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You can do as many interim saves during a mission as you want, and even use multiple save slots if you have the room on your memory card. Another help is the map marks your current objectives and the location of your last horse, letting you ride off to the rescue again and again. You buy your horses from the shop, coming in three flavors of normal, powerful, and swift, though the last one is the only one you'll ever need. Kind of a pain is the fact that you have to buy up the lesser steeds before gaining access to the faster fillies, but are only allowed space for three horses. Bodyguards are handled in a similar fashion, but with eight slots and the ability to level them in battle, this feels like far less of a restriction. The guards also come in a myriad of flavors, from monks that hand out power-ups, to fire ninjas who put their backpack full of bombs to good use.
Let's talk self improvement
Levels are gained on the battlefield, letting you put your newfound strength and extra moves to use right away. It's a struggle to use a character at first, since their move set will be so limited, leaving you to whack your way through the first mission with the same combo until the possibilities expand. You can do some improving right away if you've got the gold though. Most items have been removed in a large table full of skills, ranging from straight up stat improvements to those that increase attack range or the effect of battlefield items. Most that can be leveled (either in battle or in the shop) to increase their power. There's no limit to how many you have equipped either, which is actually a bit disappointing, since it takes away an element of strategy the game could have had. Another minor problem is weapon upgrades. Good weapons have empty slots you can fill at the shop with various stat boosts, but these are determined at random, instead of allowing you to pick and choose, as it was handled far better in DW5: XL.
You don't have to spend all your time in story mode. Survival mode is a massive tower with many floors. Every five floors has a small selection of missions to undertake, and gold to gain from success. Within each mission, every floor will have a specific task that needs to be accomplished to pass onto the next. Sometimes it'll be as simple as slaying the enemy general, while you might have to rush peasants to safety in a burning building (while your own life decreases), or spy on the chatter of guards while avoiding being spotted. The rewards increase as you ascend to higher floors, but so do the dangers, leaving you hunting for healing items with a horde of generals at your back. (game) is a board game similar to monopoly where you buy up spaces, and try to run the other players out of business by collecting rent. The major difference is landing on a hostile square allows you to issue a challenge to be carried out in the game's fighting engine, which can be anything from breaking the most rocks to killing the most soldiers. Succeed, and the space is yours. Playing alone is fairly dull since the enemy AI tends to be non-aggressive and avoids challenges whenever possible, but joined by a live friend or two, Sugoroku becomes a mad rush to become ruler of all of Japan.
Never knew old Japan could be so hip
From Nobunaga Oda with his cloak ridged with dark feathers and gleaming blade, to Magoichi Saika with his ladykiller swagger and rapid-fire musket, the characters of this feudal battle royal are slick with personality and fantastic fighting styles that make playing through each other their story modes a pleasure. If you can look past the "mired in PS2" visuals shimmering in the distance, you'll find a gripping gameplay experience that's hard to forget, and even harder to put down.
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