Hidemoto Mōri

Hidemoto Mōri is a general who gained Hideyoshi's favor early in his career. A young man who was worried for his clan's future, he is infamously known for being unable to assist either army during the Battle of Sekigahara. The reasons for his indecisiveness varies in each of his game appearances.

In Saihai no Yukue, he is 22 years old and his height is 170 cm (close to 5'7"). His hobby is playing Go and his favorite food is oysters.

Samurai Warriors
In Samurai Warriors 2, Mōri is positioned with Kikkawa and generally follows the latter's decisions. The player is given the option to defeat Ekei and allow Mōri and Kikkawa to join the Eastern Army. When they join, the ally army will gain a small morale boost.

During the Western Army version of the battle, Sakon bluntly states that Kikkawa is a Tokugawa sympathizer and warns the Western army to keep an eye on him. He comments that it would be wise to keep his subordinate, Ekei, alive to prevent any treachery. If the players approach him or Kikkawa when morale is not in their favor, they will automatically declare their new allegiance to Ieyasu. In Motochika's version of the stage, Mōri has already defected to the East but is not actively fighting for them. He contemplates joining the West once more but is content to observe for the rest of the battle. If the Western Army generals participate in the siege of Edo Castle, he will be one of the generals who openly betray Mitsunari.

In Samurai Warriors 3, he is a loyal general. He could reinforce the Western Army at Fushimi Castle if the player defeats a certain Eastern general and is an able general at Sekigahara. Midway into the battle, he and Chōsokabe will charge for Ieyasu's camp, causing the Tokugawa-sympathizing Kikkawa to defect and hinder their advance. Hanzō Hattori soon arrives to help Kikkawa dispatch the two loyal Westerners, and should they not receive assistance from the player, Mōri and Chōsokabe will be defeated. This is the same for the Eastern scenario, except that Kikkawa stays loyal.

In 4's Legend of a Land United, Hidemoto's army will be delayed thanks to Hiroie controlling their arrival checkpoint. In the Western army's side, Sakon will be aware of this and will move to eliminate the Kikkawa unit to allow Hidemoto to arrive, but the Eastern side will have Ieyasu support Hiroie in stopping Hidemoto's army when he arrives late.

For 4-II, the Mori's participation now varies in the different stories. In Clash of Wills, Bonds of Fealty and Tides of Fate, Hidemoto's army will not initially move thanks to Hiroie, but when Yoshitsugu's unit eliminates Hideaki's forces, the Mori begin charging for the Eastern camp. The Friends and Rivals and Visions of Hope remain faithful to his historical participation and his him stay stagnant in his garrison thanks to Hiroie. In the Trials of Trust, Hidemoto, alongside the Kobayakawa unit and the Kikkawa unit, have already besieged Ieyasu's camp by the time Nobuyuki arrives.

During Spirit of Sanada, Hidemoto's advance will not arrive due to the Kikkawa unit blocking his advance. One of the battle's stratagems will result in Hidemoto receiving Yoshitsugu's message and arriving elsewhere to assist the retreat at Sekigahara.

Kessen
Mori commands a vast army of archers and riflemen in Kessen. If the players leave him to his original placement on the map, he will refuse to follow orders for the entire battle. He pleads Mitsunari's messengers to remain patient while he remains torn between Anko and Kikkawa's conflicting opinions -Anko being loyal to the West while Kikkawa implores his lord to join the East. If Mitsunari claims victory, he will remain a large and reluctant unit who may decline to follow orders in later battles. This may change if his allies continue to win battles; in this case, he will become a loyal general who may live to assist Yukimura at the second Sekigahara.

Should the Western army do poorly, however, he will openly defect. Like Kobayakawa, he will not continue to appear in Ieyasu's army after Sekigahara.

Saihai no Yukue
Saihai no Yukue portrays Mōri as a feeble and anxious general who spends the first half of the day pondering when to attack Ieyasu's camp. He stalls his troops due to Kikkawa's strong pro-Tokugawa stance and bullying. His official excuse for not moving is politely blamed on hunger and he sends a letter to Mitsunari requesting new lunchboxes, an order that the leader humorously issues to fulfill without questioning it.

After the Western main camp is torn apart by the Eastern army, Mōri miraculously remains on the field. Even without Kikkawa's presence, he is still debating with himself on what he should do. When Mitsunari confronts him, Mōri claims that charging against Ieyasu now would be a lost cause and suggests that he should surrender. When the commander peers into his mind, he learns that Mōri is really afraid of the great expectations set on his shoulders and stalls because he does not want to experience failure.

Once his commander convinces the frightened man to live for himself, Mōri agrees to attack with Mitsunari, offering his location to be the new main camp for the army. He gradually adopts a more heroic posture and tries to act more boldly. As a result, he is recognized as one of the three great generals who changed the tides of history. According to the official databook, Ieyasu continues to rule the land after Sekigahara and the Mōri vassals who joined the Western army have their influence decreased.

Voice Actors

 * Vic Mignogna - Samurai Warriors 3 (English)
 * Alessandro Juliani - Kessen (English)
 * Daisuke Sakaguchi - Kessen (Japanese)

Quotes

 * "Hiroie! Come on! The Mōri have to join the fight!"
 * "Gah! Very well! All forces join the Western Army! Advance!"
 * ~Hidemoto Mōri and Hiroie Kikkawa; Samurai Warriors 4-II


 * "Lord Mitsunari! Now is not the time for hesitation! It's time for battle! ...Or something like that."
 * Saihai no Yukue

Historical Information
He was the eldest son of Mōri Motokiyo and initially began service under the Toyotomi as a military commander under his cousin Terumoto. After the conflict at Sekighara, his fief was dropped from 200,000 Koku to 50,000 Koku. Later, he help Tokugawa to defeat Toyotomi Hideyori at Osaka and took part defeat Amakusa Shirō in Shimabara Rebellion.