| System |
GameCube |
| Developer |
Vivarium |
| Genre |
Pinball / Strategy |
| GameCube |
 |
31st March 2006 |
 |
10th April 2006 |
 |
13th April 2006 |
General Yamanouchi Kagetora is intent on avenging the death of his father. Followed by a small army of men, he heads into battle. Alone he has no chance of victory, but he is armed with two weapons that are the key to victory - the Ninten Bell and the all-destroying Odama.
A combination pinball game with real-time strategy elements. Your armies advance forward across the battlefield, and your goal is the advance the Ninten Bell through the gates of the enemy within the time limit. The enemy armies are already in place so you must destroy them. In comes the Odama, your giant pinball.
By hitting the pinball around the battlefield, you will crush your enemies - and your own troops. By using the GameCube Microphone, you have to call orders to your men to move them out of the way, advance, or carry out tasks to advance across the field. Your troops morale is linked to your performance, and if you play a bad game, they will stop following your orders. You can also recruit more men when the Odama turns into the green Heavenly Odama. When in this form, the Odama will not hurt your men, and it will recruit any enemies you defeat into your own reserves.
When the Ninten Bell advances through the enemy gates, you advance to the next stage with all of the troops you amassed. Each new stage brings new enemies and new challenges. You can learn new orders for your troops by collecting hidden scrolls.
There are a lot of references to Nintendo in the game. The Ninten Bell is the key to your victories, and your armies subscribe to the rule of Nin-Ten-Do, the first words of an ancient poem. It is also likely that the Yamanouchis, leaders of the Way of Ninten, are a reference to the Yamauchi family who founded Nintendo in 1889.
On the Karasuma Keep stage, knock the Odama through the keep gates. You will be transported to a bonus stage set outside Nintendo's Japanese headquarters in Kyoto. You have to knock the heavenly Odama around to recruit people as Nintendo employees.
