Tadakatsu Honda

When he was introduced in the first *Samurai Warriors*, Tadakatsu was but a generic officer fighting under Ieyasu. His defeat at Okehazama is required in order to get Ieyasu Tokugawa to defect to the Oda. He is also given a spotlight at Mikatagahara, where he acts as the rearguard once Ieyasu's formation collapses. He also rallies the allied army and defends them as they retreat, being very hard to take down and even praised by Shingen (as seen above). This act of valiance also gives Hanzo Hattori the opening he needs to slay Shingen in all the commotion.

Tadakatsu is one of Ieyasu's formidable warriors who is famed for his strength in the field. He begins his story by advising his lord to attack the Imagawa at Okehazama. By obliterating Yoshimoto's forces, Ieyasu is able to declare independence and allies with Nobunaga. As a part of their alliance, Tadakatsu assists the Oda troop's escape from Kanegasaki. Years later, when Shingen marches into Mikawa, Tadakatsu vows to protect his allies and requests that Ieyasu escape from the overwhelming Takedatroops.

If an ally falls during their retreat, Tadakatsu is forced to use brute force for his lord's safety and slays Shingen, putting an end to the Takeda. Emphasizing strength over morals and patience, Ieyasu conquers the east with Tadakatsu's feats. Their remaining opposition is Kenshin, who is supported by Masamune and the remnant Takeda followers, Yukimura and Kunoichi. During the battle at Kawanakajima, Tadakatsu helps Hanzō through the eastern path to ambush Kenshin's camp at the mountain top. Waiting for them is Keiji, who eagerly challenges Tadakatsu. After the wild man's defeat, he declares that he will be waiting for a proper duel later. Upon their victory at Kawanakajima, Ieyasu rules the east. In a bid to rule the west, he breaks his alliance with the Oda and faces them at Yamazaki. Slaying Nobunaga and his followers makes Ieyasu the land's new ruler. As Ieyasu retreats back home to celebrate, Tadakatsu remembers his promise with Keiji and rides to duel him at Mt. Tennou. Striking Keiji down, the wild man ponders the purpose behind his rival's strength before he dies. Whilst training at another location, Tadakatsu reflects that the world needs more than might and loyalty and finally relaxes his guard.

Should Tadakatsu protect all of his allies, he remembers the importance of mercy and his duty. After Nobunaga is killed at Honnōji, Ieyasu is pursued by Mitsuhide's army at Iga. With Hanzō guiding their lord to safety, Tadakatsu is given the task of aiding all other allies on the field. Soon after their retreat, Hideyoshi avenges his master and stands as one of the two greatest men in the land. Although Hideyoshi's numbers greatly outnumber their own, Tadakatsu refuses to bow to any other leader and offers for his lord to fight back at Komaki-Nagakute. Routing Hideyoshi's army to defend his master's ambitions, Hideyoshi is able to escape and their dispute remains unsettled. As the Tokugawa army marches through the blackened ruins of the battlefield, Tadakatsu reaffirms his loyalty for his lord's desire for peace.

*Samurai Warriors 2* has Tadakatsu support his master against the larger Asakura army at Anegawa. Tadakatsu is given the task of taking the central garrison to assist the rear attack on the Asakura's main camp. Due to his might, the battle is won and he earns the reputation of matching Zhang Fei's legendary strength in battle. When Shingen ambushes his lord and pins them at Mikatagahara, Ieyasu is willing to fight to the death with his men. Knowing the future of the land rests on his lord's shoulders, Tadakatsu advises his lord to retreat instead. As Ieyasu reaches the midway point, Shingen orders his army to charge and four brave Tokugawa followers pose as their lord to ensure Ieyasu's escape to Hamamatsu Castle. Defeating Sakon by the escape point, Tadakatsu orders a full scale retreat as their lord leaves the field. Tadakatsu has the option of defeating Shingen, but regardless of the result, Ieyasu mourns for the men who lost their lives for him. Encouraging his lord to realize the peace they will never see, Ieyasu decides to bare the burden for them.

After Shingen dies from illness and Nobunaga's death at Honnōji, his lord makes an alliance with the Hōjō and they attack the Sanada and Uesugi at Ueda Castle. While a great deal of their generals fall victim to the Sanada's water attack, Tadakatsu presses onward towards the main keep and defeats the zealous Yukimura. The defeat of the young general opens the gate and throws off Masayuki's plans. Whilst storming the main keep, Nobuyuki tries to stop him. His bold defiance impresses Tadakatsu to someday introducing the youth to his daughter. Years later, the power of the land is disputed between Mitsunari and Ieyasu, clashing their forces at Kusegawa. Sakon, who plans to use the setting to crush Ieyasu's men, directs the Eastern army into an ambush. Tadakatsu defies him by ordering the swift rescue of his isolated allies and leading an all-out attack. As the armies gather to end their differences, Tadakatsu decides to make Sekigahara his final battle for peace. With his duty fulfilled at last, he plants his beloved spear into the ground and bids a rest to the chaotic age.

In his dream mode, he participates in a tournament for champions. There, he faces Keiji, Musashi, Kotarō, Hideyoshi, Ieyasu, and Masamune to prove himself the mightiest warrior of the age.

*Samurai Warriors: Katana* introduces Tadakatsu in the Swordsman scenario where he stands guard over his lord at the Battle of Ōsaka Castle. His unexpected defeat causes the Tokugawa to fear the protagonist's might and cease their attack on the Toyotomi. The Stealth scenario has him return to Mikawa in order to expel the Fūma clan; he loses his life as a result. In the Unification scenario, the player must subdue him in time before the Uesugi's escape route from Hasedō is cut off.

Facing insurmountable odds from the Takeda army, Tadakatsu and his daughter proudly guard their lord at Mikatagahara in the third title. Scolding the Tokugawa men to live and not die for their lord, both he and his daughter have a small bout with Sakon and Yukimura. As Ieyasu pulls back from the disastrous battlefront, Shingen places his men in a pincer and traps their lord from the east and west. Protecting his daughter from danger and defeating Yukimura and Sakon, Tadakatsu then pulls back to protect his lord from Kunoichi and Shingen. Upon their defeat, the Takeda commander realizes that the tables have turned and orders his men to pull back. Soon after, Ieyasu's life is in danger when Mitsuhide assassinates Nobunaga at Honnōji. Crossing through Iga and placing his life in Tadakatsu's strength, the general clears a path by defeating Kotarō and Motochika for his master's safe return to Mikawa.

Hideyoshi rises to power afterwards and rivals Ieyasu for the land's ruler. As their forces confront one another at Komaki-Nagakute, Tadakatsu fights to swiftly bring victory for his lord and defeats Hideyoshi's "children" (Mitsunari, Kiyomasa, and Masanori), Nene, and Toshiie. Bested by Tadakatsu, Hideyoshi admits defeat and asks Ieyasu if he can create a land worthy in Nobunaga's image. Ieyasu instead offers that they work together to create a land of prosperity. For now, Ieyasu is content to have Hideyoshi rule the land and decides to settle his differences with the Takeda loyalists at Ueda Castle. After Hideyoshi's death, Ieyasu pushes for his right to take control of the land, giving his personal apologies to his belated friend but remaining undaunted in his conquest. Similar to his previous counterpart, Tadakatsu decides to have his last battle at Sekigahara for the land's peace. Routing several generals on the west, including Ginchiyo and Muneshige, victory is declared once Mitsunari dies. Tadakatsu returns unscathed to the delight of his lord and comrades.

*Sengoku Musou 3: Empires* has Tadakatsu resume his duties to Ieyasu when the latter renews his ambitions for the land. After defending their lord from Sakon's assassins, he and Ina hope to recruit Yukimura as an ally to no avail. Nonetheless, their efforts help the Tokugawa seize the land while the surviving members of the Western army are exiled to parts unknown.

Tadakatsu continues to fight for Ieyasu's forces in every campaign but Osaka Castle in *Samurai Warriors 4*. He and his daughter volunteer to act as Ieyasu's rear guard at Mikatagahara. When Ieyasu is shocked by their actions, Tadakatsu simply restates his oath of loyalty to his lord as his answer. Years later, his lord remembers his pledge and confides his trust in him at Sekigahara. Tadakatsu answers his lord's wishes to protect him by fatally cutting down Toyohisa.

In the aftermath of Sekigahara, Nobuyuki, and Ina plea for Ieyasu to spare the captured Yukimura. Takatora states in Ieyasu's stead the reasoning for the youth's necessary death: he is too dangerous to keep alive and his survival would disgrace those who fell at Ueda Castle. Upon hearing these assessments, Tadakatsu interrupts and joins the request to spare Yukimura. If his lord means to execute Yukimura with his current charges against the Sanada, then he must kill the married Sanada couple and himself to complete his command. Only then does Ieyasu give in and accept. After Yukimura's exile is issued, Tadakatsu disappears from the main narrative.

*4-II* shapes him into a prominent mentor figure for Naomasa in the Clash of Wills story. Once his comrade matures, they become trusted comrades-in-arms. Tadakatsu hasn't completely abandoned his reproachful concerns for his partner, continuing his competitive taunts even as they fight the remnants of the Western Army together.

He is the instigator for the husbands and wives downloadable scenario. Ina has been married to Nobuyuki, yet Tadakatsu can't completely come to terms with it. He challenges other married couples to prove their love and instruct the newly weds in a mock battle, facing the victors himself. Admitting his sound defeat to the power of marriage, Tadakatsu resolves to choke the personal gripes he has being separated from his daughter.

During Spirit of Sanada, Tadakatsu's first appearances are during the Mikatagahara campaign, often acting as his lord's rear guard. Though Masayuki corners Ieyasu, Tadakatsu and Hanzō rescue their lord and escape just as news of Shingen's death arrives to the Sanada forces.

During Nagashino, he and Ieyasu join Nagashino's defenders in defending the castle from Katsuyori's assault. Once Nobunaga begins unleashing the might of his rifles, Ieyasu politely asks Tadakatsu to bring the battle to a swift end, and he charges both Katsuyori and Masateru Sanada. When Nobunaga is killed by Mitsuhide, Ieyasu and his vassals are forced to flee back to Mikawa, and Tadakatsu and Hanzō decide to pass the Iga mountains to do so.

Hideyoshi later kills Mitsuhide and declares himself as Nobunaga's spiritual heir, which runs against the will of Nobunaga's remaining successor, Nobukatsu. Though Tadakatsu joins the fight, both sides opt to have a truce, and Ieyasu submits to Hideyoshi's will, recognizing as the true inheritor of Nobunaga's will.

Tadakatsu later joins his lord during the Tenshō-Jingō conflict against the Hōjō and the Sanada, hoping to claim the former lands of the Takeda for themselves. Although the Sanada initially ally with the Hōjō, they quickly turn to the Tokugawa for help, and Tadakatsu aids the Sanada in chasing out Ujimasa's forces. As a result of the battle, Ieyasu begins negotiations with the Hōjō, and agrees to have the Sanada cede Numata to their allies.

Masayuki, however, ignores the order and forms an alliance with the Uesugi instead, leading to the first siege of Ueda. Despite their massive numbers, the Tokugawa are duped by all of Masayuki's traps, and Ieyasu flees once again, with Tadakatsu guarding his lord's rear. Since the conflict has now earned Hideyoshi's attention, the conflict is called off, but Tadakatsu and Ieyasu continue to take note of the Sanada's talented lineage, most especially of the pragmatic Nobuyuki. To further tie their families together, Tadakatsu consents to his lord adopting Ina and wedding her to the young man. Once the Hōjō refuse to speak with the Toyotomi, Hideyoshi orders an invasion on Odawara. Ieyasu and Tadakatsu ultimately opt to remain with the Toyotomi and are part of the main siege at Odawara.

After the Hōjō's demise, Hideyoshi falls ill and perishes, followed shortly by Toshiie Maeda. With the lack of central control thanks to the large power vacuum left behind by both men, Ieyasu decides to take charge and rallies his allies to face the anti-Tokugawa faction, led by Mitsunari Ishida. Although the Eastern Army prevails at Sekigahara, Hidetada's near-costly tardiness at the battlefield leads to Ieyasu deciding to kill Masayuki and Yukimura.

Standing by his son-in-law, Tadakatsu joins Nobuyuki in pleading for clemency, even threatening to rebel. Though Ieyasu sees through Tadakatsu's bluff, he finally relents to their wishes when Hidetada himself asks for his own execution alongside the Sanada members.

Tadakatsu quietly passes off-screen, with his sons, Tadatomo and Tadamasa, inheriting his legacy and helping the Shogunate forces at Ōsaka in his name.

### Warriors Orochi

During Orochi's story, Ieyasu laments sending Tadakatsu away to survey the terrain when his castle is invaded by the serpent king's forces. Tadakatsu is thus separated from his lord when the Tokugawa forces surrender to Orochi.

While he was away from his lord in the story of Warriors Orochi, Tadakatsu and his sons save innocents from Orochi's tyranny and appear prominently during each faction's 7-X stages, where he may be impressed by the player's actions. In Shu's story, he will aid Yukimura in defending peasants from Lu Bu and Dong Zhuo's wrath at Xi Liang. In Wei's story, he will ally himself with the Azai army after they rescue his sons at Nanzhong. During Wu's story, he will take position at Ji Province, initially mistaking the Wu Army to be specters. When it is revealed to be a plot by Dong Zhuo to have his enemies fight each other, Tadakatsu helps the Wu forces. In the Samurai story, he will help protect Huang Zhong's messengers from Lu Bu at Kanegasaki. Similarly to Lu Bu, Tadakatsu can only be unlocked by being impressed at the 7-X stages in all four stories.

By the time *Warriors Orochi 2* takes place, Tadakatsu returns to his lord and joins the Shu army. At the Battle of Nagashino, he joins Zhang Fei in his mission to plow through Lu Bu's army, remarking that he is fighting with the true greats now. The two men also personally wish for their daughters' safety when the girls leave for a reconnaissance mission.

Tadakatsu appears in two dream stages in this title. He teams up with Zhang Fei and Musashi to demonstrate their expertise with their weapons. Tadakatsu personally volunteers to rescue his lord from danger and open a path for the main camp. In his second dream stage, he teams up with Lu Bu and Keiji to test their might against Orochi. When they near the main camp's gates, Xu Huang, Zhang Liao, Pang De, and others challenge them to prove their worth in battle. Tadakatsu agrees to their request.

Retaining his loyalties to Ieyasu in *Warriors Orochi 3* Tadakatsu was one of the defenders stationed at Yangping Gate, a protective gate before Chengdu. Since Chengdu is overrun in the original timeline, it's implied that Tadakatsu either fled or died fighting the serpent forces. When the coalition from the future head towards the gate to warn Shu and Tokugawa of the danger the Hydra poses, Tadakatsu shares the belief that their visitors have blindly swore their allegiance to Da Ji and declare them their enemies. Once the coalition members prove their honest intentions to him, he lends his strength for their cause.

Tadakatsu then assists the pinned down Wei forces at Luo Castle to make sure Guo Jia doesn't go missing. He and Zhang Fei later take part in the search for his isolated daughter at Yiling.

During the events of *Ultimate*, Tadakatsu, Lu Xun, and Zhuge Dan are tasked with using the enchanted mirror to seal Tamamo for good at Wan Castle. Unfortunately, it only forces her to transform into the being known as Kyūbi. He, Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun are also given an alternative scenario, where they are able to triumph over Guan Yu and Sun Quan's forces at Yangping Gate, though the trio still believe the story that they came from the future as they would not simply follow Da Ji.

In *Warriors Orochi 4*, Tadakatsu was originally accompanying Naomasa and Naotora Ii to Komaki-Nagakute when they are transported to the new world. Encountering Lu Bu and overwhelmed when he unleashes the power of his snake bracelet, the trio flee and end up encountering a new army at Guangling. Learning that the leader is Sun Quan, the group are eventually able to clear the misunderstanding and travel together to find more information about the land.

Tadakatsu later joins the army in rescuing villagers from Nobunaga's allies and join Liu Bei and Kenshin Uesugi's rebel army soon after. Tadakatsu later joins his fellow vassals in rescuing Ieyasu at Mikatagahara-Jianye. He also joins Zhang Fei, Sima Yi, and Naotora in testing the mettle of their children at Baidi Castle. Tadakatasu later joins his daughter in facing Orochi X at Olympus, being among the first humans to regain their lost memories from the previous games.