Kessen

Kessen
North American PlayStation 2 cover art
Developer(s)	Koei
Publisher(s)	Koei (JP) Electronic Arts (NA/PAL)
Director(s)	Fumito Kozutsumi
Designer(s)	Tachiki Kanda Norimitsu Komine Fumito Kozutsumi Takao Sakai Masahiko Sugahara Yōichi Wada Ichiro Yasuda
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2, PlayStation Network
Release	PlayStation 2 JP: Script error: No such module "Date time". NA: Script error: No such module "Date time". PAL: Script error: No such module "Date time". PlayStation Network JP: Script error: No such module "Date time".
Genre(s)	Real-time tactics
Mode(s)	Single-player

Kessen (決戦, "Decisive Battle") is a real-time tactics video game produced by Koei and published by Electronic Arts. It was a launch game for the PlayStation 2 in Japan and North America. It was initially the only real-time wargame game available for the PlayStation 2.

It is a real-time tactics game set in feudal Japan, focusing upon a conflict between the eastern Tokugawa clan and western Toyotomi clan (with Ishida Mitsunari as the Toyotomi's guardian and protector) shogunates at the end of Sengoku Jidai. Tokugawa Ieyasu served as the primary representative for the Eastern forces where the Western army changed leaders based on the results of select key battles.

Although it was, for the most part, historically accurate, the game contained a number of "what-if" scenarios, for example, if the Western forces are victorious at the Battle of Sekigahara (historically an Eastern victory).

Two sequels were later created, Kessen II and Kessen III. These two games introduced magical and meteorological elements to the games.

A note from the game's producer, Kou Shibusawa, addressed to players before any campaign begins, explains his desire to take his own twist on this segment of history but felt too constricted by cinema to do so properly. With Kessen, he believes that he was able to explore his ideas more freely. Thus, several of the game's cutscenes have a theatrical feel similar to chanbara and jidaigeki films.

Before each campaign begins, a narrator enlists a brief summary of the events proceeding the selected campaign to help familiarize players with the battle taking place. After the pre-planning of the battle is finished, a cinematic event occurs, often dramatizing character interactions or significant historical events that took place before the battle occurs.^[1][2] Similar events also occur after the war council, during battle, and at the battle's end.

Among the historically accurate retelling of events, preference for the often romanticized accounts were sometimes used. Notable instances include Hosokawa Gracia ordering a soldier to kill her and Tokugawa Hidetada ordering the assassination of Sanada Masayuki for causing his tardiness at Sekigahara.^[3]

The game was developed in one year with a budget of $5 million.^[4]

Reception
Aggregate score Aggregator Score Metacritic 75/100[5] Review scores Publication Score AllGame [6] Edge 7/10[7] Famitsu 32/40[8] Game Informer 8/10[10] GameFan 82%[9] GamePro [11] GameRevolution B[12] GameSpot 7.4/10[13] GameSpy 88%[14] IGN 8.1/10[15] OPM (US) [16] Playboy 75%[17]

Kessen received "generally favorable reviews" according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.^[5] In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of one nine, one eight, one seven, and one eight, for a total of 32 out of 40.^[8][18]

Elsewhere, Jeff Luther from GamesFirst! noted that the game is easy to pick up, although he felt that it failed to maintain its difficulty level after the initial stages.^[19] Others have also described it as redundant and slow.^[20][21] Cutscenes were cited by one critic to be "the visual appeal to Kessen".^[14] Graphics concerning the historical figures were also said to be "over-the-top" and colorful enough to the point of ridiculousness, though impressive.^[15] What gained Kessen the most praise was the game's sound department, many citing the orchestral score to be "epic" with one critic noting the "English voices to be good and fitting". Overall, it is seen as a game for history buffs of Japanese history with a good but flawed presentation.^[13]

The title won a special prize PlayStation Award in 2000. It was also nominated for the grand prize in the consumers' selection for graphics and scenarios.^[22] It was a runner-up for GameSpot's annual "Best Strategy Game" award among console games, losing to Ogre Battle 64.^[23]

• Official Achieved Page at Koei
• MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.^[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".^[2] This lengthy approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.^[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.^[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.^[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.^[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.^[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.^[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.^[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.^[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).^[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,^[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.^[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.^[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.^[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.^[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.^[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.^[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.^[17]

• IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

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