Hideyoshi Toyotomi

Hideyoshi Toyotomi first appeared as an unique general in Samurai Warriors and becomes a playable character in its expansion. He also appears as a bonus character in Dynasty Warriors under the name Toukichi. This particular version of him is actually one of his incarnations from the Taikō Risshiden series.

He is the most famous peasant-samurai who eventually unified Japan. He started as Nobunaga Oda's sandal holder, moved onto being his retainer, and became the second of the three unifiers in Japan (the third being Ieyasu Tokugawa). Nobunaga gave him the nickname "Monkey" (サル, Saru) in ode to his monkey-like physique. Nene is his wife and his successor is Hideyori Toyotomi. Though he is married, he has a fancy for other women and an unrequited fondness for Oichi.

In the first Samurai Warriors, he's 35 years old. He's symbolized by the kanji "determination" (志) and "ascension" (昇) and by colorful fireworks.

Samurai Warriors
Hideyoshi starts as a simple general under Nobunaga, first serving as a vassal at Inabayama Castle. He builds the one-night castle at Sunomata and gives the signal for Mino Trio to defect when he storms inside the castle. Once Mino is under Nobunaga's rule upon Yoshitatsu's defeat, the Oda army moves onto to conquer Echizen. The moment he is on the verge of victory against the Asakura, the Azai suddenly betray Nobunaga and forces the invader to retreat. As their lord flees, Hideyoshi volunteers for the rear guard. When Magoichi asks him why, Hideyoshi admits that he wants to be promoted under Nobunaga so that he can one day have the power to do something great for the people. He asks Magoichi to help him with his vision and the mercenary agrees. After they work together to defeat Nagamasa and Yoshikage's armies, they safely retreat together back to the capital. Years after, Nobunaga decides to crush the Ikko Rebels and the Saika Renegades, marching to Sakai where Magoichi awaits them. Hideyoshi wants to see the land of peace his lord desires, but not at the cost of so many lives. When the mercenary attempts to snipe Nobunaga, Hideyoshi is given the mission to stop him.

If Hideyoshi fails, Nobunaga is shot and confusion spreads throughout the battlefield. It then becomes a manhunt on Magoichi's head and as well as the complete annihilation of every rebel present. After the battle, Hideyoshi meets his beaten friend to tell him that he's giving up on his original dream. Several of his allies begin to notice that he is beginning to resemble Nobunaga. Even with his menacing parting words, the sniper refuses to give up on Hideyoshi and tries to stop him from becoming a tyrant. After he slays Mitsuhide at Honnoji, Hideyoshi immediately resumes his attacks on the Mōri. Consumed with ambition, he abruptly makes peace with them and hurries back to Azuchi Castle to slay Nobunaga. Killing Magoichi, many Oda officers, and Nobunaga signals the end of his dream for universal happiness.

Should Hideyoshi prevent the sniping at Sakai, he instead insists that his friend surrender to prevent a massacre. After his defeat, Magoichi relents to Hideyoshi's wishes and once again joins his friend's side. When Nobunaga is killed at Honnoji, Hideyoshi hurries to intercept Mitsuhide's army at Yamazaki. His forces appear before Mitsuhide arrives so they use their time to defeat Toshimitsu Saitō and claim Mount Tenno. Avenging his lord, Hideyoshi unifies the land and becomes the supreme ruler. However, Ieyasu despises him and rebels at Komaki-Nagakute. With Magoichi and Keiji's help, Hideyoshi routs his rival. He asks for Ieyasu's surrender and the land is at peace.

Samurai Warriors 2 details his life as a conqueror as he starts his story by avenging his lord's death at Yamazaki. Hideyoshi then swears to make a land where everyone can be happy and fights to quell misgivings in battles. Oichi, who disagrees with Hideyoshi's rise to power, convinces Katsuie to attack him at Shizugatake. He barely wins over them and fights with Ieyasu for right of the land. In order to completely conquer the land, Hideyoshi then heads toward Kyushu to subdue the powerful family on the island, the Shimazu. Gaining his Tachibana and Shimazu allies, his forces are larger than ever before. Left opposing him are the Hōjō and the Date families. As Hideyoshi begins to surround Odawara Castle, Masamune surrenders before the siege. With Ujimasa and his son dead, the land is unified and Hideyoshi's dreams are realized.

In his dream stage, a curious Hideyoshi fakes his death after the land's unification to see who among his vassals are truly loyal to him. Mitsunari stands loyally for the Toyotomi family, but he falters against Ieyasu's troops at Sekigahara. Hideyoshi makes his presence known and rides to punish the ones who betrayed him and his family. With Hideyoshi alive, the Mōri generals remain loyal to the Western army. Insulted by his trick, however, Yoshihiro and Ginchiyo switch sides. Even when he wins, Hideyoshi begins to worry about what will happen when he actually dies. Additionally, a special request in Survival Mode also depicts a summarized scenario of his progression to a daimyo.

In Samurai Warriors 3, Hideyoshi is mentioned to have been a sandal bearer for Nobunaga. However, his master saw his worth and promoted as a general. Enthusiastic with his master and swearing to follow him anywhere, he assists the front at Okehazama by distracting the Imagawa army away from the ambush party and by convincing Ieyasu to become independent. After Nobunaga gains a reputation for himself, he decides to invade Mino. As Hanbei acts as the de facto leader at Inabayama Castle, Hideyoshi is given the task of capturing it with his wife, Nene. Telling Kanbei to set fire to the castle, Hideyoshi routs Mitushide. However, he realizes that it's a trap and escapes to avoid having his plan work against him. As Saitō army scatters, Hideyoshi meets Hanbei in person and is amused by the younger strategist's wit. He offers Hanbei to serve him for a world where everyone can be happy and the impressed strategist jokingly amends it to better fit his own ideal.

After he protects Nobunaga's safe escape at Kanegasaki, time passes and Nobunaga dies at Honnoji while Hideyoshi is subjugating Shikoku. Provoked by Kanbei to seek his own vision for the land, Hideyoshi drops the campaign and hurries back to the capital. Confronting his rival at Yamazaki, Mitsuhide claims that he still wants to make a world that Nobunaga had desired. Dissatisfied, Hideyoshi declares that anyone without a dream of their own design has no right to rule. With this same determination, he also defeats Ieyasu at Komaki-Nagakute. Although he knows that his vision of the land is the same as Nobunaga's dream, he refuses to follow his master's methods by taking the rebellious Ieyasu's head. Instead, he helps his old comrade to his feet and asserts his determination to live his own path in life.

Warriors Orochi
In both games, Hideyoshi is Nobunaga's loyal retainer. In Warriors Orochi, he is a starter character in the Samurai force. He is an active member of Nobunaga's resistance and carries out various tasks for him. He also brings Zhang Jiao and Okuni along on a Gaiden mission to intercept an Orochi Army shipment of gold being sent as payment to Dong Zhuo at Si Shui Gate. Stealing all the gold shipments makes Dong Zhuo defect to the Samurai army, whome he thinks will pay him better. To this Hideyoshi replies "All I really wanted was the gold, but good for you!"

In Warriors Orochi 2, Hideyoshi appears at Hu Lao Gate with his lord to reinforce Sakon Shima's attempt to eradicate the dangerous villain, Kiyomori Taira. Hideyoshi shares his Dream stage with the other Unifiers of Japan who have a contest against the rulers of the Three Kingdoms. He partakes in the contest by asking Tadakatsu to unleash the floodgate and drown their enemies out. In this stage, he is the Samurai Warriors counterpart to Sun Quan.

Kessen
By the time the first Kessen occurs, Hideyoshi has already passed away. His concubine, Lady Yodo, and his son appear as the figurative leaders of the Toyotomi side. Mitsunari mentions him in passing as "the late great Taiko", Hideyoshi's self-appointed rank before his death.

As the third game focuses on Nobunaga's life, Hideyoshi first makes an appearance as Tokichiro Kinoshita, his first known name in history. He uses his acrobatic stunts to advertise his wares to a passing Nobunaga (which includes super-deformed Da Qiao and Yukimura dolls). Impressed with the daimyo's charisma, Tokichiro grew to admire him and wanted to join Nobunaga in battle. Using his street smarts, he tricks the bandit, Koroku Hachisuka, to help his desire to serve Nobunaga. Eventually, Nobunaga is amused by Tokichiro's determination and adds him and Koroku to his ranks.

He serves as a secondary protagonist in the game and visually matures like Nobunaga. His achievements in battle generously follows his historical exploits on the battlefield. Midway through the game, he changes his name to Hideyoshi Hashiba and marries Nene. Even so, he and Katsuie often vie for Oichi's affections. Later, he confesses his feelings to her only to be politely rejected in turn. Unexpectedly, he soon gains an admirer through Nobunaga's foreign lady warrior, Amalia. He joyfully serves Nobunaga until the end of the game.

Saihai no Yukue
Like the first Kessen, Hideyoshi is dead before the game takes place. However, he appears in various characters' flashbacks as a shadowy yet loving figure. Sometime before he died, he asked Mitsunari to look after Lady Yodo and his son, wishing for their happiness. It is often their ties with Hideyoshi that helps inspire Mitsunari's men to fight with him.

Development
Hideyoshi's design started as a literal interpretation of Nobunaga's nickname. Some aspects of his monkey-like design were inspired by Sun Wukong from Journey to the West. Though he wielded a normal spear in his first appearance, his weapon of choice as a playable character gives him a wider range of efficiency and also mimics the swing of a monkey's tail. His second design shifts its focus on Hideyoshi's life as a daimyo and unifier. Some details to his design -such as his fur tipped shoes and greedy nature- continue to allude to his nickname and reflect his time serving Nobunaga. On another note, he is also the shortest character in the second game, coming in at 5'1" (155 cm). On several places he is also adorned with both the Toyotomi and Hashiba mon.

Personality
Hideyoshi is a happy-go-lucky guy who has an inkling for gold, women and ingenuity. Commonly known as "Monkey" by several of Nobunaga's generals, Hideyoshi gains respect for his craftiness in battle (while he screeches and yelps like a monkey in the first game, his monkey mannerisms are downplayed in the sequel). He wants to fight to end the people's suffering and create a happy Japan. With eyes set on this prize, he is willing to make any sacrifice that is necessary, no matter how painful it may be. Usually, he is willing to negotiate with his enemies for them to surrender and treats them kindly in return. At the same time, his gigantic wealth and extraordinary number of vassals are also the cause for fear and concern with others.

His affable nature can sometimes break to show his cryptic, sinister side.

Voice Actors

 * Richard Cansino - Samurai Warriors (English)
 * Danny Coleman - Samurai Warriors 2 (English)
 * Munehiro Tokida - Samurai Warriors (Japanese)
 * Hideo Ishikawa - Samurai Warriors 2~3 and Warriors Orochi series (Japanese)
 * Kentarō Itō - Kessen III (Japanese)

Quotes

 * "No more monkeying around!"
 * "Serves you right for getting in my way!"
 * "Not afraid of me, you say...? Well, how about now?!?"
 * "Hey, it could happen!"
 * "Okay, maybe this is just a bit much..."
 * "I'll take care of this land for you, so why don't you die for me?!?"
 * "Hmph, why do things always fall apart when I'm not around?"
 * "You won't keep me from the treasures I desire!"
 * "Meet Hideyoshi Toyotomi! Genius extraordinaire!"
 * "Sorry I don't feel dying today. Sayonara!"
 * "I won't lose! Of course, the enemy is probably thinking the same thing."
 * "Now the Shimazu will bow down to me too! Dang, I'm good!"
 * "One last fight and Japan will be all mine...This was easier than I thought."
 * "Time to attack the Azai and end this once and for all!"
 * "Monkey! This isn't easy for her. Have you even thought of Lady Oichi's feelings?"
 * "Think about her feelings? What good would that do? We're the ones who did this to Lady Oichi in the first place. All that matters is that it comes to an end."
 * Hideyoshi and Katsuie at Odani Castle; Samurai Warriors 2


 * "Here's the gold I owe you. Just don't go bragging about it, okay?"
 * "Whad'ya know. Easiest cash I ever made."
 * Magoichi and Hideyoshi; Samurai Warriors 2: Empires


 * "My lord. The crane you were keeping in the garden has escaped. Would you like to send some men to search for it?"
 * "Eh, forget it. The whole land will be mine eventually. Why bring the crane back to my garden when I can bring my garden to it?"
 * Mitsunari and Hideyoshi; Samurai Warriors 2: Empires


 * "Hmmm, little monkey... You're wasting your talents among these humans."
 * "Why thank yo- Hey! At least I don't have a tail!"
 * Sun Wukong and Hideyoshi; Warriors Orochi 2.


 * "A tiger losing to a mere monkey would be a travesty... I could never again show my face to my father!"
 * "Don't worry, I'll tell him how badly you felt about it."
 * Sun Quan and Hideyoshi at Fan Castle; Warriors Orochi 2

Samurai Warriors
Hideyoshi's combat style in Samurai Warriors 2 is designed for unpredictability. Most of his strikes involve deceptive movement in utilizing his weapon that can effectively hit farther than it would seem. Although not the most powerful character in the game, he can dispatch many enemies before he can get touched. His musou also runs with this idea as it has him constantly landing jump attacks seemingly at random. He has deceptively long range, good speed, and can combo extremely well - however, his overall strength is on the lower side and landing certain moves might take some practice as they come practically out of left field.

Due to his treasure-hoarding nature in the games, a number of his weapons are designed for high luck; making him a great character for item and money farming purposes - Samurai Warriors 2 particularly exemplifies this.

Obtaining the fifth weapon

 * Stage: Attack on Azuchi Castle.
 * Requirements: Defeat all generals and sub-generals on both the Oda and Saika side. Then defeat either Magoichi Saika or Nobunaga Oda after the player defeated all generals and sub-generals. Supply team appears in the north.

Samurai Warriors 3
Stage to clear for Unique Weapon - Battle of Komaki-Nagakute