Nobunaga's Ambition
Nobunaga's Ambition — frequently asked questions
- What platforms is Nobunaga's Ambition on?
- Nobunaga's Ambition was released on PC-9800 Series, Sharp X68000, PC-8800 Series, Sharp X1, Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, PC (Microsoft Windows), TurboGrafx-16/PC Engine, Mac, DOS, Amiga, Sharp MZ-2200, FM-7, Turbografx-16/PC Engine CD, MSX, NEC PC-8801, NEC PC-9801, Nintendo Entertainment System, Game Boy, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, 3DO Interactive Multiplayer, PC Engine Super CD-ROM².
- When did Nobunaga's Ambition release?
- Nobunaga's Ambition was first released on December 1, 1986.
About Nobunaga's Ambition
The second game in the series, previously released as Nobunaga's Ambition in the West. Players take on the role of one of the main characters of the period, Nobunaga Oda, Shingen Takeda, Kenshin Uesugi, or others and try to unite the 50 kingdoms of Japan, from Ezo in the north to Kyushu in the south, under their own rule.
Summary via IGDB.
Game details
- Platforms
- PC-9800 Series, Sharp X68000, PC-8800 Series, Sharp X1, Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, PC (Microsoft Windows), TurboGrafx-16/PC Engine, Mac, DOS, Amiga, Sharp MZ-2200, FM-7, Turbografx-16/PC Engine CD, MSX, NEC PC-8801, NEC PC-9801, Nintendo Entertainment System, Game Boy, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, 3DO Interactive Multiplayer, PC Engine Super CD-ROM²
- Developer
- Koei
- Publisher
- Koei
- Game modes
- Single player, Multiplayer
- Themes
- Fantasy, Historical, Sandbox, Warfare
- Series
- Nobunaga's Ambition
Details via IGDB.
Reception
Every version compared
Prices, contemporary reception and the studio credited for each release
| Platform | Year | Loose | Complete | Sealed | Fake risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sega Genesis | 1993 | $16 | $37 | $148 | Low |
Also released on: PC-9800 Series · Sharp X68000 · PC-8800 Series · Sharp X1 · Sega Mega Drive/Genesis · PC (Microsoft Windows) · TurboGrafx-16/PC Engine · Mac · DOS · Amiga · Sharp MZ-2200 · FM-7 · Turbografx-16/PC Engine CD · MSX · NEC PC-8801 · NEC PC-9801 · Nintendo Entertainment System · Game Boy · Super Nintendo Entertainment System · 3DO Interactive Multiplayer · PC Engine Super CD-ROM². We haven’t priced or authenticated those versions yet.
Collector value & authenticity
Sega Genesis · PriceCharting sold data · Verified 2026-10-29
Other releases and variants
| Release | Loose | Complete | Sealed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese release | $9 | $23 | — |
What it needs to play
- Some modesSave battery (inside the cartridge) — saves to memory kept alive by a battery inside the cartridge; if that battery has died, saves are lost (MAME cartridge records).
How often it sells
- Loose: about once a month
- Complete: about once a month
- Sealed: about once a year
Prices marked “few sales” rest on about one recorded sale a year, so treat them as a rough guide: the next copy could sell well above or below. Expect to wait for one to come up.
Sales frequency from PriceCharting's completed-sale records, as of 2026-10-29.
Price over time
- Loose
- Complete
A loose copy sold for about $5.95 in Oct 2007, $15.10 five years ago, and $16.12 as of Oct 2026.
Show as table
| Month | Loose | Complete |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 2008 | $10.00 | — |
| Jan 2009 | $9.50 | — |
| Jan 2010 | $6.49 | — |
| Jan 2011 | $7.25 | — |
| Jan 2012 | $9.95 | — |
| Jan 2013 | $4.12 | — |
| Jan 2014 | $5.71 | $19.95 |
| Jan 2015 | $5.98 | $19.99 |
| Jan 2016 | $11.89 | $15.99 |
| Jan 2017 | $11.50 | $20 |
| Jan 2018 | $10.09 | $22 |
| Jan 2019 | $10.00 | $23 |
| Jan 2020 | $13.95 | $28 |
| Jan 2021 | $12.06 | $31 |
| Jan 2022 | $14.98 | $46 |
| Jan 2023 | $15.72 | $31 |
| Jan 2024 | $19.91 | $49 |
| Jan 2025 | $19.30 | $43 |
| Jan 2026 | $18.17 | $55 |
| Oct 2026 | $16.12 | $37 |
Monthly price estimates from PriceCharting's completed-sale records, sampled quarterly, through Oct 2026.
Release record
| Territory | Date | Barcode |
|---|---|---|
| North America | 1993 | 040198000710 |
| Japan | 15 September 1993 | — |
- Region
- JP+NA
- Released
- 1993
- Authenticity
- Low
A deep Koei strategy game that rewards patience, and a decent buy among US carts.
Nobunaga's Ambition is the Genesis version of Koei's historical strategy game, set in Japan's Sengoku period, in which you try to unify the country as Oda Nobunaga or another daimyo. Koei developed and published it. Japan got it first on 15 September 1993 as Nobunaga no Yabo: Zenkokuban, and the North American release followed in 1993.
Sega Retro lists the game as supporting the Sega Mouse.
How the Sega Genesis version differs
Electronic Gaming Monthly said that with the move to 16-bit on the Mega Drive, everything had been enhanced, and singled out the detailed action scenes.
Also on other platforms
MSX · NEC PC-8801 · NEC PC-9801 · NES · Game Boy · Super NES · MS-DOS · Mac · Amiga · 3DO · PC Engine Super CD-ROM²
- Super NES. The SNES version was released for Virtual Console on April 27, 2009, for the Wii and September 4, 2014, for the Wii U in North America.
- MS-DOS. Computer Gaming World gave the IBM version four stars out of five and praised its graphics; Compute! called it one of the best strategic war games ever designed for a personal computer.
- NES. Hamster Corporation released the NES version in its Console Archives series for Nintendo Switch 2 and PlayStation 5 in March 2026.
Before you buy
Among US carts it sits above the middle. The Japanese cart usually costs noticeably less than the US one, but its cartridge has a different shape and needs an adapter or two plastic tabs removed from a Western console's slot. The cartridge saves to a battery inside it, so check that a save holds; a replaced battery is a normal repair, not a sign of a fake.
Nobunaga's Ambition screenshots
Watch on YouTube
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