#leni plays sw5

[gobureis]

I was making fun of sw5!Mitsuhide for wanting to be praised by Nobunaga yesterday 

and like... this game goes and

Hideyoshi: Mitsuhide, I hear Nobunaga-sama praised you again?

Mitsuhide: (...)  it’s nice being praised.

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5/15

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[gobureis]

I really would like to thank Koei for giving me a happy universe where Nobunaga and Mitsuhide are both alive

I think that the IF chapter is the first time it happened because I can’t remember any other where both of them would be alive at the end

Orochi doesn’t count (and I’m not really familiar with sw3 era)

but also if you think about the IF chapter stages as Mitsuhide’s dream (or something he sees before his death) everything gets more painful... 

[gobureis]

Just some personal impressions (no story spoilers)

- imho it’s best to play Nobunaga’s version and Mitsuhide’s version simultaneously, as well as playing the side stories (at least those involving Ieyasu) when they unlock because I feel like if you played just Nobunaga’s main story straight it would be a bit bland. However, Mitsuhide’s version is unlocked after you finish Nobunaga’s 2nd chapter, after you finish Mitsuhide’s 2nd chapter, you have to play Nobunaga again, and I guess Mitsuhide’s 3rd and 4th chapters get unlocked after finishing Nobunaga’s 4th etc.

- all movesets I tried are really fun but they become more fun as you level the character up (you still get a new one at level 20, maybe even higher but I don’t have a character that high yet)

- the gun Matsunaga has (idk who else has it lol) is FUN and it reminds me a lot of SW4 Magoichi (so I guess Magoichi has it in this title too)

- Oichi and Hanbei are also a lot of fun, but leveled up katana is GREAT (I especially enjoy Nobunaga’s version of katana - it’s a unique weapon for his young self as well)

- cutscenes/events after and prior to the battles are sometimes influenced by characters you choose like in sw4

- Katsuyori is a playable character in the story (so you don’t get to play these characters only in the free mode) - idk about others, yet, but at least Katsuyori is 

- some characterizations are completely changed, and it’s possible people won’t like them (I personally consider each musou game its own thing and after all, like Mitsunari’s characterization is also different in each main title (even though it’s more subtle); here it’s an age thing for characters like Tadakatsu, but some changes are ??? I might complain about one character in particular later, but I guess I’ll see the whole story first. BUT Nobunaga and Mitsuhide are basically Nobunaga and Mitsuhide, Koei’s version)

- one other thing I think is important is to approach the game as fantasy based on history, but not necessarily following the history - don’t expect the game to be a historical account - it uses the common tropes and twists but it also just does its own things (and some are................ :D)

[gobureis]

[gobureis]

Nobunaga

Juubei

[gobureis]

We just met, I like you, won’t you come to Owari with me and my wife? 

(I mean that’s how it went, didn’t it? lol)

[gobureis]

This is actually a part of a long rambling which I’m not sure I’m gonna post but in the meantime

Mitsuhide’s third chapter is called 明星 (myoujou) which refers to the morning star aka Venus aka the second brightest object on the night sky, which basically in the context of this chapter refers to Nobunaga (as a symbol of a shining light as I mentioned before)

But if we also add some Western symbolism, morning star = Lucifer, and...

considering that in previous installments both Nobunaga and Mitsuhide had angel imagery - black and white feathers - and the feathers are still a part of their design is 5, especially visible for Nobunaga...

I’m probably just reading too much into it though... 

even though Nobunaga is Mitsuhide’s light that led him on a path to hell... on a path where other characters could “see” demons hiding behind Mitsuhide’s back

[gobureis]

If it’s Nobunaga-dono, he will brightly illuminate Lady Kichou’s path. I have a feeling like that.

Mitsuhide to Kenshin: When I heard about Nobunaga-dono’s vision to destroy the turbulent times and to attempt to reform the country, I could clearly see the bright light on the path I should walk on.

Kenshin: Hmm... to you, Nobunaga is like a lighting that heralds the spring. Is the shock that flooded you the source of the power that drives you?

why is Mitsuhide like this? also wtf Kenshin?

in any case, I guess Nobunaga symbolizes light to both Mitsuhide and Kichou, and it just adds more fuel to my 

Kichou →← Nobunaga →← Mitsuhide thing

[gobureis]

ok so there’s one stage in Mitsuhide’s story where you’re supposed to defeat Nobunaga with a musou attack and when you do, Nobunaga’s all

“you’ve become strong, Mitsuhide. I had fun”

and Mitsuhide’s all you too Nobunaga-dono

BUT when you don’t trigger the mission, the stage ends with Mitsuhide being all sad

“Nobunaga-dono, I wonder if I became stronger.”

He just wants to be praised okay LOL

[gobureis]

ok I’m back to my nonsense

me: this game isn’t that deep

also me: let me be

the three unifiers and their wives; spoilers obviously (death, suicide)

so, the reason why Nene isn’t in the game (and Hideyoshi is the only unifier without a wife; apart from “we don’t know what to do with more than four girls in our game”) is basically because Hanbei was written into the position of the wife

I mean

Kichou was killed, and Nobunaga went revenge revenge revenge and then went on to destroy the turbulent times staining the pure flowers despite wanting Kichou to experience the world with pure blooming flowers, a world without wars. (he piled the rice)

Hanbei died, and Hideyoshi mourned for a while, but then proceeded to listen to Hanbei and go on to change the world in his own way... because that was what Hanbei would want him to do, because Hanbei always supported him and his dream, and after Nobunaga’s death, it was his change to grasp it (he kneads the dough)

Sena committed suicide (so the Tokugawa could survive), and Ieyasu’s resolve got stronger. He avenged her, and started to dream about changing the land himself (he will eat the cake)

---

and even the ways they died fits well into the narrative and fit with the personalities of Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, and Ieyasu

Kichou was killed - revenge

Hanbei died from sickness - there’s nothing I can do about it, but I can move forward and grant his wish

Sena commits suicide to preserve the Tokugawa clan and Ieyasu continues to protect it and survive in a way that will allow him to take over the land, eventually

---

anyway, one day I’ll stop analyzing video games LOL

[gobureis]

My personal SW5 impressions of characters after playing the game once (plus some lol)  

note: I’m talking about all of them as characters in a video game. 

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Nobunaga - ngl I love him. I feel his depiction might become a bit controversial among fans, but as a story it’s great imho.

Mitsuhide - I love him too lol deep down he’s pretty similar to his SW4 counterpart, but he also isn’t. He made different choices, and there are different settings (i.e. Akechi castle being burned down and his whole family dying) that made a difference, and then there’s his relationship with Nobunaga [but it isn’t just Nobunaga who influences Mitsuhide]

Hideyoshi - he’s such a fun character. It’s always a hit or miss with Hideyoshi and me in various media, and I admit i wasn’t a big fan of some parts of SW4 Hideyoshi, but this younger version who is all about making it big and becoming a powerful daimyou is refreshing and fun. There’s some rivalry between him and Mitsuhide (mostly one-sided), and respect for Ieyasu. The Hashiba group (Hideyoshi, Hanbei, Kazuuji, Kanbei) are very warm and almost family-like

Ieyasu - he’s also a nice character. I liked SW4 Ieyasu and the Tokugawa clan a lot, and you can still feel the bonds here as well. He’s very, not serious, but he knows he’s not good enough and he works really hard to become a good samurai. He’s very loyal to Nobunaga, and he’s like a puppy around him. It’s cute.

Imagawa Yoshimoto - he’s pretty much there only to be a villain

Shingen - I was never particularly interested in Shingen (and Takeda clan and Sanada clan as a whole in SW4) so having Shingen as the enemy officer only is like shrug (he’s fun in the Uesugi vs Takeda stage in Mitsuhide’s chapter, but his presence isn’t strong overall, I know there’s one Ieyasu stage where Takeda are with them but I forgot what it’s about)

Kenshin - LOL this time Kenshin got some Kanetsugu’s characterization so he’s very loud, very opinionated, and all about righteousness, which isn’t GI this time but TADASHIKI. At the moment, he’s a bit annoying (but I also felt that way about SW4 Kanetsugu at the beginning, and he’s among my faves now, so...)

Mouri Motonari - he’s also there to be a villain and he does it well. He’s not a nice grandfather, he’s dark and shrewd, and it’s very different from SW4. 

Azai Nagamasa - he’s different, I’m still not sure if in a good or bad way

Matsunaga Hisahide - he’s fun lol (I mean I liked his SW4 version, and I like his SW5′s one too) He’s not really a joke character anymore, and he’s VERY interested in Mitsuhide. I’m glad he stayed as a playable character.

Nouhime - (no one calls her Nouhime lol ETA: Sena does) she is a great character but unfortunately her ‘screen time’ is way too short. Her interactions are mostly limited to Nobunaga, but I guess I just need to trigger more in battle dialogues. I like what they did with her in the IF stories.

Mitsuki - she was such a delightful surprise. She’s written well, and I really like her story, and also her involvement in Nobunaga and Mitsuhide’s story

Toshiie - he’s pretty much the same as in SW4, he’s Nobunaga’s childhood friend and just follows whatever Nobunaga orders, without questioning it much (the furthest he went was before Hiei-zan, but nothing really came from it anyway). He has bigger role during the early chapters, after Mitsuhide joins Nobunaga, Nobunaga apparently forgets he already had a BFF? idk lol 

Katsuie - he became more handsome, but at the core, he’s pretty much the same Katsuie too. But this time they decided to make Katsuie loyal primarily to Oichi and make him her bodyguard (probably to avoid any potential creepiness considering Oichi’s age this time). Toshiie and Katsuie don’t really have any familial relationship, and Hideyoshi calls him “danna” lol

Oichi - she’s a... child, basically (and I did like the mother-like figure in SW4, especially in SW4-2), but she keeps growing on me. 

Saitou Toshimitsu - he’s extremely loyal to Mitsuhide and he follows him no matter what. They have a nice lord/vassal relationship very different from all lord/vassal relationships that were in SW4, so it’s refreshing

Yamanaka Shikanosuke - he’s a great character, he’s friends with Mitsuhide, and they both swore under the moon to become stronger, so they could protect those who were important to them, and that promise made them move forward. It’s a great friendship, but tragic. (as everything in this stupid game is) Although, I admit that at this time, more than his relationship with Mitsuhide, I’m more interested in his relationship with Mori Motonari and Kobayakawa Takakage.

Hanbei - omg I love this version of Hanbei a LOT. I feel like in SW4 he wasn’t around that much, and when he was I just focused more on Kanbei, but do I love him in SW5. His characterization is basically the same, but he’s also more soft? And more on equal ground with Hideyoshi, whom he calls ‘Hideyoshi’, and while their relationship isn’t THAT different, Hideyoshi’s personality and age makes it different, and I love it. Because of his time with Dosan, he gets a lot of ‘screen time’ this time around, so that’s great too.

Kanbei - Kanbei is... young LOL He appears pretty late in the game, so I didn’t have much time to really focus on him because this time, I focused more on Hanbei. Their senpai-kohai relationship is cute though

Nakamura Kazuuji - he’s... there. He has a nice relationship with Mitsuki, but we also never really see them interact properly or hear about their past (maybe the citadel events?), and he’s very loyal to Hideyoshi, so that’s cool too. Like I said above I like the Hashiba group. 

Sena - Sena is great, different from the other girls in this game, more mature. 

Tadakatsu - he’s like a big loud puppy who follows his master Takechiyo. I didn’t focus on him much tbh I’ve always preferred Ieyasu’s relationship with Hanzou, and that didn’t really change. And this time there was also Sena, so... Tadakatsu was... just there, more like an older brother than a vassal

Hanzou - also great. The age difference this time made some changes with his relationship with Ieyasu, and there’s no ‘shadow to Ieyasu’s light’ symbolism this time, but it is still a nice relationship. 

Sandayu - he’s a character that’s very present and he goes from a nice big brother figure to ********, but I haven’t really made an opinion about him yet. He’s a good character, but I like others more, basically.

Kobayakawa Takakage - hahahahaha he’s very self-centered and at first I was like you’re so annoying, but he also started to grow on me, so we’ll see (I definitely do prefer SW4 though). Although, this Kobayakawa and this Hanbei would work quite well together. I need to replay the Hashiba VS Mouri stages.

Saika Magoichi - he’s a nicer version of his SW4 version with no weird womanizer thing thrown in (yet). Unfortunately he only serves as a villain and you don’t really get to know his story, but he’s a person with integrity

Yasuke - Yasuke only joins at the very end of the game, and he’s very cool. He definitely works better than Ranmaru for what this story is about.

Oda Nobuyuki - he was a nice character. tbh they could have made him fully playable because he was present for two whole chapters but well... 

Okabe - idk you fight against him

Katsuyori - I like that Shingen calls him ‘Jirou’ LOL otherwise it didn’t really matter to me if he had a special design or not (but like I said I’m not interested in Takeda clan) - he’s voiced by the same guy who’s voicing Kobayakawa so when I don’t particularly pay attention I’m like why is Ieyasu fighting Kobayakawa? lol

Kikkawa Motoharu - ??? he’s there. he’s the muscles to Kobayakawa’s brain, I guess

Mouri Terumoto - he’s young, he feels the burden, but he doesn’t have much presence

Dousan - well, Dousan is Dousan

Saitou Yoshitatsu - at one moment he’s laughing like a cartoon villain

Asakura Yoshikage - he’s so good. He has a bigger presence that Nagamasa, and it’s a shame he wasn’t made fully playable. But he also never joined Nobunaga... he’s a really nice lord who cares about his territory and people, and does everything to protect them

Ashikaga Yoshiaki - your usual incompetent shogun, I guess

Mitsubushi Fujihide - I love him! He’s very loyal to the shogunate and Yoshiaki and does everything to protect him. (even though the shogun is the way he is)

aaaand done. Future me, how did your opinions change?

TOP 5 characters: Mitsuhide, Nobunaga, Hanbei, Hideyoshi, Toshimitsu

[gobureis]

It’s kind of funny how characters like Asakura Yoshikage or Mitsubushi Fujihide left a bigger impression on me than some other characters.

In any case, yes, I like both of them.

[gobureis]

Shibata Katsuie in SW5

I got curious and looked at places where people talk about SW and I wish I didn’t LOL

anyway, it seems that people are bothered with what SW5 decided to do with Katsuie. On the one hand I understand, on the other hand how is it different from Otani serving the Azai or Takatora serving Ieyasu from Komaki-Nagakute in SW4? SW4 Takatora is basically just a random guy who has nothing in common with Todo Takatora. (And there are other examples, SW was never historically accurate.)

now, a lot of the WTFness is because people only watch youtube videos and miss events because those who stream the game usually just play with Nobunaga and choose to try new characters as partners and don’t bother really play other characters (or side stories) during their first run (and some events unlock only if you play with Oichi or Nagamasa or Katsuie) + language barrier

Ever since the beginning, there was a strong Oichi+Nobuyuki+Katsuie trio and when Nobuyuki was ordered to commit seppuku, Katsuie wanted to follow him. At that time Nobunaga ordered him to live and protect Oichi. So he became something like a bodyguard to her.

years pass and they meet Nagamasa. Nagamasa decided to join the Oda and Nobunaga makes marriage arrangements (other things happen but not relevant), and after the marriage is a go, Nobunaga tells Katsuie to join Oichi and go to Azai Nagamasa with her. Katsuie promises to protect Oichi forever, and he protects her even if it means fighting Nobunaga.

After Odani castle, Nobunaga ordered both under house arrest.

However, next stage is Nagashino where Katsuie joins and fights for the Oda, does good stuff, and Nobunaga praises him.

And then you have Tetorigawa - where Katsuie is the supreme commander leading the Oda army - it’s all about Katsuie, Toshiie, Hideyoshi... and Oichi.

And in this stage Kenshin asks him why Nobunaga lets him live, since he turned his blade against him.

Katsuie tells him that for Nobunaga, he’s a guard dog. And that Nobunaga doesn’t care if a dog bit him in the past, if he was disciplined enough.

In any case, at the end of the story, Katsuie is indebted to Nobunaga for letting him live after Nobuyuki’s suicide, and he’s also indebted to Nagamasa (again, not that different from SW4 Yoshitsugu and Takatora), and he is an Oda general. He’s not any less or more loyal to Nobunaga than Hideyoshi. Hideoyoshi in this title is literally only using Nobunaga to make it big.

In many ways Katsuie is probably treated better than Toshiie - Toshiie doesn’t actually have any story nor development (he kind of ‘ends’ at Okehazama - Okehazama is a good stage for Toshiie and Nobunaga’s friendship).  Katsuie also gets more screen time than some other characters.

I was a bit WTF when Katsuie appeared with the Azai clan ngl because I missed events that only unlock if you play as Nagamasa or Oichi (or Katsuie?) at a certain stage, but it fits the story that was told in SW5. And Tetorigawa is a good stage and a nice ‘good-bye’ to Katsuie and Oichi in SW5, since they don’t appear after that.

So yeah, this is the story of Katsuie in SW5.

I personally wasn’t thrilled at the beginning, but after paying closer attention (and actually finally getting the Azai events LOL) and replaying Tetorigawa, I now have a better appreciation for Katsuie and even Oichi, and Nagamasa and Oichi’s relationship. Because if you don’t use their characters during the stages they’re on Nobunaga’s side (even in Mitsuhide’s chapter) you miss a part of their story.