Kojirō Sasaki

Kojiro Sasaki is character from Samurai Warriors 2: Xtreme Legends. He was introduced in Samurai Warriors 2 as a unique non-player general that could be potentionally recruited as a bodyguard and then became playable as a generic character (i.e. didn't have a unique moveset) in Samurai Warriors 2: Empires. It was in Samurai Warriors 2: Xtreme Legends that he was truely made a unique playable officer, complete with his own storyline, weapon set and fighting style.

Role in the Plot
Kojiro's role in the Samurai Warriors series is not very major as he appears in very few people's storylines and when he does having little purpose. This is for two main reasons, the first being that he was born in a later era than many of the other characters so many of them were dead before he was born or able to fight, and the second being that he was only made a true character in Xtreme Legends and therefore lacked the need to be majorly involved in storylines from characters from Samurai Warriors 2.

There is one storyline however that he is involved in and that is Musashi Miyamoto's. In this storyline he is shown as a ruthless killer who only seems content on having a fight to the death with Musashi, the only man Kojiro feels is worthy of fighting him. In his own storyline he acts in a similar way, but is shown to not be a ruthless killer, but more a man who kills those who he feels are unworthy of life.

The only stage he appears in besides Musashi's stages is the Battle of Kuzegawa, which is also the only stage in Kojiro's own storyline where he is not seen fighting Musashi. In this stage he appears as a reinforcement for the Eastern Army.

Appearance
Kojiro's appearance is rather striking; his skin is deathly white and his lips are very red, creating a powerful contrast. He is of a normal build but is also rather tall in comparrison to many other characters. He has long black hair that he wears in a ponytail. Kojiro's outfit is a red trench coat that is outlined with yellow, along with a brown shirt and standard black bottoms. He also wears a blue sash and two chains around his waist and blue armguards that are outlined in yellow. Also, in line with the slightly feminine look of his face, he wears hoop earrings and heeled boots.

In his alternate colors in Samurai Warriors 2: Xtreme Legends his coat changes from red to blue, his shirt from brown to blue, his sash from blue to green and his armguards from blue to green. His alternate colors in Warriors Orochi 2 are very simlar, although he takes on a purple and blue theme as opposed to his blue and green theme in Xtreme Legends.

In Warriors Orochi 2 Kojiro's alternate costume makes his appearance less striking. His outfit is made to be nearly entirely black with a white/silver outlining, the main way that Kojiro is made less striking though is that his skin is the normal colour and he no longer wears his earrings.

Fighting Style
Kojiro's fighting style differs in regards to which of his two weapons he is using; his Nodachi or his two broadswords. When using his Nodachi (mostly in his regular attacks) he attacks with reasonably wide sweeps and very precise attacks, this gives him an overall good range but makes it hard to hit with some of his attacks, particuarly when he is using thrust attacks. When using his Broadswords (only in charge attacks) his range becomes exceptional, hitting both far out in front of him and far around him.

His Katana attacks could be compared to fencing as he does do a lot of thrusting attacks with it, but typically he uses it like any other sword-user uses their swords. His broadswords cannot really be compared to a fighting style as he never actually wields them; they appear transdimensionally and he simply moves his hand to move them, as if he is directing them with his hands.

Overall, Kojiro is very versitile due to his two weapons but his precise attacks can make him difficult to master, however, as this only applies to a few of his moves he is a great crowd clearer and suitable for most players.

Quotes

 * "I will give you all a beautiful end."
 * "Are you excited at the chance to be slain by me?"
 * "I'll kill you in ways you never imagined."
 * "Ahh... The killing has begun, I shiver in anticipation."

Story Mode Stages

 * 1) Pirate Hunt - Kojiro fights with the local Fisherman against a group of Pirates and the Tokugawa army.
 * 2) Battle of Kuzegawa - Kojiro fights for the Eastern army against the Western army.
 * 3) Battle of Sekigahara - Kojiro fights for the Eastern army against the Western army.
 * 4) Chaos in Kyoto - Kojiro fights for the Tokugawa army against the Toyotomi army and a group of Vagabonds.
 * 5) Osaka Campaign - Kojiro fights for the Tokugawa army against the Toyotomi army.
 * 6) The Greatest Swordsman (Dream Stage) - Kojiro and Musashi fight against the Oda army and the Toyotomi army.