Tiger Deity

Tiger Deity (虎力道師, onyomi: Koriki Doshi) is a secondary antagonist in Saiyuki: Journey West. He is one of King Taurus's minions.

Role in Game
When Sanzo's party arrives at the castle town of Biku, they find it to be dreadfully quiet. A curious Ryorin peeks inside one of the town's urns and is devastated to see it filled with sleeping children. Noticing their distress, a villager informs them that the king ordered the town to drug their children. The king intends to use their livers to create a remedy for his illness. Facing the penalty of death if they were to disobey, the villagers regretfully followed their king's orders. Sanzo and his/her friends decide to visit the king personally to negotiate a different cure for him.

Entering the audience hall, they are greeted by an elderly man calling himself Tigra the magician. Tigra insists the livers are a necessary ingredient and that no one else is capable of helping the king. Sensing that the old man is actually a monster, Goku issues a shape-shifting contest with him. Goku perfectly matches Kikka's figure and insults Tigra. Forgetting his role as an impostor, Tigra gives in to the vulgar act and transforms himself into a somewhat misshapen Kikka. Goku remarks his opponent's tail is showing and Tigra accidentally blurts his real identity. Fleeing from the palace to Tiger Cave, he tries to build a defense against the monk's party. After his defeat, Tigra is interrogated and reluctantly admits the livers were going to be used to create a youth elixir. Using Rhinon's small interruption, Tigra escapes back to Storm Mountain. The king recovers from his ailment and shares his shock with the monk. Thanking the travelers for driving out the monster, Sanzo and his/her party continue westward.

Tigra later joins his fellow Weres in a comeback battle against Sanzo. Defeated again, he runs away and never confronts Sanzo again.

Personality
Confident in his shape-shifting, Tigra believes himself to be a master of impersonations. He admires his own magic casting abilities and thinks himself superior to anyone of his trade. His embarrassing loss to Goku's trickery leads to his heartfelt grudge against the monk.

Fighting Style
Like most of the enemy Weres, he has two methods of attacking. His weakest hit is a simple bop from his staff, which barely poses a threat. Tigra's specialty is his ThunderStrike ability, which hits a huge target radius with tempests and lightning bolts. He continues to cast this spell until his magic points run out. ThunderStrike may hamper the player's progress, but its numbers remain low and can't afflict too much damage. During the second battle with him, however, it may prove dangerous when combined with Windy's StunWind. Keep the health of party members high to prevent serious injury and keep them clear of both spell casters.