Oda Nobunaga is one of the three unifiers of the Warring States period along with his former generals, Hideyoshi Toyotomi and Ieyasu Tokugawa. Until his untimely demise, Nobunaga is widely considered to have had controlled most of Japan as one of the strongest ruling powers of his time. He is Lady Nohime's husband, Oichi's older brother, and Nagamasa Azai's brother-in-law. His successor is his son, Nobutada, though he often does not live to continue his father's legacy.
obunaga is an eccentric conqueror who believes he has the heavens on his side. Threatened in his home territory by the invading Yoshimoto, he lures his target to attack him. Leading an ambush during a fierce rainstorm, Nobunaga beats the odds and slays his stronger opponent at Okehazama. With this momentum, he leads a campaign to conquer the neighboring domains around his home. His greatest threat at present is the Honganji Rioters, who defy him at Ise-Nagashima. He tells his army to completely obliterate the peasants who raised their arms against him.
If any rebel escapes from the field, they will quickly head to Shingen and plead sympathy for their cause. Determined to counter Shingen's tactics at Nagashino, Nobunaga orders the troops to fire. The rifles cut through his own troops yet successfully rout the Takeda cavalry. After his army slays Shingen, Kenshin mobilizes his own forces to avenge his rival. The Uesugi lay siege to Gifu Castle and Nobunaga hurries north to defend his home. As Nobunaga deflects Kenshin's initial charge, he decides to hold Kagekatsu hostage to lure the commander back into the field. Mitsuhide, who does not condone the usage of cowardly tactics against the honorable Uesugi, retreats from the field. Mitsuhide betrays him after Kenshin's death. On the verge of unification, Nobunaga intercepts the Mitsuhide's troops at Yamazaki. He additionally faces the vengeful Yukimura and Magoichi. Depending on the player's actions, he may also have to defeat an empathetic Ranmaru, who may defect to join his former mentor. Using the fog that descends around the area, Nobunaga ambushes Mitsuhide and is victorious. The traitor tries to commit suicide yet Nobunaga saves and spares him. The conqueror, amused by Mitsuhide's valorous character, then passes on his mantle of leadership to him.
Should his original plan at Ise-Nagashima succeed, Nobunaga shows the rebels no mercy and eliminates them. Years later, Ieyasu requests reinforcements against the Takeda march so Nobunaga faces them at Nagashino. Proving the utter malice and heartless nature of machinery over ancient traditions, Nobunaga claims victory. However, Mitsuhide can't find himself to condone Nobunaga's radical and cruel methods. After Nobunaga has become one of the greatest powers in the land and scattered his generals, Mitsuhide betrays him at Honnoji. While delighted at the chance to finally face his end, Ranmaru pleads that he safely escape from the temple with his closest ladies, Nohime and Oichi. His sister accompanies him; his wife, in her own show of love, defects and tries to kill him. He may escape the stage with Ranmaru and Oichi. Mitsuhide escapes his own defeat at Honnoji and joins with the other characters who are against his lord at Azuchi Castle. To recreate his home from scratch, Nobunaga lays siege to his own home and orders the castle to be burned down to the ground. He pursues his enemies as they escape into the castle, personally cutting them down one by one. After defeating Mitsuhide on the top floor, Nobunaga escapes and witnesses his burning home from afar. Paying his silent respects to Mitsuhide and Nohime, he reasons that he alone should endure the burden of the souls lost to war.
His story in Samurai Warriors 2 abridges his battle at Okehazama and fast-forwards to his fight with the Takeda at Nagashino. He previously decimated their forces on his conquest for expansion and aims to use the battle to wipe them out. His confrontation with the Takeda infuriated the remaining lords and the Honganji rebels. Knowing that the rebels had powerful influence over the populace, he lead his troops to end them at Osaka Bay. To counter, the rebels called upon the Saika renegades and the Mori to help their cause. Based on the land, the outnumbered Oda army continue to withstand the onslaught of angry generals and peasants against them. Once the ally navy arrives, the sudden bombardment of cannons on the rebels causes them to panic. Nobunaga orders their swift deaths and the west abides for a time. In response to his massacres, Kenshin leads his troops against him. Nobunaga sends Katsuie and Hideyoshi but both of his experienced retainers struggle against Kenshin at Tedorigawa. Nobunaga personally rides into the battle to rescue his men and slay the commander. Mitsuhide, who can no longer stomach killing innocent people, retreats from the field.
With the Uesugi weakened and Kenshin dead, Nobunaga decides to personally end Katsuyori to defend his eastern front. Together with his Tokugawa and Hojo allies, they continuously rout Katsuyori. The Takeda leader flees to Masayuki's sanctum in Ueda Castle, who gathers the remaining Takeda and Uesugi to defy Nobunaga. With the excuse that Odawara Castle is under attack, Ujimasa takes his quick leave and lets Kotaro loose in the field. Kotaro hides the elder commander's location, but Nobunaga strikes the shinobi down and slays both Masayuki and Katsuyori. Told by the shinobi a premonition of his death in flames, he is excited to face his reckoning when Mitsuhide rides against him at Honnoji. Rather than flee, Nobunaga calls for a stronger defense and gambles their ambitions on the outcome of the battle. In their decisive duel, Mitsuhide restrains his sword during their last clash and, after sharing his sincere admiration for his lord, meets his own end from Nobunaga's blow. Nobunaga, moved by his vassal's final words, respectfully carries his opponent's body away from the temple's flames.
In his dream stage, Mitsuhide's betrayal confuses the other lords. To stake their right for leadership, many of the renegades unite under Ieyasu at Komaki-Nagakute. Aside from the Tokugawa army, he simultaneously faces Yukimura, Kanetsugu, Keiji, Yoshihiro, and Masamune. Nobunaga, now wanting to honor Mitsuhide's memory, tells Hideyoshi to spread his order to avoid killing the enemy officers. During the struggle, the remaining Akechi officers arrive to assist Nobunaga on the behalf of their departed master. Capturing Ieyasu alive, he spares him to avoid another regretful death and asks that Ieyasu continue ruling Mikawa for him.
In Samurai Warriors: Katana, Nobunaga is prominently featured in the Ascendancy chapter which details pivotal moments of his career through the eyes of the protagonist. His military successes and miraculous survival at Honnoji is made possible by the player who he comes to trust. After subjugating the remaining warlords in Sekigahara, he consolidates the land under his rule and thanks his vassals for their support. The climax of the Unification scenario has him appear before the protagonist as a ghost. After cryptically reciting his famous Atsumori verse, he tests the young man's resolve through combat and loses. Impressed by the player's might, he imparts sage advice to his opponent before returning to the afterlife.
Samurai Warriors 3 has Nobunaga start his story after he unifies Owari. Surrounded on two sides by the Imagawa and Tokugawa armies, Nobunaga leads his army to defy obliteration at Okehazama. Yoshimoto's death assures him that his time among the living can continue. He reveals his ambition to rule the land with military might to the surrendering Ieyasu, offering the cowering general to follow him if he is prepared. With Ieyasu's help, he subjugates Mino with little effort. When Oichi marries Nagamasa, the Azai and Oda form a mutual alliance. However, when Nobunaga soon attacks Nagamasa's family ally, Yoshikage, Nagamasa rides to Yoshikage's rescue and fights the Oda army. Once again facing the prospect of his death, Nobunaga orders a retreat at Kanegasaki and fights his brother-in-law and sister. Regrouping his forces after his escape, he ends both the Azai-Asakura armies at Anegawa. Meanwhile, Shingen establishes his alliances in the east and heads towards the capital. However, he is reported to have died due to illness and his son leads the troops into Mikawa. Ieyasu pleads assistance and Nobunaga helps him with his army of gunners.
Before the battle at Nagashino, he admits to Mitsuhide his desire to reform people with his unprecedented conquests. He suppresses the entire Takeda clan by defeating the-actually-alive Shingen in battle. Spurring rebellions with his actions, Magoichi and Motonari join forces to face Nobunaga at Kizugawa. Slaughtering the Saika and defeating Motonari, Nobunaga retires to Azuchi Castle after separating his forces across the land. Mitsuhide, who has doubted his lord's brutality at Kizugawa, leads soldiers against him as Nobunaga relocates to Honnoji. Once again escaping from the burning temple, Nobunaga defeats several pursuers to cut his path towards Mitsuhide. Routing Motochika while his wife and other ally officers die, Nobunaga enjoys his duel with his opponent to power and disarms his vassal. Sparing his angered retainer, Nobunaga states his pleasure with Mitsuhide's blatant desire for change and doesn't want to see it end. Aware and looking forward to Hideyoshi and Ieyasu's ambitions, he dubs the awestruck Mitsuhide his friend and leaves.
Nobunaga appears as an ambitious conqueror in Samurai Warriors Chronicles. Nobunaga enters the story in chapter one at the famous battle of Okehazama, where he leads his few thousand men to defeat the massively larger Imagawa forces. Despite such odds, Nobunaga remains calm, telling the Protagonist the power of desire and the acceptance of fate allow for any level of success desired. After Yoshimoto's defeat, Oda leaves the scene until the battle of Mt. Inaba Castle, where the Protagonist and Hanbei repel the Oda invasion of Mino on Tatsuoki Saito's behest. Once driven off, Hideyoshi manages to convince both of the army leaders to join Nobunaga's army, leading into the second chapter of the game. In this chapter, the protagonist accompanies him and his army as they strive to defeat the Azai-Asakura alliance, repel the Takeda, the Uesugi, and destroy the Ikko rebels with their Mori support. His final chapter takes place at Honnoji, where Nobunaga is slain by his retainer Mitsuhide Akechi.
Despite being given his own story route in Sengoku Musou 3: Empires, Nobunaga is a peripheral character throughout every chapter. His display of contempt towards Nobuhide's altar serves to contrast the emotional Toshiie and the stoic Ranmaru from one another based on their reactions to said event. He also offends Yoshiaki with his dismissive attitude to the point where the latter plots against him. In Shingen's story, he is incited by a scheming Nobutora to attack the Takeda with rifles only to be bested by their superior tactics. Nobunaga quickly deems Nobutora's vengeance against Shingen as unnecessary to his cause and throws him out for it.
In the fourth game, his role is reprised closely to previous installments. His rise to power begins at Okehazama, where his numerically inferior troops decimate the Imagawa troops. Despite killing Yoshimoto, Ieyasu manages to rally the remnants into a retreat, forcing the Oda to destroy their enemies before they can escape and regroup. When he is finally defeated, Nobunaga chooses to simply pardon the defeated lord, opting to ally together instead. Following his victory, he wed his sister to Nagamasa Azai in order to better facilitate the newly obtained power after capturing the shogun's brother, Yoshiaki Ashikaga, as well as to get a better position to reach the capital. Shortly after, he attacked Mino, Hisahide and other ant-Oda forces clash with the Oda at Mt. Inaba.
Through Hideyoshi's wiles, and building of a castle on such short notice, the enemy forces' morale plummeted, leading to the defection and surrender of many. During the battle, he asks his wife if she is saddened with the destruction of the Saito, to which she responds coldly that they needed to be destroyed due to their refusal to change. Hisahide soon appears, having captured Yoshiaki, and begins challenging Nobunaga. In the end, Hisahide is captured, stubbornly refusing to serve Nobunaga. The Oda lord chooses to spare Hisahide instead, and "robbing" him of his future.
Together with his allies and generals, he celebrates his march by planting cherry trees at Honnoji, with Hideyoshi spreading the hopes that after a decade, they may all meet once again to the very site of their unity. Arriving at Kyoto, and exiling those that had earlier opposed him, Nobunaga immediately declares Yoshiaki as the shogun, and establishes residence within Kyoto. During his time in Kyoto, however, many of the anti-Oda forces who were supposedly exiled, returned, and attacked Rokujo during Nobunaga's absence, under secret provocation from Hisahide. Additionally, the Saika, who was previously allied themselves with the Oda, were now hired to assist in the siege. Arriving later in the battle, he assists in finally securing Kyoto, and allowing Yoshiaki to step forth as shogun.
Later at Kanegasaki, he is unexpectedly betrayed by Nagamasa for attacking the Asakura. He soon approaches Hisahide, enjoying the dire situation, and gives him the order to secure the escape route, much to his dismay. After successfully retreating, he immediately calls for Hisahide, confirming that he was indeed the cause for Nagamasa's uprising. Rather than slay him, Nobunaga instead chooses to once again forgive Hisahide.
With Nagamasa's betrayal, Nobunaga is forced to flee once again, but is now surrounded by not only the Azai-Asakura army, but also members of the Anti-Oda forces he defeated, led by Koshosho, the Saika mercenaries, and even Shingen Takeda were all in hot pursuit. Prior to the next battle, Mitsuhide offers to speak and negotiate with Nagamasa, claiming that there has to be a misunderstanding, but is refused by Nobunaga who states that Nagamasa must commit himself to the act instead. Meeting the enemy at Noda-Fukushima, he continues mercilessly cutting down the terrified, spreading fear further within the enemy ranks. He furthers this by not only slaughtering those that defected during the battle, but also setting fire to Fukushima castle, knowing fully well the presence of peasants still within the area, frightening even his own allies. Slaying Nagamasa at the end of the battle, with many of his generals questioning the brutality shown.
Shortly after destroying the Anti-Oda forces, Nobunaga immediately moved out to destroy the vulnerable Takeda shortly after Shingen's sudden death. With Katsuyori attacking Nagashino, Nobunaga immediately prepared his rifles, thus recreating a cruel manner of defeating his enemies. Personally overseeing the destruction of the famed cavalry, he asks his generals who are the most deserving of praise. When they do not reply, he replies that the most deserving ones are Katsuie, Hideyoshi and Ieyasu.
Seeing the defiant, yet futile struggle of the Takeda, Hisahide once again rebels against Nobunaga, leading to the conquest at Kishu. Unable to accept Nobunaga's forgiveness once more, Hisahide commits suicide within his own castle by igniting gunpowder-filled teapots. With his victory secure, Nobunaga decides to stop by Honnoji, admiring the cherry tree that he, Nagamasa and Hisahide planted, and questioning if he will be the next person who will be unable to enjoy the sight, with Ranmaru reporting of Mitsuhide's betrayal. With his successor, subordinates, and wife dead, Nobunaga fights Mitsuhide one final time at the burning temple, beside the cherry tree. Disarmed, and defeated, Mitsuhide replies that when he killed Ranmaru, he began to realize that he no longer wanted to surpass his lord. Nobunaga, however, replies that if Mitsuhide betrayed his lord, he must commit to the act of rebellion. Shortly after this, he walks deeper within the burning temple, hearing Mitsuhide's cries for the final time.
The 4-II Sparks of Rebellion story has Nobunaga continue to bully and toy with Hisahide for his amusement. He isn't surprised to see the rebel survive Shigesan Castle and welcomes the rebellion at Honnoji. Nobunaga forgives Hisahide again as he dies, denying him his final chance to hear his disapproval.
Nobunaga stars in the seventh downloadable scenario. For some inexplicable reason Nobunaga, Hisahide, and Mitsuhide have all survived their historical deaths and have gone into hiding. When tensions rise for Shizugatake, Nobunaga announces his revival to the public and challenges his doubters to face him at the rebuilt Honnoji. He subjugates his former retainers to renew their loyalty to him and unify the divided Oda forces.
Samurai Warriors Chronicles 3, pits him a central point for a wide variety of the what-if scenarios. If Yoshimoto or Shingen rises to power, Nobunaga will resist them at Okehazama and Mikatagahara respectively and will be slain in both encounters. If Nagamasa defeats him at Anegawa, he becomes the vassal to his brother-in-law's dream but is slain by Hisahide's forces while defending Nagamasa. Nobunaga's death has a profound effect on Nagamasa, as he becomes colder and more distant to enemies and allies as a result.
If Hideyoshi is successfully able to send Kanbei to Honnoji to rescue him, Nobunaga, Nohime, and Ranmaru all fake their deaths with Kanbei's help, living normal lives as peasants, and content to see Hideyoshi and other vassals rise up. When Hideyoshi forces his nephew to commit suicide and executes a large number of his vassals, including Kanbei, Munenori, and Magoichi implore Nobunaga to rise to power once more. Rising to the challenge, Nobunaga destroys Osaka Castle and captures Hideyoshi. Having changed to become a heartless man trying to rule the land, Nobunaga has Hideyoshi executed. Because of Hideyoshi's death, tensions flare between the Tokugawa and the Oda, potentially leading to another war.If the player reaches Kanbei during the purge of Hidetsugu's retainers, he will fake his death and join Hideyoshi at Osaka Castle. When Hideyoshi is brought forward beside Kanbei, he refuses to allow his subordinate to die for him, reverting back to the man he once was. Content, Nobunaga unties both of them.
Spirit of Sanada has Nobunaga briefly appear during Katsuyori's reign, acting as the Tokugawa's ally and was leading the reinforcements heading for Nagashino. Following the deaths of several key Takeda generals at Shitaragahara, Nobunaga and Ieyasu would eventually annex the Takeda domain into their territory. Following Katsuyori's death, Masayuki formally surrendered to Nobunaga with Ieyasu acting as a witness. Shortly after, Nobunaga would be killed by Mitsuhide at Honnōji.
Nobunaga's rise to power is briefly shown in the side stages, showing his conflict against Nagamasa and the anti-Nobunaga Coalition, and cleaning up its remnants after Hisahide's desertion.
During Orochi's story, Nobunaga acts as the "last hope for humanity" to defy Orochi's forces, leading the largest army to face against Orochi. The two battle at Mikatagahara, where Nobunaga eventually has to retreat.
In Warriors Orochi, Nobunaga is seen as a fearsome neutral party. In reality, he is gathering various warriors to join his resistance against Orochi. He acts as the figurehead for the Samurai force and is seen as a heroic mastermind. Throughout the story, Nobunaga predicts the future, such as Cao Pi and Sun Ceeventually betraying Orochi. He is one of the four characters to lead a major resistance force and temporarily join forces with his rivals, Shingen and Kenshin. After Orochi's defeat, the three warlords separate.
Nobunaga is absent for the first half of the sequel. In the Samurai storyline, Sakon seeks an audience with him at at Hu Lao Gate in a bid to convince him to join the anti-Orochi alliance. In the middle of the battle, Nobunaga appears with the majority of his army and helps Sakon defeat Kiyomori. After the battle, Nobunaga and Kenshin joined forces to defeat Kiyomori in Bai Di Castle. In the Wei storyline, Nobunaga and an elite group of officers help Xiahou Dun rout Kiyomori at Tong Gate. He stays to build a friendship with Cao Cao. Nobunaga shares his dream stage with the other unifiers of Japan and wage a contest with the rulers of the Three Kingdoms.
Leading his army in Warriors Orochi 3, Nobunaga fought against Cao Cao for dominance in the original timeline. When Hydraawakened, he and his forces were bitterly decimated and scattered. Nobunaga's whereabouts after his defeat are not known. The Coalition from the future travel to Da Ji's past and have to face his forces since Nobunaga wants them to prove their worth to him in battle. Nobunaga remains stationed at Honnōji and is eventually impressed by their might to join them. He later leads the Oda forces to defend Ōsaka Castle. He stars with his wife in the downloadable scenario "Every Snake Has Its Day". They help Diamondback in his rebellion against Kiyomori.
In Ultimate, the Shu forces attack Nobunaga at Honnōji due to rumors of his alliance with Da Ji. He is defeated and spared by Jiang Wei who then surmises that they were deceived. Deducing Da Ji's role in the incident, Nobunaga moves to capture her. Due to Da Ji's antics with a Nobunaga clone, Nobunaga and company are forced to defend themselves against the Wei army at Nanjun. Upon being trapped in the Mirror Realm, the Oda forces would be attacked by the Realm's Wu army at Yamazaki, though they are rescued by the real Sun Jian. Grateful at for the rescue, Nobunaga aids the other heroes that have been trapped in order to reach the exit of the realm.
Nobunaga was among the first to arrive in the new world in Warriors Orochi 4, and he is immediately approached by Nezha, who has a serpent-like bracelet that responds to him. Gifting the bracelet to the daimyo, Nobunaga is given the task to forge a Coalition with the other humans dragged into the new world, as well as to rally others to become strong enough to oppose him by Nuwa.
After he is defeated by Liu Bei's rebel army, his true intentions are revealed by the mystic, and she, and the Oda army, join together with Liu Bei's army. He later assists the Coalition in fighting Ares at Luoyang, along with Orochi at the Olympus.
Nobunaga retains his personality in the Warriors franchises, but his cruelty and abstract nature are significantly toned down to fit the target audience for Pokemon Conquest. During his youth, he was a gregarious and optimistic person who loved Pokemon and his freedom. However, he soon realized that people would always fight among themselves in their greed for the legendary Pokemon. These wars would make people lose sight of their Pokemon's companionship and lead them to regard their friends as mindless tools. To prevent such a future and to unify the divided countries in Ransei, he becomes stern and distant. Nobunaga desires to destroy the common perception of the legendary Pokemon by toppling it with his own power. By doing so, he believes the land can truly be at peace. Nobunaga summarizes his ambition as one that will "destroy Ransei", which alienates him from his sister.
By the time the protagonist obtains four castles in his/her possession, Nobunaga has defeated five other castles and over half of Ransei is in his leadership. He accepts various proposals from the defeated countries for their servitude. He visits the protagonist personally once he/she gains Shingen and Kenshin's trust, haughtily challenging the youth to surpass him. When the protagonist beats his Zekrom at his home castle, Nobunaga forfeits his castle to him/her and disappears. Nobunaga watches from afar as the protagonist meets the legendary Pokemon atop Infinity Tower within his domain. After the protagonist forms a Link with it, Nobunaga and his five closest supporters challenge him/her. He faces the main party with his personal black Rayquaza to see which leader is truly superior.
When he loses the climatic battle, he explains to Oichi his wish for Ransei. His genuine desire moves the legendary Pokemon to respectfully depart from Ransei and leave it in the protagonist and Nobunaga's care. With the legendary Pokemon gone, the Bushou Leaders reach an understanding and agree to keep the land peaceful. With his ambition seemingly fulfilled, Nobunaga mysteriously keeps watch atop Infinity Tower.
And he is reprised by Christopher Corey Smith in the English dub and Jurota Kusogi in the Japanese dub.
A young Nobunaga as seen in Samurai Warriors 5 his English voice is unknown and he is reprised by Nobunaga Shimazaki in the Japanese dub.