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Inindo: Way of the Ninja (伊忍道 打倒信長, Inindō Datō Nobunaga; Translated as: "Path of the Iga Ninja: Overthrow Nobunaga") is the third entry in Koei's Rekoeition series, historical simulation titles which incorporate role-playing game elements. Unlike other Rekoeition titles, Inindo: Way of the Ninja heavily focuses on the role-playing aspect and the simulation part is minimal.

The game features a negative portrayal of Nobunaga Oda, contrasting with the heroic portrayal in the Nobunaga's Ambition series. It uses Japanese naming order for historical figures, with producer Kou Shibusawa and music composer Nobuhiro Ide.

Plot[]

In 1581, Oda Nobunaga led 40,000 ninjas to defeat Iga, but he called a young man to his side, revealing his potential. The young man was raised in a tranquil ninja village and learned ninja training from Rin. A year later, a messenger saved the young man from ninja head hunters, and he heeded the village elder's advice to find their clan's fire spell. He swears to slay Nobunaga for his fallen countrymen. The game follows two story paths based on Nobunaga's condition after Honnouji: Normal and Sorcerer.

Gameplay[]

The game follows a mute, young male hero who must join forces with one of the fifteen reigning daimyos to kill Nobunaga. The hero must gain the trust of a nearby daimyo by fulfilling missions at least level 15 or 18. Once the daimyo gains the maximum trust rating, they declare war against Nobunaga's army. The game transitions to a tactical strategy sequence, with the map changing to a hexagon grid, and the player orders armies to attack large regions of land simultaneously.

Combat[]

The game features random battles within dungeons or inns, with a turn-based Japanese RPG flare. The player's party has six options: attacking, casting magic, using items, or escaping. Allies and enemies are separated by three spaces, and can throw weapons or cast spells. Allies can change their formation and leave areas too easy for the party to slay. The final battle against Nobunaga uses this method, so obtaining reliable party members is crucial.

Party Members[]

The hero cannot recruit party members until he reaches Level 7. He can find allies at Inns, Tea Houses, or Castle Towers. They can be recruited by building their trust rating with the hero. Depending on the character, it may require they defeat them in battle, chatting with them, or by greeting them at dungeons. If the hero reaches a high level, they cannot recruit party members. However, the likelihood of allies offering their assistance increases. He can recruit a maximum of two party members at any time.

Party members are divided by four main classes: Samurai, Ninja, Monk, and Tao Priest. The Samurai, Monk, and Tao Priest are called Warrior, Sage and Wizard respectively in English.

Class Traits Sub Classes
Samurai (Warrior) Strong physical attributes, no magic support Samurai, Ronin, Swordsman
Ninja Balanced class. Offers both magic and physical attack support. Iga Ninja, Female Iga Ninja, Koga Ninja, Female Koga Ninja, Fuma Ninja, Negoro Ninja
Monk (Sage) Spell casting class. Physical and magic capabilities vary on sub class. Ideal healing class. Mendicant, Sohei, Hermit
Tao Priest (Wizard) Weakest physical attributes, but strongest spell caster. Sage, Mystic, Magician


In the Japanese version, the player can recruit actual historical figures such as Fuuma Kotaro, Hattori Hanzo, Maeda Toshiie, and Tenkai. They are interspersed with various original characters in the game. Historical names are omitted in the English version and replaced with names like Tofumaru, Fuwa Danjo, Arashi, or Amagi Koji. Their responses to the hero in either language are static, but they change based on their Trust rating with him.

The PC versions of the game adds a special trait with female party members. The couple can pretend to be married and can settle in a vacant house within the town. Villagers can then offer the "newly weds" special information regarding the surrounding daimyou or the war situation. The feature can also serve as a free substitute for an inn. This feature is removed in the Nintendo versions of the game.

Training Grounds[]

The player may choose to complete these ten dungeons to obtain all ten spells in the game. It's highly recommended to obtain these spells on the first play-through.

  1. Iga Cave - mandatory
  2. Mount Fuji
  3. Mount Tsukuba
  4. Mount Haguro
  5. Mount Osore
  6. Oshima
  7. Mount Ontake
  8. Mount Ochi
  9. Mount Tsurugi (Mount Ken in the English port)
  10. Mount Aso
  11. Mount Hiei

Additionally there are secondary dungeons located near these training grounds to help level up the main party. They also offer unique treasure for adventurers.

Differences between ports[]

  • The pseudo marriage feature and the bonus scenario are removed in the SNES and SFC versions.
  • Battle visuals has the camera positioned behind the player's party in PC versions, depicting them as tall figures against their enemies. The SNES/SFC version has a flat, side view with party members being depicted as tiny sprites turned to the side. As such, the visuals for battle are completely different from one another.
  • The MSX2 Rom version cuts or simplifies many of the game's cinema.
  • SNES/SFC version has the slowest text speed of all other ports.
  • Visuals for Nobunaga's death speech are completely different in the game's ending between versions. The PC versions features a close-up of the hero and Nobunaga as he dies. The SNES version merely has his sprite topple over with scrolling text.
  • Like other SFC ports for Koei titles, the Japanese title of the game is known as adds the "SUPER" label in it. Its name is therefore SUPER Inindō Datō Nobunaga.

Related Media[]

Koei released a soundtrack CD of the game's music in 1991.

One of the events for celebrating 30 years of Nobunaga's Ambition includes hosting an all Nobunaga event in Hyaku-man nin no Nobunaga no Yabou. One of the sixteen different Nobunagas available for earning is his persona from this game.

Allusions[]

External Links[]

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