Katsuie Shibata

Katsuie Shibata 1st appeared in Samurai Warriors 2.

Samurai Warriors
Katsuie 1st appeared as a generic officer in the 1st game. During his Samurai Warriors 2 and Empires appearance, Katsuie is Nobunaga's rough talking, spear wielding warrior. He appears as one of the guards for the Oda main camp at Anegawa and needs to be defeated to unlock the doors to their camp. Stubbornly, he will not allow anyone to pass even after his defeat. Katsuie also makes a bold charge for the Kingo ward during the Siege of Odani Castle, rushing past any Azai general in the lower part of the map. With Hideyoshi, he is also one of the starting Oda generals at Tedorigawa. However, his all-out assault drags his allies into Kenshin's flood attack and causes several casualties before Nobunaga arrives. Ashamed, he tries to redeem his reputation by taking Kenshin's head.In Samurai Warriors 2: Xtreme Legends, Katsuie continues to faithfully serve in his lord's campaigns and becomes Toshiie's mentor. While he was ordered away from his lord, Nobunaga was killed at Honnoji. Katsuie hurried to avenge his lord but lost to the quicker Hideyoshi. Feeling that his era was coming to an end, Katsuie leads a resistance against his former comrade. Although Toshiie came rushing to his home to aid him, the old man denies his request. Making a brave stand at Shizugatake, he and Oichi fend off Hideyoshi's army. However, they are unable to match their opponent's reinforcements and Katsuie retreats to his castle. To show Toshiie how a true warrior dies, he burns his home and stays in the smoking ruins, leaving the new age to be lead by his "son". Whilst inside, he toasts to his lord's seat. His dream stage is a "what-if?" scenario of Katsuie saving Nobunaga from Honnoji. The fire has started and Nobunaga's remaining warriors, No and Ranmaru, are heavily surrounded by Mitsuhide's troops. Katsuie must force his way through the enemy and carve out an escape route for Nobunaga. He weilds 2 short axes in the 2nd game.

Kessen
Katsuie first appears as one of Nobunaga's rouge units in Kessen 3. He leads a small civil rebellion against the youth as he felt Nobunaga would never be an adequate leader for the Oda clan. Once he is captured, he spends a night reconsidering the young lord's worth before he joins Nobunaga. He is a rough man who refuses to follow anyone who he thinks is weaker than him. However, he is very loyal once recruited and is a strong unit to have in the front line. Like Hideyoshi, he pines for Oichi but would never admit it aloud. Prior to the game's extra battle, he can be seen walking alongside Oichi in a Christian church. Katsuie will perform better in battle if he is paired with Oichi. He can alternatively become stronger if he is in an army with Kazumasu Takigawa and Narimasa Sassa.

Sengoku Rence
In the game Katsuie is a loyol retainer of the Oda house. Even when some of the Oda retainers betray Nobunaga, Katsuie stayes loyal to the Oda.

Voice Actors

 * Edouard Fontaine - Samurai Warriors 2 (English)
 * Paul Kannaspuro - Samurai Warriors 2: Xtreme Legends (English)
 * David Lodge - Warriors Orochi 2 (English)
 * Doug Stone - Kessen III (English)
 * Eiji Takemoto - Samurai Warriors and Warriors Orochi series (Japanese)
 * Fumihiko Tachiki - Kessen III (Japanese)

Quotes

 * "Curse you, Nagamasa! Oichi deserves better!"
 * "Quit your clowning around, Monkey!"
 * "Another excuse for a warrior."
 * "Is this all that they're capable of?"
 * "I shall venture forth. Do not look away."
 * "I await a challenger who can topple me."
 * "He who topples me will be mighty indeed."

History
Katsuie was born in the Shibata family, a cadet branch of the Shiba clan who descended from the Ashikaga clan, and were the former suzerains of the Oda. He initially supported Nobunaga's younger brother, Oda Nobukatsu, as he his retainer. In 1556, he launched a coup d'etat against Nobunaga but after a loss at the Battle of Ino, he withdrew his support and served under Nobunaga. This change of heart, brought on by Nobunaga executing his brother and sparing him, would earn praise from Nobunaga. Katsuie was not present at Anegawa, as he had been besieged at Chokoji Castle by 4000 Rokkakku soldiers. He eventually won via an all-out attack that inspired the Rokkakku to retreat; this, along with a series of brilliant victories, gained him renown as "Oni Shibata".

In 1575, after gaining control of Echizen, he gained the castle of Kitanosho Castle (Hokujō) and was commanded to conquer the Hokuriku region. After controlling Kaga and Noto, he began a campaign against Etchu Province in 1581. In 1582, Nobunaga was assassinated at Honnō-ji but in a Siege of Matsukura and facing Uesugi's army, Katsuie was unable to return.

In a meeting in Kiyosu to determine the successor to Nobunaga, he supported Oda Nobutaka, the third son, for whom Katsuie had performed the genpuku ritual. He allied with Oda Nobutaka and Takigawa Kazumasu to battle Toyotomi Hideyoshi. However, his domain was sealed off in the winter by snowfalls and this limited his ability. Both of his allies were defeated while Katsuie battled snowfalls and Uesugi. His forces, under the leadership of Sakuma Morimasa, besieged Nakagawa Kiyohide at Shizugatake in a move to turn the tide launching the Shizugatake. Sakuma ignored Shibata's orders to merely test the enemy's defense and was destroyed by Hideyoshi's returning forces. He retreated to Kitanoshō castle but with the army destroyed, Katsuie had no option but to surrender. Katsuie committed seppuku and set the fire to the castle. He implored Oichi to take their daughters and leave, but she decided to follow his death, while letting her daughters escape.