pre-release info New Civ Game Guide: Meiji Japan

[FXS_Gilgamesh]

New Civ Game Guide: Meiji Japan
Please welcome Meiji Japan to Civ VII’s Modern Age! This was an era of profound change and contradiction. Meiji Japan fused Western government and technology onto the bones of Edo, expanding furiously and challenging Europe for dominance. A new dawn had broken upon the Pacific, dramatic and glorious, fiery and terrible.

Attributes
Militaristic
Scientific

Unique Ability:
Goisshin: When you Overbuild a Building, receive Science equal to a set percentage of the new Building's Production cost.

Unique Infrastructure:
Zaibatsu: Unique Quarter. Buildings in adjacent tiles gain increased Gold and Production.
Ginkō: Unique Building. Gold base. Gain Gold adjacency bonus with Gold buildings.
Jukogyo: Unique Building. Production base. Production adjacency with Coast. Increased Resource Slots.

Unique Military Unit:
Mikasa: Unique Naval Unit. The first time this Unit is destroyed, it uses a charge to respawn at the nearest friendly Naval spawn point at reduced health.
Zero: Unique Aircraft Unit. Has increased attack range. Increased Combat Strength against other Aircraft Units.

Associated Wonder:
Dogo Onsen: Happiness Base. This City gains Population during a Celebration. Must be built adjacent to a Coast tile.

Starting Biases:
Coast
Grassland

Check out the full game guide for more info & civic trees: https://civilization.2k.com/civ-vii/game-guide/civilizations/meiji-japan/

 

[Zaarin]

Huh, our second Modern civ with no unique civilian.

 

[pokiehl]

Really liking this one! The ability is so elegant--great gameplay integration and reference to the history. Also happy to see the zaibatsu as a unique quarter!

 

[Zaarin]

Yes, I really like everything else, but as a non-aggressive player I do miss having a unique civilian unit (though not as much as I miss having Unique Literati for Russia).

 

[Mudkip1001]

Mikasa: Unique Naval Unit. The first time this Unit is destroyed, it uses a charge to respawn at the nearest friendly Naval spawn point at reduced health. <---- this will be interesting for sure...

 

[TheGhostEnthusiast]

A focus on clustered urban districts with bonuses towards overbuilding previous structures to do so... very fitting. Somewhat similar to VI's Meiji Restoration UA, but expanded into a full, complex civilization (with military boni on top.) I'm surprised to say I've been really interested in the Modern war-focused Civilizations so far, despite being a typically peaceful player.

 

[Uberfrog]

Britain gets a unit in the game after all, with the Barrow-built Mikasa warship!

 

[Wohlauf]

Having the Zero be unique unit feels pretty good compared to it being just a cultural variation. I don't know if anyone expected the dreadnought that looked like Mikasa to actually be Mikasa, and that ability it has seems very interesting.

I thought Russia would be unique in having two military units, at least at launch, but now I'm wondering if Prussia or Mughal will also be given the same treatment

 

[Alexander's Hetaroi]

Glad to see the Zaibatsu as a unique quarter. That means a potential Shinto unique quarter could be saved for an earlier Japan.

I thought Russia would be unique in having two military units, at least at launch, but now I'm wondering if Prussia or Mughal will also be given the same treatment

It looks like Prussia will probably get a unique commander/Great Person based on screenshots and that Great Person video.

 

[moondog385]

They play about as I expected. Probably not one I’d go for unless I’m backed into a corner in the third age, but great design nonetheless.

 

[8housesofelixir]

Jukogyo: Unique Building. Production adjacency with Coast.

I like this one. Jukogyo 重工业 means heavy industries, and this likely represents how Japanese conglomerates tend to build their heavy industries on reclaimed artificial islands (to save more space on the mainland, and for better port/cargo ship access). Search "Kawasaki, Kanagawa" on Google Maps and you will know what I mean.

 

[Lord Lakely]

Pretty fun, flavourful bonuses

 

[ombak]

I hope we see more bonuses or abilities that reward building over. Maybe there are some I have overlooked, or some still coming in what we have yet to see of the modern era.

 

[Eagle Pursuit]

It's a nicely designed civ that evokes the Meiji time period and works towards several possible victories. I like it

 

[agamemnon_of_the-bronze_]

just announce Mughals already.

 

[8housesofelixir]

To add an extra note, combining Jukogyo (heavy industries) and Ginko (banks) into a Zaibatsu is also quite flavorful. What made a Zaibatsu a Zaibatsu was that they owned banks and could finance themselves.

 

[SeelingCat]

Meiji Uniques:

Goisshin	Ability	御維新 Goishin "Honorable Restoration"; older spelling 御一新 Go-Isshin	The Meiji Restoration, the restoration of de jure rule of the Emperor over Japan in 1868 under the Emperor Meiji.
Bunmei Kaika	Civic	文明開化 "Civilization and Enlightenment"	The period of westernization in Japan during the Meiji Era, which brought about numerous changes to Japanese society affecting everything from law to architecture to the arts, and even the calendar.
Oath in Five Articles	Civic	五箇条の御誓文	Also known as the Charter Oath, a document consisting of 5 clauses that set out the priorities of the Meiji government, including a break from tradition and the establishment of "deliberative assemblies."
Supreme War Council	Civic	軍事参議院 Gunji Sangjin	An advisory military body to the Japanese Empire that was active between 1903 and 1945.
Kantai Kessen	Civic	艦隊決戦 "naval fleet decisive battle"	A Japanese naval strategy employed prior to World War II based on the works of American naval historian Alfred Thayer Mahan. The strategy was built on the idea of winning a single decisive naval battle wherein quality could outshine quantity.
Fukoku Kyōhei	Tradition	富国強兵; "Enrich the Country, Strengthen the Armed Forces"	The national slogan during the Meiji Era, emblematic of the emerging Japanese nationalism.
O-yatoi Gaikokujin	Tradition	御雇い外國人; "hired foreigners"	Foreigners hired by the Japanese government for their specialized knowledge in order to assist with the westernization effort. Experts in agricultural science, engineering, military science, and other disciplines were employed by the Japanese government in this way.
Shusei Kokubō	Tradition	守勢国防; "Static Defense"	A slogan that defined naval policy in the early Meiji period, focusing on "coastal defenses, a standing army, and a coastal Navy. By 1885, the slogan of the Navy had been replaced with Kaikoku Nippon "Maritime Japan" as expansion and modernization of the Navy continued.
Kōkūtai	Tradition	航空隊; "Flight (air force unit)"	A military aviation unit akin to an American group, British wing, or German gruppe, consisting of several Hikōtai (squadron).
Zaibatsu	Quarter	財閥; "asset clique"	Vertically integrated business conglomerates that exerted significant control over the economy in imperial Japan. The Big Four zaibatsu were Sumitomo, Mitsui, Mitsubishi, and Yasuda.
Ginkō	Building	銀行; "bank"	A bank. In imperial Japan, zaibatsu structures included a bank, which would finance other, more industrial, parts of the corporate body.
Jukogyo	Building	重工業; jūkōgyō "heavy industry"	A reference to the industrial side of the Zaibatsu organizations. Zaibatsu were outsized players in the fields of coal mining, steelmaking, aircraft production, machining, shipbuilding, and many other industries.
Mikasa	Military	三笠 (named for Mt. Mikasa)	A pre-dreadnought battleship built in the late 1890s. The only one of its class and built in Britain, the Mikasa served as the flagship for Tōgō Heihachirō during the Russo-Japanese War. Though destroyed shortly after the war, it was salvaged and repaired, serving as a coastal defense ship during WW1 and seeing some action during the Siberian Intervention. Today it is preserved as a museum ship.
Zero	Miltiary	零戦 "Zero fighter"	The Mitsubishi A6M Zero, a fighter aircraft employed by the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. It was noted to be an excellent carrier-based fighter, "combining excellent maneuverability and very long range."

 

[Boris Gudenuf]

Britain gets a unit in the game after all, with the Barrow-built Mikasa warship!

Or, frankly, any oither Japanese capital ship until about 1917, but who's counting . . .

Mikasa, by the way, was a modified version of the Royal Navy's Formidable-class battleships and, like them, was NOT a 'dreadnought' -type battleship: it only had 4 305mm main guns (12 inch). That would make her, I presume, a Type I or II capital ship in Civ VII

It will be interesting to see what/how she Upgrades to: would love to see one of the later Japanese dreadnoughts with the 'pagoda' type superstructures, like the Fuso, Ise, or Nagato classes - very distinctive ships!

And, for once in a game, they nailed the A6M Rei-sen "Zero" aircraft: it was an extremely agile aircraft which made it deadly in any dogfight with aerial opponents, and the fuel feed could be manually adjusted to give the aircraft very extreme range.

Now let's just hope that air combat in general is much more important in Civ VII than it ever was in Civ VI so that the unit actually has an in-game use . . .

 

[Leucarum]

Another solid looking Civ. I'm enjoying the design of modern era civs in general... Even though I am less excited by them in terms of general vibes than other eras.

The focus on aircraft is interesting. Though I wonder how big a part navies will still play in modern?

 

[queenpea]

Yes, I really like everything else, but as a non-aggressive player I do miss having a unique civilian unit (though not as much as I miss having Unique Literati for Russia).

I was also hoping they would be more cultural, but I get it.