#game-review # Pokémon Conquest  [Console:: Nintendo] [Status:: Dropped] [Approximate Start Date:: 2023-01-09] [Finish Date:: 2023-04-03] [Clear Time:: ] [Total Play Time:: 6h] [nReplays:: 0] ## [Rating:: 57] it's good, it just doesn't capture me. Maybe if I played it on an actual ds it would be different? # Playthrough Notes Played on stream and didn't really impose any arbitrary rules on myself. Hard not to draw comparisons between this one and [[Final Fantasy Tactics A2 Grimoire of the Rift]]. Used a guide to find the "perfect link" Pokemon for my units and applied it where I could. # My Thoughts The game presents a really cool fusion between Nobunaga's Ambition and Pokemon, which works shockingly well, at least from an initial perspective. the combat is pretty fast and dynamic, and the maps on which battles take place are all themed around types nd have their own little gimmicks which makes them all relatively unique. There are some parts of maps that you would only figure out from either watching the AI do tricks, or through extra experimentation, which is fine until you under up a trap that you have no knowledge of whatsoever. But for the most part, each little bit of the map is really fun to play. There's a LOT going on under the hood and I feel that the game doesn't quite explain everything at first, and instead wants you to explore it yourself. A lack of tutorial is fine since the start is pretty easy, but I was genuinely surprised at how quickly the game dropped me into the gameplay without any major kind of tutorial. I suppose the first few battles against Ignis, Greenleaf and Fontaine act as a pseudo tutorial, but still there remains the confusion of how to properly recruit wild Pokemon (which they don't explain until you actually get into a match with Wild Pokemon). They also don't quite explain how to change Pokemon after you've encountered the Wild Pokemon, but then again ,it seems like the game wants you to experiment with different Pokemon combinations to find the perfect combination (which you can do, or you can just go on Serebii and use a guide, which I'll be doing :] ) ## On Initial Grinding I wish that the game made it clear what exactly is the best way to grind party members to get stronger. I understand that with the Shingen and Kenshin encounters are meant to be uphill battles, but I wish that it was easier to level units up more quickly. It probably gets easier the further you get into the game. I'll have to look things up myself. ## On Perfect Links and Menus Perfect links are fun as a concept, but I often find myself looking up which Pokemon is the perect link for every single new unit I collect and then potentially trying to find the right match for that unit. This is a little tricky though as the game doesn't immediately display the names of the units without going intoa submenu, and this makes it harder to keep track of who is who, especially when I have four units that all have some variation on Piplup, Panpour, or Tepig. Luckily, I happen to easily remember the units that I KNOW have the Perfect Links already obtained because I spent the time to look up their perfect link and then recruit that Pokemon and then proceed to grind with them significantly. I think I also need to get over the fact that I will not be getting units to 100% linking most of the time, though that again falls on my concerns (not complaints) with grinding. ## Terrera or Illusio It wasvery strange to me that I didn't have to fight both of these kingdoms. I ended up playing Terrera and fighting Shingen and was able to win it by capturing all of the towers rather than knocking everyone else out because that felt like it was a much easier win condition. I was ready to go conquer Illusio afterwards but then Kenshin came and was like "haha Shingen is my nemesis, but since he lost to you I will join you too" or something. That was definitely a little offputting and I'm disappointed I didn't get to go fight Illusio. # Favorite Moments / Memories - the realization that Oichi was Nobunaga's sister was actually kind of a good twist? it caught me off guard. # What were you doing when not playing this? - Early 2023 # Relevant Links *Links to associated media.*