NOBUNAGA'S AMBITION: Lord of Darkness
Nobunaga's Ambition: Lord of Darkness is a turn-based grand strategy game developed and published by Koei, the fourth entry in the Nobunaga's Ambition series and released only for SNES, in October 1994. The game is set in Japan's Warring States period; the player's objective is conquest, achieved either through fighting or allying with rival team leaders/daimyo.
Availability: Nintendo Switch Online — Super Nintendo Entertainment System app (Nintendo Classics)
This is a systems/mechanics guide rather than a linear walkthrough — a fixed step-by-step route isn't the useful format for a tactics title.
Controls / Starting Systems
Generals in this entry are obtained through troops won in battle, and battles are divided among three unit types — infantry, shooters (ranged units), and riders (cavalry) — which materially affects battle tactics. The game deepens the simulation compared to the original Nobunaga's Ambition, adding supply management and seven distinct kinds of locations that factor into strategic planning, beyond battles alone.
Progression Architecture (Turn Structure)
Orders are issued once per month (a monthly turn cycle), requiring the player to plan carefully and address as many fronts/areas as possible before the next turn arrives — a reviewer specifically described this cadence as time-consuming. The game includes two scenarios. Random events such as floods and illnesses can occur, introducing unpredictability into strategic planning.
Required Objectives
The primary objective is conquering the game's world/map by defeating or allying with rival team leaders. A reviewer noted the game uses continual enemy reinforcement — defeating one rival army can result in additional armies (described as "another 3") arriving to replace it — making the conquest feel open-ended rather than having a small fixed number of required victories.
Major Bosses
Not applicable in the scripted-boss sense; opposition is rival daimyo/team leaders and their armies rather than unique named boss encounters.
Completion Path
The completion path is: choose a scenario → build forces via the infantry/shooter/rider system while managing supply and the seven location types → fight or ally with rival leaders → continue expanding despite recurring reinforcement waves until the scenario's conquest condition is met. Because a reviewer characterized the conquest as "virtually endless" due to constant enemy reinforcement, full 100%-conquest completion may take substantially longer than a typical strategy title's campaign, and a Phase 1 guide should flag this as a long-form, not quick, completion path.
Still confirming
- The exact win/completion condition for each of the two scenarios (i.e., what specifically ends the "virtually endless" conquest) was not confirmed from the sources accessed.
- Details of the diplomacy/alliance system and how it interacts with combat were not itemized beyond the general description found.
- Unit identification is described as relying on visual flags/weapon appearance rather than labeled indicators in at least one reviewer's account, but this was not cross-verified against a second independent source.
- This is a niche, Japan-centric Koei strategy title with thin English-language coverage; deeper mechanical detail (economic formulas, general recruitment specifics, the seven location types individually) could not be verified in this research pass.