Play Daikoukai Jidai IV - Rota Nova (J) Online

Game Overview

Daikoukai Jidai IV on the DS is basically the best pirate life simulator you never knew you needed. You start off picking a captain—I went with the Portuguese guy because, well, wine trade sounded profitable—and suddenly you're managing ships, haggling over spice prices in Lisbon, and trying not to get sunk by rival fleets.

The coolest part? The whole thing plays out on this gorgeous little map where you drag your ship around with the stylus. One minute you're peacefully trading silk in the Mediterranean, the next you're desperately outrunning pirates near the Caribbean. And yeah, the naval battles are simple but weirdly tense—you actually have to think about wind direction before firing cannons.

It's got that classic Koei depth where you'll lose hours just optimizing trade routes, but the DS version makes it way more approachable than the old PC originals. Just don't expect an English translation unless you're emulating with a patch.