Ōsaka Castle

The Siege of Osaka (大坂の陣, Ōsaka no Jin, lit. Array of Ōsaka) is the Toyotomi's last stand against Ieyasu. The Toyotomi forces are vastly outnumbered and it serves as the stage for Yukimura's final battle. Historically, this battle took place near the end of the Sengoku period and is widely considered as the final battle before the Edo period. The games particularly focus on the decisive summer battle.

Samurai Warriors
In Yukimura and Kunoichi's version of the battle in Samurai Warriors, the Toyotomi army lures the Tokugawa advance force within range of Sanada-Maru (called Sanada ward in the sequel), a small battery of cannons on the outer walls of Osaka Castle, and destroy them. To counter, Ieyasu sends a cannon unit to destroy Osaka Castle's main gate. After stopping both advances, the two warriors head to the main camp to request for reinforcements from Hideyori. Whilst doing so, they also have the choice to stop Masamune from entering the castle's western gate. Though their lord promises to reinforce, he is stopped by his overprotective retainers who distrust Yukimura. Seeing the battle lost, Yukimura makes a final charge for Ieyasu's camp. After fighting his way past a Tokugawa trap, he arrives to his destination. His arrival causes Ieyasu to flee from the field and pits him against Hanzo. Following Hanzo's death, the players either sees Yukimura's endings or Kunoichi's movie ending.

During Hanzo's story mode, the player is given a chance to foil Yukimura's tactics as well as his charge through ally ranks. The ninja is also given the task to assassinate any remaining Toyotomi followers. Once he kills Hideyori and Yukimura, the player sees his movie ending. Alternatively, Hanzo also infiltrates the castle in his second ending to uncover any information regarding a conspiracy to end the Tokugawa family. Whilst in the castle halls, he encounters Goemon and Kunoichi.

This stage also serves as Ina's lower path ending in Samurai Warriors: Xtreme Legends. For this scenario, the army faces Hideyoshi to decide the land's new ruler. Driven by her lust for battle, she mercilessly slays her opponents. In the castle's burning wreckage, she realizes the true price of war and her new life as a warrior.

In Samurai Warriors 2, the main scheme of events remain similar to Yukimura's first story. New defenders for the castle include Musashi, Magoichi and others. The castle's guardians either protect or reclaim the Sanada ward from the enemy while defending the castle's gates from the Tokugawa cannon. They can also defeat bandits that attempt to raid the castle's storehouse. If they successfully deflect the Tokugawa advances, Hideyori will be inspired to fight for his army and leads an all out offensive. During Yukimura's story mode, they will also gain a new ally when Kanetsugu defects. Only Yukimura and Musashi gets the Toyotomi side as part of their story.

For the Tokugawa army, they get the Uesugi troops led by Kanetsugu if the player is on the Toyotomi side. The primary objective is to stop the Sanada ward from firing. Attackers also need to open the other castle gates once they're inside. To lower enemy morale, they may also take the enemy storehouse. Once they proceed into castle's top level, they battle Yukimura and Hideyori. However, they are actually doubles biding time for the real Hideyori's escape. Determined to win, Yukimura commences his death charge while his lord tries to flee from the field. Defeating them at this point ends the stage. Ieyasu complements their final resistance, proud to see them fight until their end, and comparing Yukimura to Shingen. Masamune, Ieyasu, and Ina are the only ones to get the Tokugawa side as part of their story, with Kojiro also getting the Tokugawa side in his story as part of the expansion.

Both Hanzō and Kotarō have a unique version of the stage, where the Tokugawa and Hōjō align together to defeat Hideyoshi though the shinobi race over who can claim Hideyoshi's head first. Magoichi opens the battle by firing the castle's cannons as both Hanzō and Kotarō sneak their way through the southern and eastern paths respectively. After overcoming Magoichi and most of the castle's defenders, Mitsunari must be defeated in order to open Ōsaka Castle's gates, where Nene is waiting. Once Nene is met, Hanzō and Kotarō instantly turn against each other and it soon becomes a brawl between the three shinobi. Once Nene and the player's opponent are defeated, Hideyoshi is the last remaining obstacle.

It is also featured as a hidden battle in Samurai Warriors 2: Empires where in order to unlock it, the player must go through the Sekigahara scenario until at least the year 1615 and the Toyotomi clan need to be on the field with at least 2 fiefs and Yukimura under their employ, then the stage will commence and it will play as a fairly standard siege with 8 generals on each side and a few missions derived from the main title. After completion, the Toyotomi will be taken off the map.

In Samurai Warriors 3, some changes are made. Sanada-maru is a fortification of arquebusiers, not cannons. From there it is heavily surrounded by Tokugawa forces and is defended by Yukimura. Three Tokugawa cannons that face the castle walls can be manned to give their engineer extra time to put a hole in the wall. The Toyotomi gain Kai and Kunoichi as extra officers. In Kiyomasa and Kanbei's stories, Kiyomasa, Sakon, Muneshige, and Masanori also appear as defenders.

The Tokugawa regains Hanzō for their side in every mode but the Sengoku History mode. Kanbei, Kanetsugu, and Magoichi are added in various character scenarios.

Yukimura, Kunoichi, Kiyomasa, and Kai are the only ones to get the Toyotomi side, while Magoichi, Hanzo, Ina, Ieyasu and Kanbei get the Tokugawa side. Hanzō, Kiyomasa, and Kanbei's version are exclusive to their story. Hanzō must defeat Nene to complete the stage instead of Hideyori, Kiyomasa has Sakon arrive as reinforcements, Kai and Kunoichi are nowhere to be seen and are replaced by Muneshige, while Kanbei must defeat Kiyomasa instead of Hideyori in order to complete the stage.

For the expansion, Okuni, Masanori, and Yoshimoto get Osaka Castle as their final stage of their story for the Toyotomi side. For Okuni's version, Motonari will take part in the battle and must be protected at all costs. Additionally, the player must defeat Keiji, and Ieyasu's camp has been moved from the southwestern part of the map to the southeastern garrison. For Masanori's version, it is essentially the same as Kiyomasa.

For Yoshimoto's version, the player must protect Muneshige, Yukimura, and Hideyori in order to avoid defeat. Masamune also must be defeated twice, as he ends up being the commander later in the stage. Yoshimoto must defeat both Ieyasu and Masamune in order to complete the stage.

Samurai Warriors 4 goes with Toyotomi side in the Legend of the Sanada storyline. The mission is to wipe out all enemy officers before reaching Sanada Maru. After its done, the player must escort Hideyori to reach the escape point. Once Hideyori is kept safe, the rest is up to Yukimura to reach Tokugawa Main Camp. Suddenly, Takatora interfere his way to the enemy main camp, but instantly defeated. Yukimura finally arrives at main camp and face Ieyasu. Ieyasu admits that Yukimura is still stronger and retreat. Nobuyuki appeared and refuse Yukimura to reach Ieyasu, demands Yukimura to battle. Yukimura had no other choice to challenge his brother. Defeating Nobuyuki will end the battle. Yukimura, Kunoichi, Kotaro, Kai, and Koshosho are the option as playable characters.

For the Tokugawa side, two versions appear in the Legend of Sanada and the Legend of a Land United storyline. For the Sanada storyline, only Nobuyuki and Ina are the option as playable characters, while for the Land United storyline, Masamune, Ieyasu, Kanetsugu, Muneshige, Takatora, Munenori, Kojuro, Kagekatsu, and Lady Hayakawa are the option as playable characters.

For the Sanada version of the battle, Nobuyuki and Ina need to start by rescuing Kanetsugu and Muneshige from the enemy officers in the front lines. In the meantime, they can also rescue the other allied officers, including Ieyasu and Hidetada, from Kunoichi and the others. In addition, they will need to prevent enemy officers from reaching the cannon base so that Ieyasu can fire the cannons right at Osaka Castle. Once the cannons are fired, Yukimura will charge forward, therefore Nobuyuki and Ina will have to defeat him to capture the Sanada Ward. Once the Sanada Ward is theirs, Hideyori Toyotomi will attempt to reach the escape point, so Nobuyuki and Ina will need to defeat him quickly, or else the battle is lost. At the same time, they will need to defeat the other enemy officers in the castle, as well as the ones that are attacking the allied main camp. Once all enemy officers are defeated, Yukimura and Kunoichi will reappear and launch a counterattack against Ieyasu. Defeating Yukimura will end the battle.

For the Land United version, it plays out mostly the same from the Sanada version, except that the famous officers, especially Kunoichi and Koshosho, will launch enemy attacks before the player can attempt to capture the Sanada Ward. In addition, if Kanetsugu defeat Yukimura in the end, the ending quote plays out differently from the others.

In Samurai Warriors Chronicles 3, the protagonist fights on the Tokugawa side as he/she, together with Nobuyuki, Ina, and Kanetsugu, will need to defeat both Hideyori and Yukimura in order to bring peace to the Tokugawa forces as part of the final stage of the main storyline. Kunoichi and Kai may be killed during the second half of the battle if confronted upon their arrival, though the latter has a chance of escaping. When the protagonist fights for the Toyotomi side, however, Nobuyuki ends up joining Yukimura and Kunoichi as they fight off the Tokugawa forces to protect Hideyori and Osaka Castle. After the battle is won, Kanetsugu and Kagekatsu also join Yukimura's side. Kai, however, was send away from Osaka Castle to Yonezawa afterwards for protection. In addition, the protagonist and Masanori end up visiting Nene, who shows up to help them and Yukimura as they fight off another invasion lead by Ieyasu. After the battle is won, Nene successfully unite the two armies into one as peace is restored in Japan.

This battle also appears in two other what if scenario as well. The first one is when Nobunaga finally coming out of hiding after his hypothetical survival at Honnoji. Together with Munenori and Magoichi, they will need to take down Hideyoshi's army. Depending on if Hideyoshi executed Kanbei or not, the endings play out quite differently. If Hideyoshi executed Kanbei before the battle, he himself will be executed by Nobunaga, but the land will not know peace as Ieyasu ends up challenging Nobunaga for the control of the land. If Kanbei is still alive, both Hideyoshi and Kanbei will be spared by Nobunaga and the land will be in peace once again.

The second scenario takes place after a hypothetical victory by the Hojo at Odawara with the help of the Date forces. Masamune then ended up forming an alliance with the Uesugi, led by Kagekatsu, as they, the protagonist, Kai, Kanetsugu, and Gracia head to take down Toshiie and the other warlords within Osaka Castle, while Ujiyasu fends off another invasion lead by Hideyoshi in Odawara. If any enemy officers ends up leaving the battlefield, especially Nene, and called for reinforcements, the battle is lost. After Masamune successfully captures Osaka Castle and wipes out the Toyotomi there, it is also revealed that Ujiyasu was able to destroy Hideyoshi and the invading army at Odawara as well. Ujiyasu then decides to let Masamune rule the land instead, and the land is united under the Date clan.

In Samurai Warriors 4-II, only the Tokugawa side is playable as it appears in 4 different storylines as part of Nobuyuki, Kojuro, Kagekatsu, and Lady Hayakawa's story, respectfully. It plays out mostly the same from the original title, except that the battle plays out differently for each one depending on the storyline chosen. For Nobuyuki's story in the Trials of Trust storyline, he and Ina can have an option to defeat Yukimura with a Multi Musou Attack if Ina is selected as a secondary playable character. For Kojuro's story in the Sign's of Greatness storyline, he can have an option to be the one to defeat Yukimura. For Kagekatsu's story in the Duty and Respect storyline, Hideyori will not head to the escape point and can be defeated inside the castle. In addition, if the player select Kanetsugu as the secondary playable character, he can be the one to defeat Yukimura. For Lady Hayakawa's story in the Pledges of Honor storyline, Yukimura is slained during the player's capture of the Sanada Ward. Hideyori also will not head to the escape point and can be defeated in the castle. After Hideyori is slained, Kai will reappear one more time and acts as the commander for the stage. Lady Hayakawa will then have an option to defeat Kai with a Musou Attack to defeat her and finish the battle.

Ōsaka's Winter and Summer campaigns are featured prominently in Spirit of Sanada, as an elderly Ieyasu and Hidetada confront the last vestiges of resistance from the Yukimura's forces. Notably, Hideyori never appears in the game, with his role as commander being given to Chacha instead. With the loss of most of their retainers thanks to Sekigahara, Chacha makes a call-to-arms against the growing Tokugawa presence. While most daimyō had aligned themselves with Ieyasu by this point, several rōnin and other discontent factions such as Yukimura, Morichika Chōsokabe, Matabei Gotō, Katsunaga Mōri, and Teruzumi Akashi all flock to fight the Tokugawa.

The winter campaign begins with the defense of the strategically important Imafuku garrison, which is being attacked by the Uesugi and Satake forces, having been pressured to join the Tokugawa. Yukimura first moves to rescue the front lines from the Tokugawa forces. Noticing Kanetsugu in the southern garrison, Yukimura moves against his friend. Despite meeting once again, Kanetsugu is too ashamed and disheartened to fight in earnest and is eventually forced to retreat but is scolded for not considering what Kagekatsu would do in the same scenario. Once Kanetsugu is defeated, the Satake army, accompanied by Lady Hayakawa, advance to the central area to engage Kai's forces.

Due to the resistance, the Satake army call the Uesugi for support. Upon arriving, Kagekatsu helps Kanetsugu finally come to terms with their goals for a united and peaceful land, and the pair move to confront Yukimura. With Yukimura's attention garnered on them, Kanetsugu sends a small mobile unit to threaten Imafuku during their fight, but the Toyotomi forces are able to repel the assault. Soon after, Kagekatsu and Kanetsugu are forced to retreat in defeat.

Meanwhile, the northern garrisons at Bakurobuchi, under the command of Kanesuke Susukida, have been thrown into confusion due to the disappearance of their commander. As a result, Sasuke and Kunoichi are dispatched with Chacha to investigate and restore order back to the defenders. Sasuke will first launch a night raid on the camp of Yoshishige Hachisuka to confuse the Tokugawa forces while Kai reports enemy ships approaching from the south. Before Sasuke can exit the Hachisuka camp, Hanzō's ninjas appear and trap him when Yoshishige turns out to be a fake. Although he escapes the trap, Sasuke notices more ninjas in hiding elsewhere in the battlefield. Once the other ninjas and the southern reinforcements are dealt with, the Toyotomi forces move to find the real Yoshishige and crush the enemy morale.

Upon seeing his peers, Kanesuke appears and helps the others, but Hanzō arrives and threatens the allied commanders. Despite this, Sasuke arrives and defeats his master but is too injured to continue the chase.

With more Tokugawa reinforcements pouring from all across the land, garrisons soon fell slowly, and Ōsaka itself would be threatened. Despite being heavily outnumbered, Yukimura departed alone for the Sanada Maru to confront Masamune's contingent. Keeping the enemy away from the critical Hiranoguchi, Yukimura lures Toshitsune Maeda's forces into advancing into the Sanada Maru whilst making use of the garrison's trap doors to navigate through it more quickly. Shortly after the Maeda unit's advance, Naotaka Ii also begins moving straight for the Sanada Maru. Takatora immediately chides the previous officers for entering a garrison with such narrow corridors, but a report from a fake Mototada Nanjo arrives that causes even more Shogunate forces to attack the garrison.

Seeing the chaos of the false report, Takatora moves to try and quell the disorder but is spotted and stopped by Yukimura. Once Takatora is defeated, Muneshige arrives with Kyūshū's reinforcements. Once Muneshige is defeated, Masamune finally takes charge and begins moving, but is pushed back by Yukimura.

Overcoming the hopeless odds and breaking the enemy's formation, Yukimura begins charging straight for Ieyasu's head with the rest of the Toyotomi following him from behind. Munenori appears to try and lead reinforcements, but Yukimura dispatches them as Chacha's forces soon arrive as well to provide aid. Yukimura soon breaks his way into Ieyasu's camp, but Hanzō transports his lord elsewhere and traps Yukimura in the garrison. While Yukimura is fighting his way out, Chacha continues to pursue Ieyasu.

Eventually, Yukimura reaches Ieyasu once more, but Hidetada arrives and spares his father from a finishing blow. As the pair are about to fight, the Tokugawa's cannons bombard Ōsaka. Due to her trauma of seeing the castle in flames, Chacha sues for peace, leading to the forced destruction of several Ōsaka's defenses, including its moats and the Sanada Maru.

When conflict returns in the summer, the Toyotomi forces decide to act first by attacking the Tokugawa army before they can form up. Unfortunately, Matabei Gotō charges out on his own at Dōmyōji, leading to several other officers being surrounded while Matabei is stuck fighting Masamune in the area's dense fog. Despite Yukimura's best efforts in reaching the battle, Matabei is eventually struck down alongside Kanesuke Susukida and Tokitoshi Inoue. Due to this, the rest of the officers attempt to pull back, but Hanzō and his ninjas return and block off all the exits. Sasuke once again confronts his teacher after Yukimura and the others successfully withdraw. After a prolonged duel, Hanzō eventually succeeds in slaying his former pupil.

Without any hope of victory remaining in the castle, Yukimura opts to charge through the Shogunate forces from Mt. Chausu in order to position himself for an attack on the Tokugawa main camp. Yukimura soon forces his way to the front lines and begins clearing the foothills of enemies, but Takatora prepares cannons against the Toyotomi forces. In response, Shigeuji Yokoya arrives and opens the gates to the cannons, but is slain in the process. Thanks to Shigeuji's sacrifice, the Toyotomi forces gain access to Takatora and defeat him to stop bombardment. Simultaneously, Tadanao Matsudaira, the commander of the southern garrison leading to the center is defeated to give the western forces access to the roads. Following this, Tadaoki Hosokawa leads a charge against Harunaga Ōno, who immediately requests assistance.

Noticing the enemies have been pulled away, Masamune appears from the rear with the Date army to try and strike down Teruzumi Akashi and Morichika Chōsokabe, but Sakubei Hotta appears and injures Masamune. In retaliation, Shigenaga Katakura promptly kills Sakubei, but the Date unit is slowed long enough for Yukimura to return and defeat them. Finally, Tadatomo Honda, Kagekatsu and Kanetsugu all act as the final guardians to the paths leading to the Tokugawa camp. Upon clearing this trial, Yukimura orders Chacha and Katsunaga Mori to return back to Ōsaka, intending to raid the enemy camp alone once more.

Having finally reached the outskirts of the Tennōjiguchi at night, Yukimura first moves to clear out the enemies barring the path to Hidetada's camp; slaying Tadatomo in the process. When Yoshinao Tokugawa appears, Naiki Takanashi is wounded and moves to withdraw back to Ōsaka. Upon reaching the escape point, however, Naiki finds Takatora's unit and is slain, but this delays them long enough for Yukimura to be alerted.

Once Takatora is defeated and dawn arrives, the rest of the Tokugawa army appear and surround Yukimura. The first detachment under Nagamasa Kuroda appear, but Yukimura overcomes them. Hoping to take advantage of the situation, both Masamune and Muneshige arrive to attack Yukimura simultaneously, but are pushed back. Without any pursuers, Yukimura enters Hidetada's camp, but is quickly ambushed by Tadanao Matsudaira and Munenori followed by their reinforcements. Despite all the officers assembled, Yukimura blazes through all of them to finally confront Hidetada and his guard.

Finally defeating Hidetada, Yukimura rides his horse and continues charging against the Tokugawa forces; intent on preserving the Sanada's legacy. By nightfall, the wounded and weary Yukimura, joined by Kunoichi, takes a short break before being spotted by a Tokugawa sentry. Accepting his final fate, Yukimura orders Kunoichi to depart without him before he is killed at the hands of the Tokugawa army. Concurrently, Ōsaka finally falls and Chacha remains within the castle's burning debris before its final collapse.

Warriors Orochi
Orochi had Sun Jian imprisoned in this castle in the first game. Sun Ce meets up with Sakon and the strategist reveals the captured leader's location. Players are directed to control or lead Sun Ce and his army through the castle and rescue Sun Jian. The father and son's reunion triggers an escort mission to an escape point southeast of the castle. Along the way, they may be able to save the other prisoners and have them join the breakout. The battle ends in victory should the player successfully reach the escape point with Sun Jian in tow. However, the party is ambushed and Sun Ce's party have no choice but to leave Sun Jian behind to save themselves.

Warriors Orochi 2 uses the area as a dream mode between Cao Cao, Liu Bei, and Sun Quan against Nobunaga, Hideyoshi and Ieyasu. The players are given the role of the three unifiers who shaped the Three Kingdoms period as they compete against various Warring States figures. First, they must stop the enemy's cannons by defeating Ieyasu. Keeping the alliance main camp will be safe if player could beat Magoichi, Hanzō and Katsuie as well as Nene until the reinforcements such as Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhang Liao, Xiahou Dun, Sun Shangxiang and Gan Ning arrive. After defeating Hideyoshi, Tadakatsu appears and must defeated quickly. Defeating Nobunaga will end the stage, proving that they could surpass three unifiers.

Warriors Orochi 3 has the coalition protect the Yashio'ori from the demon army's invasion. Players may opt to defeat the advancing forces or go inside the castle grounds to catch Sun Wukong. Should they go with the latter, Sun Wukong's attempts to close the castle gates will be rendered useless. Nezha's participation in this battle will also trigger Lu Bu's appearance as a third party unit. The player must destroy the castle's wall by controlling the cannons and later defeat Sun Wukong to save Nobunaga and Hanbei. After the first try, Deng Ai says to Diao Chan about the way to convince him one more time and begin without hesitating to use her. If you use Diao Chan, you must convince to Lu Bu and understand that she is still okay and fight together, thanks to Deng Ai and Kai's help.

In Warriors Orochi 4, the stage first appears when the rebel army must protect the castle from Da Ji's forces. Though Cao Ren, Zhou Tai, and Naomasa Ii lead the defense, Toyohisa Shimazu is suddenly transported into the world during the battle, and must be found and rescued. After the demon army is defeated, a grateful Toyohisa chooses to join the rebel army.

The stage reappears when Perseus is captured and believed to be held in the castle. While he does appear, it is revealed to be a trap from the demon army, who ambushes the Coalition. To further add to the chaos, the Olympic army appear, and the Toyotomi forces move to take key checkpoints while Cao Pi and Ares will eventually charge at the main camp. When Sun Wukong appears to stop Athena's sudden arrival, Sanzang also pops out to retrieve her disciple. After both the demon army and the Olympic army are defeated, Sanzang joins the Coalition to stop her disciple.

The battle appears a third time when the Coalition, led by Chen Gong, Lu Xun and Zhu Ran arrive to retrieve Zeus's body. Da Ji has been charged with protecting the castle, but when the Coalition's desperation becomes clear, she chooses to use Fire Horrors to burn down the castle along with the body. As the Coalition begins putting down the horrors, Jia Chong positions himself behind Da Ji before defecting and attacking her.

Although she predicts this and has Gyūki's reserves defend her, the reserve forces are defeated by Zhu Ran's cannons, and Jia Chong is able to fight Da Ji head on. After her defeat, Munenori Yagyū appears and challenges Lu Bu to prove the Coalition's ability to resist Odin. Once Munenori is defeated, the battle finally ends and the fires are put out shortly. Additionally, Jia Chong and Munenori both join the Coalition.

In the DLC stages, there is a large scale mock battle between forces of the Sengoku period, led by Nobuyuki Sanada and Nobunaga Oda against the forces of the Three Kingdoms led by Zhuge Liang and Cao Cao. Despite their tactics and staunch defense, the members of the Three Kingdoms are defeated, but Kiyomori arrives to take advantage of the situation and attacks the Sengoku forces. In response, Cao Cao's forces turn back and aid their allies from the horrors while Zhuge Liang ambushes Kiyomori and stops him from continuously healing his forces. Now working together again, the Coalition is able to beat Kiyomori's forces back.

In Ultimate, the demon army, having surrendered to the Coalition, is tasked with defending the castle from Odin's forces. Despite the Nordic god summoning illusions of Orochi and Orochi X to throw the demon army into confusion, neither Da Ji nor Kiyomori are fazed and defeat the clones while rescuing Yoshitsune Minamoto. As thanks, Yoshitsune is tasked by Kiyomori to lead a surprise raid on Odin's army, and the demons are eventually able to drive Odin back.

Kessen
Kessen sets Osaka Castle as one of the possible conclusions for the West or East. Either the Western side can lose a string of battles or the East can have a straight winning streak to unlock it.

The map positions the Tokugawa forces in either the southwestern corner, the southern regions and/or the center. Toyotomi defenders have limited options to counter them from the north or northwestern quadrants. By default, the Tokugawa have more units and can create larger armies than the Toyotomi generals. The Toyotomi have fewer numbers but are equipped with more cannoneers and are have advanced mobility compared to the sluggish Tokugawa units.

Players who play from the Eastern perspective will often fail to convince any adversary to bide time or defect. They do have the option of charging or waiting for their foes to come towards them due to their massive army. The defensive approach may require the player to strategically position a giant unit to take the brunt of Toyotomi cannons' damage. Offensive Eastern units may become a victim to ambushes if they charge in too recklessly. Regardless of whatever strategy is employed, the Tokugawa should have a few idle artillery units prepared to counter the West's damaging spear and cavalry units. On most difficulty settings, Yukimura is prone to targeting Ieyasu if he remains idle within the default positioning. The player can equip an army of kunoichi to counter Yukimura's own legion of ninja, but they might struggle if he is escorted with one of the Toyotomi canonneer units. Cautious players might want to try repositioning Ieyasu if they wish to protect their main general from their onslaught.

Western defenders will find themselves struggling if they attack the Tokugawa forces head-on; they may fare well in initial skirmishes, but they will suffer once the Tokugawa cannons come into range. It may prove beneficial to the player to split their forces and target Ieyasu's main camp directly in the west, using the forces in the center to distract the Tokugawa besiegers. The worst possible start for this map with this strategy is facing an unmoving East, as they will often try to cut off the generals only when the player commands their troops. Alternatively, the player can choose to rely on their army's maneuverability to constantly avoid long-ranged conflict and close in with their deadly melee fighters. Depending on the difficulty setting, players can ask Fukushima and/or Todo to defect to their side as long as they avoid attacking them prematurely and do not lose too many units. If they are able to hold out with high morale very late in the battle, Hideyori will arrive as reinforcements.

If the Toyotomi side emerges victorious from this battle, the story's final outcome will be decided in a fictional battle at Sekigahara.