Orochi

Orochi (遠呂智) is an alternative spelling for a supernatural serpent. This particular serpent refers to the famed eight-headed serpent of mythology, Yamata no Orochi. It feasted on the flesh of young maidens in Izumo until Susano'o tricked and killed it. The tail of the beast held a treasured sword.

Being the titular antagonist of the Warriors Orochi series, he is the last boss for all story modes (except for the Orochi story mode in the second game and the fourth game, where he is only a supporting antagonist). Orochi is unlocked in the first installment once every other character is available. He won second place in the Warriors Orochi 4 Ultimate popularity poll. He also has a character image song titled Muken Kodoku; it is a vocal version of his theme song in the series.

His secondary version in this series is referred to as Orochi X (真・遠呂智, Shin Orochi, lit. True Orochi) and is counted as a separate character from his default model. To unlock Orochi X, players must complete all stages in the game including those found in Dream Mode. He has no personal image section in the Gallery Mode and has no other alternate costumes. Both forms of Orochi can be unlocked in the third title by viewing all of the game's endings. On the fourth title, Orochi and his secondary form can be unlocked through a special camp upgrade.

Yamata no Orochi appears without major alteration to its mythical depiction in Nobunaga no Yabou Online, Toukiden 2, and Nioh. The Black Dragon is also said to be an incarnation of the mythological creature in Harukanaru Toki no Naka de 4.

Role in Games
"How can this be? Orochi, your skills surpass my own."
 * Lu Bu; Warriors Orochi 2

Orochi is a powerful, dangerous, and seemingly immortal entity from ancient times. From what can be told by putting various pieces of the stories and character's conversations together, Orochi was imprisoned by the mystics Taigong Wang, Fu Xi, and Nuwa for various crimes against humanity. It is later revealed that he was once known as Yinglong and was imprisoned for rebelling against his former master, the Heavenly Emperor. Interested in the chaos he could bring and feeling sympathy for him, Da Ji, together with Dodomeki and Gyūki, free him from his imprisonment at the Wuhang Mountains some millennium later.

Orochi decides to test the strength of warriors from the Three Kingdoms era and the Warring States period. He places these heroes into a new world, which is presumably a void space between dimensions. The world itself was a patchwork of different landmasses and locations in Asia, taken from their respective eras and nations, and bound together with Orochi's own demonic chi. He immediately sets his demonic armies upon the leaders and heroes from these worlds, quickly killing, imprisoning, or subjugating many powerful warriors. He sought to test his might against the heroes of these eras and among them find a worthy challenger.

For his first target, he attacks the Hōjō and Toyotomi armies at Odawara, taking both by surprise and scattering them. As a result of his chaos, the likes of Keiji, Kotarō and Dong Zhuo immediately flock to join him. Wasting little time, he then attacks Shu, where its leader, Liu Bei, attempts to flee Chengdu with the peasants. In response, Orochi clamps down on the leader and catches him, forcing the entire kingdom to bend its knee.

Shu's destruction soon causes many of the independent factions to strengthen themselves in anticipation to his next move. Orochi's next battle soon takes place at Kawanakajima, facing off against the allied forces of Shingen Takeda and Kenshin Uesugi, both considered military marvels of their period. Unimpressed, Orochi sweeps through their army and then orders Zhuge Liang to eliminate the Wu forces.

After Wu is subjugated, Orochi moves to personally siege Ieyasu at Edo Castle, breaking through the commander's defenses piece-by-piece until finally forcing him to surrender in exchange for the lives of his men. Orochi's might soon impresses Masamune and the general volunteers to serve the Serpent King wholeheartedly.

Upon learning of the Hero of Chaos, Cao Cao, Orochi tracks his prey down to Yiling and has Sun Quan at the forefront to fight the Wei army. At the end of the conflict Cao Cao is slain, but his body is never found. To the Orochi army's surprise, however, they are the ones soon under attack, this time by Nobunaga Oda, the mortal claiming to be the Demon King.

Amused by having the audacity of giving himself a lofty title, Orochi reinforces the Tokugawa at Mikatagahara and soon defeats Nobunaga as well. Having crushed all the human resistance, Orochi finally is able to smile in satisfaction, but Taigong Wang, Fu Xi and Nu Wa, having finally located the Demon army, descend into the fused world in order to apprehend Orochi once again. Despite the trio also relying on many sorcerers to augment their army's own magical powers, Orochi defeats them all and forces them back to the Mystic realm.

Returning to his throne with his officers and servants, Orochi decides to tighten the noose against the remaining pockets of resistance, convinced that mankind would truly bear its fangs if it was backed into a corner. Despite this, he ponders who the warrior to defeat him is, be it ally or enemy. With his new army, it seemed that no one could shake his grasp on the land. By the end of the first game, however, he is defeated by a coalition of the heroes of China and Japan -although it is left ambiguous who exactly stopped him.

In Warriors Orochi 2, Orochi is revived beyond the grave as Orochi X by Kiyomori with help from Da Ji and using Himiko as the catalyst for the resurrection to lead the forces of evil again. In Wei's story mode, he appears slightly earlier than others but is weakened from his unexpected revival. Regardless of which story mode the player partakes in, he is once again defeated.

Orochi's dream mode in Musou OROCHI Z has him divide his forces into two for a large-scale mock battle at Baidi Castle, fighting Da Ji's forces. Despite Da Ji calling on multiple allies such as Cao Pi, Dong Zhuo and both Zhuge Liang and Zhou Yu, Orochi is able to defeat her. As soon as this occurs, a messenger arrives reporting that Ueda Castle, which housed the captured Zhao Yun, had been infiltrated. With his boredom sated, he returns back to his castle. Orochi X's dream mode simultaneously challenging the leaders of every main faction against him -Shu, Wei, Wu, Samurai, the Mystics, Tadakatsu and Lu Bu- at Koshi Castle. He teams with Da Ji and Kiyomori and his remaining followers include Masamune, Sun Wukong, and Himiko. He wonders if there is any warrior among this large army who could grant him eternal slumber once more. After defeating the great army, he returns triumphant to his castle, telling the defeated to become stronger in order to face him once more.

While Orochi himself does not resurrect in Warriors Orochi 3, characters can sense remnants of Orochi's spirit and demonic chi throughout the story. The world's will takes his appearance multiple times near the end of the game, with each head turning into a different colored clone of the original. Its final consciousness resides within an Orochi X look-alike who faces the heroes one last time before dissipating once more.

In Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate, Orochi's origin as the mystic, Yinglong, is revealed, and his role in killing the Heavenly Emperor is also shown in Fu Xi's past. Though Fu Xi returns from the future, and prevents the Emperor's death, Orochi is still able to weaken the ruler with deadly miasma. Orochi's very presence would continue to release this miasma, and to repair the Divine mirror, Orochi would need to be dealt with. Although he is able to kill Nezha in the conflict, Orochi is defeated by the remaining mystics at Koshi Castle, and the Heavenly Emperor manages to recreate a new Divine mirror to stop Kyūbi.

A copy of Orochi and Orochi X are later created by Kyūbi during her imprisonment at the mirror realm and serve her against the mirror realm's armies.

In Warriors Orochi 4, Orochi is revived beyond the grave again, alongside Orochi X by Odin, by capturing and using Shuten Dōji's body as a catalyst the moment he arrived into the fused world. Orochi X is revived in front of Odin and Da Ji, much to her dismay, while the regular Orochi is revived elsewhere. The Orochi Army including Kiyomori Taira all follow Orochi X, and to an extent, Odin's Army, to terrorize the Coalition forces in various battles. Later on, the Coalition forces confronted Orochi X to no avail, as Kiyomori Taira repeatedly healed him. A cutscene then plays where, moments before Orochi X executes someone, Orochi suddenly appears as a temporary ally, intercepts Orochi X's beam and confronts his X form, much to everyone's surprise. At this moment, the warriors finally remembered all the events that happened prior to the latest installment. After defeating Kiyomori, the Coalition and Orochi pressed the attack on Orochi X, but failed to defeat him. On their way to defeating Odin, Orochi X stood in their way. The Coalition forces, alongside Orochi, finally defeated Orochi X. In a cutscene, Orochi X falls as Orochi stands in front of him, challenging everyone, while Kiyomori and Da Ji both flock to their true lord. Orochi is then slain by the hands of Fu Xi and Susano'o, and is put back into eternal slumber, before giving Fu Xi a one last smile, implying that the soul of his former-self as Yinglong still exists within him. Orochi X and Orochi would then revert to Shuten Dōji and brought back to the Mystic Realm at the final cutscene.

Personality
Known as either the Serpent King in the localization or the Demon King in the Asian scripts, Orochi is a surreal being who has the power to use the darkness and greed within people for his benefit, distorting their image of him into whatever they desire. Through this power, he can forcefully gain strongly loyal allies. He seems bored with actual administrating, leaving that up to his loyal strategist Da Ji. Of those who he has press-ganged into his service, he seems to respect Lu Bu the most, while Lu Bu is biding his time until he is powerful enough to slay Orochi and claim the title of the strongest for himself. He is intrigued by mankind's different decisions in conflict as well as how unpredictable at times they could be. He shows small surprise when the likes of Kotaro, Keiji and Masamune choose to serve him over supporting the other mortals in their resistance.

Orochi has a powerful desire to battle someone who can end his life, as hinted by various lines he speaks, Wei's ending in Warriors Orochi 2 and the Showdown at Yamatai Dream Mode level containing Lu Bu, Keiji Maeda, and Tadakatsu Honda. It is possible that he seeks peace in death, perhaps as atonement for his own corruption.

Orochi X remains as harsh as his older counterpart and is bitter for being wrenched him from his eternal slumber, something he bluntly confesses to Kiyomori. He acts arrogant of his superior might and continues his challenge heroes to slay him. After his death, Nuwa speculates that he may have wanted them to conquer him and claim this new land for themselves. His in-camp dialogues during the third game imply that he is far more nihilistic and omnicidal than the original, hellbent on bringing oblivion to himself and the world he created.

In Warriors Orochi 4, due to being revived simultaneously along with Orochi X, the original Orochi may retain the soul and memories of his former Yinglong-self, as he gave Fu Xi a smile before his eternal slumber, and when asked by Loki, attempts to deny any sort of past with the Mystic Realm. Like his former self, Orochi is not afraid to speak his mind, snapping back at Loki for his own conflicted thoughts, declaring that his friends would not escape destruction even if he achieved his vengeance. Despite this, Orochi retains some of Yinglong's benevolence, being more than willing to put down his God of Destruction counterpart alongside the coalition before challenging them himself. Orochi's bond with Lu Bu is explored once more, and he is delighted by the opportunity to grow stronger with and eventually be challenged by the warrior in a battle of world-ending proportions.

Character Symbolism
In the Asian ports for Warriors Orochi, all of Orochi's weapons (as well as Orochi X's weapons) are named after the eight hot realms of Buddhist purgatory, each dedicated to torment a particular soul whom have indulged too deeply with a particular sin. Throughout these realms, souls are forced to suffer or die to only be revived again to repeat their torture. Torture gets progressively worse the farther one descends. Time seems to pass at a slower rate for a human soul stuck within these hells; one day within any of these hells can equate to 500 years -or even thousands of years- in normal time.

Orochi's first weapon is named Kokujō (lit. Black Cord), the Japanese name for Kalasutra. Second layer of the hot hells, this realm is for people who have killed and have stolen from another. Specifically, people who have enjoyed and repeatedly taken the life of another living being and/or have gleefully extorted multiple times will be led here. For the soul sent here, their bodies are given "life" and forced to endure a painfully hot floor. Along their bodies is a distinct black line, a mark for their jailers and their searing hot saws to cut. If a soul isn't being bisected apart by their punisher, they are forced to walk across a rope bridge at a burning hot mountain of iron. As they walk, the bridge breaks apart to drop their victims. Or perhaps judges drop scorching hot pots on top of their victims to make them lose their balance.

His second weapon is Kyōkan, the fourth of the burning hells. People who have taken a life, stolen, indulged in obsessive gluttony or have performed some wrongdoing with liquor (i.e. poisoning, purposely killing another by using the liquid) are sent to Kyōkan. Ten times the pain is received compared to the previous hells. Souls within this realm are repeatedly trapped within burning hot rooms. Their agony is too much to bear as they scream for mercy to the judges. Wherever they run, it sears them. If their words irritate their jailers too much, they become irritated with them and shoot them down with their bows and flaming arrows.

Jōnetsu or En'netsu, his third weapon, is the sixth hell. Including the previously mentioned sins, this place is where liars or those with black-hearted thoughts may appear. Sinners are pierced with burning hot spears or lances, engulfing their insides and forcing their orifices to painfully shoot out flames. The heat from the earlier hells dwarf in comparison to the flames found in this hell. Kokujō's burning floor is like snow compared to Jōnetsu's fires. Another method for luring sinners to suffer is by inviting them to rest at what appears to be a cool, refreshing pond. As they drink the pool's waters, flames burst within their bodies and internally burns them to ash.

His fourth weapon is named after the final burning hell, Mugen (lit. Avici) or "unending" hell. Those who have committed the previously mentioned sins, committed rape, and/or disobeyed Buddha's teachings entirely by killing their parents are tortured here. Since it is at the bottom and largest layer of hell, it takes a soul 2,000 years of falling to get there. A soul isn't free from pain as they fall, since they experience the combined pain of the seven other hells each minute they drop. Their body becomes a bloody pulp once they arrive to a world of odd yet terrible monstrosities. A mountain of swords may pierce their body, the sun may peel off their flesh, a demon may vomit fire on top of them, iron nails can pierce through their tongue, and venom or flame can be injected directly into their blood. Compared to the various other horrible tortures awaiting those here, the other hells are like a sweet dream.

Orochi's personal item references the famous trick Susano'o uses against the original Yamata no Orochi; via using eight vats of delicious wine, one for each head, to ensure the Orochi would be drunk and unable to act, enabling Susano'o to slay him with no trouble.

Voice Actors

 * Gideon Emery - English voice; first and second games only (uncredited)
 * Ryōtarō Okiayu - Japanese voice

Quotes

 * See also: Orochi/Quotes


 * "I do not wish to waste my time. You had better be... worth the effort."


 * "Only the worthy have made it. Now I shall see for myself the strength of mankind."
 * "Before my ambition, you will be powerless!"
 * "Such anger."
 * Orochi and Cao Pi; Warriors Orochi


 * "Is something wrong, my lord?"
 * "What do you think? ...Wrenched from eternal slumber."
 * Kiyomori and Orochi, Warriors Orochi 2


 * "This world cannot be ruled by honor, or justice. Show them, Orochi."
 * "Strength is everything. It decides who lives and who dies."
 * Masamune and Orochi X; Warriors Orochi 2 PSP


 * "I can feel my life getting shorter when you stare at me with that glum expression! What is it that disgruntles you so?"
 * "Actually, I am in a good mood today. I suppose I have your banquet to thank for that..."
 * "Oh, so this is your pleased expression... How am I supposed to tell the difference!"
 * Dong Zhuo and Orochi; Warriors Orochi 3


 * "As long as people desire life, they will never listen to my threats. They have no more need for a Demon King."
 * "Then, will you accompany me to the end, Demon King of the Human Realm?"
 * "If that is what you wish."
 * Nobunaga and Orochi X; Warriors Orochi 3


 * "You laugh quite often. What is it that you find to be so humorous?"
 * "I find the chaos of this world to be to my liking."
 * "So you enjoy the world as it travels on its path to destruction. I envy you greatly."
 * Orochi and Hundun; Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate


 * "Orochi... Punished for all eternity, until all you desire is your own destruction... I know the pain of enduring captivity for year after year... But when I emerged, I had not the strength even to destroy myself."
 * "Hah... Do not act like you know me, god."
 * "Sorry. I just heard your story, and felt like we had something in common."
 * "I see. You desire destruction as well?"
 * "Yes, but not my own. I desire the destruction of those who hurt me, and who took my allies and my power from me."
 * "Hmph. Pathetic."
 * "But you do not desire revenge, do you? You are a powerful demon, yet you only desire your own destruction. Is that because you were once a mystic?"
 * "Hah, I do not know if you think you have seen some deep truth, but all I desire is a mighty warrior who can overcome me."
 * "...He's gone. That Orochi really is a mystery. I hope we can speak again some day."
 * Loki and Orochi; Warriors Orochi 4


 * "Your strength is unparalleled... You will be essential in the quest to realize my dream."
 * "My strength is not wielded for the sake of anyone. All that I desire is the destruction of everything."
 * "Hehe... What you desire is of no consequence. I will use your strength to create a new world in which my eternal existence is guaranteed."
 * "I do not need any new worlds. I will destroy everything, including you."
 * "Do not say that... Surely, if I destroy you along with this world, you will be satisfied?"
 * "If you can really do that, then go ahead. Show me."
 * Odin and Orochi X; Warriors Orochi 4

Gameplay
Orochi=
 * undefined, (undefined), (undefined): smashes the upper part of his scythe, which generates a massive electric shockwave around him. He raises his weapon free hand to fire a giant fireball in front of him. He follows with his other hand to shoot three electric bolts forward.
 * , undefined, (undefined), (undefined): crouches to smash his scythe on the ground. As he does this, he is surrounded by a red aura that damages foes and launches them. He follows with two decisive horizontal swings.
 * ,, undefined, (undefined), (undefined): waves his weapon free hand forward to hurl three ice balls forward. Rotates his body to send red energy on the ground next to him with the same hand. He then becomes airborne and spins, his scythe cutting foes around him.
 * ,, , undefined, (undefined), (undefined): hops forward for two slashes. He then levitates in the air whilst in a fetal position. He emits a destructive red aura whilst aerial.
 * ,, , , , , , , : Orochi becomes invincible to his foes by surrounding himself in a blue aura, slashing forward with his scythe. As the effect wears off, he turns his scythe upside down to smash the head into the ground, emitting a red-and-black aura on the ground. He turns for a horizontal swing and follows with swing that cuts upwards. After four more horizontal swings, Orochi rotates his scythe to point forward. As he thrusts it, he fires a red-and-black horizontal tornado forward thrusting his foes upwards.


 * Dashing : Downwards swing in front to the left upon braking.


 * , : Shoots a downwards fireball.
 * , undefined: Vertically-spins rapidly in the air before smashing his scythe on the ground, emitting a massive electric shockwave on impact.
 * Orochi channels energy into his fist and pounds the ground. He stays in one place and generates a destructive electric shockwave around him that juggles foes in the air. He finishes with an aura-enchanced swing of his scythe forward and becomes invulnerable to attack for a limited time. In his True Musou version, Orochi performs three quick airborne spins after he finishes his massive shockwave.


 * R1: Creates two duplicates of himself to surround a foe in a triangular formation. He and his doubles perform an overhead swing to their center target, creating red-and-black fissures on the ground.


 * Warriors Orochi 2
 * Triple Attack 1: Produces a violent wave of distortion by striking the floor.
 * Triple Attack 2: Momentarily covers the ground with distorting ripples.
 * Triple Attack 3: Fires a stream of ferocious gusts at mid-range.


 * Warriors Orochi 3
 * R1: Creates a large sphere of dark energy pulling surrounding enemies in before swiping at them.
 * , R1 (Ultimate only): Sends a projectile into the air, eventually causing it to land on the ground to produce a large collision.


 * Horse Moveset
 * undefined: horse rears on hind legs before smashing the ground with their front hooves. If the horse is sprinting, it will perform a long jump instead.
 * , undefined: rising swing to his right that launches.
 * ,, undefined: harsh swing to his right.
 * ,, , undefined: harsh swing to his right.
 * ,, , , , , , : series of swings to his right.
 * horse stampedes with a powerful aura.


 * -|Orochi X=
 * undefined: charges energy within his hand for brief moment before he fires a red beam of energy forward. It can hit multiple targets, simultaneously stunning and draining his targets of their musou in one blow.
 * , undefined, (undefined): performs an upward slash that launches. He hops into the air behind his opponent and rapidly spins like a top, slicing his foe several times.
 * ,, undefined: charges energy within his hand for brief moment before he fires a red beam of energy forward. Unlike his C1, the beam is longer and can hit several foes within its projection range. He stays within this pose until the beam ends. It is arguably the longest ranged attack in the game.
 * ,, , undefined: briefly fazes himself to become invincible while he stands upright. He then emits a damaging red and black shockwave surrounding the ground around him. It emits red bolts of energy to also trap skyward foes into its range, hitting anyone within its reach several times. In contrast to his C3, Orochi X can move after creating the shockwave and can hit any foe still stuck within the shockwave's effects.
 * ,, , , , , , , : Orochi X becomes invincible to his foes by surrounding himself in a blue aura, slashing forward with his scythe. As the effect wears off, he turns his scythe upside down to smash the head into the ground, emitting fire on the ground which burns enemies in range. He turns for a horizontal swing and follows with swing that cuts upwards. After four more horizontal swings, Orochi X rotates his scythe to point forward. As he thrusts it, he fires four blue balls of energy(ice) forward.


 * Dashing : Downwards swing in front to the left upon braking.


 * Orochi X channels energy into his fist and pounds the ground. He stays in one place and generates a destructive electric shockwave around him that juggles foes in the air. He finishes with an aura-enchanced swing of his scythe forward and becomes invulnerable to attack for a limited time. In his True Musou version, Orochi X performs three quick airborne spins after he finishes his massive shockwave.


 * R1: Orochi X levitates above the ground with his arms crossed, gravitating toward a single foe. If he gets too close to them, they will be unable to block the black energy dome he traps them in. He moves at a rate the eye can't follow, hitting his foe several times. The dome depletes on his last strike.


 * Triple Attack 1: Sends out a red beam of destructive energy.
 * Triple Attack 2: Shoots ice projectiles traveling at a considerable distance.
 * Triple Attack 3: Fires a massive red energy beam forward.


 * Warriors Orochi 3
 * R1: Warps time and space to trap enemies and cut them down.
 * , R1 (Ultimate only): Surrounds self within a torrent of dark energy, eviscerating nearby enemies before knocking them back.


 * Horse Moveset
 * undefined: horse rears on hind legs before smashing the ground with their front hoofs. If the horse is sprinting, it will perform a long jump instead.
 * , undefined: rising swing to his right that launches.
 * ,, undefined: harsh swing to his right.
 * ,, , undefined: harsh swing to his right.
 * ,, , , , , , : series of swings to his right.
 * horse stampedes with a powerful aura.

Fighting Style
Orochi is fast, powerful, and mixes his attacks with projectile magic. Most of Orochi's moves do not have a particularly high damage output and can have awkward range such as his C1 and C3. His normal attack string gives him a small window of invincibility but can also be hard to manage. Overall, his attack strings are akin to a "charge attack-type" for any fellow Japanese figures.

The most effective way to play Orochi is to use his jumping attacks to facilitate his C1-1. His normal jumping attack is fast with decent coverage that can launch his opponents. His jumping charge is slow but deals decent damage and good for going into crowds. Orochi's C1-1 is particularly effective and reliable; it is fast, relatively easy to execute creates an explosion good for crowd control. Variations can be used with his ice elemental attacks to freeze the opponent before spamming this move, and using his jumping normal attack to gain an air element bonus.

Orochi's element of choice is simple. Since he can't use his scythe for elemental attacks, Range is a bad choice. Most of his elements are those that adds more offensive power to his C1-1 such as Bolt and Slay. Flash can be used to enhance his other moves, but C1-1 already breaks guard, and Orochi has tons of attacks that can bypass blocking. Fire isn't too useful since Orochi can already burn the enemy with jumping attack. Drain and Absorb are pretty useful, since C1-1 is a spammable elemental move which turns Orochi into a sturdy character.

In contrast to Orochi being almost completely reliant on his C1-1, Orochi X's main offense relies on the speed and power of his C3 and C4, both of which are multi-hit and multi-proc on elements. In Warriors Orochi 2, Orochi X's C3 can also deal considerably more damage if a wall is used to eliminate the attack's pushback, which causes the projectile to hit the opponent more times than normal, similar to Gracia's barrier bug.

Orochi and Orochi X use modified versions of their original movesets in Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce and Shin Sangoku Musou Multi Raid 2. Their attacks are also imbued with the yin element, causing their attacks to temporarily seal off the user's fury form.

Weapons

 * See also: Orochi/Weapons

Warriors Orochi 4
Orochi=

Rare Weapon Acquisition

 * Stage: Destined to be Destroyed
 * -|Orochi X=

Rare Weapon Acquisition

 * Stage: The Ultimate God of Destruction

Trivia

 * In his debut, all of Orochi X's default system voice lines are the same voice lines as his original version with exception his switching places, selection and true musou start voices lines until 3, where Orochi X is instead another form of the Hydra.