Loki (Warriors Orochi)

Loki (ロキ, ˈloʊki) is the Norse god of deception. For the first part of the game, he is under the guise of Perseus (ペルセウス, Περσεύς) to deceive Zeus and the other Olympic gods by orders of his master, Odin.

He won ninth place in the Warriors Orochi 4 Ultimate popularity poll.

Role in Games
The Warriors Orochi series has Loki, as Perseus, rebel against Zeus's machinations by entering Orochi's dimensional realm. This forces Athena herself to come and pursue him. Although he seemingly lends his assistance to the humans, he has actually manipulated them under Odin's orders. His true identity is eventually revealed to be none other than Loki, the Norse god of deception and mischief.

However, in reality, he wants to get revenge on Odin for slaughtering their fellow Norse friends during Ragnarok, with Loki being one of the survivors. Before the coalition’s last battle against Odin, Loki entrusts information to one of his true first mortal friends Yukimura Sanada to stop Odin’s evil scheme and avenge the deaths of Loki’s friends. Once the final battle finally occurs, Loki heroically sacrifices his life to overpower Odin for the coalition to be able to confront the fallen All-Father of Norse Gods once and for all. When they confront Odin, he uses his powers to bring Loki back to life but places him under the god's direct control.

Though forced to fight, he implores the humans to defeat him, as he is already dead.

In the new story for Ultimate, Yukimura attempts to reach out to Loki from Odin's camp, which ultimately causes him to defect towards the coalition army and escape with Yukimura. Shortly after being saved by Gaia's soul, it is revealed that Loki was the first one to report to Gaia regarding Odin's wrongdoings, and vows to work with the coalition army from this point forward to see Odin's end.

When Perseus's first fragment appears, Loki reveals that he had to kill the real Perseus and was distraught from the experience, being forced by Odin to do so to prove his loyalty. When the coalition collects all of the fragments from memories of previous battles, Loki personally sees to his restoration with the last fragment and is delighted to meet his friend once more, who then reveals Hades's true intentions of stealing Odin's power for himself and killing him. After a fierce battle with a greatly enhanced Hades at the Spring of Mimir, he is unnerved by the idea of going back in time to save Odin and forming a temporary truce. However, as the battles continue, he begins to see changes in Odin's personality and eventually relents during the final battle with Hades, when Odin decides to throw the Bident at Yggdrasill's core to free his soul, having indeed developed a change of heart after being saved by the humans numerous times.

Loki is present once more alongside Odin when the Greek gods gather the humans one last time to test their strength against them. In another side mission, it is revealed that Loki gave Perseus another branch of Mistilteinn as a form of trust when they first met, and that Loki's powers would weaken if Perseus deems him untrustworthy and breaks his own Mistilteinn. As their investigation in Olympus continued, they were impressed with each other's fighting prowess and they quickly became friends after Loki saves Perseus from Baldr and Hodr's horrors and acts as a decoy. In the end, Perseus swore on his Mistilteinn to help Loki achieve his desires.

Personality
While disguised as Perseus, Loki was notably more sympathetic to the humans than the other gods of Olympus, possibly owing to his status as a demi-god. As such, he sees it as his responsibility to safeguard them, even if it means opposing his family. During his time with the humans, he got along with Naotora, Yukimura and Guan Yinping. He would also learn first-hand of humanity's stubborn defiance in the face of impossibility as well as their refusal to give up hope.

When his deception is revealed, Loki still sports his gentle smile, though using it to hide his true, vengeful, nature. Bitter about the demise of his Asgardian friends and the loss of his powers, he is not above scheming and manipulating others for his own ends, seeing the humans as a means to an end. Over time, however, the constant battles against the humans eventually causes him to reconsider his path, to the point where he believes himself to be a fool for even questioning why they would still defy Odin. Yukimura's continued belief in him, despite his betrayal, ultimately causes him to finally betray Odin in favor of genuinely protecting the humans. Given Loki's strained relationship with Odin, he initially finds irony in the coalition saving him when Hades's plans are revealed, but eventually decides to continue serving him after the humans influenced Odin to overcome his selfishness and conquer his fear of death.

He attempts to study Orochi's behavior, seeing him as an enigma that seems to covet something deeper than his own demise, though becomes surprised when Orochi sees through him as well. Despite his turmulous relationship with Athena, even as Perseus, the two seem to be able to make amends, being equally surprised at how they can still form a friendship despite the rocky start.

Loki's complete disguise as Perseus to the point of being mistaken even by his family is a result of his relationship with the real Perseus. In fact, Loki values his friendship with Perseus more than anything else, and was devastated when he was forced to kill him. Loki being able to mimic Perseus's appearance and personality was the sole reason that he did not go insane from the emotional trauma. Even after he was revived, Loki still regrets the experience and constantly apologizes for his actions to Perseus.

The real Perseus is more or less a reflection of Loki's guise as himself, save for being more upbeat whenever he speaks. He seems to make friends rather quickly, as he bonds with Yukimura over alcohol and gets along with him well, just as Loki did. Perseus shares his feelings of true friendship with Loki, and repeatedly forgives Loki for killing him, as he willingly sacrificed himself to Loki in the first place. However, Perseus does get quite nervous around Gaia, especially when she expresses concern for his lack of physique compared to Zeus and Hades.

Character Symbolism
Perseus, the figure whom Loki masquerades as, is a mythological hero born from Zeus and Danaë, a mortal princess from Argos. He accomplished many feats for the gods and later became the founder of Mycenae. Most notable of his feat was his success of killing Medusa, a gorgon, with the help of Athena. Perseus here only had one eye, which is a reference during his quest to kill Medusa, where Perseus found the Gray Sisters who all share an eye. Perseus took the eye as ransom in exchange for knowledge to defeat Medusa. This reflects his ploy in Warriors Orochi 4, where Loki used his identity of Perseus to trick the Coalition to help Odin without their knowledge.

Loki's weapon the Mistilteinn is of Nordic origin. It was used to slay Baldur, the son of Odin and Frigg, serving as a hint to his secret identity while under the guise of Perseus. Loki as a cruel joke out of many others he committed, presented the object during a typical everyday contest where fellow gods would fling things at Baldur's body just for humoring his gifted invulnerability. The gods were all shocked due to Baldur being fatally wounded when they were all least expecting it, as the object was the only thing revealed to be able to harm him. In various texts, it was often confused with mistletoe due to its naming (and hence its plant-like design); other records have claimed it was either also a sword or a spear.

Voice Actors

 * Hiro Shimono - Warriors Orochi 4

Quotes

 * See also Loki/Quotes


 * "Yukimura... You seem to feel some affection towards me. I have no idea why. Can you explain it?"
 * "You and I have fought together and talked with each other on many an occasion now. I believe more than enough time has passed for us to trust each other."
 * "I could understand you trusting Perseus, but why trust me? I think nothing of tricking people. To achieve my goals, I will do absolutely anything."
 * "If you did that, it would be for a reason that means a lot to you, yes? I think that level of commitment to a cause is an admirable thing. Besides... You say these things, but your expression betrays how you really feel. You seem conflicted, as if you want me to criticize you. It is not the kind of expression worn by a truly evil man."
 * "Hah... You are far too trusting, Yukimura. How do you know this is not all an act on my part?"
 * "I do not care if it is. It remains an incontrovertible truth that I feel affection and trust towards you."
 * "You really are a fool..."
 * Loki and Yukimura; Warriors Orochi 4


 * "Perseus... Where are you?"
 * "What is it, Loki? I'm right here."
 * "Forgive me. If I lose sight of you, I become most anxious. When I lost you the first time, I maintained my sanity by borrowing your form. It allowed me to believe you were still alive."
 * "Loki... A brief instant in time for me has been a long and arduous road for you, hasn't it? But listen, Loki... Under Lady Gaia's command, we've fought alongside each other many times. Nothing can compare with those memories."
 * "You're right, Perseus. Having you in front of me again brings back nothing but pleasant memories.
 * "Right? So let's not end the fun now. More glorious days, overcoming all adversity, lie ahead."
 * "Indeed. I will continue to treasure your friendship. I hope you'll do the same."
 * "Thank you, Loki. This friendship is truly eternal."
 * Loki and Perseus; Warriors Orochi 4 Ultimate

Ground Moveset

 * undefined: Loki uses Gleipnir to bind enemies.
 * ,, , undefined: Loki equips Dáinsleif, does a spinning slash along the ground making fire, then does a hopping fiery slash.
 * ,, , , undefined: Loki deploys Brísingamen to send a blast of fire forward.
 * ,, , , , undefined: Loki summons Gungnir and positions it above enemies before dropping it hard.


 * Loki summons the sacred treasures and launches them rapidly at enemies.

Fighting Style
Although Loki and Perseus's main weapon is a spear, they are capable of summoning the Sacred Treasures at will and using a multitude of them to attack surrounding foes. Loki and Perseus each use a different set of Sacred Treasures, with Loki pulling from the Norse weapons and Perseus pulling from the Greek weapons.

Rare Weapon Acquisition

 * Stage: Destined to be Destroyed

Trivia

 * All of Loki's default system voice lines as Perseus were re-recorded for the real Perseus to reflect his more upbeat personality compared to Loki.