Takamaru

==Summary==
One stormy night in feudal Japan, a mysterious force begins to take control over Murasame Castle and its lands. Each lord in four neighboring castles has taken possession of a dark sphere of power, allowing them to summon ninja armies and monsters that wreak havoc in the villages.
Takamaru, a brave and young samurai apprentice, has been sent to investigate. He must infiltrate all four castles and defeat the lords before making his way to Murasame Castle.
==Powers and Stats==
Tier: , higher with Inazuma Lightning
Name: Takamaru
Origin: The Mysterious Murasame Castle (Nazo no Murasame Jō)
Gender: Male
Age: Likely late teens/early 20s
Classification: Human, Apprentice Samurai
Powers and Abilities:<tabber>|-|Inherent=Superhuman Physical Characteristics, Weapon Mastery
|-|With equipment=
Fire Manipulation (The Fireball weapon allows Takamaru to shoot flaming projectiles), Invisibility and Intangibility (The Invisibility technique allows Takamaru to temporarily become invisible and walk through enemies and hazards unaffected), Electricity Manipulation (Inazuma Lightning destroys all enemies on screen, seemingly with a blast of electricity), minor Information Analysis (Inazuma Lightning exposes all hidden items in the screen it's used on), Statistics Amplification (Red Sandals double Takamaru's running speed, while Bow pickups enhance his throwing speed. The Helmet temporarily renders Takamaru impervious to harm), Free Movement (Blue Sandals allow Takamaru to stand and run on water), Healing (The White Pillbox fully heals Takamaru)</tabber>Attack Potency: Wall level (Capable of injuring foes who can physically harm him. Defeated and destroyed the giant Murasame Statue and the even larger alien entity controlling it), higher with Inazuma Lightning (Capable of one-shotting almost any enemy in the game)
Speed: Superhuman running speed (Can run at speeds comparable to thrown shuriken), Subsonic with Red Sandals (The Red Sandals double Takamaru's running speed), Subsonic combat speed (Capable of reliably cutting down and deflecting thrown shuriken), higher attack speed with White and Blue Bow (The White Bow increases the speed of Takamaru's projectiles while the Blue one increases his knife throwing rate), Hypersonic attack speed with Inazuma Lightning (Instantly destroys all enemies on screen)
Lifting Strength: Above Average Human
Striking Strength: Wall level
Durability: Wall level (Capable of withstanding large explosions)
Stamina: At least Peak Human. Fought through the armies of five different castles all on his own, facing hordes of ninja, samurai and demons, many of whom bestowed with supernatural powers, and defeated all of the castles' lords, finally fighting the alien presence behind it all in an epic, multi-phase battle.
Range: Extended melee range with katana, roughly ten meters with knives and fireballs, roughly 17.5 meters with chakram and 30 with Inazuma Lightning
Standard Equipment: Note that while Takamaru starts with the Invisibility technique by default, it may be replaced by Inazuma Lightning if that is picked up.
*Katana: Takamaru wields a katana and is highly proficient in its usage, being capable of fending off multiple enemies at once and even cutting thrown shuriken out of the air with it. Takamaru's sword attacks are much more powerful than his ranged ones.
*Throwing Knives: Takamaru carries a huge supply of throwing knives he can accurately throw at upwards of ten meters and dispatch foes with.
*Invisibility: A technique that performed through a scroll Takamaru carries, can only be performed three times before needing to find another scroll. Takamaru becomes invisible and intangible for a few seconds, while still perfectly capable of moving and attacking, though he cannot perform ranged attacks.
Optional Equipment:
*Weapons: Throwing weapons that replace Takamaru's knives until he runs out of ammunition.
**Fireball: Takamaru shoots a fireball forward. While it has a bit less range than the knives, it's much more powerful.
**Chakram: Takamaru throws a circular bladed weapon. Not more powerful than the knives, but much longer ranged.
*Shot Modifiers: A set of mutually exclusive power-ups themed after Shogi pieces that allows Takamaru to throw his weapons in multiple directions at once with no loss of speed.
**Rook: Four knives/chakram/fireballs are shot at once instead of one, with the additional three being fired to the right, left and behind Takamaru, covering all four cardinal directions.
**Bishop: Three shots are launched at once, with the two additional ones being thrown 45° to the left and right of the first one.
**King: Three shots are launched at once, all forward.
*Other Pickups
**Inazuma Lightning: A three-use spell, similar to Invisibility. Blasts and kills all enemies on screen. It also reveals all hidden items.
**Red Sandals: Takamaru's running speed is doubled.
**Blue Sandals: Takamaru can stand and run on water at the same speed he would on land.
**White Bow: Takamaru's projectile speed is increased.
**Blue Bow: Takamaru can toss twice as many knives at once. Does not affect Fireball/Chakram.
**Helmet: Temporarily renders Takamaru invincible.
**White Pillbox: Fully heals Takamaru.
**Blue Pillbox: Grants Takamaru an extra life. Likely useless outside of gameplay mechanics.
Intelligence: Average, Gifted in combat. Fought hordes of ninja, samurai and demons, many of whom bestowed with supernatural powers, and defeated all of the castles' lords, finally fighting the alien presence behind it all in an epic, multi-phase battle. Can slash shuriken out of the air or even tag them mid-throw with his own thrown weapons. Can fight invisible opponents by looking at their shadows.
Weaknesses: Can only have one type of throwing weapon (Chakram/Fireball), one limited-use technique (Invisibility/Inazuma Lightning) and one type of shot spread (Rook/Bishop/King) active at once. Throwing weapons that aren't the knife run off a limited pool, with the knife replacing them once that's exhausted, and limited-use techniques can be utilized only three times.
==References==
All referenced material comes from gameplay aspects of The Mysterious Murasame Castle (1986, Famicom)
==Notable Matchups==
Victories:
Losses:
Inconclusive:
Category:The Mysterious Murasame Castle
Category:Samurai
Category:Sword Users
Category:Bow Users
Category:Knife Users
Category:Thrown Weapon Users
Category:Chakram Users
Category:Katana Users
Category:Weapon Masters
Category:Fire Users
Category:Invisibility Users
Category:Intangibility Users
Category:Statistics Amplification Users
Category:Electricity Users
Category:Information Analysis Users
Category:Free Movement Users
Category:Healers
Category:Characters
Category:Male Characters
Category:Game Characters
Category:Video Game Characters
Category:Primary Protagonists
Category:Protagonists
Category:Heroes
Category:Good Characters
Category:Blade Users
Category:Playable Characters
Category:Warriors
Category:Adults