Kessen

Kessen, which literally means "decisive battle" in Japanese, is a real-time strategy game for the PlayStation 2 produced by Koei and published by Electronic Arts. Like Dynasty Warriors 2, it was one of the first titles of its genre to be featured for the console. The game is set near the end of the Warring States period in Japan, beginning with Sekigahara and historically ending with the Osaka Campaign.

Before the player begins a story, they're entreated to a message by the producer, stating that the game fulfills his desire to create a movie that could be controlled. To follow suite with this statement, the players can choose to win or lose battles to experience a different storyline. Events that occur can either be abridged dramatizations of history or completely original yet fathomable scenarios. Cinematics and the music are similar to the samurai film genre with characters adopting a tone complementary to the setting.

Players begin the game as Ieyasu Tokugawa and are given the freedom in their conquest. After the last confrontation, they can begin with Mitsunari Ishida. Once both scenarios are cleared, players can choose their next leader and adjust the difficulty level to their liking. Each time the player completes a scenario, the branching storylines they earn can be seen in the "Battle History" option at the starting screen.

It is followed by two other titles, Kessen II and Kessen III. Though each title shares the same name and similar gameplay elements, neither of these are direct sequels. Kou Shibusawa serves as the producer for all three titles. The main composer for the series was Reijiro Rokuro, who is known for his orchestral work in Japanese TV dramas and select NHK taiga dramas.

Characters
For the English version of the game, generals are given shorter names for easier recognition. These abbreviations can either be one of the figure's names or an amalgam of both their names to distinguish themselves from others. Some examples include:
 * Tada Honda = Tadatomo Honda; Honda = Tadakatsu Honda
 * Yuki Sanada = Yukimura Sanada; Yuki = Hideyasu Yuki
 * Maeda = Keiji Maeda; Toshi = Toshitsune Maeda

Usually, these names are kept exclusively for the planning and battle stages though they can also be mentioned during cutscenes. Leaders will sometimes have their given name spoken instead. In the pause menu during battles, players can see each figures' full name and a brief biography of their exploits.

East

 * Ieyasu Tokugawa
 * Tadakatsu Honda
 * Naomasa Ii
 * Yasumasa Sakakibara
 * Ietsugu Sakai
 * Tadaoki Hosokawa
 * Nagamasa Kuroda
 * Masanori Fukushima
 * Hidetada Tokugawa
 * Terumasa Ikeda
 * Masanobu Honda
 * Takatora Todo
 * Kiyomasa Kato
 * Masamune Date
 * Kojuro Katakura
 * Yoshiaki Mogami
 * Toshitsune Maeda
 * Saizo Kani
 * Hideyasu Yuki
 * Takatomo Kyogoku
 * Tadanao Matsudaira
 * Tadayoshi Matsudaira
 * Toshitsune Maeda
 * Hirotaka Terasawa
 * Naotaka Ii
 * Tadatomo Honda
 * Yasukatsu Sakakibara
 * Yoshimasa Tanaka
 * Yoshikira Kato
 * Hirotaka Terasawa
 * Okatsu

West

 * Mitsunari Ishida
 * Sakon Shima
 * Yoshitsugu Otani
 * Hideie Ukita
 * Yukinaga Konishi
 * Yoshihiro Shimazu
 * Toyohisa Shimazu
 * Hideaki Kobayakawa
 * Hidemoto Mori
 * Hiroie Kikkawa
 * Ekei Ankokuji
 * Satoie Gamo
 * Morichika Chosokabe
 * Teruzumi Akashi
 * Masayuki Sanada
 * Yukimura Sanada
 * Josui Kuroda
 * Yoshinobu Satake
 * Muneshige Tachibana
 * Terumoto Mori
 * Katsunaga Mori
 * Shigenari Kimura
 * Matabe Goto
 * Masaie Natsuka
 * Naoshige Nabeshima
 * Harunaga Ono
 * Shigemoto Matsuno
 * Kagekatsu Uesugi
 * Kanetsugu Naoe
 * Keiji Maeda
 * Hideyori Toyotomi
 * Sasuke, Saizo, and Kosuke

Others

 * Lady Yodo
 * Garasha
 * Senhime

Battles

 * Skirmish at Kusegawa
 * Battle of Sekigahara
 * Escape from Minakuchi
 * Retreat from Ueda
 * Defense of Hakone
 * Battle of Harima
 * Defense at Seta
 * Battle at Mount Fuji
 * Summer Battle at Osaka
 * Winter Battle at Edo

Allusions

 * The monochrome painting of two samurai armies clashing for the game's promotional art can later be seen during the opening sequence for Samurai Warriors.
 * In the Japanese version of Kessen, Teruzumi Akashi performs an upbeat dance with his men before fighting the enemy. He had two different dances, depending on the unit type he has for his army. This was cut in the American port but is parodied by Meng Huo in the following title.
 * In Kessen III, super-deformed dolls of Da Qiao and Yukimura Sanada appear as two objects from Tokichiro's goods. Nobunaga says he'll take everything the merchant has and two soldiers run off with the dolls.
 * Ieyasu's theme in Kessen III is a reprise of his music from the first Kessen.