Yoshimitsu

Yoshimitsu (吉光) is a player character originally in the Tekken series of fighting games by Namco. He first appears in the Tekken game in 1994 and has returned for all sequels. Additionally, the predecessor to Tekken's Yoshimitsu, bearing the same name, weapon, clan and basic information, was later carried over into Namco's Soul series of weapon-based fighting games as a secret character, debuting in Soulcalibur in 1998. The character was well received by fans of both series and critics alike.

Character design
Yoshimitsu sports the kanji "宇" (Romaji: u, Pinyin: yǔ) which means "universe" (roughly translated, his name means "light of happiness"). In Tekken series, Yoshimitsu's sword has been originally depicted as a tachi as it continues to be in Namco's artwork. However, from Tekken 3 onwards, it emanates energy around the blade, giving it the appearance of a lightsaber (although in some Tekken games like Tekken 4, his alternate costume wields a normal katana).

Tekken series
Yoshimitsu makes his first appearance in 1994's Tekken. Referencing Kunimitsu's Tekken 2 story, it is revealed that Yoshimitsu's blade is passed down through the Manji Clan's leaders as the previous leader is ritually sacrificed, and the blade absorbs their power and skill. In the game's story, Yoshimitsu enters the first tournament as a decoy, so that other members of the Manji Party can steal the tournament's funds unobserved. Yoshimitsu learns about a sumo wrestler called Ganryu, whose disrespectful attitude in the ring cost him his promotion into Yokozuna rank. This base disrespect for the sumo code infuriates Yoshimitsu and he defeats Ganryu. At a later time Yoshimitsu leads an infiltration on Dr. Boskonovitch's lab in order to steal his Eternal Energy device. Though Yoshimitsu loses his arm during the infiltration, Boskonovitch helps the injured ninja escape and fits him with a mechanical prosthetic. Grateful for his help, he told Boskonovitch to call him whenever he needs help. In Tekken 2, Yoshimitsu learns that Doctor Boskonovitch has been kidnapped by the Mishima Zaibatsu and enters the second Tekken tournament to rescue him. Kunimitsu, Yoshimitsu's former Manji Clan second-in-command returns to the tournament in order to steal the clan's tachi. Yoshimitsu defeats her and drops out of the tournament to rescue the Doctor after learning his location.

After the timeskip, Yoshimitsu visited Boskonovitch, who is suffering from a disease that he caught when he built the Cold Sleep machine. Boskonovitch told him that the disease can only be cured using the blood of Ogre, the Fighting God that was recently awakened from its deep slumber. Yoshimitsu then enters The King of Iron Fist Tournament 3 in order to obtain the blood. During the tournament, he is targeted by Bryan Fury, a cyborg sent by Dr. Abel to kill him and capture Dr. Boskonovitch. Yoshimitsu manages to escape. The outcome of his search is not known, though he most likely succeeds.

Two years later, Yoshimitsu realized that the future of his clan is waning due to the constant lack of necessary funding and manpower. When he heard about The King of Iron Fist Tournament 4, he plans to form an alliance with Mishima Zaibatsu. He does and quickly enters the tournament. While Yoshimitsu is robbing the Mishima Zaibatsu mansion near the end of the fourth tournament, he discovered an unconscious Bryan Fury. He took him to Boskonovitch's lab so Dr. Boskonovitch can transfer Bryan to a new body as his current one is broken. Boskonovitch then injected Bryan with drugs to put him to a year-long sleep. However, when Yoshimitsu visited Boskonovitch's lab a month later, he found it destroyed with almost all of its inhabitants dead. An injured Dr. Boskonovitch then told that Bryan woke up only a month later and goes on rampage with his new body. Swearing revenge, Yoshimitsu enters The King of Iron Fist Tournament 5 to hunt Bryan. While trying to find Bryan, Yoshimitsu found out that his sword is weakening. As his sword is a cursed item, it will lose its power and drive its users insane if the sword does not kill evil doers for a prolonged amount of time. He decides to adopt a second sword called Fumaken which has the ability to seal the cursed sword properties and enters The King of Iron Fist Tournament 6 in order to restore the power of the cursed sword. He also appears in other Tekken games, namely Tekken Advance, Tekken Tag Tournament and Tekken Tag Tournament 2.

Soulcalibur series


Yoshimitsu's predecessor first appeared in Namco's Soul series in 1998's Soulcalibur. After refusing a power-hungry lord Oda Nobunaga's offer of alliance, Yoshimitsu discovers his village has been destroyed. Attempting to battle the Nobunaga's army, Yoshimitsu loses his arm. He sets out to search for the fabled weapon Soul Edge, so that he could take his revenge against Nobunaga. In meditation, Yoshimitsu concluded that if he were to give in to his hatred, he would be no better than either Nobunaga or Nightmare; when he reaches the castle where Soul Edge is, he discovers it has been locked away with Soul Calibur.

In the Soul series, Yoshimitsu uses his beloved self-named katana with the Manji Ninjitsu style and 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 which were 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. Additionally, the sashimono on his back that accompanies the sword is also used as a striking weapon. In Soulcalibur II, Yoshimitsu discovers that his katana has been impregnated with corrupted energy from the castle, and so resolves to rid his blade of the evil. When Yoshimitsu is worn from trying to quell the corruption, the blade is stolen by Voldo. Fearing what would happen if the weapon wound up in the wrong hands, Yoshimitsu set out to retrieve the katana, in the process discovering a fragment of the Soul Edge. Wanting to destroy all the fragments which are spread across the earth, Yoshimitsu forms a band of chivalrous thieves, known as the Manjitou, in order to do good and to find the fragments.

Yoshimitsu returns in Soulcalibur III, devising a robbery in order to steal a fragment of the Soul Edge. The robbery fails as Tira, a servant of Soul Edge and Nightmare, ambushes the thieves and takes the fragment of Soul Edge. Later on, Tira murders one of his clan members, causing Yoshimitsu to seek her and Soul Edge down for revenge in Soulcalibur IV. By the time of Soulcalibur V, the first Yoshimitsu has been ritually executed and succeeded by a younger, eerily-similar protégé, who shares his fighting style, voice, mannerisms, and even his clockwork arm. This secret line of succession makes "Yoshimitsu" appear immortal to outsiders and is implied to continue into modern times with the Tekken incarnation of the character.

Other appearances
Yoshimitsu and references to him have appeared in other Namco games. His Tekken 3 incarnation is a bonus character available in Anna Kournikova's Smash Court Tennis for the PlayStation and his Tekken 3 "energy sword" is one of the game's unlockable secret tennis racquets. Yoshimitsu's sword is also an available weapon in the Tekken spin-off game Death by Degrees. He appears in the Capcom-made crossover game Street Fighter X Tekken, with his official tag partner, Raven.

Gameplay
According to Namco's official description, Yoshimitsu's fighting style "incorporates a blend of ninjutsu, sword attacks, and special stances. Wielding a sword, he has many attacks that utilize it. He can perform slashes with it, use it to impale his opponent, and rotate it with his mechanical left hand in a windmill manner (he can also use this method to fly)". Yoshimitsu uses a lot of fast, poking attacks, like his flying knee (fubuki) and his numerous spinning attacks, but performing too many of these spinning attacks may leave him dizzy. Yoshimitsu also possesses many moves with strange properties, as his "Harakiri" moves actually deplete a major portion of his health to perform and he is the only character that has the ability to restore health. Many of his moves are very situational, making him a character for more advanced players.

In Tekken 6, Yoshimitsu adopts a second sword, Fumaken and uses it accordingly with his old sword. Because of this, his move set is revamped greatly and made him an even harder character to learn. According to IGN, in Soulcalibur IV "new players are often at a loss as to how to handle the character, but once they get a handle on him, Yoshimitsu becomes a true force of nature."

In other media and merchandise
Yoshimitsu has brief cameos in the original video animation Tekken: The Motion Picture. Yoshimitsu also appears in the 2010 live-action film Tekken, portrayed by Gary Ray Stearns, where he fights and loses against Jin Kazama. Yoshimitsu's dossier is briefly seen in the CGI film Tekken: Blood Vengeance when Anna Williams opens a file containing dossiers on various persons of interest.

In 2006, Namco and MegaHouse released a Yoshimitsu figurine as part of a Tekken 5 set based upon his promotional artwork for the game. While not posable, the PVC figure came with equipable clothing items modeled after those in the game. Two more were made by Bandai in 2009, based on his appearance in Tekken 6. A statue of Yoshimitsu in Tekken Tag Tournament 2 was produced by Kotobukiya in 2012.

Reception
In a 2002 poll by Namco prior to the release of Soulcalibur II regarding their favorite character from Soulcalibur, Yoshimitsu placed sixth, with 4.56% of the tally. He was also ranked as sixth by IGN in 2008, with a comment, "Yoshimitsu's blade has always felt more at home with his fellow Soul fighters." 1UP.com spotlighted him as "by far, the strangest character" of Soulcalibur IV. In 2010, We Do Games ranked Yoshimitsu as the tenth best character in fighting game history. In 2011, Machinima.com ranked Yoshimitsu as the seventh-best ninja in all video games, while Play listed him among the top ten ninjas on the PlayStation consoles; UGO Networks also ranked Yoshimitsu's special costume in Tekken 5 as the ninth best alternate costume in all of gaming. In 2012, Complex ranked him as the eighth swiftest ninja in games, commenting on his strange and alien-like design.

GamesRadar listed a crossover match-up between Sodom and Yoshimitsu ("two of the only jerks rude enough to bring swords to a fist fight (...) both bring some pizzazz to the tired old samurai fashion scene; Yoshimitsu with his space cyborg alien freakshow") as one of the match-ups they want to see in Street Fighter X Tekken. NowGamer listed a match-up between Vega and Yoshimitsu as one of the ones they want to see in this game, adding that "any bout between these two would be a mind-boggling display of fast attacks across the screen." FHM listed Yoshimitsu and Dhalsim as one of the "10 Awesome Fantasy Fights in Street Fighter X Tekken", adding "Hard to say who’d win, but this one’s sure to be a circus of a fight!".