A Creatively Assembled Castle

     

Today I wanted to talk in-depth about the castle seen in spectacular 3D glory in the latest Shogun2: Total War video. The first thing I’d like to say is that I completely accept changes had to be made from a typical castle’s design for the sake of game-play. These departures from a real Japanese castle may be a deal-breaker for many of you but I suggest you build a bridge (like the very out-of-place one in the video) and get over it.

The scene

So, pictured below is the bad-boy. It is impressive, there are no two ways about that! Beyond the initial Wow, what struck me is the out-of-placeness of the castle. It looks to be a flatland castle (平城) transplanted atop a flat-ish topped mountain.

I heard a murmur in the forums about the lack of moats. Water-filled moats at this altitude? I don’t think so. Ditches (water-less moats) on the other hand, I think we should expect. The fact that this is a flatland castle does muddle things up somewhat, which is to say, both moats or ditches would look odd in this setting.

As to the when of the castle, the game’s makers state it’s set in the Sengoku period (1467–1573). Well, looking at the picture above I’d say we are at the very end of that period if at all. Of all the castles built in the Senkoku period, castles with central towers were in the minority. Even when there was a central tower (Tenshu – 天守), two-stories high was common. Getting in to the (admittedly) overlapping Azuchi-Momoyama preiod (1568–1603) taller and taller castles became the norm.

A closer look

- Tenshu As I’ve already hinted at, a little too advanced for a Sengoku-period main tower. The design of the Tenshu looks to be based on that of Matsumoto castle (completed in 1597).
- Turrets Nothing to odd here except for the lone two-story turret in the centre-right enclosure. Real-life examples of such turrets did exist but were exceedingly rare. Just as it is depicted elsewhere in the above picture, turrets were located along the walls, generally at corners.
- Gates The Creative Assembly got real creative here. Such free-flowing, ramped entrances never existed. What we would normally find are 90° turns & more walls. No doubt this has been changed to improve the game-play.
- Walls Sure, the real-life examples are climbable, until you arrive at the plaster-coated wall that is. There is just no way to magic yourself over them. Also, no matter where along the wall, an archer would have his sights set on you, and I don’t mean in an amorous way. Walls? – game-play is the winner here.
- Enclosures The large enclosures really do look out of place on a mountain castle (山城). Most real-life examples are elongated due to them being at the mercy of their topography – i.e. on a slope. A step carved into the mountain would create very irregularly shaped enclosures. Carving out football-field-sized open areas just wasn’t on the cards. *edit* The emptiness of these enclosures is also striking. Storehouses, stables, the lord's residence, soldiers quarters, etc… A great deal has been omitted. (thx for pointing that out ElephantGuts)
- Bridge Stands out like a sore thumb. Cool but whimsical. Perhaps we’d see such a bridge in an Edo-period (1603–1868) Daimyo’s garden.

To conclude

So there you have it, more comparative than critical. There’s just no other way for me to look at it. It is just a game, and a game I intend to buy.

Would love to hear your thoughts though. Anyone?

Tags: ,

  • http://JapanDave.com David LaSpina / JapanDave

    Wonderful analysis!

  • guest

    hmm good points, I think CA kind of have to make a few creative changes to these games to make them playable, however having seen the ign battle report I agree that the troops seemed to be able to scale the wall far too easily even from a gameplay point of view.

    Also, about your point of this dates of the Warring States – I was under the impression that its dates were debated by historians, with some including the Azuchi and Momoyami period as part of the ‘warring states’?

  • Anonymous

    Thank you David. I absolutely do not consider myself an expert, I am not-at-all scholarly. I absolutely appreciate the sentiment though.

  • Anonymous

    Hi guest, if that’s even your real name. Just kidding. Thank you so much for your comment.

    Yes, climbing the walls & ducking through the gaping hole at the top seems way too easy. There’s no doubting that the realism has suffered. Whoa, massive understatement! I can only assume such decisions have been made for the benefit of over-all game-play.

    Shikoku, shut down in 1585 and Kyūshū in 1587. then the Hōjō in 1590. I don’t imagine there was too much Warring states going on after that.