Although the game is extremely dated, it still holds up as a pretty good total war game. The controls are a bit weird, so you'll have to change some keybinds, especially if you're used to the newer total war games. I'd say it's a good game, but not worth $10, so wait a few months until it goes on sale for like $2. I'll give the game a solid 7/10.

The first and one of the best entries in the Total War series. Battle map didn't age well, but the clean, board game type campaign map is still a pleasure to play. I miss the quirky event movies that have disappeared in later games. Playing this again after all these years, reminded me just how broken and ridiculously easy this game is. All you need is a couple of Geishas or a dozen Kensai and you can mow down all the Samurai in Japan. Surprisingly, these overpowered legendary units do not make the conquest any less fun. I just wish they fixed all the crashes in the Collection Edition. The campaign just randomly crashes after ending some turns and I could not figure out what caused it. Loading an earlier save seemed to help though, so save often.

I’ve been playing this game for 20 years. I own all the other Total War historical games. This is still the one I wind up playing through all the factions at least once a year. I recommend this one as the best Ttal Wargame to start off with.