Katsuie Shibata

Katsuie Shibata first appeared as a unique character and bodyguard in Samurai Warriors 2. Like Kojiro, he is playable character with a combine moveset in Samurai Warriors 2: Empires and in Samurai Warriors 2: Xtreme Legends with a new moveset, weapons and a Story Mode entry. He is one of Nobunaga's loyal generals. In some historical records, he is known as "Devil Shibata" (鬼柴田). He has an unspoken love for Oichi, which is why he doesn't get along very well with Hideyoshi and Nagamasa.

His height since his unique playable appearance in the Samurai Warriors series is 166 cm (5'5").

Samurai Warriors
During his Samurai Warriors 2 and Empires appearance, Katsuie is Nobunaga's rough talking, spear wielding warrior. He appears as one of the guards for the Oda main camp at Anegawa and needs to be defeated to unlock the doors to their camp. Stubbornly, he will not allow anyone to pass even after his defeat. Katsuie also makes a bold charge for the Kingo ward during the Siege of Odani Castle, rushing past any Azai general in the lower part of the map. With Hideyoshi, he is also one of the starting Oda generals at Tedorigawa. However, his all-out assault drags his allies into Kenshin's flood attack and causes several casualties before Nobunaga arrives. Ashamed, he tries to redeem his reputation by taking Kenshin's head. In Mitsuhide's dream stage, he is one of the members of the coalition who oppose Mitsuhide.

In Samurai Warriors 2: Xtreme Legends, Katsuie continues to faithfully serve in his lord's campaigns and becomes Toshiie's mentor. While he was ordered away from his lord, Nobunaga was killed at Honnoji. Katsuie hurried to avenge his lord but lost to the quicker Hideyoshi. Feeling that his era was coming to an end, Katsuie leads a resistance against his former comrade. Although Toshiie came rushing to his home to aid him, the old man denies his request. Making a brave stand at Shizugatake, he and Oichi fend off Hideyoshi's army. However, they are unable to match their opponent's reinforcements and Katsuie retreats to his castle. To show Toshiie how a true warrior dies, he burns his home and stays in the smoking ruins, leaving the new age to be lead by his "son". Whilst inside, he toasts to his lord's seat.

His dream stage is a "what-if?" scenario of Katsuie saving Nobunaga from Honnoji. The fire has started and Nobunaga's remaining warriors, No and Ranmaru, are heavily surrounded by Mitsuhide's troops. Katsuie must force his way through the enemy and carve out an escape route for Nobunaga.

For the beginning of his second Xtreme Legends story, Katsuie calmly leads the first vanguard against Yoshimoto's massive army in Okehazama. Though he struggles to against oppressive odds, he purposely spearheads his forces forward to ensure the success of Nobunaga's surprise attack.

Warriors Orochi
In Warriors Orochi 2, Katsuie appears with his lord at Tong Gate. In one of the game's dream modes, he teams up with Sun Jian and Cao Ren to rescue Oichi. During their struggle, Sun Jian will suggest to call for reinforcements and she suggests to send a messenger for Nagamasa. Once the messenger safely leaves the field, he arrives and charges to defend the main keep. Katsuie scornfully greets him and his team quells the castle's attackers.

Kessen
Katsuie first appears as one of Nobunaga's rouge units in Kessen III. He leads a small civil rebellion against the youth as he felt Nobunaga would never be an adequate leader for the Oda clan. Once he is captured, he spends a night reconsidering the young lord's worth before he joins Nobunaga. He is a rough man who refuses to follow anyone who he thinks is weaker than him. However, he is very loyal once recruited and is a strong unit to have in the front line. Like Hideyoshi, he pines for Oichi but would never admit it aloud. Prior to the game's extra battle, he can be seen walking alongside Oichi in a Christian church.

Katsuie will perform better in battle if he is paired with Oichi. He can alternatively become stronger if he is in an army with Kazumasu Takigawa and Narimasa Sassa.

Mōri Motonari: Chikai no Sanya
Still loyal to Nobunaga, Katsuie is a steadfast vassal of the Oda clan in Mouri Motonari: Chikai no Sanya. A loud braggart who doesn't question his lord's orders, Katsuie believes he can defeat anyone in battle. After massacring the Ishigami-Honganji rebels and hundreds of innocent people, he attempts to finish the job at Kizugawaguchi. However, he is beaten back by Terumoto's army and reports his failure back at Kyoto. Nobunaga scolds him for coming back empty handed, causing Katsuie to grovel with regret.

After Nobunaga and Mitsuhide's deaths, he joins forces with Kazumasu Takigawa, Nobukatsu Oda, and Ieyasu in Mikawa. He desires to not only overthrow the Mōri but to additionally avenge the humiliation he suffered from Kizugawaguchi. He and other Oda remnants try to ambush the Mōri camp during the battle at Nōbi Plain. Once defeated, Katsuie escapes to swear vengeance but doesn't appear again in the game.

Personality
In Samurai Warriors 2, Katsuie is a hotheaded warrior who is easily flustered when someone suspects his love for Oichi. He believes that honest actions say more than words and seldom plans in advance. Toshiie, though a generic daimyo at this time, briefly mentions his ties with Katsuie by calling him "Oyaji-dono" in the Japanese script.

Katsuie's personality changes to a grim and old-fashioned warrior in his second playable appearance. He has a tighter lip than before and is strongly concerned with the changing times. Though he loyally follows Nobunaga's orders, he keeps a watchful eye on Oichi and is openly disdainful of Nagamasa's hypocrisy. As Toshiie's mentor and idol, he encourages the boy to leave the nest by shoving him to Hideyoshi's forces.

Character Symbolism
In the Samurai Warriors series, he's symbolized by the words "savage" (猛) and "divide" (割).

The original name for his fourth spear found in Samurai Warriors 2: Empires is Hinomoto-gō, a spear that is famously mentioned in the Kuroda Bushi. It is one of the Three Great Spears of Japan, an ōmiyari with a blade over one shaku long (approximately over 30.3 cm or over a foot). According to legend, it was passed down from the emperor to the shogun, from the shogun to Nobunaga and then Hideyoshi. It was then given to Masanori. As per the song, the spear was presented as a present to the Kuroda retainer, Tomonobu Mori. Tomonobu was said to have then presented it to his friend and ally from the Korean campaigns, Mototsugu Gotō, as a sign of gratitude. The original spear's presence in Fukuoka is a mythical reason for the Kuroda clan's prominent influences or contributions for the area.

Both in English and Japanese, the namesake for Katsuie's second pair of axes is Li Kui's nickname. Li Kui is a character in the Water Margin, a rough and violent man who proudly fought in war with his dual axes. An expert of melee, he actually is a simple-minded fellow in spite of his ferocity and has several comical moments within the story.

His third weapon or Noraml weapon is literally named "Twin Stars of the Universe". The twin stars are a likely reference to the stars, Vega and Altair. These stars are made famous in the tale of Orihime and Hikoboshi, which has its roots from the Chinese folktale, Niulang Zhinu. Orihime weaved beautiful clothes at Amanokawa to please her father, Tentei. When her father realized she desired a lover, he united her with Hikoboshi, a cow herder from the other side of the river. The two lovers instantly fell in love with one another and neglected their responsibilities when together. As punishment, an enraged Tentei forbade the lovers from seeing one another. Seeing his heartbroken daughter, however, he conceded to let the lovers meet once on the seventh day of the seventh month if they remained faithful to their respective crafts. Although the bridge for the river was broken on their promised meeting, a flock of magpies formed a bridge for Orihime to cross. The variants of the weapon found in the third title instead have him wield the "dual blades" (Power) or "ryōgi" (Speed) of the universe. Ryōgi is a term used to describe one of the formations of the heaven and earth -or yin-yang- found within I Ching.

Katsuie's fourth weapon and Unique weapon are named after Shugongōshin, which is a Japanese name for the bodhisattva, Vajrapani. Armed with a vajra, the entity is known as a wrathful and muscled guardian of Buddha in Japan. Vajrapani is said to have been the influence for Ni-Oh, twin dharmapalas or devas who guard the left and right entrances to temples. Ni-Oh are said to represent strength as well as the passages of life and death. His fifth weapon is either named after a general thunder god or Yakusa-no-ikazuchi, a frightful and disastrous looking corpse that was formed to pursue Izanagi within Yomi-no-Kuni. According to the Yamato Bumi, it was a grotesque creation filled of pus boiling maggots and grew by continuing to pile corpses on itself. A frightened Izanagi was able to flee from the monstrosity by hiding underneath a giant peach tree.

Voice Actors

 * Edouard Fontaine - Samurai Warriors 2 (English)
 * Paul Kannaspuro - Samurai Warriors 2: Xtreme Legends (English)
 * David Lodge - Warriors Orochi 2, Samurai Warriors 3 (English)
 * Doug Stone - Kessen III (English)
 * Eiji Takemoto - Samurai Warriors and Warriors Orochi series (Japanese)
 * Fumihiko Tachiki - Kessen III (Japanese)

Quotes

 * "Curse you, Nagamasa! Oichi deserves better!"
 * "Quit your clowning around, Monkey!"
 * "Always concentrate on the enemy in front of you, that is war!"
 * "Another poor excuse for a warrior."
 * "Is this all that they're capable of?"
 * "Brace yourself!"
 * "I shall venture forth. Do not look away."
 * "I await a challenger who can topple me."
 * "Your puniness makes me laugh!"
 * "Come, I shall give you death!"
 * "I am proud to fall... in my lord's service."
 * "He who topples me will be mighty indeed.""
 * "Devil Shibata coming through!"
 * "Beware my axes!"
 * Katsuie... am I mistaken, or do you have feelings for me?"
 * "I-er... Don't be ridiculous! I am not shaped for amorous pursuits... All I am good for is keeping you safe. So please, rest easy, Lady Oichi."
 * "Hmm... I see..."
 * Oichi and Katsuie; Samurai Warriors 2: Empires


 * "Katsuie, you are strong and skillful... But there are better ways of tackling problems than full-frontal assault..."
 * "Honest and straightforward is the way of the Shibata! So why don't you take your meddling somewhere else, Mitsuhide!"
 * Mitsuhide and Katsuie; Samurai Warriors 2: Empires


 * "Hahaha, turning coward, Monkey? If you're scared, you should hide behind some woman's skirts!"
 * "Is that so? I guess it is so. Lord Shibata can only wish to get so close to a girl!"
 * Katsuie and Hideyoshi, Kessen III

Ground Moveset

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Mounted Moveset

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Same attacks excluding his C5 and Level 3 Musou. His R1 attacks have also changed:
 * Warriors Orochi
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Samurai Warriors
In Samurai Warriors 2: Empires, his moveset consists of attacks borrowed from Keiji Maeda, Tadakatsu Honda and Yukimura Sanada. His normal attacks, mounted attacks and musou are borrowed from Keiji. The C1, C2, and C3 are borrowed from Tadakatsu and his C4 from Yukimura.

Historical Information
Katsuie was born in the Shibata family, a cadet branch of the Shiba clan who descended from the Ashikaga clan, and were the former suzerains of the Oda. He initially supported Nobunaga's younger brother, Oda Nobukatsu, as he his retainer. In 1556, he launched a coup d'etat against Nobunaga but after a loss at the Battle of Ino, he withdrew his support and served under Nobunaga. This change of heart, brought on by Nobunaga executing his brother and sparing him, would earn praise from Nobunaga. Katsuie was not present at Anegawa, as he had been besieged at Chokoji Castle by 4000 Rokkakku soldiers. He eventually won via an all-out attack that inspired the Rokkakku to retreat; this, along with a series of brilliant victories, gained him renown as "Oni Shibata".

In 1575, after gaining control of Echizen, he gained the castle of Kitanosho Castle (Hokujō) and was commanded to conquer the Hokuriku region. After controlling Kaga and Noto, he began a campaign against Etchu Province in 1581. In 1582, Nobunaga was assassinated at Honnō-ji but in a Siege of Matsukura and facing Uesugi's army, Katsuie was unable to return.

In a meeting in Kiyosu to determine the successor to Nobunaga, he supported Oda Nobutaka, the third son, for whom Katsuie had performed the genpuku ritual. He allied with Oda Nobutaka and Takigawa Kazumasu to battle Toyotomi Hideyoshi. However, his domain was sealed off in the winter by snowfalls and this limited his ability. Both of his allies were defeated while Katsuie battled snowfalls and Uesugi. His forces, under the leadership of Sakuma Morimasa, besieged Nakagawa Kiyohide at Shizugatake in a move to turn the tide launching the Shizugatake. Sakuma ignored Shibata's orders to merely test the enemy's defense and was destroyed by Hideyoshi's returning forces. He retreated to Kitanoshō castle but with the army destroyed, Katsuie had no option but to surrender. Katsuie committed seppuku and set the fire to the castle. He implored Oichi to take their daughters and leave, but she decided to follow his death, while letting her daughters escape.