Takamaru

Takamaru (鷹丸) is an original character created by Nintendo for the game The Mysterious Murasame Castle, which takes place during Ietsuna Tokugawa's reign as shogun. He makes a guest appearance exclusively in the Wii versions of Samurai Warriors 3 and Sengoku Musou 3: Moushouden in Murasame Castle Mode. Players can unlock him for Free Mode once players have collected 33 Tanuki scattered throughout the Murasame Castle Mode.

He is symbolized by the characters "samurai" (侍) and "hawk" (鷹). Takamaru was supposedly designed by Minoru Maeda, the director of the original Murasame Castle Game.

Role in Game
Takamaru is a young samurai apprentice entrusted with the task of defeating Murasame by the shogun Ietsuna Tokugawa. After successfully defeating Murasame at the end of their first encounter, a strange light warped him with the beast one hundred years into the past. Though he is stuck in an unfamiliar time era, his hunt for Murasame continues and he desires to deliver justice. On his new journey, he encountered the player, who also set out to find out the mystery of recent demon attacks. Takamaru later saved and is guided by a woman named Ayame, who follows him on his travels. Players may choose to play the levels with Takamaru or any of the playable characters in the game. He faces four other castle lords in his way before he battles his greatest adversary. Once he accomplishes his goal, Takamaru returns to his own time and thanks the people who have helped him, including the player character whom he had heard from his time as a "great and noble warrior."

Personality
Takamaru is a serious yet caring individual. He takes his duty as a samurai highly and is always willing to help those in need of assistance. He is also one to think of others' safety over his own. When first meeting the player in Murasame Castle Mode, he is grateful for their assistance, but then asks them to leave so they can stay safe from Murasame's demons. When the player meets him again, he is inspired by their bravery and allows them to accompany him on his journey.

When coming across the likes of Aya trying to save villagers from demons, he is amazed that such "a petite woman" like herself is willing to fight off demons for the sake of strangers. He admires her for her bravery and skill, stating he could learn a lot from her if given the chance.

Another example of his personality is his interactions with Ayame. Despite being strangers he is always willing to help care for her, even to go so far as to protect her from monsters as she travels with him.

Voice Actors

 * Darrel Guilbeau - Samurai Warriors 3 (English-uncredited)
 * Hiroshi Okamoto - Samurai Warriors 3 (Japanese)

Quotes

 * "If you have the warrior's spirit, prove it to me now!"
 * "I live my life by the sword."
 * "My blade shall bring us victory!"
 * "This will end quickly!"
 * "I take your leave!"
 * "Another enemy falls to my blade!"
 * "Witness the warrior's soul!"
 * "Let's fight!"
 * "Victory is mine! I shall take your leave!"
 * "Justice will always emerge victorious in the end!"
 * "Perhaps we may meet again in battle, some other time and place."

Ground Moveset

 * ↓, (↓), (↓): Vertical slash two times, ending with a forward slash producing a large purple wave that knocks the enemy down.
 * A, ↓, (↓), (↓): Upward slash that launches his enemy into the air, leaps into the air after him, dealing several blows before knocking him down, creating an impact who can damage nearby foes.
 * A, A, ↓, (↓), (↓): Slash twice vertically, followed by a powerful horizontal slash producing a large purple disc that knocks the enemy down.
 * A, A, A, ↓, (↓), (↓): Slash rapidly sideways five times and moving side to side as Takamaru goes.
 * A, A, A, A, ↓: Upward slash followed by a pause, and ending by a diagonal slash producing quick slashes of darkness.
 * A, A, A, A, A, A, A, A: Slash sideways three times, followed by four fast slash sideways ending with a charged thrust.
 * C, ↓: Jump and slam the ground with his sword, knocking down nearby enemies.
 * C, A: Jump and slash forward.
 * B (Musou): Move forward and slashing with his sword.
 * B (True Musou): Takamaru charges his sword with fire, then swings his sword forward, creating a spinning fireball.
 * Special Skill: Makes Takamaru invisible and invincible for up to 10 seconds or until he swings his sword; doubles the attack power for the single strike.

Horse Moveset

 * A, ↓:
 * A, A, ↓:
 * A, A, A, ↓:
 * A, A, A, A, A, A, A, A:

Fighting Style
Takamaru's moveset is similar to edit characters with the Katana, but he still possesses some differences like his own Ultimate Musou and Special Attack. He has higher stats to distinguish himself from the player's original characters, and his own weapons. His style has moderate range but he uses very quick slashes to fight with a few magical projectiles which helps to increase his range and knockback, useful for both duels or crowd.

His R1 is perfect for back down or for the first attack against a general. His C1 are really good against a general and his C2 can damage generals greatly since it's a one on one attack. His C3 can help to separate generals from a crowd and against a large group. His C4 is an all purpose attack but players must be careful and to try to not be in the middle of a crowd when using it because of the pause. Overall, Takamaru is a good balanced character in both speed and power, and he is relatively easy to use.

Many of Takamaru's abilities and skills are references to the ones he had in Nazo no Murasamejō:
 * His Special Skill references the Invisibility Cloak which functions almost exactly the same.
 * When performing his Musou, and in his victory stance at the end of battle, he is surrounded by bolts of blue and red lightning and swirling air effects. This references the Lightning Explosive item which had the same colors and effects.
 * His Ultimate Musou references his Fireball Technique in which he would throw two fireballs that would spin around in a large circle damaging enemies.

Fourth Weapon

 * Stage: "Curiouser And Curiouser" in Murasame Mode

Fifth Weapon

 * Stage: The Ōtate Rebellion

Trivia

 * In the setting of the original game, he is described as a "samurai apprentice", but in the Murasame Castle Mode mission "Curiouser and Curiouser", he instead describes himself as a "swordfighting instructor" to Kanetsugu and Aya