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Masayuki Sanada is the fourth head of the Sanada clan and the father of Lady Muramatsu, Nobuyuki, and Yukimura. His older brothers are Masateru Sanada and Nobutsuna Sanada. He is a shrewd yet masterful strategist who is famous for stopping Hidetada Tokugawa's 38,000 men army with a mere number of two thousand at Ueda Castle. Outside of battle, he was known for his cunning and sly nature, which was respected by both Hideyoshi and Ieyasu. It was thanks to his quick thinking that allowed the Sanada to survive the entire conflict of the Sengoku period with their domain still intact.
Before his playable appearance in Samurai Warriors, Masayuki has been a generic NPC since its starting entry. This character interpretation shares a duet with Yukimura called Akazonae Tenkaichi ~Sanada Oyako Special Version~.
The series initially presents him as an elderly or middle-aged general who serves the Takeda. In most titles in the series, he orders Yukimura to assist him in halting the Tokugawa forces at Ueda. Samurai Warriors has him trap Ieyasu and his men by luring them downstream from the castle and breaking the floodgate to the river. If the attack succeeds, Ieyasu will lose many of his men and a great deal of morale.
Samurai Warriors 2 has him prevent Hidetada from reaching Sekigaharaby stalling the Tokugawa army at Ueda Castle. He is a commander during the Fall of the Takeda who remains hidden in the main keep until the end of the battle. Masayuki assists the fictional Edo Castle in Kanetsugu's and Keiji's story mode. Nagamasa's dream stage has him appear with the Takeda to defeat Nobunaga. In Ina's dream stage, he is a crocked grandfather who is driven back by his daughter-in-law. He also appears during the Oda's conquest of Ueda castle, where Katsuyori fictionally decides to go to the Sanada domain for refuge instead. Although he is able to call upon the Uesugi for help, Nobunaga is able to use Takeda defectors to enrage Katsuyori to charge out on his own, against Masayuki's orders, leading to their deaths and the fall of the castle.
The fourth title dedicates a cutscene of Masayuki congratulating his sons for their efforts at Kanagawa, which paved the path for Sanada independence. He assigns his sons their respective paths for their family before choosing to settle their family at Ueda Castle.
Spirit of Sanada faithfully depicts Masayuki's historical exploits many of which were previously assigned to his sons in the series. As the main protagonist of the game, he first appears under Shingen Takeda's tutelage at Kawanakajima and a friend of the lord's son Katsuyori Takeda, where after completing some transporting of supplies as ordered by his father, he joins the battle at Mt.Saijyo, defending Shingen in the fabled duel against Kenshin, where he uses explosives at Kenshin's mount to force him to retreat. Despite many Takeda officers such as Kansuke and Nobushige dying, the Takeda score a victory in a showdown at Kawanakajima, thus improving his standing. After returning home, Masayuki is welcomed by his new infant children. Happy beyond belief, he swears to remain alive to make sure he is able to watch over them.
The peace does not last long as the Takeda's ally, Yoshimoto Imagawa, was killed at Okehazama, essentially destroying all power the clan had. Because of this, the clan becomes split over aiding the Imagawa and their allies, the Hōjō or exploiting Yoshimoto's death and taking his heir's land. When Shingen ultimately invades Imagawa territory at Suruga, Yoshinobu, the eldest son of Shingen opposes the decision vehemently and is subsequently executed for treason and rebellion. After dealing with the Imagawa, Shingen begins his march to Kyōto. Barring his path is Ieyasu Tokugawa, Nobunaga Oda's ally. Despite numerous defeats in the lead-up and at Mikatagahara, Ieyasu is able to evade Masayuki's grasp. Shortly after the triumph at Mikatagahara, Shingen dies to illness, forcing the entire Takeda army back to Kai.
Trying to calm an enraged and shaken Katsuyori, he nevertheless accompanies his new lord on the siege of Nagashino, but warns his lord to not engage with Nobunaga's reinforcements. While their siege is strong, the Tokugawa refuse to break, and Nobunaga's reinforcements finally arrive to relieve their allies. Against Masayuki's wishes, Katsuyori engages the Oda in open battle at the nearby Shitaragahara. As Masayuki had predicted, Nobunaga was able to counter the Takeda cavalry via mass palisades and rifles. Masayuki is barely able to get Katsuyori to escape back to Kai, at the cost of Masayuki's brothers and many other key Takeda generals. With the Takeda in decline, Masayuki nonetheless serves faithfully and aids Kagekatsu Uesugi during the Otate war to secure a future alliance between the Uesugi and Takeda. Numata Castle, near the Sanada's territory of Ueda, is also successfully captured by Katsuyori.
After the Ōtate Rebellion, the Oda-Tokugawa Coalition begin invading Kai. With castles falling left and right, Katsuyori is pushed by Nobushige Oyamada and Katsusuke Atobe to head for the newly-built Shinpu castle to resist the Oda. Masayuki, however, does not believe in the castle's ability to hold out against a siege and wishes for Katsuyori to seek refuge at Ueda and to abandon Kai. Agreeing to Masayuki's plan, Katsuyori sends Masayuki back to Ueda in advance to prepare for his arrival. During Masayuki's preparations, however, Kunoichi delivers a letter from Katsuyori; Revealing that he believed the Takeda's demise was inevitable, and, hoping to not involve the Sanada further, has gone to Shinpu castle. Kunoichi also reports that Oyamada had betrayed Katsuyori, and that their lord was now dead and the Takeda had been eradicated. Thrown into an angry flurry, Masayuki is unable to understand why his lord would give up so easily, but being reminded of his children, he returns to his calmer demeanor and swears to make it out alive. After Katsuyori's death, Masayuki personally meets and submits to the Oda with Ieyasu acting as the audience to the surrender. Although Ieyasu wishes for Masayuki to live on for the sake of those that died in his place, Masayuki warns Ieyasu to not use the dead as an excuse for his ineptitudes.
As part of his submission, Muramatsu are sent to Azuchi Castle as a hostage but is accompanied by Yukimura, at his own insistence to guard his sister. Not long after, Nobunaga is killed by Mitsuhide Akechi at Honnōji, and the city is overrun by Akechi troops. Fortunately, both of his children are rescued and return to Ueda safely.
Masayuki soon gets warped into the Tensho-Jingo conflicts around Kai province, where due to the death of Nobunaga, his officials lose control. Taking advantage of the conflict between the Oda and Hōjō, Masayuki attacks Kazumasu Takigawa, the guardian of Numata Castle. As the Hōjō would be discontent at the castle being seized at their expense, Masayuki pledges loyalty to them to keep them appeased. Masayuki then predicts an upcoming battle between the Hōjō and the Uesugi soon after, and he helps expel the Uesugi forces, skillfully making several officers defect to his side. With Ujimasa and Kagekatsu signing a peace accord, the next battle shifts to Ieyasu once more. Secretly, he also makes secret deals with discontent officers within Shinano to have them eventually break away and aid the Sanada instead.
Masayuki soon betrays the Hōjō to ally with the Tokugawa, and he beats back the Hōjō at Numata Castle. Once the situation stabilizes, the Tokugawa ally with the Hōjō and order Masayuki to yield Numata over to the Hōjō. Not wishing to follow through, Masayuki hastens the construction of Ueda Castle and sends Yukimura to forge an alliance with the Uesugi. With Ieyasu aware of Masayuki's wavering loyalties, he launches a siege on Ueda. Thanks to the castle's defenses and his own strategies, Masayuki and Yukimura prevail against the odds, leaving Nobuyuki to chase and rout the defeated Tokugawa army.
Learning of Masayuki's resounding victories against the Hōjō and the Tokugawa, Masayuki is personally summoned by Hideyoshi to Ōsaka to discuss an alliance. Yukimura is then left at Ōsaka as a hostage of the Toyotomi, with Masayuki being seen off by Mitsunari Ishida, who guarantees Yukimura's safety, but warns Masayuki to not get any second thoughts about allying with the Toyotomi. As part of their servitude to the Toyotomi, the Sanada are told act as the Tokugawa's yoriki. Although there is no hostage as part of the agreement, Nobuyuki volunteers to go meet the Tokugawa as a safety measure in the case something abrupt were to happen to the Toyotomi. Masayuki, proud of his son's growth, allows him to decide for his own.
After that resounding victory, the Hōjō are soon the only clan who have not submitted to Toyotomi. Masayuki opts to fan the flames further by intentionally getting Kuninori Inomata to attack Numata Castle, giving the Toyotomi the needed justification to launch their conquest of Kantō. He rejoins his family and Toshiie Maeda to besiege the last of the Hōjō castles on the way to Odawara Castle. Seizing the castles of Matsuida and Hachigata, Masayuki is able to break the morale of many of the Hōjō's officers to get them to surrender. In the upcoming Hachioji battle, however, Toshiie gives the order to slaughter any that oppose them. Masayuki, however, disobeys orders and continues to accept surrendering officers, much to Toshiie's relief. Nonetheless, the battle results in the deaths of many civillians and soldiers. After the battle, he discusses with Nobuyuki over the situation. Although Nobuyuki sees the bloody result as a necessary sacrifice to hasten the peace, Masayuki expresses the disdain for "necessary sacrifices". Once Odawara falls, the land is united and Nobuyuki is left to become the lord of Numata, and Masayuki opens up at how he had sacrificed the men of Numata and Hachioji to achieve their goals to Yukimura. Predicting a major event to occur, he has Yukimura return to Osaka as a hostage in order for him to monitor the situation up close.
Hideyoshi's death soon leads to the land being divided into two factions, with Mitsunari Ishida of the West against Ieyasu Tokugawa, of the East. Masayuki allows Nobuyuki Sanada to remain with the Tokugawa due to his marriage with Ina and support for Ieyasu, but allies himself with Mitsunari before pushing Yukimura to make his own choice. Ultimately, Yukimura chooses to stay with his father and the two prepare themselves for Hidetada's eventual arrival. Fighting against the Tokugawa, he assigns a new ward at Ueda, and makes it his job to delay Hidetada Tokugawa from arriving at Sekigahara. Beating back Hidetada, he actually manages to have Hidetada on the retreat, even to his surprise and commits a pursuit, nearly having Hidetada's head, if not for news of the Eastern Army's victory at Sekigahara. After this, he and Yukimura are considered for execution, but instead exiled to Mt. Kudoyama, where Masayuki dies without much fanfare. In his last moments, he wonders if this is karma for failing show enough conviction to Katsuyori to convince him not to give up but is content having seen the growth of his children.
As all of the clan's holdings and retainers are safely under Nobuyuki's hands, he apologizes for leaving Yukimura empty-handed, but the son comforts his father by insisting to have inherited the Sanada's unyielding spirit.
Masayuki's defenses and ambush strategies are later used by Yukimura when he defends Osaka Castle as well as the creation of the impregnable Sanada Ward.
And he is reprised by Dan Woren in the English dub and Kenta Miyake in the Japanese dub.