Hideyoshi Toyotomi

Hideyoshi Toyotomi (豊臣 秀吉) first appeared as an unique general in Samurai Warriors and becomes a playable character in its expansion. 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" (Saru) in ode to his monkey-like physique. Nene is his first 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 game, he's 35 years old.

Samurai Warriors
Hideyoshi is a happy-go-lucky guy who screams like a monkey in battle. Commonly known as "Monkey" by several of Nobunaga's generals, Hideyoshi gains respect for his craftiness in battle. He wants to fight to end the people's suffering and make a happy Japan. He is loyal to Nobunaga until he is sent away to deal with the Mouri clan. In his lower path scenario, he saves his lord from dying at Honnoji but becomes bitter at losing his chance to rule the land and storms Nobunaga's home.

In his upper path ending, he is shocked to hear that Mitsuhide killed his lord and rushes to avenge him at Yamazaki. Afterwards, he inherits Nobunaga's right as ruler of the land. Ieyasu, who thought Hideyoshi to be unfit to follow in his lord's footsteps, clashes with Hideyoshi at Komaki-Nagakute. Once he defeats Ieyasu, Hideyoshi successfully unified the land.

In Samurai Warriors 2, Hideyoshi's monkey mannerisms are downplayed and three of his trusted retainers -Masanori Fukushima, Kiyomasa Kato, and Mitsunari Ishida- are brought to the spotlight. He is also Magoichi's friend. He wants to make a land where everyone can laugh and be happy. His story is an expanded and detailed version of his upper path story in Xtreme Legends. After he avenges Nobunaga's death, he leads a conquest to unify the rest of Japan. He deals with Nobunaga's former generals, Katsuie Shibata and Ieyasu, and continues to conquer Kyushu. After he trumps the Hojo clan, Hideyoshi has accomplished his goal.

In his dream stage, he decides to test the loyalty of his followers after the unification of the land and fakes his death. Once he sees his followers animosity for one another escalate at Sekigahara, Hideyoshi comes out of hiding to stop the ruckus and any traitors of the Toyotomi family. Additionally, a special request in Survival Mode also depicts a summarized scenario of his progression to a daimyo.

Dynasty Warriors
Hideyoshi presumably makes an appearance under the name Toukichi in Dynasty Warriors. He is a bonus character with comically distorted proportions. His hands and head are abnormally large and he sports a cartoonish expression on his face.

Warriors Orochi
In both games, Hideyoshi is Nobunaga's loyal retainer. As a reference to his nickname, he has a special encounter with Sun Wukong where the latter calls him a "little monkey".

Kessen
By the time the first Kessen occurs, Hideyoshi has already passed away. His second wife, Lady Yodo (Chacha), 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.

Quotes

 * "No more monkeying around!"
 * "Serves you right for getting in my way!"
 * "Hmph, why do things always fall apart when I'm not around?"
 * "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

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).