is a

real-time tactics Real-time tactics (RTT)(Article at IGN discussing their perception of RTS and related genres as of 2006. RTT is discussed as a new and not yet established genre from the publisher's perspective, so currently all RTT possible titles are still con ...

strategy Strategy (from Greek στρατηγία ''stratēgia'', "art of troop leader; office of general, command, generalship") is a general plan to achieve one or more long-term or overall goals under conditions of uncertainty. In the sense of the "art ...

video game developed by Lenar and published by

Irem is a Japanese video game console developer and publisher, and formerly a developer and manufacturer of arcade games as well. The company has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo. The full name of the company that uses the brand is Irem Softwar ...

in March 1988 for the Family Computer. In August that same year, Broderbund announced that it would be released for the North American NES console as ''The Battlefields of Napoleon''; which was eventually cancelled. This video game allows the player to re-enact the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

using a

bird's-eye view A bird's-eye view is an elevated view of an object or location from a very steep viewing angle, creating a perspective as if the observer were a bird in flight looking downwards. Bird's-eye views can be an aerial photograph, but also a draw ...

. Starting with earliest battles against the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

to grab territory for the fledgling French Republic during the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted French First Republic, France against Ki ...

in the year 1796, Napoleon would guide the French Revolutionary Wars until they ended in 1802. All the nations that were a participant in the Napoleonic Wars were included like the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

, and the

Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its prede ...

. Napoleon's first in-game battle would located in present-day Italy; making the battle equally important in Italian history as it was in French history. There are also battles in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

against the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

along with various other conquests in Europe.

Gameplay

Before each battle, a summary screen is revealed (stating the situation and the military strength of each of the forces). There is also a simple map of Europe with dots on it so the player always knows the exact location of all the possible battles. However, the map information is given out in Japanese. An interesting feature of the time was that the altitude of mountains were accurately depicted in the actual battlefields. The deeper the color was, the higher the altitude of the mountain was. For example, light

brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model used ...

represents small hills while dark brown either represents gigantic mountains or the large peaks of a mountain. The object is to win each battle using late 18th and early 19th century

warfare War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular ...

tactics so that

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

has a chance of conquering all of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

Infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

( cannonballs give them the ability to blow up walls), and

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...

must be properly used for victory and a successful re-enactment of France's unique and colorful past. Soldiers are divided into three categories: friendly soldiers, potential defects, and enemy soldiers. Friendly soldiers must be given commands of north, south, east, west or halt. When a player confront a group of potential defects, there is no battle and the soldiers in the unit of defects joins the platoon that discovered them. Enemy troops can be fought either automatically or manually (with commands of

advance Advance commonly refers to: *Advance, an offensive push in sports, games, thoughts, military combat, or sexual or romantic pursuits *Advance payment for goods or services *Advance against royalties, a payment to be offset against future royalty pa ...

, retreat, sideways, or halt can be given to each individual soldier). Each type of soldier has its own strengths and weaknesses. For example, the

are the fastest while the

swordsmen Swordsmanship or sword fighting refers to the skills and techniques used in combat and training with any type of sword. The term is modern, and as such was mainly used to refer to smallsword fencing, but by extension it can also be applied to an ...

are the most powerful and the riflemen have the longest range. There is a Japanese language write-up about the history of each unit type, the tactics are used in-game, and a quick military parade with Napoleon Bonaparte leading his troops into battle.

References

External links

''Napoleon Senki'' promotional flyer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Napoleon Senki 1988 video games Broderbund games Irem games Japan-exclusive video games Napoleonic Wars video games Nintendo Entertainment System games Nintendo Entertainment System-only games Real-time tactics video games Video games developed in Japan Video games set in the 19th century War video games set in Europe