Samurai Warriors - Yukimura's Tale 5 | Siege of Osaka-Summer (Xbox 360)

Really sets the ton when the first scene has the battle being called a lost cause. This is a very unique battle, wanting you to fight the enemy a bit at first, then basically putting the battle on pause as you go to try and reach Hideyori for Yukimura's last attempt to convince him to join the battle and give them a real fighting chance. But as we see, it ends with Hideyori just retreating into the castle. And I love Yukimura's line of "In my heart, I knew it would be this way." Like he knew this probably wasn't going to work, but he tried anyways, and with his last option gone, he resorts to a reckless charge toward Ieyasu. The music even changes to the "bad situation" theme rather than play something to hype you up. You can get extra dialogue with Kunoichi if you run into her at that point. The only way forward is through a specific garrison, entering it causes an ambush, and once the ambush happens, health items stop dropping. This really helps to compound the hopelessness of the situation and gives the player a feeling of "I either do this or it's all over". The final cutscene is one of my favorites. Yukimura staggering forward, well past his limits at the point, fighting just to keep fighting. The only thing that stops him is Ieyasu praising him as Japan's greatest hero, which finally brings a smile to his face he hasn't had since serving Shingen. It's a great scene of him collapsing with a smile, followed up with a harsh snap back to reality as you see him face plant into the mud. SW1 just has a certain feel to it that none of the other SW games captured. I can't think of another stage in any Warriors game that better encapsulates a scenes of "hopelessness". It's not a GOOD feeling by any means, but it's very interesting and manages to stir something in me every time I go back to play it.