Kawanakajima no Kassen

A pretty fun little turn-based tactics game that remakes (and includes) a game from the very 80's. I didn't opt to try "Original Mode" yet since I imagine keeping track of it would involve a bit of pen and paper, but the remake version is a fun little time killer that isn't the deepest and maybe doesn't have a ton of replay value, but it does scratch the itch of wanting to feel like a general and move little dudes around without getting in the weeds on things like stats and resources. You have 20 soldiers of different types in your army. The general and his guard don't move, but can defend themselves, then from there you've got horsemen, spearmen, bowmen, gun dudes and foot soldiers who take their turns in that order. Your four commands are move, attack, rest, and pass and really it's the first two you'll generally be using. The goal is to find the other army's general and kill him within 20 turns and the usual rock-paper-scissors of strategy games (spearmen beat horse etc) applies. If you attack someone, there's kind of a counter-attack phase but that's the only real twist in teh turn order. It's simple, but it's fun and would probably translate well to a tabletop game. I played…

Kawanakajima no Kassen is a fascinating strategy title that feels more like a preserved historical artifact than a modern game release. Originally created in 1981 by Kou Shibusawa, the founder of Koei and one of the most influential figures in Japanese strategy gaming, this Steam version allows players to experience one of the earliest tactical war simulations ever commercially released in Japan. Rather than heavily redesigning the original concept for modern audiences, the game stays remarkably faithful to its roots, offering both the original version and an updated remake mode that improves accessibility while maintaining the old-school structure. The result is a strategy experience that feels incredibly dated in some ways but also surprisingly impressive considering how early it was created. The game centers around the famous Battle of Kawanakajima during Japan’s Sengoku era, focusing on the conflict between Takeda Shingen and Uesugi Kenshin. Unlike large-scale modern strategy games filled with diplomacy systems, economic management, and sprawling campaigns, Kawanakajima no Kassen keeps its attention entirely on battlefield tactics. Players command military units across a compa…