Kanetsugu Naoe

Kanetsugu Naoe (直江 兼続) is one of the new characters in Samurai Warriors 2. He is a retainer of the Uesugi clan serving both Kenshin Uesugi and his successor Kagekatsu Uesugi, convincing the latter to join forces with the Toyotomi. He is known in history for writing a scathing letter to Ieyasu before Sekigahara.

Samurai Warriors
In Samurai Warriors 2, Kanetsugu is a firm believer in honor and justice. His ideals inspire some, such as Mitsunari, and disgust others like Masamune Date, who tells Kanetsugu that there is no honor in leading men to die, and the two form a rivalry of sorts.

At Odawara Castle, he meets Mitsunari Ishida and Yukimura Sanada, and the three swear an oath of friendship. With his friends, he hopes to build a Japan committed to his personal values. After the death of Hideyoshi Toyotomi, the three form the Western Army to support the Toyotomi clan's heir, Hideyori Toyotomi. Kanetsugu aids the effort by attacking Ieyasu Tokugawa from the east, while Mitsunari attacks from the west.

Warriors Orochi
In Warriors Orochi 2, Kanetsugu Naoe is first seen at the Battle of Hasedo. As Shingen Takeda and Sakon Shima discuss their next move, Yukimura Sanada scouts that his friend, Kanetsugu is under attack from Sun Wukong. Seeing an opportunity to use saving Kanetsugu into an audience with Lord Kenshin Uesugi. Together, Yukimura and Sakon with the help of Zhang Jiao fight to Kanetsugu Naoe and rescue him from the attack. When they reach him, however, enemy sorcerers have started a fire in the forest and the mystic Fu Xi comes to thier aid. They eventually overcome Sun Wukong and rescue Kanetsugu, ensuring an audience with Lord Kenshin. After saving his beloved officer, Kenshin agrees to join Sakon and his attempt to prevent the awakening of Orochi.

At the Battle of Chang Ban, Sakon sends Lord Shingen to speak to Masamune Date to get him to see the error of his ways and turn away from Da Ji and Orochi. This is harder than it may seem because the enemy strategist is the brilliant Sima Yi. Sima Yi uses the Date gunmen to destroy the Takeda Calvary. In response, Shingen asks a volunteer to circle around the enemy by way of sea and set fire to the gunpowder, there by destroying the enemy's guns. Kanetsugu quickly volunteers and fights his way through enemy generals, including Keiji Maeda to reach the boat. When he lands, he sets the fire attack and Shingen releases the Reserve Calvary. When Sima Yi is captured, he is impressed with Shingen's brilliance and even joins Sakon's cause. In the end, however, they were unable to convince Masamune to leave Da Ji.

In one of the game's dream modes, he teams up with Nagamasa Azai and Ma Chao as three heroes of justice, faith, and honor. They work together to save villagers from Sun Wukong and Kiyomori Taira. When their army struggles, Yukimura, Ma Dai, and Yoshikage Asakura arrive to reinforce them. This helps the army's morale and they righteously win the day.

Kessen
Kanetsugu appears as a minor enemy in Kessen III. He is one of Kenshin's closest generals and continues to antagonize Nobunaga after his lord's death. His characteristic "love" (愛) helmet can be found as an item in the battlefield.

Development
Designers explain that his trademark "love" helmet was omitted due to the genre of the series. For an action game, they reason, it's best to have a simple icon to identify each character. Since the players are usually looking at their character's back, they felt that it was more appropriate to place the kanji on his back than front. His helmet was specifically designed to emphasize the kanji. Kanetsugu's overall design was based on Kenshin's revamp, using white as its base color.

Although he doesn't make a unique appearance, his "love" helmet design can be seen when he's a generic in Samurai Warriors. Creators use his name to label that specific general type.

Voice Actors

 * Alex Eberts - Samurai Warriors 2 (English)
 * Masaya Takatsuka - Samurai Warriors and Warriors Orochi series (Japanese)

Quotes

 * "I stand for virtue and honor."
 * "I strike down injustice on behalf of the Heavens!"
 * "I have slain another in the name of justice."
 * "My Lord Ieyasu, welcome to the battlefield. Did you get the letter I sent?"
 * "Oh yes, I enjoyed it very much. But it almost didn't reach me... Did you realize that you spelled my name wrong? It's "Ieyasu Tokugawa," not "Villainous Swine Who Will Perish for His Dishonor." Perhaps you can remember that?"
 * Kanetsugu and Ieyasu; Samurai Warriors 2 Empires

Trivia

 * Kanetsugu's nickname with Japanese fans is "Squid" (Ika).