Shingen the Ruler

The Good
The game had a number of design flaws that were typical of the time period. Exploiting these design flaws when I was a young child made me think I was smarter than the programmers.

The English was passable; better than Metal Gear but not as good as Dragon Warrior.

The Bad
It takes a very long time to beat, especially since conquest is nearly impossible at the beginning, though easier at the end. Additionally, though nonlinear progression in territory capture is possible, it prolongs the game. With a few exceptions, there is only one logical path of conquest.

The Bottom Line
This is the taking over Japan game for people who couldn't afford Nobunaga's Ambition. It has great music.

The Good
Okay, as the other reviewer has pointed out, there are some design flaws, but these can make the game fun. I'd like to reveal one tactic that can improve financial standing:

Tax your peasants to death at harvest time! Raise your taxes as high as you can, and leave them to starve. This will cause them to hate you and ultimately revolt, but you only do it during harvest month (which is when you really get paid). The rest of the year, you return taxes to a nominal amount.

I like the fact that this game takes so long to beat. You could spend weeks at it!

The Bad
Strategic combat is very time consuming, but auto-combat is difficult to win.

The Bottom Line
If you like long, boring rpg/conquest games (as I do), this is a lot of fun for the NES. If there were a PC version available, I'd still play it!