Sakon Shima

Sakon Shima (島 左近) is one of the new characters in Samurai Warriors 2. He is best known in history for serving Mitsunari Ishida and was reputed to be Mitsunari's powerful and most tactical general at Sekigahara. However, he is wounded by gunfire from Kuroda Nagamasa's battalion. It is unknown whether he lived long enough to escape Sekigahara or died on the field. He's symbolized by the character for "compete" (闘), the character for "extreme" (烈), and green maple leaves.

Samurai Warriors
Sakon is a samurai who serves the Tsutsui clan. Once he hears that Hideyoshi is racing to avenge his lord's death at Mitsuhide's hands, Sakon takes the prudent action by joining sides with Hideyoshi. After a disagreement with his lord, he became a ronin until he was hired by Mitsunari. From there, he continues to serve the Toyotomi cause. Though he knew Sekigahara was a losing cause, he nevertheless stays loyal to Mitsunari. After their victory, Sakon replies that he doesn't care about a reward as he just wanted to serve a virtuous lord. As he speeds off on his steed, Mitsunari considers Sakon to be his friend.

In his dream mode, he momentarily serves Shingen to learn some tips on strategy and helps capture the fleeing Ieyasu at Mikatagahara.

Warriors Orochi
Sakon begins as an unaffiliated strategist in Warriors Orochi. Nobunaga convinced him to help Sun Ce when they met at Kyushu. The Demon King protects his safe passage and he meets up with the Little Conqueror at Chang Ban Castle. He sends Sun Ce a letter saying that he knew the whereabouts of Sun Jian's cell and appears as a third-party general during Wu's siege at Odani Castle. Since Sun Ce desired a quick victory with minimal casualties, the strategist leads a group of engineers to blow apart a wall at Mount Yamada garrison. This opens a path straight to the main ward of the castle, which is fiercely defended by Xing Cai. After their victory, Sakon agrees to be Sun Ce's adviser and continues to serve Wu.

In Warriors Orochi 2, Sakon acts as the protagonist for the Samurai story mode. Walking in a peaceful part of the land, he was on his way to visit Shingen until he notices Dong Zhou attacking Zhang Jiao. He fights to save the pious one and meets the mysterious Fu Xi during their struggle. Wanting to prevent another bout of warfare, he decides to make Nobunaga, Shingen, and Kenshin rejoin their forces in their previously powerful coalition. Since the three leaders reverted back to their stubborn ways, Sakon has to start from scratch. He impresses Shingen, saves Kanetsugu to forge an alliance with Kenshin, and amuses Nobunaga enough for him to join their party. With these powerful warlords and Fu Xi, he leads a massive army to stop the resurrected Orochi. After they claim victory, Sakon leaves once more to visit his old friend, with Fu Xi the last to see.

He shares his dream stage with Jiang Wei and Lu Xun and the trio work together to surpass their masters. When Shingen issues a cavalry charge, Sakon quickly counters by bringing out his reserve riflemen. His quick thinking easily earns the older man's praise.

Kessen
Sakon is Mitsunari's right hand man in Kessen. Like Tadakatsu, Sakon trumps his lord in every military stat but is given a smaller amount of troops to balance himself with the rest of the army. Before the battle at Sekigahara, he laments not slaying Ieyasu at Kusegawa as his personal assassination attempt was stopped by Okatsu. Depending on the actions of the player, he will disappear after Sekigahara or live to see Ieyasu's end.

He also appears as a recruitable general in Kessen III. He joins Nobunaga after he is defeated in battle.

Saihai no Yukue
In Saihai no Yukue, Sakon resumes his role as Mitsunari's vassal. Although the country admires him for his might and intellect, he is often befuddled by his lord's erratic behavior. Though he is rough with his words, his loyalty to Mitsunari is unquestionable. His insults to his lord are used for comic relief, making him more of an observer than an adviser for Mitsunari. He usually needs to attend to other matters so he lets his daughter, Tamaki, handle his duties.

While separated from the main forces, his shoulder is badly wounded by Nagamasa Kuroda's rifles. To prevent army morale from failing, he keeps quiet about it and acts normally. As the game progresses, Tamaki scolds him for not tending to his wound. He continues to serve his lord until the end of the third chapter, in which he feels that his injury is beginning to hamper his performance. After he defeats Tadakatsu Honda, he acknowledges Tamaki as family and charges into the enemy camp to take Ieyasu's head. The prologue for the following chapter implies that he died sometime during his attack.

Development
According to the game's designers, Sakon fills the spot for the "cool old guy" in the cast. They added the scar on his face to add a visual account with his previous near-death experiences and imply the "evil" side to his character. The producer and director add that he is basically Mitsunari's answer to Ieyasu's Tadakatsu. Since his lord was developed to be "delicate and level-headed", Sakon was made to be physically built and nifty. White and black are the two base colors used for his design. His fighting style is considered to be exceptionally balanced with no real weaknesses to it.

Voice Actors

 * Tim Mahlin - Samurai Warriors 2 (English)
 * Steve Kramer - Warriors Orochi series (English)
 * Howard Siegel - Kessen (English)
 * Shinichi Yamada - Samurai Warriors and Warriors Orochi series (Japanese)
 * Keiichi Noda - Kessen (Japanese)

Quotes

 * "Sharp as always."
 * "Keep lining 'em up and I'll keep knocking 'em down."
 * "When am I going to get a real challenge?"
 * "Your loyalty is unparalleled. However, your choice of lord is not."
 * "Annoying, isn't it? Like when a beautiful woman has the personality of a stern old man."
 * Ina and Sakon; Samurai Warriors 2


 * "I've heard you have a weak spot for pretty girls, Sakon Shima."
 * "I'm not without my vices, I suppose. But you needn't keep your guard up around me. You've had your heart broken plenty already. I'm not interested in breaking it again."
 * Oichi and Sakon; Samurai Warriors 2 Empires


 * "Are you gonna stay inside and work all day again? What's wrong? Are you sick or something?"
 * "If you're concerned about my health, you should stop that awful racket."
 * "I was just playing a little music for you on the biwa. Didn't you like it?"
 * "I feel sorry for the poor instrument."
 * "There we go. I knew I could make you laugh."
 * Sakon and Mitsunari; Samurai Warriors 2 Empires


 * "Hmph! Ieyasu! When next we meet, I will have your head!"
 * Sakon after his failed assassination attempt; Kessen