LORDS OF THE RISING SUN
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YOSHITSUNE
Yoshitsune is more skilled at fighting than yoritomo, so at the
start of the game make sure you have almost full strength and men
before you try attacking anything. Your main objective now,
because you are near maximum status, is to deal with your brother
and to capture enemy castles. If you take over enemy castles, the
enemy troops will have nowhere to recruit more men and all your
brother`s men and land is yours if he dies. Your next job is to
try and secure the eastern half of the island. To do this, take
over all the castles and destroy or recruit all the armies on
that side of the island. Now concentrate on the rest of the
island. In Edo try to leave a general with the least siege
abilities as he probably won`t need to siege castles anymore.
Remember one general will do and if the general is at Edo, Nagoya
will be easier to storm by boat. If you can send a general from
Akita to Matsue via Aikawa you will have a good base from which
you attack the western catles. Once you have complete control
over the main island then you should be able to wipe out the
remaining four castles on the 2 smaller islands. Don`t go for
these unless you have a very firm base otherwise you will have to
trek all the way back should a range trooper take over the
castle.

YORITOMO
A great politician and strategist but try to take Edo first
because it`s the only castle you won`t have to lay siege to take.
if you`re lucky though, you may reach Toyama or Nigata before
anyone else. The same rules apply to yoritomo as with yoshitsune:
wait until you nearly have a full army before attacking. Be
careful if you get into any fights, because you have a low battle
skill and a smaller army with a higher skill can easily wipe you
out. At the begining of the game try to avoid taking risks and
instead concentrate on improving your skills. if you ever fight
your brother and survive long enough, chase him on horseback,
because if you slay him things can change drmatically.

OVERALL
Participate in battles as you tend to lose more men if you don`t.
Chasing the general on horseback often leads to early victory as
you can wipe out armies in one battle instead of at the end of
the game, and once you`re confident it`s possible to do it every
time: but do not engage in the siege sequence, because losing can
be costly. The most important factor in battle is strength and
long jorneys can weary your troops, so ensure they have plenty of
rest before a battle. An army coming by sea will be tired but
faster and more flexible, so meet them on the shore and the
advantage will be with your men.
Whichever character you`ve chosen, try to isolate the rest of the
island so you`re more able to concentrate on attacking the enemy
and won`t have to worry about defensive manoeuveres and
precautions: but whatch out for the enemy trying to out-flank
you. The islands will all be bitterly fought over, so ensure that
your troops have confident stength before attacking. The islands
are well worth going for though, because they are ideal resting
places for a tired force and good generals can interchange their
armies from island to mainland without  meeting to many problems.
The key to early victory is to recruit many more armies than your
enemy, thus trapping him in a spiders web and gradually wearing
him down (of course he can always try the same tactic on you, so
beware). It`s important to have a strong hold on north and south
japan, as a rogue force can wreck  havoc and open up flanks,
causing all sorts of problems. If you`re unsure of your force,
avoid battles because he who fights and runs away really does
live to fight another day. Ninja assassins may sound appealing,
but only resort to them as a last resort and don`t send them too
hard a mission because they might turn back and recognise you as
the enemy.