Mikatagahara

The Battle of Mikatagahara (三方ヶ原の戦い, Mikatagahara no Tatakai) is a battle that pits the Takeda clan against the Tokugawa clan. The Takeda have a clear advantage over their foes and Ieyasu is often forced to retreat. It is noted for being Shingen's final battle.

Samurai Warriors
In the first game of the series, Ieyasu orders his men to hold their positions and engage the enemy lightly. Nobushige Oyamada and his men taunt the Tokugawa advance force, enticing them to attack. It worked; the advance moved forward and was soon cut down, leaving a gap in the Tokugawa defense. The Oda reinforcements make haste to report Shingen's strength to their lord and try to escape from the field. Shingen forms his forces into a Scale Formation and orders his cavalry to charge the Tokugawa line. The Tokugawa holds out only briefly before their army's morale collapses. Ieyasu retreats while Tadakatsu serves as the rear guard.

Hoping to change the tide of the battle, Hanzō sneaks into the Takeda main camp and kills Shingen. Realizing that the Takeda lord has perished, Ieyasu turns around and continues the offensive on the confused Takeda army. In Yukimura's story, he orders a discreet retreat and seeks to stop the Tokugawa's renewed offensive. He may also prevent Hanzō's assassination attempt if the player has cleared the game with his lord. To compensate for her failure, Kunoichi may hide Shingen's death to keep morale high in her story.

Samurai Warriors 2 revamps the stage to include elevated terrain for the bottom part of the map, making it harder to navigate. Ieyasu is already on the run and Shingen orders an urgent pursuit. Tadakatsu continues to act as Ieyasu's rear guard and positions himself in the central area of the field. Hanzō follows his lord and aids his flight. The Oda officers also opt for retreat in the beginning stages of the battle and may succeed if the player allows it to happen.

During Ieyasu's version of the stage, his officers declare to be him in different parts of the map and sacrifice themselves for their lord's escape. As he flees, Takeda ambushes and Sakon's army impede his progress. After he enters his home's gates, he mourns for the lives lost and holds his ineptitude accountable. While he is calm in his scenario, Ieyasu gives into panic during Gracia's version in the Xtreme Legends expansion. Magoichi and her are hired to protect his escape. They are also given the choice to save some of his retainers from dying prematurely. The gunman coaxes Ieyasu to think rationally for his survival and they proceed without delay. Shingen also personally joins the chase and will be there once the trio arrives near the escape point. They can reach safety once he and Sakon are routed. The following narration states that Shingen dies of illness after the battle.

The Takeda version of the battle has Sakon stationed near the Takeda main base. Sakon is ordered to deal with the retreating Oda army; Shingen moves to defeat Ieyasu while choosing to avoid conflict with Tadakatsu. Though slain, the Ieyasu they caught was a double. For the rest of the battle, several Ieyasu impostors individually announce their presence and head for the south. If either of them escape, the battle will end in defeat for the Takeda army. When they are killed, the real Ieyasu appears and may be defeated.

Kotarō's scenario begins during the middle of the battle when three Ieyasu clones are on the map. Once he slays one, he realizes that ninjutsu is afoot and aims to locate the source. If he succeeds, he besmirches Hanzō's trickery and defeats him. This quickly reveals the real Ieyasu's location. With their plan foiled, Kotarō captures Ieyasu for his master and subjugates the Tokugawa generals to do his bidding. For his own amusement, he decides to kill Shingen and succeeds with his new army.

The third game has Ieyasu and his men fighting before their retreat. When the frontline is compromised, the doubles of Ieyasu will appear to obstruct Shingen as Tadakatsu will block pursuit on the Oiwake bridge. Only Tadakatsu and Ina gets the Tokugawa side, while Yukimura, Shingen, and Sakon gets the Takeda side.

Warriors Orochi
During Orochi's story mode, Nobunaga and his massive army confront Orochi here. While the Oda generals closest to the serpent king's army falters, Nobunaga remains undaunted and continues the assault. Da Ji concocts a scheme and orders the army to guard her group of selected sorcerers. They aim to claim the enemy storehouse guarded by Mitsuhide and his vanguard. Mitsuhide notices the suspicious movements and orders a signal fire to warn his lord. Due to the heavy snowfall, the message takes time to be accepted. If the Orochi army succeeds in their mission, the mages will begin an incantation. Thanks to their spell, the entire serpent army is teleported into the storehouse and causes great confusion to the Oda army. Nobunaga is defeated and his army is scattered.

In Warriors Orochi, the stage acts as the last Gaiden stage for Shu in a scenario where Zhang Fei and Guan Yu finally decide to rebel against Orochi. This version of Mikatagahara takes place during a cloudy day with no snowfall in sight. Though worried for their older brother's safety, they cannot tolerate their servitude any longer. They decide to attack the serpent army's supply line guarded by Dong Zhuo and Lu Bu. Defeating Lu Bu here is one of the key requirements to unlock him as a playable character.

In Musou Orochi Z, this stage is a continuation of Benkei's Gaiden stages. Together with Himiko and Masamune Date, they must rescue Da Ji and Sun Wukong from the coalition led by Cao Pi and Sun Ce. During the battle, Benkei has to face off against Yoshitsune, who is upset that he sided with Da Ji.

During the third title, Lu Meng goes with Kiyomasa and Masanori to Mikatagahara in search of a certain general fighting the serpent forces. They find Gan Ning and a competition between him and Fukushima is initiated to see who can kill more demons. Eventually, Sun Wukong arrives to interfere only find himself pushed back by the Coalition.

Ultimate adds two new stages which depicts one of the first battles of the Hydra timeline; the depicts Kiyomori, Masamune, and Keiji working together to throw Mikatagahara into chaos and establish it as a base of operations for reviving Orochi. They thwart the ambush efforts of Guo Huai, Hideyoshi Toyotomi, and Ranmaru Mori, while Kiyomori tries perfecting his new mind powers. Hideyoshi gets away, but Kiyomri manages to master the powers. This stage sets up the events of Nagashino. The second stage has Guo Huai, Hideyoshi, and Ranmrau re-imagine the events at Mikatagahara as they try to escape only all three of them all make it to safety. With a little help from Wang Yi, The trio get by Kiyomori and set up events for a re-imagined Nagashino.

Kessen
Nobunaga can choose to personally fight Shingen in Kessen III. He goes there at Ieyasu's request and faces the land's most fearsome cavalry with three battalions. Shingen remains confident that his elite army is vastly superior to Nobunaga's men. If Nobunaga talks to the village folk during the battle, he will learn that Shingen has doubles of his army placed on the field. Once they defeat Shingen's double, the forest in the center of the field will clear to reveal the real Shingen's location. If Nobunaga wins the battle, Shingen will die from his battle wounds. Otherwise, the warlord passes away due to illness.