Hey you already know who it is, I’m out here reviewing one of my absolute favorite Pokemon spin-off games of all time, Pokemon Conquest. I often switch the #1 spot between this one, Pokepark Wii and Mystery Dungeon 2, but right now this one is back on top after playing it a bit the last couple days.

To give a quick rundown of what this game is about, it’s basically a crossover between Pokemon and Nobunaga’s Ambition that plays like a Fire Emblem game. Definitely a bizarre mix but they make it work somehow. It was released for the Nintendo DS in 2012 and to this date has sadly not gained a sequel.

Technical stuff out of the way, on with the review :3

Graphics - 7/10

Now this game was released at an unfortunate time sadly. What I mean by this is that it basically came out right before the Pokemon games switched over to the Nintendo 3DS, which means it’s forced to run on the less powerful Nintendo DS. This in turn forces the developers to use lower quality graphics in order to make the game run smooth and still fit in all the other aspects of the game. This is especially noticeable on the battlefield where a lot of the sprites for Pokemon and even the backgrounds look very pixilated and awkward. That’s probably the biggest problem I even have with the game. I feel like if this was made for the 3DS that small increase in graphics would make it a lot more recognized as the great spin-off it really is.

Aside from the battles looking pixilated there are definitely good aspects to the graphics of this game. First of all, all the character sprites from the Nobunaga’s Ambition characters look in place and are fantastically done. They edited some to fit the type they represent, they took away some of the weapons they’d normally carry and replace them with other items like a parasol, and they managed to incorporate Pokeball designs on some of them as well. Another fantastic part to the graphics are the Pokemon sprites when viewing their entry or that show up when their warlord/warrior is talking. The Conquest artwork for the Pokemon is 100% my favorite official artwork ever made. Instead of looking pretty generic like the ones you’d find on Bulbapedia pages, these ones just have so much more personality to them. One of the biggest reasons why I want this game to get a sequel that includes all Pokemon released so far is so I can always use the artwork from that game for every Pokemon instead of the official ones we have. Lastly there are a couple game CG’s you get to look at along the way of your adventure and they are all fantastically done and definitely fit right in. It’s just a shame that battles look as bad as they do or Graphics would have been an easy 10.

Sound - 10/10

Now Pokemon Conquest doesn’t really offer you a wide variety of music. There is a battle track for every one of the 17 kingdoms as well as like a handful of overworld ones or character specific ones. Especially in a game where you’ll be visiting the same areas multiple times you’ll hear most of them at least a dozen times playing through the game. That does not mean however that they’re any less beautiful. They really play into the warrior aspect and the Nobunaga’s Ambition games themselves. It’s something completely different compared to normal Pokemon OST, which is something I can really appreciate. In fact I often completely zone out when playing the game and then just sit there chilling to the music. That’s not to say the games make me tired or something, it’s just that the music fits the atmosphere so well that there’s no reason for it to stand out in a negative light at any point in the game. Really really well done here, huge thank you to the music team.

Other sound effects are good as well. I’m talking mostly about those of attacks, character emotions or other silly stuff like that. Not once did I feel something sounded off so this category gets an easy 10 from me.

Story - 8/10

Might be slight spoilers here, be warned.

The game starts by basically throwing you and your Eevee into the Aurora kingdom, AKA the Normal type kingdom, where you meet a girl named Oichi. Oh and she also has a Jigglypuff. Oichi introduces herself and you get to look like a weirdo before the Aurora kingdom suddenly gets attacked by ruffians of the Ignis (Fire) kingdom. You opt to help Oichi defend Aurora in a close battle against a Bidoof where you learn about the battle style. She then tells you that Ransei, the region you are in, is split into 17 kingdoms, and that a legendary Pokemon resigns somewhere within the region that is said to grant you ultimate strength. Warriors and Warlords all over the region have set out to hunt this legendary Pokemon down to become the strongest, but Oichi is sad that a lot of Pokemon get mistreated by them as a result. She goes on to say that there is a myth about a Hero uniting all of Ransei, and after your close battle with Bidoof she somehow thinks you are the chosen one and chooses to follow you on your journey.

You basically start your quest to conquer all 17 kingdoms and along the way you’ll meet many new characters, both friend and foe, who aim to stop you in your tracks. There’s more to the story and it has a pretty sweet and touching end, as well as a bunch of side stories for different characters in the postgame.

Depth - 10/10

Which brings us to our next topic of discussion. Pokemon Conquest might have the most post game content in relation to the main game in any game I’ve ever seen or played. I mean the main story isn’t that big if you don’t want it to be. Conquer all 17 kingdoms, do some extra fun stuff and you can be done within a day. But the moment you think you completed the game you are greeted with the post game selection menu. There are a total of 37 side stories you can complete, each of which focus on one specific Warlord and can take almost as long as the main game. And then there’s even a secret final story that is just amazing on its own right.
Yes, the 37 side stories are all grouped together in certain archetypes, for instance there are 7 stories about the same beauty contest from different POVs, but this doesn’t take away from the enjoyment of the game in my opinion. My personal suggestion here is to not go through similar ones back to back but to switch it up every time so that by the time you get back to a beauty contest story, for example, it feels fresh enough to make you want to play it again.

Each Warrior and Warlord also have what is called a “Perfect Link”, which in short means that’s the Pokemon they can get the most powerful with, so you can also spend your time trying to make sure every single Warrior obtains their best Pokemon so you have a full collection.

All in all there is so much more to this game than you’d initially think that I have to give it a 10 here. Anything lower would be a disservice to the game.

Addictiveness - 8/10

Now with all this great content, why is this only an 8? Well I actually lightly touched upon this already, but I feel like it’s easier than usual to feel burned out with this game. I mean it’s currently my favorite spin-off and I still frequently feel like I’ve played enough Conquest for a few days. I think it’s the fact that because there is so much to do, every time you complete a long side story you think you’ve made a lot of progress until you look at the menu and you realize that you’re nowhere near completing it. That potential disappointment easily goes away after a nights rest and the start of a new story, but I still feel it to this day. The game is also designed to make it easy for you to save and quit playing at pretty much any time. Again, not a knock against the game but just something I’ve picked up on.

Difficulty - 7/10

Lastly the difficulty. I mean I’ll be real, this game is only hard if you make it hard. Or if you’re not good at thinking ahead. I personally love RPGs and other strategy games so I always try and plan two moves ahead in games like these, and I honestly never really struggled due to the fact that you can just straight up abuse many of the battle map mechanics for instant wins. Now if you choose to not do this, or if you utilize my personal suggestion; just skip forward like 2 years watching the enemy get stronger each month as you do nothing, you can make the game as hard as you want it to be. I’ve personally gotten it to where my army of 1400 strength was attacked by an army of 3400 strength, so play around with it as much as you like. By the way I did win that battle

The first time you play each battlefield you might get caught off guard by something but as you continue playing you just naturally get good at it.

Overall - 8.3/10

Lower than what I would personally rank it but I’m the type of guy to ignore the flaws of things I like (people too! <3). I just felt like I had to address some minor things that I do recognize are there. Anyway, really hope you give this game a chance, and even more than that I hope that it will eventually receive a sequel :3

Thanks for reading, smell ya later!