Ieyasu Tokugawa

Ieyasu Tokugawa first appears in Samurai Warriors as a unique generic who has his own in-game cutscenes and quotes. He becomes a playable character in Samurai Warriors 2. He is the leading daimyo of the Tokugawa clan and one of the three unifers of Japan, preceded by Nobunaga Oda and Hideyoshi Toyotomi. In the first game, he is 31 years old. He's symbolized by the words "future" (将) and "unite" (統).

Samurai Warriors
Ieyasu is the proud lord of Mikawa and an old friend of Nobunaga. Due to political affairs, he was a former ally of Yoshimoto Imagawa. When Imagawa is ambushed at Okehazama, Ieyasu and his men chose to serve Nobunaga. At first, he is generally seen as a panicky and somewhat incompetent leader with very talented generals under his command. His leadership qualities are better demonstrated in Samurai Warriors: Xtreme Legends.

In the second game, he is already a part of Nobunaga's forces. He tried to lead an attack against Shingen but suffers a humiliating defeat. During his dangerous retreat to Mikawa, many of his men lost their lives for his safety. Although he felt anguish for their loss, he swore to honor their wishes for a land of peace. He then endures any hardship that comes his way and adopts an air of patience. After Hideyoshi's death, he sees his chance to take the land and rebels as the leader of the Eastern Army. He puts an end to the Toyotomi clan at their castle in Osaka. In his ending, he becomes the shogun and watches over the populace in a peaceful land.

His dream stage is an extension of his story mode where Ieyasu needs to deal with the last bits of resistance against him. In Empires, he is also nicknamed "tanuki".

Warriors Orochi
In Warriors Orochi, Ieyasu has many of his comrades held captive by Orochi. Like Sun Ce, he is forced to act as a loyal member of the snake lord's forces to ensure the safety of his men. When the Little Conqueror defects, Ieyasu follows suite and saves innocent people from Orochi's wrath. During the story, Ieyasu also helps Sun Ce in many battles, such as Anegawa, where he keeps the main camp safe, while the rest of the Wu command attacks.

In Warriors Orochi 2, Ieyasu Tokugawa, and his followers, are beginning characters with the Shu army. When Shu decides that Masamune Date could be the key to breaking Orochi's newly formed army, Ieyasu leads the force against him, hoping to reason with his old friend at Saika Village. However, Masamune will not listen and instead continues his loyalty to Orochi.

Ieyasu shares his Dream stage with the other Unifiers of Japan, war against the rulers of the Three Kingdoms. He admires Liu Bei's trait of enduring hardship for his country, and is the Samurai Warriors counterpart of him.

Kessen
In Kessen, Ieyasu is the irreplaceable leader of the Tokugawa forces. He is a bold and wise ruler who is following the late Nobunaga's wish for peace. In this series, he also has a young concubine named Okatsu, who is believed to be a descendant of Hanzō Hattori. He's contemptuous of his son, Hidetada, as his incompetence nearly cost them the battle at Sekigahara. He often laughs in a fearless yet cynical manner during rather grim times.

In the third Kessen, he is a valuable support character for Nobunaga. When he was a child, Nobunaga granted him a small taste of freedom by running away from Imagawa's household. Though they were quickly captured, Ieyasu took the event to heart and they became fast friends. When he is first introduced, he is known as Motoyasu Matsudaira (松平 元康). Before Nobunaga learned Ieyasu's formal name, he called him by his childhood name, Takechiyo (竹千代). After the Imagawa family fell, he changes his name to Ieyasu. He remains loyal to his friend's cause even after he bitterly stifles his own plans for conquest.

Saihai no Yukue
Ieyasu appears as Mitsunari's arch nemesis in Saihai no Yukue. He leads the Eastern Army to conquer the land for his own. He beats Mitsunari in every aspect and also possesses the mystical power, "Heaven's Eye", an ability that allows the user to see other people's thoughts and seemingly read the flow of battle. The two rivals met a year prior to Sekigahara as Mitsunari sought refuge in his mansion from an assassination attempt. He realizes that his rival also possesses Heaven's Eye and is interested in the younger man's capabilities.

Near the end of Sekigahara, Mitsunari glimpses into his mind and realizes that Ieyasu foresaw a different future, in which the Eastern Army won and Mitsunari was facing execution. Beaten by the younger man's stronger will, he loses the battle. Ieyasu is spared by Mitsunari, who doesn't want to see more deaths on the field. He then reveals that he was sent there by Lady Yodo, who pleaded with him to end Mitsunari's tyranny. After her will is broken, Ieyasu leaves her services and returns to Edo. Three years later, he unites the land and burns down Osaka Castle.

His wife, Okatsu no Kata, volunteered to join him on the battlefield. She helps bolster morale and will cheer for her lord no matter what the consequences.

Development
At first, Ieyasu was designed to be a solid yet peculiarly incompetent warlord. He is meant to be seen as a rather lucky leader with good men by his side. His armor was given a turtle motif to reflect his sturdy yet almost cowardly nature. The director and producer stated that this was done since the first game's focus was Nobunaga and Hideyoshi in the following expansion, meaning that Ieyasu's exploits had to be cut back to compensate.

Since the focus of the second game was introducing Sekigahara, Ieyasu's design was altered for a more heroic impact. His physical features were also changed to make him seem like a "friendly uncle" with a more tolerant nature. Ieyasu's overall design surrounded the famed historical explanation for Ieyasu's figure, in that he had a "tanuki body shape". Though they wanted to keep his spear, they rounded it out slightly to keep in touch with the tanuki motif. The helmet he wears in this game is very similar to the actual helmet he historically wore at Sekigahara.

Voice Actors

 * R. Martin Klein - Samurai Warriors (English)
 * Vladimir Saklikov - Samurai Warriors 2 (English)
 * Dave Mallow - Warriors Orochi series (English)
 * Paul Dobson - Kessen (English)
 * Dan Woren - Kessen III (English)
 * Jôji Nakata - Samurai Warriors and Warriors Orochi series (Japanese)
 * Tessho Genda - Kessen (Japanese)
 * Hideo Ishikawa - Kessen III (Japanese)

Quotes

 * "One step at a time!"
 * "Remember, slow and steady wins the race."
 * "Do not try to force victory - Hold out and it will come."
 * "Loyal retainers are precious treasures. And that makes me the wealthiest man of all."
 * Ieyasu in Ina's ending; Samurai Warriors 2


 * "I cannot believe this was once the great Lord Kiyomori Taira I see before me."
 * "It matters not who I once was. It matters who I am now."
 * A stunned Ieyasu and Kiyomori Taira at Jia Meng Gate; Warriors Orochi 2.


 * "I fight for the people. And a better world! I cannot lose!"
 * "It is a great honor to face you in battle!"
 * Liu Bei and Ieyasu Tokugawa at Fan Castle; Warriors Orochi 2


 * "Mitsunari... I applaud your boldness. Your loyalty to the Toyotomis... is admirable. But honor alone will not bring what you seek. I will triumph... and forge a new world of my own design! My world!!"
 * Ieyasu before Sekigahara; Kessen


 * "If Lord Nobunaga was born to be a hunting falcon, I was born to be a sea bird bound to the shore."
 * Ieyasu's comment about taking over Nobunaga's ambition; Kessen III

Trivia
Ieyasu is considered the Samurai Warriors counterpart of Liu Bei. Dan Woren was the voice actor for Ieyasu in Kessen III as well as Liu Bei in Dynasty Warriors 4 and 5.