Reception
Gaming magazine has given Pokémon Conquest a score of 34/40. The reviewers praised how it was easy for children to understand along with its high replay value.

In addition, Nintendo Power magazine gave the game a rating of 9/10. The magazine cited its engaging and elaborate gameplay, also noting that it was simple enough to pick up for newcomers to the tactical RPG genre. As of September 2015, it holds a score of 80% on Metacritic.

Trivia

 * This is the only Pokémon game since Hey You, Pikachu! to only be released in Japanese and English.
 * Had this game not existed, the game  would have been proposed as a Fire Emblem/Pokémon crossover game instead.