NHK Taiga Drama: Taiheiki

NHK Taiga Drama: Taiheiki is a strategy game exclusive to the PC Engine that was published by the video game division of NHK, a national broadcasting corporation in Japan. They had previously adapted their TV show Niko Niko Pun for the system the previous year.

It is based on one of NHK’s annual hour-long historical fiction TV shows, collectively known as Taiga Drama, specifically the 1991 episode based on Taiheiki, a novel from the 14th century that is set between the years of 1319 to 1367 and concerns a war between the Southern Court of Emperor Go-Daigo in Yoshino and the Northern Court of Ashikaga Takauji in Kyoto.

The goal of the game is to defeat one’s opponents by deploying and organizing their armed forces to best counter the enemy’s attack. When two units meet, there are animated cutaways that demonstrate which side did the most damage, similar to those in the Advance Wars series.