Like the other games in the long-running Daisenryaku series, Daisenryaku IV is a strategy/war simulation game.

Unlike most of the previous games in the series, Daisenryaku IV is a real-time strategy game. Time passes regardless of the player's actions, and if it takes too long for the player to prepare his army, the enemy will advance and conquer his land.

There are 12 different scenarios to choose from. Like other Daisenryaku games, there are no concrete historical wars among the game's scenarios, and no specific countries (scenarios like "Iceland" or "Great Wall" are the same abstract maps as the others). As always, the wars occur between "color" armies - Red, Blue, Yellow, etc. The player must first choose which army he wants to control. Headquarters require special management, including money, resources, fuel, etc.

Other aspects of the game are similar to the previous Daisenryaku and include protection for the cities, management of the army, and the actual combat mechanics - moving tanks, planes, and other types of units on the top-down map. Combat occurs when player's and enemy units are near each other, and evolves automatically.

Daisenryaku IV also allows playing scenarios against other players online over the modem.

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