Honnōji

The Incident at Honnōji (本能寺の変) refers to Mitsuhide's infamous betrayal, which causes his liege to commit suicide. Since he was one of Nobunaga's most trusted vassals, the event continues to be one of Japan's famous historical mysteries.

In the games, it acts as an iconic moment for the time period and is given a special event in every Nobunaga's Ambition and Taiko Risshiden title.

Samurai Warriors
The area also serves as the battlefield for Kyoto related events in the series.

Usually a turning point in the stories of the involved characters, it ultimately determines Nobunaga's fate in the game. Mitsuhide's version of the battle has him deal with morale issues in his army and stresses the importance of setting the temple on flames. Ranmaru, bravely defending his master's position, will become a fierce opponent during the battle. In Samurai Warriors, the battle acts as the turning point in his story paths as he tries to prevent Nobunaga's escape from the area. If he succeeds, he continues to onto his upper path scenario.

In Nobunaga, Ranmaru and Oichi's story, they fight through the Akechi army and have Nobunaga escape safely. Noh's version of the stage makes her an enemy of both armies after she kills Nobunaga's double. She then escapes to chase her husband. She also has another version where she stays loyal to Nobunaga after killing Oichi and helps him escape.

Samurai Warriors 2 alters the layout to have the shrine in the south and creates a maze of passageways to barricade the Oda army's position. Nobutada is put into focus as both forces will try to either save or slay him at the nearby castle. In Mitsuhide's version of the stage, Nō and Oichi give their lives to guard Nobunaga. Nobunaga's side of the battle has his vassals heavily surrounded and easily routed during the first few minutes of the conflict. He will either try to escape from the invasion or defeat Mitsuhide. In this title, Magoichi snipes Nobunaga and forces Mitsuhide to take the blame for causing the daimyo's death.

In Samurai Warriors 3, the shrine itself is in the North, guarded by Ranmaru Mori and his brothers. In Nobunaga's version, he originally intends to escape but when his wife and Ranmaru are killed, he fights Motochika Chōsokabe who became involved and Mitsuhide to the death.

Warriors Orochi
In the first game, Nobunaga heads to the temple due to Huang Zhong's suggestion. Although they were expecting to meet Cao Cao, they were tricked into a trap set by Da Ji. The area is soon engulfed in flames and Nobunaga's army is surrounded. Even so, their leader remains calm and orders Toshiie to extinguish the flames. Rumors of Cao Cao's possible appearance attracts Xiahou Dun to the scene and, though he is disappointed to not see his cousin, he aids Nobunaga's forces. Shingen supports them as well, gloating that Nobunaga now owes him a favor. When Da Ji is defeated, she states it was a fun charade and retreats.

Huang Zhong, Ina and Xiahou Yuan have their dream stage take place in this area in Warriors Orochi 2. These three expert archers desire to prove that their skill can outperform any firearm. They defend Nobunaga and plan to stage a fire attack on Masamune's army. To ensure that their plan succeeds, they rely on sniping enemy scouts with their arrows and defeat Magoichi when he suspects deception. If their plot succeeds, they easily gain the upper hand over the young leader. Masamune will yell for Dian Wei's assistance if he experiences trouble while Zhao Yun and Yukimura charge straight for Nobunaga.

In the event their plan fails, the musket-reliant army surrounds the undermanned archer army.

Warriors Orochi 3 has Honnōji take place during chapter 3. Players first start out with the Hojo forces under Ujiyasu breaking through the front gates. When Oda forces ambush the party in a courtyard, Sun Jian arrives to meet up with the Hojo. Suddenly, soldiers decide to open fire accidentally hitting gunpowder, starting a huge fire that begins to decrease health for both sides, and burns Mitsuhide alive. Through the blaze, the Coalition must also fight Fu Xi who is looking for Da Ji. Nō also blocks the path to Nobunaga before the fight with the man himself. The redux version of the stage omits the accidental fire which enables players to face Mitsuhide and recruit him to their side.

Kessen
Kessen III shows the entire event through a series of cutscenes. During the game's first playthrough, the temple is attacked in a massive conflict during the opening movie. Nobunaga and Ranmaru hurry for the temple's lower exit and trigger various defense mechanisms during their flight. While the young man loses his life for his lord, Nobunaga's escape is blocked by an ominous figure engulfed in fire. The mysterious figure haunts Nobunaga with a riddle, saying that dreams are reality and reality is a dream, before the figure shoots the lord in the chest. Nobunaga tells Kicho that he has had this dream since childhood and wonders if it foretells their fate. His dream becomes a reality later in his life yet his wife's loyalty saves him from death. He carries her wounded body and they escape together.

The game's second playthrough details the events preceding the attack. Kicho, wanting to keep her childhood friend from betraying Nobunaga, stays with Mitsuhide. Yoshiaki criticizes her stay with Mitsuhide and pesters his subordinate to take action. Mitsuhide, intent to make a world for him and her, imprisons her to prevent her interference with his assassination attempt. A ninja brigade sent by Hachisuka frees her from the castle's dungeon and urges her return to Kyoto. The rest of the events follow the first version of the cinematic.

Geten no Hana
The betrayal at Honnōji is the climax of each character scenario in Geten no Hana. Although the characters and forces involved are reliant on the route, the basic layout of the attack remains fairly consistent in most cases. Nobuyuki is the instigator who surrounds the temple with 2,000 men. Nobunaga has one hundred at best to protect himself, and reinforcements from Azuchi Castle are sluggish to assist his defense. Nobuyuki's ninja set the temple ablaze while Nobunaga and Ranmaru are still inside it. Events which occur at Honnōji beyond this point and its final conclusion varies in each story.

Game Nihonshi Kakumeiji
Honnōji serves as the final battle of the game. Trapped within the confines of the temple grounds, Nobunaga, Ranmaru, and three other pages are up against a slew of powerful Akechi units blocking the entrance. Even if the battle is won through trial and error, it will still count as a defeat for the player.