Yoshimitsu (Namco)

Soul series }}

is a fictional character originally created for the Tekken Series of fighting games, designed by Namco. Yoshimitsu made his first appearance in Tekken and has returned for all subsequent sequels to that game since his inception. Additionally, an analogous character bearing the same name, weapon, clan and basic information, was later carried over into Namco’s Soul Series of fighting games as a secret character, making his debut in Soul Calibur and returning for Soul Calibur II and Soul Calibur III. Considering his frequent reappearances and his staple Namco status, it is reasonable to assume that he will likewise appear in all future sequels as well.

History

In both franchises, Yoshimitsu exists as a samurai-ninja, fighting with a sword bearing the same name as his own. He is well-known in both franchises for his unorthodox fighting style and abilities, most notably his teleportation and self healing along with risky unblockable Suicide maneuvers in which he turns around and thrusts his sword through his own abdomen in the form of seppuku, ideally hitting the opponent as well and with greater damage than inflicted on himself. Another of his signature moves is called Stone Fists, which has him spinning like a top and which can make him dizzy causing him to fall over. In Tekken, its power lies primarily in its speed and use in combos and juggles. In Soul Calibur, it is used for its mix-ups, tech-crouching and tracking ability.

Because Tekken takes place in contemporary times and Soul Calibur takes place in the late sixteenth century, it is commonly assumed that the former Yoshimitsu is a descendant of the latter, as both are members of the same clan. In Tekken, he takes his name from his sword, also called Yoshimitsu--meaning “Lucky Light”--passed down by the leaders of the Manji Clan. In Soul Calibur, however, Yoshimitsu names the sword after himself; implying that each sword could possibly be the exact same weapon passed down for four centuries. Soul Calibur Yoshimitsu always wears a flag on his back along with his sword; the Tekken Yoshimitsu does not wear a flag.

Biographies

Tekken

The leader of the mysterious Manji Clan is the latest Yoshimitsu in a long line of ninjas dedicated to exposing corruption and giving money, food, medical assistance and shelter, to the poor and the political refugees around the world. Yoshimitsu initially entered the first tournament as a decoy, so that Kunimitsu and the other members of the clan would be able to steal the tournament’s funds unobserved. But eventually, he heard of a powerful sumo wrestler, called Ganryu, engaging in fraud and other corrupt activity, who had likewise entered the tournament. This base disrespect for the sumo code infuriated Yoshimitsu, and he confronted the dishonest sumo wrestler in a tournament battle, eventually forcing him to confess his criminality. Although Yoshimitsu did not win the tournament, he and his fellow Manji members disgraced Ganryu’s name, stole his fortune and distributed it among the poor. But this exposure to the Mishima Zaibatsu’s dealings incited Yoshimitsu’s suspicions regarding the corporation; and he found it even stranger that Kunimitsu would adamantly argue that the Manji Clan should ally itself with the corporation to become a world power. Angered by her insistence and by her attempt to steal the clan’s sacred tachi, he expelled her from the clan; and she strangely went to Kazuya Mishima for aid. Suspicious of what she might have been plotting, Yoshimitsu and the clan broke into the Mishima Headquarters, and Yoshimitsu’s arm was lost during the raid. While there, he came across Doctor Boskonovitch relaying to Kazuya’s foster brother, Lee Chaolan, news about a group of artificial fighters that he had been creating. Doctor Boskonovitch saw the injured Manji ninja and helped him escape, later replacing his lost arm with a bio-mechanical prosthetic.

Tekken 2

A short while later, Yoshimitsu learned that Doctor Boskonovitch had been kidnapped by the Mishima Zaibatsu, and he entered the second tournament so that he could free the doctor from the evil corporation’s grasp. Little did he know that Kunimitsu was also entered into the tournament and that she was looking to steal the clan’s tachi and assume the role of leader of the Manji ninjas once and for all. In a fierce battle, Yoshimitsu eventually claimed victory and may have killed her. Although there is no direct reference to such a murder, she has not reappeared since that tournament and is commonly assumed dead. Note also that Ogre shares many of her moves in Tekken 3. Shortly thereafter, news from the clan reached him that Doctor Boskonovitch was going to be flown by helicopter to a secret island observatory. He quickly dropped out of the tournament to make it to the vehicle before it could take off. He smashed through the vehicle’s window as it was taking off and grabbed the doctor. Then, using his sword as a propeller, he jumped out of the helicopter and made it to ground safely as the vehicle crashed in the distance.

Tekken 3

Soon afterwards, Doctor Boskonovitch’s daughter died very unexpectedly; and to preserve her body, the doctor began experimenting with cryogenics. While bringing him stolen money to fund his studies, Yoshimitsu discovered that the doctor had contracted an unknown pathological organism, which had likely been a result of the doctor’s exposure to his own experiments. Doctor Boskonovitch told Yoshmitsu that if he were able to retrieve a sample of the god of fighting’s blood, he may be able to discover the secret of immortality. And to get this sample, Yoshimitsu would have to enter the third tournament. But he dropped out of the final stage, allowing his would-be opponent Jin Kazama the opportunity to take on the True Ogre in his place. Jin Kazama eventually did defeat the True Ogre, and Yoshimitsu was able to collect the blood from the remains without putting himself in any danger; and he brought it back to Doctor Boskonovitch’s lab.

Tekken 4

Yoshimitsu continued as the leader of the Manji Clan, but they eventually fell on hard times, losing funding and members for various reasons. Worried about the future of his clan, he began to reconsider the union between them and the Mishima Zaibatsu. So when he heard of a fourth tournament, he immediately joined, hoping to defeat Heihachi Mishima and become leader of the union he now desired. Yoshimitsu is seen breaking into the Mishima vault in his ending. During this infiltration, he found the cyborg Bryan Fury fallen, and decided to take him to Doctor Boskonovitch’s lab. After this, he approached Heihachi Mishima, but Heihachi refused to hand over the Zaibatsu to Yoshimitsu and then the old man laughed in his face and called his clan-members "a bunch of con artists", only to find out soon afterwards that the Manji Clan had just stolen his safe as he was turning them down. Heihachi's hitmen tried to shoot down Yoshimitsu, but he managed to escape through the roof.

Tekken 5

Shortly thereafter, Yoshimitsu returned to Doctor Boskonovitch’s to find it completely trashed and the doctor, as well as many of his clan members, dying. Yoshimitsu was determined to get his revenge in the fifth tournament, and was ready to confront the culprit, Bryan Fury.

Soul Calibur

Yoshimitsu is the sole surviving ninja of the Manji clan, massacred in an attack by the army of samurai lord Oda Nobunaga. The ninja village of the Manji Clan was originally hidden away in the forests at the base of Mt. Fuji.

One day, a lord who sought the power of the Manji clan invited its chief to his castle. Due to his advanced age the clan's chief sent the strongest warrior of the clan on behalf of him. As expected, the lord requested the allegiance of the Manji clan. But the Manji clan preferred to remain hidden in these troubled times and refused to join in the era's petty wars. After a few days stay at the castle, the fighter politely denied the lord's request and returned to his village.

Upon his return he found his beloved village in ruins. The lord had prepared an army in anticipation of the clan's refusal to serve him. The reason the lord had stalled his request and forced Yoshimitsu to stay at the castle was to buy time for his ruthless ambush. Yoshimitsu attempted a battle against the lord, but he was no match for the army or the lord and lost his arm, which he replaced with a wooden prosthetic. Yoshimitsu set out across the sea in search of the "Ultimate Weapon," Soul Edge, so that he could take his revenge against Lord Nobunaga.

But during his journey, he came across many horrible scenes left behind by the azure knight, Nightmare. He sensed the hatred and despair of the victims and reflected on their current plight. In his meditation, he concluded that although vengeance is his greatest desire, if he were to give in to his hatred, he would be no better than either Oda Nobunaga or Nightmare. But even with that realization in his mind, he continued to pursue the Soul Edge nevertheless. When Yoshimitsu finally reached Ostrheinsburg Castle, it was devoid of any signs of life. Unknown to him, he had arrived too late to witness the fateful battle between the wielder of the Soul Edge, Nightmare, and the wielder of the Soul Calibur, Chai Xianghua.

Upon leaving the castle, he sensed that the evil energy of the castle had somehow transferred a similar energy into his katana. So he left on a journey to rid his blade of that corrupted energy. Unfortunately, he became careless one day and passed out, worn from trying to quell the corruption; and during his sleep, the katana had been stolen by a thief--Voldo, who had mistaken it for the Soul Edge.

Yoshimitsu did not want the evil energy to fall into the wrong hands, so he set out to retrieve it, and acted as a Japanese Robin Hood along the way. Yoshimitsu infiltrated the legendary Money Pit of "the Merchant of Death," Vercci--without ever meeting the rumored guardian, Voldo--in an attempt to steal the treasures of the pit for the poor's sake. But completely by chance, he had found his katana alongside a fragment of the Soul Edge, both emanating similar evil energies. Yoshimitsu decided that if there was another object in the world with the same evil as his katana--which he had now named "Yoshimitsu"--it mustn't be allowed to exist; and so he set off on yet another journey, without a doubt in his mind about destroying the cursed Soul Edge.

Yoshimitsu eventually discovered that the fragments were spread on the earth, and he alone could never destroy them all. He also realized that, as long as he searched for Soul Edge, he could not help the weak. So he returned to Japan and recruited rufians from around the land, soon forming a band of chivalrous thieves, known as the Manjitou. Thanks to his skill and ability, Yoshimitsu soon became head of the clan. They would steal riches from nobles and distribute them to the poor, while searching and destroying the fragments of the cursed sword.

One day, Yoshimitsu devised a plan for a grand robbery. The entire group would infiltrate a wealthy usurer's mansion during the annual festival and take everything he owned, which included a fragment of the Soul Edge. A plan was drawn which involved the entire Manjitou, but unfortunately, it ended in failure. The vanguard force was wiped out in front of the treasure room, and when Yoshimitsu, which was leading a decoy group, discovered this it was too late. The chain of command fell after the revelation that the clan's best men were defeated and half of the clan was either captured or killed. The remaining clan members eventually free their captured comrades, but they gave a strange report to Yoshimitsu: the fragment of Soul Edge in the mansion's treasure room was gone, which was puzzling, considering that the vanguard force the Yoshimitsu sent supposedly never made it inside. Also, the body of the leader of the vanguard force had never been found.

Some members of the clan thought that betrayal was the only explanation, but Yoshimitsu wouldn't believe that. The man, his second-in-command, was good on both his combat skill and humanity and he had great spectatives of him. Also, the wounds on his men were not dealt with a normal blade. He spoke to his men and instructed them to find the fragment, stating that they would also find the man. He would accompany them in the hunt in order to find the truth.

Weapons

Soul Calibur

-- Yoshimitsu

Yoshimitsu's beloved self-named katana was handed down through many generations in the Manji clan. It seems like a normal katana, but it has many unique features that accommodates the unique style of the Manji. Since it was forged with secret techniques passed down in the Manji clan, it cannot be replicated and is the last of its kind. Yoshimitsu, after the massacre of his clan, swore an oath of vengeance to this weapon. It has been tainted by the evil energy of Soul Edge and turned into a demonic weapon, but still is the preferred weapon of Yoshimitsu.

Stages

Soul Calibur

-- Water Labyrinth (SC)

Japan is a lush and green land and large veins, such as this one, gather the snow and rain from the ground. These veins form a network throughout Japan much like the veins in the human body. It is said that it takes one year for water to be absorbed one meter into the earth. Thus the water in this deep vein has travel for many years and is deathly cold and ghostly clear. The soft pale blue stones create an illusion around the walls, broken only by patches of warm green moss. Newly empowered by the Evil Seed the vile ghost Gel-o-Fury shattered the seals in the bamboo forest and made its way into this vein. Taki challenged the ghost several times in this complex cave. Toki's assassins, while chasing Taki, could not resist Gel-o-Fury's aura and were absorbed into the great ghost. As Gel-o-Fury grew in power Taki became convinced that the ghost was planning to exit the vein in Kyoto within the Buddha Hall of the Hoko Temple. She went ahead and planned to ambush the ghost in the hall.

-- Money Pit - Top Tier (SC2)

This deep chasm is both the storehouse and the tomb of the Italian merchant of death, Vercci. This place, built on a nameless island in the Mediterranean Sea, is renowned to grave robbers as the Money Pit. Countless booby-traps, including a water trap based on the tides, line the pit, but the most feared deterrent is the enigmatic guardian that awaits within. None who have sought the treasures have ever returned. This platform is the top level of the Money Pit, located near the entrance opening. But grave robbers must be wary, for one missed step means certain death down the chasm. They may get to the treasure at the bottom, but it is meaningless if they are dead.
(Note: Yoshimitsu shares this stage with Voldo.)

-- Sacred Mt. Fuji - Lava Bed (SC3)

The sacred mountain, Mt. Fuji, has been regarded as the realm of Gods since ancient times. At its base spreads a great forest that blocks the path of those who would enter. Beneath it lies an underground waterway that carries spiritual energy to every corner of Japan. Also beneath its surface flows a layer of lava. There' one can find a scorching hell hot enough to instantly vaporize the cold water that periodically flows in. This sacred mountain is the most definitely not sleeping peacefully, but is an active volcano pulsing with heat. Anyone who sees this sight will understand in an instant that this is a magnificence far beyond human power, that only Mother Nature could create. It is the very pulse of the earth itself, filled with power.

Character Analyses

Tekken

Tekken's Yoshimitsu is favored among many of the other characters, particularly due to his mysterious origins and longevity.

His character is that of a mystery. Most of the time, he will appear to be very serious, and other times, he will be youthful and giddy. This is most apparent in his victory poses, where he hops up and down, as if excited by the win, and also, in his friendship with young Ling Xiaoyu. He has a pure soul and is willing to help anyone. However, he has his limits. For example, he helped Bryan Fury, even though Bryan had been ordered to hunt down Yoshimitsu once before. However, once Bryan attacked the Manji clansmen, Yoshimitsu decided that Bryan must pay for what he had done.

He is seen as a medium tier trick character. His moves are very different from the other characters in the Tekken series. One of the most obvious differences is that he is the only character in Tekken who uses a weapon, the Yoshimitsu. This sword, in Tekken 4, has the ability to steal one of an opponent's moves. Yoshimitsu's trick wrist allows him to hop around on it like a pogo stick, hover like a helicopter, fly overhead and spin around in the air, or perform windmill attacks. He also has the ability to steal health, give health, levitate, or kill himself and the opponent.

Soul Calibur

In Soul Calibur, Yoshimitsu imports many of his moves from his Tekken 3 version saving some differences, such as having full use of his katana weapon. He also shares some moves with Mitsurugi, although his range is slightly shorter. Because of his linear style, Yoshimitsu's best used as an aggressive character at close range, taking advantage of his complex juggles and quick attacks.

In Soul Calibur II, Yoshimitsu is regarded as a top tier character. He blends a devastating combination of speed and damage potential, shining primarily at close range, but well-suited for medium-range fighting as well. And at long range, he possesses the tools to close in to where he can play more comfortably. A number of his moves are derivations of his Tekken moves but he has a variety of Soul specific moves as well.

A large factor in Yoshimitsu's strong close-range game is his aforementioned Stone Fists, which leads immediately into his potent fully-crouched game. From crouching, he has a variety of mix-ups, including the ability to transfer directly into his powerful throw game. In a fighting game that operates at sixty frames per second where most close-range characters--such as Taki and Talim--have throws that come out a couple of frames slower to balance out their advantages, Yoshimitsu instead possesses the ability to throw one frame faster. Added to that is the fact that his throws inflict good damage and generally give him excellent wake-up position.

To fully harness Yoshimitsu’s potential means a mastery of his "tricks" as well. These include, but are not limited to, his just-frames--or moves that require inputs within one or two frames--his Flash move, and his Pogo and Meditation stances, as well as their subsequent follow-ups. Additionally, in a homage to his original Tekken status, Yoshimitsu features a life-stealing throw that, upon connecting, unlocks the ability to perform three randomly-selected Tekken attacks by pressing the Kick and Guard button simultaneously--an ability that can also be available in the level two stage of a Soul Charge. It should also be noted that the Soul Calibur III input for unleashing a random attack is called 'Iron-fist Possession', and is executed by the input 6A+K.

In Soul Calibur III, Yoshimitsu has two new stances: The Dragonfly (from Tekken) and the Super Dragonfly (Original). In these two stances, Yoshimitsu uses his trick arm to hover with his sword. The difference between the two is that Dragonfly is lower, reachable by mid and high attacks, while Super Dragonfly is higher, and can only reached by certain vertical attacks. Dragonfly lacks any special moves to make it worth while (though the A move from this stance has an impressive reach). From that stance, the player can perform two unblockables, and one guard break. Yoshimitsu's mid-air suicide is risky, but satisfying, because if one times and aims it right, the opponent's health can be reduced by as much four-fifths. The other unblockable leads to the Pogo stance. The downside of Super Dragonfly is that Yoshimitsu takes steady damage while in the air. Yoshimitsu is also now able to change from one stance to another easily (all it entails is a combination of B and K, with either 8 or 2).

Trivia

Tekken

Yoshimitsu is one of only 4 characters (Namely Heihachi Mishima , Nina Williams , and Paul Phoenix ) to have appeared in every game in the series, and is a staple character amongst fans.
In his Tekken 2 Ending, when he jumps with Dr. B out of the helicopter and he uses his mechanical hand to fly, he's using a different hand than usual. This may be a mistake, or mean that he is ambidextrous, a definite asset for a ninja.
Since Yoshimitsu's katana (from Tekken 4 onwards) it's portrayed as a lightsaber, it can mean its not the same one used by his Soul Calibur counterpart. But something to note is that most of Yoshimitsu's CG renders shows his katana as a normal (not glowing) one. There's the possibility the katana's glow can be the evil energy stored inside it.
Yoshimitsu might be related to Roger/Alex as seen in their Tekken Tag Tournament endings where he's playing "Rock-Paper-Scissors" with them, and winning.
Many fans believes that Yoshimitsu is some sort of "alien" coming from the space. This is due to his later looks and overall oddness. Also in the Tekken 3 manual he is referred to as a "Space Ninja," however this may be a mistranslation of "Void Ninja" as the kanji for "space" and "void" are the same.
Yoshimitsu started with a bionic arm, but later got all his body turned into a machine. In Tekken 4, his body resembles a beetle.
Other popular belief is that both Tekken and Soul Calibur Yoshimitsu are the same. This is impossible, since Yoshimitsu in Tekken hasn't the prosthetic, and it was in that game where he lost his arm, while Yoshimitsu in Soul Calibur lost his arm before the game itself. Also both Yoshimitsu has lost a different arm. Along with this, whereas Tekken takes place in modern times, the Soul Calibur series takes place a few hundred years before modern times.
It is believed the Tekken Yoshimitsu is the descendant or heir of the Soul Calibur Yoshimitsu.
Yoshimitsu Mid-Boss battle in Tekken is Ganryu, and in Tekken 2 it's Kunimitsu.
Also in the Tekken PS manual it says that Yoshimitsu is an "Automaton" (Robot)

Soul Calibur

A common belief among fans is that Yoshimitsu is a wooden robot, similar to Tekken's Mokujin. Both his nickname and Soul Calibur's 2P costume seems to back up this, showing Yoshimitsu's joints and throat as wood. But one must have in mind that, in most cases, 2P costumes aren't canon and his nickname is most likely referring to his prostetic arm. Yoshimitsu is clearly a human, as shown in that he has a blood type and parts of his body are shown.
Oddly enough, Soul Calibur lists Yoshimitsu's height, weight and blood type, but in Soul Calibur II and Soul Calibur III those stats are unknown.
Yoshimitsu' gang, Manjitou, seems to be rivals of both Greed and Miser's secret organization. And apparently Miser searches to kill him.
According to the VMU Text Adventure mini-game, Taki's second tanto, Mekki-Maru, was once propiety of Yoshimitsu's deceased clan.
Yoshimitsu wanted revenge on Oda Nobunaga in Soul Calibur, which takes place in the year 1587. Historically however, Oda had died in 1582, even before the prequel, Soul Edge. A good guess is that Yoshimitsu never learned of Oda's death, and eventually gave up on his revenge to help the poor and destroy Soul Edge.
The word Namu that Yoshimitsu mutters frequently in Soul Calibur III might be a word from a Buddhist phrase.
In Soul Calibur 3, Yoshimitsu's helmet on his 1st-player costume resembles a Karura, a divine bird-like creature from Buddhism and Hinduism.
Yoshimitsu speaks in a clearly fake English accent.
Yoshimitsu's nickname in Soul Calibur is "The First Mechanized Ninja".
Yoshimitsu's Destined Battle in Soul Calibur is Nightmare, in Soul Calibur II is Voldo and in Soul Calibur III is Tira.

Yoshimitsu's endings

Tekken - Yoshimitsu and two other Manji members go through a poverty-stricken town throwing money out to the townsmen, Marshall Law among them.

Tekken 2 - Yoshimitsu jumps on a helicopter and breaks throught it, takes Dr. B and quickly leaves, flying using his katana and metal prosthetic as the helicopter explodes in the distance.

Tekken 3- Yoshimitsu is with Doctor Boskonovich who has a sample of Ogre's blood. Boskonovich tests it on a rat in his lab, which after drinking grows immensely in size.

Tekken 4- Yoshimitsu confronts Heihachi, who refuses to hand over his company to the Manji Clan. Just then, members of the Manji-clan break into the vault stealing Heihachi's funds. Heihachi orders his men to shoot Yoshimitsu. Luckily, Yoshimitsu is able to escape from Heihachi's grasp.

Tekken 5- Bryan is shown with a chain gun at the laboratory, He spots a figure and shoots at it. The figure quickly reveals itself as Yoshimitsu, who avoids the barrage of gunfire. Yoshimitsu then teleports, momentarily disappearing. This fools Bryan into thinking that he has taken down his target, and stops shooting. Before he has time to react, Yoshimitsu appears in the air above him, swiftly slices him with his katana, then lands on the ground a few feet away, as Bryan explodes.

Series' Appearances

Tekken

Soul Calibur

Cameos

His Tekken 3 incarnation was also one of the bonus characters available to play as or against in Anna Kournikova's Smash Court Tennis, for the PlayStation, alongside fellow Namco characters including Richard Miller (from Time Crisis), Pac-Man, Reiko Nagase, and fellow Tekken character Heihachi Mishima and Eddy Gordo. Furthermore, Yoshimitsu's Tekken 3 "energy sword" is one of the secret tennis racquets unlocked during the game. In the Tekken spin off Game Death by Degrees, Yoshimitsu's sword is a weapon Nina Williams can obtain, called the Manji Clan Sword, it is a green glowing katana.

External links

Yoshimitsu

Gourt Home::Gourt :: Yoshimitsu (Namco)

History

Biographies

Tekken

Tekken 2

Tekken 3

Tekken 4

Tekken 5

Soul Calibur

Weapons

Soul Calibur

Stages

Soul Calibur

Character Analyses

Tekken

Soul Calibur

Trivia

Tekken

Soul Calibur

Yoshimitsu's endings

Series' Appearances

Tekken

Soul Calibur

Cameos

See also

Tekken

Soul Calibur

External links