“ | In the frictious Sengoku period, powerful daimyos wage vicious conflicts across the Japanese islands. The ambitious Oda Nobunaga sought to end this chaos, but has been betrayed and cornered by his enemies in Kyoto. As Toyotomi Hideyoshi, rescue your master and help him to complete this monumental task. | ” |
—In-game scenario description in the Definitive Edition |
Kyoto is a scenario in the Battles of the Conquerors campaign in Age of Empires II: The Conquerors. Lord Nobunaga has been executed in Kyoto, and the Japanese led by Hideyoshi must destroy all the three castles in Kyoto to avenge Lord Nobunaga. This scenario is based on the Honnō-ji Incident and the Battle of Yamazaki.
Intro[]
The ships slide through a mirror-flat ocean stained red with spring seaweed. Columns of rock improbably draped with pine trees tower out of the mist. The men on the ships watch silently as the samurai prowl the deck above. They will make land near Kyoto and their lord, Hideyoshi, will lead the siege of the city of ten-thousand shrines.
Within Kyoto, revolutionaries hold prisoner Lord Nobunaga--the man who would unify Japan. The islands of Japan remain a patchwork of bickering samurai warlords who still settle conflicts with ritualized duels. Nobunaga seeks to forge a single Japan, dragging the provincial samurai into the modern era.
Like his master Nobunaga, Hideyoshi wins his battles by volleys of muskets, fully exploiting the firearms recently introduced by Portuguese sailors. Hideyoshi intends no bargaining - he will demand once for Nobunaga's release, and then storm the city.
Scenario instructions[]
Starting conditions[]
- Starting Age: Imperial Age
- Starting resources: 800 food, 2,000 wood, 800 gold, 200 stone
- Population limit: 125 (75 before the Definitive Edition)
- Starting units:
- 4 Samurai
- 2 Fire Ships
- Gaia units:
Differences between difficulty levels[]
- On Hard, Kyoto receives additional resources.
Objectives[]
Main objectives[]
- Your lord, Nobunaga, is trapped in Kyoto. You must rescue him to restore his honor.
- Destroy all 3 of Kyoto's Castles to punish them for the murder of Lord Nobunaga.
- Establish a base from which to attack Kyoto.
Hints[]
- Hideyoshi and his forces can support a population of 75. (125 in the Definitive Edition)
- Some of your Samurai are in Kyoto with Lord Nobunaga. They will not be able to escape on their own, but they can attempt to protect Nobunaga.
- Defeat the garrison at Osaka and establish your own town in its place. Do not wantonly destroy buildings, or you will have to rebuild much once you capture Osaka.
- Although a direct assault on Kyoto can be succesful[sic], sneak attacks may yield fewer casualties.
- Rebel Monks in Kyoto are actively searching for Relics. Do not allow them such a victory!
Scouts[]
- Your scouts report: Hideyoshi's forces (1, Cyan) begin on board Lord Nobunaga's ships. After you invade Osaka, you will need to quickly neutralize resistance and establish a base.
- There are three enemies in this region. Osaka (2, Red) has walls and Castles, but has a small standing army. Hyogo (5, Blue) is a relatively small village. An early strike can eliminate this threat, but Hyogo will eventually attack with infantry, archers and Samurai if allowed to build unchecked.
- Kyoto (3, Green) is the most dangerous enemy, as the city is well-defended and there are many Spearmen, Samurai and Knights defending the Castles. Kyoto may also build a navy if given the opportunity.
Players[]
All players play as the Japanese.
Player[]
- Player: Initially controls few Samurais guarding Nobunaga at his Castle in Kyoto. When Nobunaga is killed by Kyoto rebellions, the player will take over his landing force in the south outside Osaka, where the city's army needs to be defeated so that the player can establish a base against Kyoto.
Ally[]
- Nobunaga: Has a castle in Kyoto being under attack, while the player has a few soldiers protecting him, but they will eventually be killed together. After this, his transport ships will unload the player's other units near Osaka, and will send two petards (being referred as "saboteurs" in the in-game dialogue) to blow up a hole on Osaka's walls. After unloading the transport ships, Nobunaga will be defeated. After the player has taken over Osaka, those transport ships will return to the starting point and sink.
Enemies[]
- Hyogo: A small town in the west. It is not well-defended, as has only some Palisade Walls and two Watch Towers in front for defense and a Castle, therefore they are relatively easy to be taken down, though not necessary for victory, but it will stop them from rushing. In the Definitive Edition, they will advance to the Imperial Age and attack with Champions, Arbalesters, Elite Samurai, and some rams, if left unchecked at the initial stage.
- Kyoto: The main enemy is located in the northeast, where the player must destroy all three of their castles to win. All the five Relics are within their territory, and the player should prevent them from garrisoning all the Relics until the time runs out. However, if played at 'standard' (easy) level prior to the Definitive Edition, they would only place the Relics outside their Monastery. The eastern part of the city is guarded with navy and siege weapons. If played at Moderate level, they would frequently attack with Fire Ships, galleons and Cannon Galleons.
- Osaka: Located in the south, where the player starts the scenario. It is divided into four sections, where getting near the Town Center which is in the largest section will take over the entire largest section and replace all the gates with the player's one, while having all the units killed. There are four Gaia Bombard Cannons in one of the smaller sections where a Market, Monastery and some Houses are located. The other section has military buildings and some soldiers. One more section has a castle, and another castle is located outside the city. There is also a Dock. The city and its buildings are all going to be converted or destroyed at some point, and they will be defeated early.
Strategy[]
The player starts off with a handful of Samurai protecting the allied hero, Nobunaga (Yellow) outside of his castle. The castle will be destroyed, and all of the soldiers will be killed off in the first few seconds of the game. Three Transport Ships will land on the southernmost point of the map, providing the player with Knights, Hand Cannoneers, and Samurai.
As the player enters the city of Osaka (Red), they will capture some Bombard Cannons. Try to safeguard these Bombard Cannons as the Japanese do not normally have these available and cannot replace them. When the player gets soldiers close enough to the enemy Town Center, it switches to the player's control, along with a few Houses and the outer wall. However, the Villagers will commit suicide when the control is changed, unlike most other scenarios (where the Villagers will join the player instead).
If the player wants to do so, they can attack and destroy nearby Hyogo (Blue), but it is not necessary. If the player attacks immediately, the player's forces can most likely take them out using just the starting force. If the player chooses not to attack, they will train soldiers and attack the player's position.
If the player does not destroy the west part of Osaka, it will prevent Hyogo to attack from the west, since the Osaka west gate is locked. Build a Castle to north of the base; it will be enough to hold all Hyogo attacks coming from the north. (Note: In the Definitive Edition, even if the player does not conquer the west part of Osaka, Hyogo will eventually attack the player at the east gate.)
Kyoto (Green) is the real enemy. The player must destroy their Castles in order to win, and they have access to all five Relics on the map, giving them another way to victory. Two of the Castles are near the water, and can be destroyed by Cannon Galleons if the player wishes to do so, but the last one is further inland, so they must transport siege weapons and soldiers across. If the player loses their Bombard Cannons, Trebuchets are excellent for that task (especially with Kataparuto researched).
If all three Kyoto Docks are destroyed, Kyoto will not rebuild them, making Kyoto unable to attack anymore once the remaining ships are destroyed. (Note: In the Definitive Edition, Kyoto has four ports and will rebuild if they are destroyed.)
It is possible to capture all five Relics early in the game by building a Monastery and training five Monks as soon the player acquires a base, then shipping the Monks and starting troops to the north, attacking or converting Kyoto patrols on the way. Then, the forces can attack Kyoto's north gate using Bombard Cannons, and attack the nearest Kyoto Monastery, where all Relics will be stored. Then, capture all five Relics and flee back to Osaka. Keeping the five Relics garrisoned for 300 years (25 in-game minutes) will lead to victory.
Outro[]
Kyoto paid dearly for Nobunaga's death and in the end, Hideyoshi was able to accomplish what his mentor could not - by 1590, Japan was a unified country. Great though it was, this accomplishment did not satisfy Hideyoshi, who then set about on an ambitious plan to conquer China and Korea.
Japan was not free of conflict, as civil wars continued to rise and fall for many years. However, the Ieyasu (sic) family, former allies of Hideyoshi, continued to rule Japan as Shogun until the 19th century.
Trivia[]
- Nobunaga's demise is depicted somewhat inaccurately. Historically, Nobunaga was resting in Kyoto when his retainer Akechi Mitsuhide betrayed him and marched his forces to Kyoto; Nobunaga reacted by ordering his page to help him commit suicide, as well as burn down the Honno-ji temple. Therefore, he was not executed by his enemies.
- The second phase is also inaccurate: after Nobunaga's death, his other retainer Hideyoshi Toyotomi made peace with his enemies in the west and rushed through the Chuugoku region (west of Hyogo). He caught up with Mitsuhide's forces by land near Yamazaki (close to Kyoto), not by sea. Using Mt. Tenno to his advantage, Hideyoshi's forces defeated Mitsuhide's forces and killed Mitsuhide himself.
- According to Greg Street, an Age of Empires II developer said that "I had originally designed this scenario as a rescue mission that goes afoul. The player, as Hideyoshi, must hurry to rescue Nobunaga, who is being held hostage in Kyoto. It all worked fine until Microsoft Japan notified us that the samurai never took prisoners so we had to hastily reworked the beginning of the scenario so that Nobunaga could fall in battle though most Japanese schoolchildren could probably tell you that he actually took his own life."
- The real-life geography of the area of this scenario is quite different: Osaka and the port of Kobe (then known as "port of Hyogo") look like islands in the game, while in real life they are on the mainland (Honshu).
- The Japan Warring States period was based on samurai families, rather than city-states as the names of the factions would suggest.
- A more accurate name for the Kyoto faction could be "Akechi clan", as Mitsuhide Akechi was the mastermind of the rebellion against Nobunaga.
- Hyogo would be the Isshiki clan, which ruled the Tango Province, now the northern part of Hyogo Prefecture.
- Osaka has no suitable enemy clan to be replaced with, as Nobunaga did not have any real enemies in this city. This is relatively consistent with the scenario, given that Osaka is seized by the player with little actual fighting.
- Chronologically, Kyoto is the second latest scenario, preceding only Noryang Point and even overlapping with the early timeframe of Age of Empires III.
- Hideyoshi, the protagonist in this scenario, would later unite Japan and attempt to invade Korea (the Bunroku-Keicho campaign), but died shortly before the decisive Battle of Noryang. Therefore, Hideyoshi falls just short of being a protagonist in one of the Battles of the Conquerors, and an antagonist in another.
- The "Ieyasu family" mentioned in the outro is actually the Tokugawa family. Ieyasu was its founder.
- Though Kyoto appears fully covered in snow in this scenario, the real life events took place in the summer.
- While the intro mentions how samurai settled battles through ritualized duels before Nobunaga's usage of western firearms and innovative tactics, the former point has been debunked as a myth multiple times.