North & South is a combined military strategy game and a combat action simulator. The storyline is simple: Thomas Jefferson and the Confederate States of America have declared independence from the United States of America. The USA now wages war to hold the Union together and the CSA fights to be recognized as a sovereign nation.

Politics aside, North & South focuses on both strategy and action. The game is broken into thirds for playable action. The first and main focus is on the main screen. It shows an overview of the United States, from approximately the Mississippi River and east. Each state is a 'capturable' location and the states form the board where units move and fight battles. There is a railroad track that runs between various states and it provides resources in the form of bags of money based on the bases and states a player holds. You can use these bags of money, in groups of five, to generate new armies.

The objective of the main map is for armies to move, battle each other, capture bases or trains, and ultimately control all the states for victory.

The Battle screen is where actual military units engage each other and fight battles. All battles are to the death and there is no retreat for a losing army. The armies consist of cannons, infantry, and cavalry. There are three cannons, six infantrymen, and three cavalry horse units. They move simultaneously and a player must quickly switch between units to control all three. Switching is by "B" button and action is by "A" button. Cannons can move and shoot cannonballs, infantry can walk and shoot short-range rifle shots, and cavalry, once started, keep moving forward. Their action is swinging their swords. The challenge comes when cavalry units are moving and continue forward when the player controls either artillery or infantry. The more challenging part is when canyons and rivers are introduced and cavalry simply ride into the water and die or fall into the canyon. There are bridges and natural fords across rivers but artillery can use cannon balls to destroy the bridges. The battle action is easy to understand but enjoyable in the depth. The AI is not a skilled combatant but the game really excels when it is player vs. player.

The third part of the game is the side-scroll action scene. There are bases and train robberies available as a nice bit of side action. A player can try to take a base (Where armies are generated) or rob a train to steal the gold acquired by the other player. The player wears either blue or gray and must jump on a train and battle through enemies and dogs to stick up the train conductor or put up their own flag. It's fun and gimmicky and the animation is enjoyable to watch.

North & South is a rarity with the Nintendo Entertainment System. No other games feature the Civil War as a backdrop for gaming (unless I'm wrong and someone will certainly point this out). The game is fun and goofy and once you figure out the way the AI plays, you'll find it is not especially challenging. This game shines and is incredibly fun once you introduce two humans playing against each other. That makes for the best war simulator for the NES, with the elements of strategy beyond the battlefield.

Try it. It's fun.

I saw that game on Metal Jesus Rocks' You Tube channel. It would be tough to make a game like that to be entertaining and fun. I might have to try that. I guess this game is like a grandfather to Square's Final Fantasy Tactics in a way.

Not a bad game. I really enjoy those types of games. Nobunaga's Ambition is another game for the NES, and there are sequels and other games with China as the battleground. These and board games from Avalon Hill are the precursors to the Civilization games by Sid Meier and the other simulation games played today.