Mitsuhide Akechi

Mitsuhide Akechi debuted as a playable character in Samurai Warriors. He is one of Nobunaga's trusted vassals. He is Gracia's father and mentions of his wife can be found in conversations for Samurai Warriors 2: Empires. He is best known in history for betraying Nobunaga at Honnoji. However, the reasons behind his betrayal are ambiguous and are still debated amongst historians.

In the first game, he's 25 years old. In the Samurai Warriors series, he's symbolized by the kanji for "flash" (閃), the kanji for "punish" (誅), and white feathers.

Samurai Warriors
In Samurai Warriors, Mitsuhide acts as the reluctant warrior for Nobunaga's army. He is a mentor for Ranmaru and an old acquaintance of Nouhime. When Mino fell, both him and his apprentice allied themselves with Nobunaga.

In Samurai Warriors 2, Mitsuhide is a ronin looking to serve a worthy lord who end the land's wars. After he witnesses Nobunaga's resounding victory at Okehazama, Mitsuhide joins his ranks as a loyal officer. Even so, he often finds himself doubting his lord's methods and tries to vie for an alternative solution. He offered Nagamasa a chance to formerly plead for surrender but Nagamasa instead commits suicide in front of his brother-in-law. After the battle of Saika village, Mitsuhide realizes that he participated in a massacre and finds himself questioning his desires.

Deciding that he would be the one to end the chaos, he leads a revolt at Honnoji and duels Nobunaga in the burning compound. However, he finds himself unable to deal the decisive blow and tearfully states that he still wishes to see the land Nobunaga would create. Seeing their guard down, Magochi snipes Nobunaga and Mitsuhide is blamed for his lord's death. Bearing the burden of the false claim, he makes a stand at Yamazaki, defeats Hideyoshi's troops, and avenges his lord's death by killing Magoichi. After this battle, Mitsuhide becomes the shogun of Japan.

In his dream mode, he deals with the Anti-Mitsuhide coalition lead by Ieyasu. His forces include the Date troops, the remaining Uesugi troops, and the Sanada clan. Kotaro also ambushes Mitushide in his goal for chaos.

Warriors Orochi
In Warriors Orochi, Mitsuhide loyally follows Nobanaga being an initial character. He is often social to the enemy often talking to those serving under Orochi, he tends to ask questions rather than insult them in a fight.

In the second installment, Mitsuhide is rescued and subsequently fights for Shu. Sun Wukong captures him and his daughter for Kiyomori. They are trying to build up an army to resurrect Orochi. Xing Cai and Inahime notice his flags (which are pointed out by a Samurai Warriors Character) as they pass by and decide to help him out. After they break him out he says he knows nothing of Kiyamori but Sun Wukong may and attempts to capture him, though he is unable. Following this he helps lead a seige on Koshi Castle, where he is one of the strategist but is willing to go out into the fray himself, capturing a garrison in the south to enable for troop reinforcements and taking over the cannon fortress that fires on Sun Wukong.

Kessen
Mitsuhide appears as an allied unit and later becomes the main antagonist in Kessen III. He is very skilled with a musket, which easily impresses Nobunaga. Like Samurai Warriors, he is symbolized in some way by a white hawk. He was formerly Kicho's bodyguard until he protested her marriage to Nobunaga. Due to his "insolence" on the manner, he was banished from Mino and left to drift across the land. He joins Nobunaga with plans to crush him from the inside. He frequently requests for Kicho to join him and become his lover. During his attack on Honnoji, he personally faces Nobunaga in the burning temple and shoots him with his rifle. He is heartbroken by Kicho's unshaken loyalty to her husband at Honnoji and suffers a stab wound that refuses to heal.

Though his assault at Honnoji failed to kill his enemy, he gains support from Nobunaga's enemies and the fallen Ashikaga shogun. He also gains a formidable foreign ally named Petro, a former acquaintance of Amalia. With his political influence, he declares Nobunaga an enemy of the state and aims to take his life. In the ending, a dying Mitsuhide reveals that he wanted to uphold a promise he made to a young Kicho: he would someday make a land where she wouldn't need to fight. He hears Kicho's voice saying that she understands his intentions and dies with a smile on his face. After his death, Nobunaga entreats a soaring white hawk to fly higher and free in the sky. On the game's second playthrough, more scenes regarding Mitsuhide's plot can be seen.

Development
Designers for the game made him the "lone wolf" samurai to fit the nature of his unexpected betrayal. His western stylized armor in the first game was to help imply his ties with Nobunaga. They strove to make him appear as a "manly yet sad" character. His unique sword-wielding fighting style was made to be one of his defining traits. These ideas carried into his redesign, but they also wanted to add a touch of inexperience to his character through his new story scenario.

Appearance
His Samurai Warriors alternate outfit has him dressed in a black uwagi, teal cloth gauntlets, two golden elbow guards, and a white hakama. His hair is tied back in a ponytail. His second color scheme in Samurai Warriors 2 Xtreme Legends uses white and black to replace his usual light and dark purples.

Voice Actors

 * Michael Gough - Samurai Warriors (English)
 * Kevin Symons - Samurai Warriors: Xtreme Legends (English)
 * Leroy Simon Bean - Samurai Warriors 2 (English)
 * Cam Clarke - Kessen III (English)
 * Darrel Guilbeau - Warriors Orochi series (English)
 * Hikaru Midorikawa - Samurai Warriors and Warriors Orochi series, Kessen III (Japanese)

Quotes

 * "You were wrong to oppose me."
 * "The enemy is at Honnoji!"
 * "Whenever I look to the moon, I remember the wife I left behind. To assist me in my time of need... She sold the very hair off her beautiful head."
 * "I, too, owe my wife a great debt, for helping me impress our lord. With the money given to her by her father, she purchased me a magnificent horse."
 * "For both of us, then... Our wives have made us who we are."
 * Mitsuhide and Kazutoyo Yamanouchi; Samurai Warriors 2 Empires


 * "Must I answer that question? I left that behind when I left Mino. Both the good and the bad..."
 * Mitsuhide's reply to Nobunaga about his past; Kessen III


 * "A woman's charms are like this flower, bound to wither away and die. And yet, how sweet the smell. If only I could believe that this moment was true..."
 * Mitsuhide's thoughts regarding Kicho; Kessen III

Personal Item

 * Poetry of Atago Hyakuin
 * Stage: Tong Gate- Samurai side
 * Requirements: In 12 minutes escort Sakon Shima to the escape point without him taking ANY damage. Along with this you need 300 K.O.s wiht Mitsuhide personally, this requirement has no time limit.