' s ▁" known ▁world " ▁of ▁ 1 6 0 0 , ▁and ▁The ▁Soul ▁of ▁the ▁Sam ur ai , ▁a ▁book let ▁describing ▁the ▁history ▁and ▁significance ▁of ▁sam ur ai ▁s words . ▁ ▁Notes ▁By ▁ 1 9 8 9 , ▁Info com ▁no ▁longer ▁categor ized ▁its ▁games ▁according ▁to ▁estimated ▁difficulty ▁level . ▁Sh ō gun ▁could ▁be ▁said ▁to ▁fall ▁anywhere ▁from ▁Info com ' s ▁former ▁" Standard " ▁level ▁to ▁" Ex pert ". ▁Play ers ▁who ▁are ▁int imately ▁familiar ▁with ▁the ▁novel , ▁of ▁course , ▁may ▁find ▁the ▁game ▁to ▁be ▁much ▁easier ▁than ▁those ▁who ▁have ▁not ▁read ▁the ▁book . ▁ ▁Sh ō gun ▁features ▁several ▁illustr ations ▁in ▁the ▁style ▁of ▁Japanese ▁U ki yo - e ▁wood cut s . ▁While ▁graphics ▁of ▁any ▁kind ▁were ▁dis d ained ▁in ▁Info com ' s ▁early ▁years , ▁four ▁of ▁their ▁final ▁games ▁included ▁at ▁least ▁incident al ▁illustr ations ▁and ▁images . ▁ ▁In ▁sharp ▁contrast ▁to ▁Douglas ▁Adams ' ▁close ▁work ▁with ▁Steve ▁Mer etz ky ▁on ▁Info com ' s ▁The ▁H itch h iker ' s ▁Guide ▁to ▁the ▁Gal axy ▁game , ▁James ▁C lav ell ▁contributed ▁little ▁to ▁the ▁design ▁of ▁the ▁game , ▁although ▁he ▁and ▁Dave ▁Leb ling ▁met ▁several ▁times . ▁He ▁treated ▁the ▁game ▁as ▁a ▁traditional ▁lic ens ing ▁agreement ▁rather ▁than ▁a ▁collaboration . ▁Con sequently , ▁the ▁game ▁contains ▁many ▁scenes ▁from ▁the ▁novel