Warriors Orochi



Warriors Orochi is a Massive Multiplayer Crossover made by KOEI, encompassing the historical Warriors series (Dynasty and Samurai), with the addition of several original mystical characters here and there.

The story is about a powerful demonic Blood Knight with a big scythe named Orochi, the Serpent King (instead of a eight-headed snake monster), committing some sort of sin, thus he is sentenced to eternal damnation. Meanwhile, the fox demoness from the Fengshen Yanyi epic novel, Da Ji, somehow sympathized with him. Acknowledging the chaos that he could bring to the world, she sets him free For the Evulz. United together and true to his Blood Knight nature, Orochi starts seeking out Worthy Opponents. Solution? Merge the eras of the Three Kingdoms and Sengoku Period together and go challenge their warriors. One by one, they begin to fall to Orochi's might. Unfortunately, his actions made the gods aware of his activities and they came to put a stop to them, but Orochi gathered some of the officers that he defeated to serve him and kicked their asses.

However, the other warriors did not sit idly by under oppression. They banded together and eventually kicked Orochi's scaly ass right back to hell. Da Ji escaped and summoned another relic from the past: Taira no Kiyomori from the Kamakura era, whom she converted into a follower of Orochi. Then Kiyomori went back to the ancient lands and freed Sun Wukong from Buddha's imprisonment thereby gaining his services. At the same time, Da Ji convinced the mystical queen of Japan, Himiko, to befriend her. Together, they set their sights on reviving Orochi. The gods (mostly Chinese), however, decided to take more active stances, and thus the mystic Taigong Wang (who happens to be Da Ji's nemesis from the Fengshen Yanyi epic), as well as the gods Fu Xi and Nuwa (who have undergone a serious case of redesign since Dynasty Warriors 3) split up and aid the mortal warriors from the Three Kingdoms and Sengoku era. Other than them, another figure, Kiyomori's legendary rival Minamoto no Yoshitsune, also arrives in the twisted era to hunt down his worst enemy...

The game features a tag team system, which allows the player to take three characters and have them fight on the battlefield. The characters are divided into three different types: Power, Speed and Technique, which affect their fighting styles so far.

There is also a Super Robot Wars Original Generation style expansion called Warriors Orochi Z, for the Sony Playstation 3, which features more extra costumes, additional scenarios as well as new characters, including a Gender Flipped Sanzang from the Journey to the West, and Yoshitsune's buddy Benkei. Alas, also in the vein of minor expansion packs, Warriors Orochi Z has been deemed unworthy of being brought over the pond. A crumb of comfort, though, is that all of the new goodies made for Warriors Orochi Z has been brought over to the PSP port of Warriors Orochi 2.

Musou Orochi 2/Warriors Orochi 3 was released on December 2011. It combines the cast of Dynasty Warriors 7 with Samurai Warriors 3, as well as a slew new characters from various folk tales/mythologies: Kaguya the Moon Princess from Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, Shuten Douji the lord of all oni, Nezha the Heavenly General and friend of Sun Wukong, and finally, Susano-O, the original slayer of Orochi. Aside of that, Koei included 'Collaboration Characters' from their other franchises, including, Ryu Hayabusa and Ayane of Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive, Jeanne D'Arc of Bladestorm: Hundred Years War, Achilles of Warriors: Legends of Troy and Nemea of Zill O'll. The English version was released March 2012. However there is no dubbing, only Japanese with English subtitles. A PSP version is also announced, which adds a mysterious Japanese character (a possible mystic/ancient general like Yoshitsune) as well as Rachel from Ninja Gaiden.

The storyline is that the world did achieve relative peace after the events of WO2/Maou Sairin, but years later, Da Ji returns with Kiyomori AND a gigantic new beast known as the Hydra, an 8-headed serpent like how Orochi was in myth. What resulted is a tragic Curb Stomp Battle that leaves everyone from DW/SW and the exclusives of WO dead. The only survivors are Ma Chao, Sima Zhao and Takenaka Hanbei, and they are visited by Kaguya who sends them to the past and give them a chance to prevent the total onslaught they just received....

Most of the tropes provided in the previous game also follow here. Ones that stand out are: "Okuni: *reguarding Nobunaga* Those eyes... such depth, such evil... How exciting!"
 * All Girls Want Bad Boys

"Sima Yi: You will break before my genius! Zhuge Liang: I will break before no man, the least of which, you."
 * Anachronism Stew - Yoshitsune with a Lightsaber.
 * Ah, forget those weapons! The premise of the game itself is an Anachronism Stew: The Three Kingdoms era is roughly between 220-280 AD, and the Samurai Warriors period is between the 16-17th centuries, being more than ONE MILLENNIUM apart.
 * Taken up to next level in MO 2 which includes Nezha, designed like a Ridiculously Human Robot with Tron Lines. Plus, there's the Hundred Years War, Trojan War and Modern Day to be pulled to the stew.
 * Awesome but Impractical : Many moves can become this, but the most notable example are, surprisingly Orochi himself. Almost all of his moves are non-elemental, deals small damage, has awkward coverage, and is unsafe in general. The only thing that saves makes him the Purposefully Overpowered character that he is intended to be are his C1-1.
 * Badass Boast - There are several quotes that are quite notable. In one dream stage, Shibata Katsuie calls out to the Orochi forces with "Pathetic gutter trash. You couldn't outfight my corpse!"
 * The final battle in the Shu story of 2 has one from Sima Yi when you finally get to him. If you get to him as Zhuge Liang, though...

Earlier on in the first game, he was induced to defect due to the Oda forces playing on his Greed to get him to join them instead, though since he's a villain again by the second game, this was a temporary defection at best. "Mitsunari: "You got yourself some... interesting followers there, Sakon." Sakon: "So interesting I feel like tearing out my hair.""
 * Lu Bu ...true to form, says at least one in almost every stage in which he makes an appearance.
 * Bald of Evil - Kiyomori
 * Beam Spam - Himiko's mode of attack.
 * Big Damn Heroes: WO 3 invokes this as part of its time-travelling story, as the heroes travel through time to change events so that their allies would survive battles they would otherwise perish in.
 * Bishonen Line - Orochi. You would think he looks like that eight-headed snake monster, wouldn't you? And let us not speak of Orochi X...
 * Bittersweet Ending -
 * Blood Knight - Orochi
 * Bragging Rights Reward: If you do absolutely everything in Orochi 2, you can unlock Orochi X, the One-Winged Angel version of the original. However, by the time this is done, it's time to put down the game...
 * In the first game, the fourth weapons are this. They and the fusion weapon system are essentially meaningless when most of the game is getting off your attacks before you get hit, and in the Chaos difficulty, a regular Mook can kill even a Level 99 character in 5-6 hits.
 * Also in the first game, getting all your abilities maxed out is this. By the time you have achieved this, you've already unlocked all of the characters, and by that time, these maxed out abilities are unnecessary when they could have helped in trying to advance through the game earlier.
 * And personal items of all the characters.
 * Break the Haughty - Orochi does this to the gods in his final story battle.
 * Brother-Sister Incest - Fu Xi and Nuwa, who can probably get away with it, being gods and all. Nuwa needn't point it out though...
 * Aya takes up another notch with her bond quotes to her "cute" brother Kenshin.
 * Cat Fight - Zhenji and No.
 * Continuity Nod - At Komaki-Nagakute in the second game, Cao Cao tells Pang Tong - who caused a massive fire attack on Orochi's forces - that he was thankful that the hooded strategist was an ally, otherwise it'd be Cao Cao, and not Orochi, who would be "drowning in a sea of flame". Pang Tong was one of the Shu officers responsible for his historic defeat at Chi Bi.
 * Liu Bei's defeat at the hands of Orochi is basically a repeat of the Battle of Chang Ban bridge, only this time Liu Bei lost.
 * Cool Big Sis - Da Ji is pretty much this to Himiko.
 * Culture Clash - Ancient Chinese warriors and Sengoku Era Japanese daimyo fighting together or against one another. Then there's the use of firearms! And then there's the Frenchwoman and the Greek warrior...
 * It's slightly downplayed in the first game, as they've had a bit of time to get used to each other and have bigger concerns to deal with, though in the Orochi prequel campaign in the second game we get see some more of the culture clash, especially Cao Cao being blindsided by the introduction of cannon weapons..
 * Cutting Off the Branches: The second game is a bit vague who landed the kill shot on Orochi the first time, with the implication all the rebel forces met up at Koshi Castle and all had their parts to play in taking Orochi down, but still leaving who actually took him down vague. The third game repeats this trend, with the implication that, again, all the various forces joined up to take down Orochi again.
 * Defeat Means Friendship - Sun Shangxiang befriends Ina after defeating her in combat.
 * In the third game, a number of characters initially start off as Brainwashed and Crazy. After defeating them they come to their senses and join the heroes.
 * Detached Sleeves - Sanzang
 * Did Not Do the Research - In a conversation in 3, Sun Quan is doing fortunetelling to see what lies in the battles ahead, and Sun Ce enthusiastically asks him to tell him the results. In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Sun Ce's hate for fortunetelling is legendary.
 * Damsel in Distress - A lot and occasionally overlaps Badass in Distress
 * First game: Sun Shangxiang can grab a Distress Ball and charge in to Dong Zhuo's base, resulting her getting kidnapped and tied up until you beat him.
 * Second game: That Dream Mode which involves several girls saving other girls (and Cao Pi) from Dong Zhuo.
 * Third game: Dong Zhuo once again kidnaps girls, this time Oichi, Nene and Xingcai, forcing Nagamasa, Kiyomasa and Liu Shan into the Demon Army (and Zhang He is kidnapped too. Ina is also kidnapped by the Demon Army in the middle of her training when you try to unlock her. Also, one of the DLC is called 'Dong Zhuo's Ambition' in which he tries to fulfill his paradise of beautiful women... Yep...
 * Double Agent - Zhuge Liang in the first game.
 * Downer Beginning - In the first stage of 3, we are presented in a situation where there's just Ma Chao, Sima Zhao and Takenaka Hanbei (and some generics) against the 9 heads of Hydra, and none of the siege weapons work against it, and they're being pursued by the massive Demon Army under Kiyomori.
 * Everything Is Better With Monkeys - Sun Wukong is extremely broken at high levels. Granted, he was broken in the original source material.
 * Extreme Doormat - Diaochan is like this towards Lu Bu in the second game. However, she will rebel against him if she feels that he's straying far from his own ideals in the first game (which is apparently non Canon in the second).
 * Eyes of Gold - Nuwa.
 * Fake Difficulty - Chaos difficulty is no different from Hard, for the most part. Enemies have the same HP (more or less), AI is the same, they deal the same amount of damage... the only difference is that their attacks completely ignore defense. A regular Mook can now kill you in four hits. Did we mention you will often be surrounded by a few hundred mooks, with a few officers in the middle to spice things up? Enjoy.
 * Fan Service - This is pretty much the singular purpose of this game. Not that the fans mind for the most part...
 * Many of the females characters have cute, fetishy outfits, most blatantly Da Ji and Nuwa.
 * Fighter, Mage, Thief: Characters are classified by three categories: Power (who hit harder and are harder to stagger), Technique (who specialize in Critical Hits) and Speed (who can Air Dash as well as jump cancel their attacks). The third game adds "Wonder".
 * Fire, Ice, Lightning - Fu Xi, Nuwa, and Taigong Wang represent these three elements.
 * Also, the three leaders of each group - Cao Cao, Sun Quan/Jian, and Liu Bei as well as Nobunaga Oda, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Ieyasu Tokugawa can be organized much the same way.
 * Flanderization - While Flanderization isn't something new to the Warriors series, it's taken to ridiculous lengths in here.
 * For the Evulz - Da Ji.
 * Forced Into Evil - It's easier to say who's not in this trope, when Orochi appears the first time.
 * Gender Flip - Sanzang.
 * This may be a nod to Saiyuki, a Tactical RPG produced by Koei for the PlayStation where you could choose the gender of San Zang.
 * Girls' Night Out Episode - A handful of the Dream Stages focus solely on the girls.
 * Hard Mode Perks: Like in Dynasty Warriors.
 * Heel Face Turn
 * The Dragon, Kiyomori, lampshades this. When a random henchman tells him that  has betrayed them, Kiyomori replies, "Betrayal? No, that man... is being true to himself."
 * 's got a tendency to change sides in the hopes of finding a fight that will actually give him a good workout. His swap quote is even "Challenge me!", driving this point home. So yeah, not so much a Heel Face Turn as it is a Blood Knight pulling off an Enemy Mine in the hopes that Orochi and Kiyomori will present the fight he wants (since Wu doesn't seem to be making the cut).
 * In the third game however,
 * Considering that Shuten Doji
 * Also in the third game, Keiji and Masamune, after two titles being unrepentant servants of Orochi, eventually defect for good after one Hydra head is down and they realize that this is not the Orochi they used to trust. This is before the reveal about Shuten Doji (See above)
 * Subverted with Dong Zhuo, though. He did join the resistance, but that's because Zhuge Liang forces him to so he doesn't bother the resistance with his petty ambitions and dreams.
 * Historical Beauty Update - Wasn't Taigong Wang supposed to be an old man? (Then again, those times are Shrouded in Myth and Taigong Wang's name is actually a reference to how the future King of Zhou's father had told him to keep an eye out for a good strategist, so his name means "the one hoped for by my honored father".)
 * Homage - Benkei collects a lot of weapons and has Junichi Suwabe for Japanese voice. Now say it with me: I am the bone of my sword...
 * Improbable Weapon User - Taigong Wang uses a frigging FISHING ROD for a weapon, while Sanzang uses her Detached Sleeves. There's also Da Ji and Himiko with their mystic balls of death
 * Slightly averted in Taigong Wang's case, since he's a freaking god and can use whatever he wants to massacre an army of cannon blade fodder. Arguably applies to Himiko's and Da Ji's weapons as well.
 * Also, in Taigong Wang's case, his weapon is a reference to the myth of him being a peerless fisherman; one who could get fish with naught but a rod. It's arguably his most defining accessory/weapon.
 * How many other games let you legitimately say the final boss died because you smacked him in the face with your balls?
 * Of course, you kinda of have to mention the characters from the two base games. Easy ones to point out are a flute, an ass kicking flute, feather fans surprisingly good at smacking people, and then you have a spear that houses a MASSIVE LASER CANNON in it's slightly engorged head.
 * It's Personal - When you first encounter Lu Bu in 3, he is singularly obsessed with killing . The reason for this? Not because beat him, though he did, but because  Lu Bu has been out for his blood since before the Hydra even appeared.
 * James Bondage - Liu Bei in the first game. Sun Jian in the Wu campaign.
 * La Résistance - Eventually. However, Oda Nobunaga is the one who jump-started it.
 * It's a tad complicated, but here's a summarized version of how it turns out by the end of the first game:.
 * Large Ham - Too many to list. It would probably be easier to try to list those who were actually playing their role straight.
 * Though a shining example of this trope is Zhang Jiao and his 'Wrrrrrrath of the HEAVENS!!'
 * The Last Dance - Meta example. KOEI actually didn't want to continue the series, but the fanbase demanded. So they decided to put everything as the ultimate Grand Finale of the Orochi series. The results thus far has been positive.
 * Lethal Joke Character - Gracia, again. Her attack power and range are both horrible, below decent at best, and her cavalry skill is easily shut down due to the absence of the no-dismount-when-hit horse. Then you discover that single technique and proceed to kill the enemy commander from full health in under a second. Oh ho, even Orochi's trembling at the sight of her.
 * You'll LOATHE having to fight against Himiko. You'll be massacring entire armies and shiver in fear at that little girl when she activates her Musou attack and wrecks your crap.
 * Lethal Joke Item: In the third game, the Fifth Weapons tend to start off with very low attack power and occasionally have very silly-looking skins. However, after a bit of grinding they become Infinity Plus One Swords.
 * Loads and Loads of Characters - One hundred and thirty two as of Warriors Orochi 3.
 * Massive Multiplayer Crossover - Between Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors, obviously.
 * Warriors Orochi 3 adds BladeStorm, Warriors: Legend of Troy, and... Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive?!
 * Master of Illusion - Da Ji, Kiyomori, and most of the new characters are capable of creating harmful illusions.
 * My Grandma Can Do Better Than You - Variant: Badass Grandpa Shibata Katsuie occasionally taunts "You can't outfight my corpse!"
 * No Campaign for the Wicked - Played straight in the first game, averted in the second. Ah, to crush your enemies, break the wills of the legendary heroes of history, and beat up a few gods...
 * Too bad.
 * Third game eventually has you fighting on the side of Da Ji against all humanity. Have fun!
 * Old Save Bonus - For the PSP versions. Allows characters in the sequel to gain their first ability immediately.
 * Our Angels Are Different - Nuwa has a halo. She's also a Stripperific Hot Chick with a Sword who allies herself primarily with Cao Cao.
 * Plot Hole: The PSP adaptation of the second game has no less than four in the Orochi campaign, with characters who either were never on the Orochi team or who are introduced before they properly show up in the plot in cutscenes, while the PS2 version of the same cutscenes has no such issues.
 * Rage Against the Heavens - Orochi's main motivation, as his story mode reveals.
 * Relationship Values: A major part of the third game. Each character has a group of other characters with whom they share a bond to. Increasing it via fighting together or holding feasts will lead to unlocking various passive bonuses and even special stages to unlock new characters.
 * Revenge Before Reason: Wang Yi appears to be controlled by Orochi, but when she broke free of it, she's still vengeful on Ma Chao and attempts to kill him until Noh and Oichi stops her.
 * Running Gag; Sakon Shima, who can't seem to get people to follow his instructions unless he's working for someone who makes sure they do, with every time he tries to make this happen on his own ending in Epic Fail.
 * Set Right What Once Went Wrong: The entire storyline of the third game. Also, most stages may involve a character dying outside of your control, after which a few characters will try to help them out in a stage that will result in a Redux version of the previous stage where the character can end up surviving and join the Resistance.
 * Sinister Scythe - Orochi uses a large scythe as his weapon.
 * Smug Snake - Kiyomori Taira, Da Ji.
 * Masamune Date and Sima Yi (who are already the Smug Snakes of their games) tend to share stages with each other.
 * Stripperiffic - To the point that EVERY NEW FEMALE, except Himiko, has this. God, for a monk priestess, Sanzang sure doesn't dress up so purely...
 * Averted with Kaguya, who was designed to reflect Heian era sensibilities for the most part - the only made her skirt shorter so she could "move" more easily, but it still has 12 layers!
 * Surrounded by Idiots - Dong Zhuo is hilariously blustery when his minions lose a stronghold. "What were you doing! Drag your sorry carcass back up there and reclaim that mountain!"
 * Sakon in the Battle of Kyushu.


 * Talking to Himself - Happens constantly with some of the characters who both share the same voice actor and have a bond with one another. Exemplified in the Japanese dub by Daqiao and Xiaoqiao, Jia Xu and Motonari Mori (who got a scenario where they interact a lot), Nene and Ayane, Motochika Chosokabe and Sima Shi, Nuwa and Kaguya, etc.
 * Theme Music Power-Up - With both Lu Bu AND Honda Tadakatsu in the crossover, naturally they would carry over their theme tunes (The former has a remix specifically for this game). It wouldn't be until Musou Orochi Z, when Orochi himself would finally have his own. Played with in the new DLC for Warriors Orochi 3 "Fight for a Theme Song"  In the third game, Ryu, Ayane, Achilles and Susano's introductions result in their themes replacing the stage music.
 * The Rival - Yoshitsune gets this, naturally, with Kiyomori. More surprisingly, he gets another... in Lu Bu. The latter however, isn't a clear cut rivalry in the traditional sense. The third game adds Shuten Doji to a minor extent.
 * Also, just about every pair of rivals from their respective games, still retain that sense regardless of what side they're on.
 * The Strategist - from the second game onwards Taigong Wang takes it upon himself to plan most of the battle against Orochi. Hanbei takes this role in the third game.
 * The Vamp - Zhenji, No, and Da Ji. The three of them can even perform a special triple attack together in the second game.
 * Time Travel: Courtesy of Kaguya in WO 3.
 * Took a Level In Badass - For the first time ever, Xiahou Yuan is both competent and has a few significant story moments in the second game.
 * Back in Bladestorm, Jeanne was a mere Hero Unit. Now, she picks up a spear and has her chance to rack up multitudes of KOs all by herself.
 * Wham! Episode - WO3 starts off with almost everyone dying, with the story being to go back to avert this incident.
 * White-Haired Pretty Boy - Taigong Wang
 * White-Haired Pretty Girl - Nuwa
 * The Worf Effect: Nezha manages to inflict this upon Lu Bu several times in the third game.
 * Worf Had the Flu - The reason why the Tokugawa got creamed by Orochi: Tadakatsu was away during the invasion.
 * In the third game, this is the reason that certain characters end up dying in the original timeline, having sustained a grievous wound in a previous battle. Thanks to Kaguya's time powers, the characters can go back and provide some much-needed backup so that the character will survive the events and join the Resistance.