Liberty or Death

Liberty or Death (独立戦争 Liberty or Death, Dokuritsu Sensō Liberty or Death) is a turn-based strategy title released by Koei as part of its historical simulation series. It revolves around the events of the American Revolution, a war between the thirteen colonies of North America against the British Empire. The title itself is based on Patrick Henry's famous quote "Give me Liberty, or Give me Death!" during the Virginia Convention.

The producer of Liberty or Death is Kou Shibusawa and the designer is Stieg Hedlund. Noriyoshi Ourai illustrated the cover of the game.

Gameplay
The main objective of the game is to defeat the opposing side by winning battles and occupying every single district throughout the colonies. Aside from handling skirmishes every now and then, running each district efficiently adds another depth of challenge. Players are encouraged to think resourcefully as to how they can solidify their forces while appropriately managing their funds at the same time. Failure to do so may cause overall popularity to wane and convince political entities to vote for the Commander-in-Chief's resignation, thus prematurely ending the game.

Beginning
Players are first given the option of playing against the computer, competing with a second player, or controlling both sides (manually or by AI). Afterwards, they must choose whether to play as the American Continental Army or the British Royal Army. Each side has its own set of pros and cons derived from historical facts that may affect whatever strategies the players can use in order to seize victory.
 * American Continental Army - Starts out in the middle of the map with only a few officers and territories at their disposal, thus leaving them in a defensive position. Occasionally gains support from volunteers and eventually from other foreign countries as the war goes in their favor. Recommended for beginners who want to get a good feel of the game.
 * British Royal Army - Begins the game with more territories and war funds. However, this advantage does not last for long due to the limited amount of officers available for the British side. Therefore, a quick offense is essential in order to gain the upper hand. The shortage of men can be somewhat assuaged by hiring multiple Hessians (German mercenaries) to counter the gradual foreign aid of the Americans. Recommended for experienced players who wish to challenge themselves.

Once players have already chosen their side, they are immediately summoned by the Continental Congress (for the Americans) or the British Parliament (for the British) to discuss how the military budget should be spent for the next three months. These funds are used for financing the navy, the salaries of each officer, the districts within the player's domain, and so on.

It is up to players to decide how much money should be distributed for each factor to maintain the needs of their army. Officers are prone to losing loyalty if their wages are not paid in full, leading to their eventual defection. The same goes for generic militia as well. Also featured in this part of the game are the options of requesting for new regiments or building up naval fleets to deploy them for future battles ahead. Each subsequent meeting may also give players the chance to promote any of their men provided if their standing with the government is high enough.

District Management
Though the game itself focuses more on military conflict, it also delves into politics and economics as both armies must gain the support of the people while increasing the means in sustaining themselves. Each district is given two turns a month to manage the actions of the residing regiments. The officer with the highest rank is automatically in charge of the region. By consuming "Body" points that partially replenish in each turn, officers are able to perform a wide range of actions to help their cause. These actions are divided into five different categories.
 * Domestic - Offers actions that help improve the army's economic standing or their reputation within the district. The success of domestic actions mostly rely on the officer's reputation and proficiency in tactics.
 * Materials - The actions within this category mostly entails the purchase of necessities such as food, gunpowder, and arms. It also includes services for the construction of cannons and boats.
 * Personnel - This particular category pertains to actions that aim to recruit new officers or please current ones for the purpose of raising their loyalty.
 * Military - Actions within this category involve military duties such as training, drafting, mobilizing, and initiating battles.
 * Info - Contains a menu of actions that lit down information regarding each officer, district, and state within the player's jurisdiction. Also includes the spy option used for gaining info on the enemy army.

The importance of organizing each district accordingly becomes quite clear as players gain more new territory. Because of the difference in strategic value and terrain for each area, one must decide which district is worth attacking. In addition to this, there are numerous third-party factions that randomly appear on different parts of the map. These units cannot be controlled and will act on their own unless recruited by their preferred side. Revolutionary regiments affiliate themselves with the Americans whereas the Loyalists are supporters of the British. Other factions also include foreign armies from France and Spain that serve as non-recruitable allies for the Continental Army.

The game also features special scenes based on historical events. These may occur randomly after fulfilling or failing specific conditions. Many of them yield different outcomes for one side or the other depending on the circumstances. In keeping with the trend of Koei's historical simulations, some of these events are entirely optional and can be averted by the player's own actions. For instance, Nathan Hale's execution can be prevented by not allowing him to be captured by the British. Also in the game are common world events that occur more often than special scenes such as climate changes, epidemics, occasional aid from locals or foreigners, etc.

Battle System
Another important aspect of Liberty or Death are turn-based battles which take place on hex-shaped maps filled with all kinds of terrain such as fields, rivers, mountains, and oceans. Day and night, as well seasonal changes also come into play, further affecting the layout of the battlefield. Every district has its own map consisting of roads and obstacles that may impede attackers to a certain degree. Before initiating battles, players are required to allocate the right amount of food, gunpowder, and currency in order to last through several turns. Also, they must organize the formation of their troops to effectively fight the opposing army.

In battle, players are given all kinds of units to work with. Each one serves a distinct tactical purpose for different battles. Infantry, guerrilla, and cavalry are among the few unit types deployed for combat whereas support units like engineers are used for providing artillery support and constructing bridges. The potency of these troops mostly depend on the commanding officer's stats and armaments. Naval troops may also join the fray in coastal battle zones if available.

Players can capture weakened enemy units and hold them hostage in exchange for money or imprison them instead. Likewise, the opposing side has access to these options as well. In higher difficulty settings, capturing too many officers may cause them to escape due to overflowing prisons.

Characters
Liberty or Death boasts a total of 250 officers for players to recruit on either side. All of them are historical leaders and figures associated with the American Revolution. The game portrays each one accurately not only by their looks and appearances, but also through their level of skills in leadership. Included in the cast are non-combatants (like Benjamin Franklin and John Penn) who provide much of the war funds and regiments needed by both sides.

Differences between ports

 * The initial stats and skill levels of every playable officer vary between the English and Japanese versions of the game.
 * In the console ports, only George Washington and Thomas Gage can be Commander-in-Chief for their respective sides. PC versions, on the other hand, allow players to choose Artemas Ward or Charles Lee as leader for the Americans and Sir Henry Clinton or William Howe for the British.
 * The graphics and sound quality in each port slightly differ from one another.