Magoichi Saika (Samurai Warriors)

### Samurai Warriors

Magoichi is the leader of the Saika renegades who loves his freedom and women. Hired to fight for the Ikko Sect to defy Nobunaga, he helps Shoukei's resistance at Ise-Nagashima. When the Oda troops set fire to the area, he decides to ask forgiveness for their rebellion to cut their losses. Escorting Shoukei to Nobunaga, he is baffled when the surrendering rebels are slaughtered without mercy. Swearing to someday pay the man back for the mayhem, he attempts a self-righteous series of assassinations on Nobunaga during the following battles. Magoichi barely escapes to report the defeat to Kennyo. They march towards Yamazaki to block Nobunaga's march towards the capital. The rebels are successful yet the battle is just a distraction for the Oda troops to invade Echizen. In order to prevent another massacre, Magoichi tells the rebels to escape after he snipes Mitsuhide. Due to the battle, the rebels are weakened yet they eventually become the only ones capable of rebelling against Nobunaga years later.

With the desire to lessen the suffering from their battles, Kennyo contemplates to issue a surrender in Kyoto. Facing the threat of flames in the streets, however, he and the other Ikko followers then join the Oda. A frustrated Magoichi continues to fight back against the tide, demoralized by the rebels' acquiescence for defeat. Reinforced by two of his Saika followers, he routs Nobunaga but realizes that his role is over. Holding no ill will towards Kennyo, he chooses to wander rather than submit under Nobunaga.

In his complete story, Magoichi realizes that he fights for himself and those actually close to him rather than for the rebels. He becomes a vigilante after the Ikko surrender and aims to only end Nobunaga's life. He infiltrates Azuchi Castle and finally corners the Demon King for the final shot. Before he shoots, Nobunaga tries to pound doubts into him, quickly asking what he will achieve by killing him and reasons that nothing will change. Magoichi's gun goes off and he leaves the scene, saying that Nobunaga's burden is no greater than anyone else.

In *Samurai Warriors 2*, Magoichi is an old friend of Hideyoshi and is hired by various employers to make a living. Aiding his friend at Anegawa on the Oda side, Magoichi suspects Nobunaga's ambitions and cannot guarantee that he would fight on Hideyoshi's side next time. After he helps the Ikko rebels win at Osaka Bay, his home is destroyed by Nobunaga. He estranges himself from Hideyoshi and swears to avenge his lost comrades. He sneaks into Honnōji and assassinates Nobunaga during his duel with Mitsuhide. While fleeing from the scene, Magoichi realizes that his act actually caused more chaos as bandits are free to terrorize innocent people. This pleases Kotarō who thanks Magoichi for making his job easier. Lost and confused, he collapses.

He later awakens in dry shelter with Hideyoshi, who requests his help to take down Mitsuhide. Filled with self-pity and regret, Magoichi calls him a hypocrite for not wanting to kill him. Hideyoshi knocks some sense into him as he doesn't want to lose his other friend. Reconciled, Magoichi agrees to help his buddy out and participates in the Yamazaki battle to defeat Mitsuhide. In the aftermath, he is shot by an off-screen rifleman and dies in Hideyoshi's arms.

In his dream mode, the narrative says that he survives his gunshot wound at Yamazaki and befriends Masamune. He joins Masamune's charge against Ieyasu at Mikatagahara to keep Hideyoshi's dream alive.

In *Samurai Warriors: Katana*, Magoichi first appears during the Ascendancy scenario assisting the Oda army's riflemen at Nagashino. He gives the player one of his old rifles and later helps Hideyoshi confront Yukimura in order to defeat Katsuyori in time. The mercenary plays a central role in the Savior scenario where he takes the protagonist under his wing and teaches him the core values of the Saika Renegades. Both men answer distress calls across the land, aiding the female cast in their time of distress. Although the women are unaffected by Magoichi's flirtations, they decide to stay with the Saika when he appeals to their respective needs. Later on, he stages a contest to decide the most beautiful woman in the land using the player's own preferences to pick a winner. Once the competition ends, the two mercenaries resume their duty to help more innocents in need. The Unification scenario has Magoichi join the Toyotomi's invasion of Sakai. Aware of the protagonist's growing reputation as a ruler, he challenges him to a match and is forced to retreat afterwards.

Retaining his ties with Hideyoshi from the previous title, Magoichi chooses to wander after helping his friend's early unifications in *Samurai Warriors 3*. Arriving in Oshū, he quickly serves under Masamune and assists his young friend in claiming the region. During their efforts, Masamune is unable to save his father and blames himself for his parent's death. Hearing that the Sanada require mercenary aid from his old friend Keiji, Magoichi decides to bring his depressed friend with him at Ueda Castle. Revitalizing Masamune with their impressive victory beside the other three generals (Keiji, Yukimura, and Kanetsugu), they proudly return home. When Hideyoshi becomes the undisputed ruler of the land, Masamune retaliates to realize his own ambitions and boldly rebels in Oshū. Wanting to let his friend vent, he assists the rebellion and routs Yukimura and Kai. Magoichi learns his friend's dream to change the mindsets of the people as they gaze over the carnage they caused. Once Masamune realizes the pointlessness of forcing his views at this point, he and Magoichi visit Hideyoshi to formally beg pardon. During his testimony against Kanbei's evidence, Magoichi silently signals the truth to Hideyoshi. Finding mirth with Masamune's drive, Hideyoshi has high expectations for him and forgives the young Date lord.

The Toyotomi family experiences a massive internal rebellion after Hideyoshi's death as several vassals aim to take Mitsunari's life in the capital. As the other men he met at Ueda hurry to his aid, Magoichi merely accompanies Masamune to help repay their debt to Kanetsugu from Odawara Castle. As armies assemble under the banners for the West or the East, Magoichi realizes that Masamune's vision can't be made a reality until a new peace begins so he supports the Date march at Hasedō. Slaying Keiji and defeating a retaliating Kanetsugu, they continue to aid Ieyasu in the final battle against the remaining Toyotomi loyalists at Ōsaka Castle. With Ōsaka Castle in flames after their victory, Magoichi remarks that he can throw away his weapon and fully devote himself to the ladies once more. Noting the irony for causing the downfall of Hideyoshi's legacy, he instead chooses to continue believing in Hideyoshi's assessment of Masamune and they happily walk away together. He also plays a key part in Kizugawa, leading the Saika Renegades to assist the Mōri.

During one of the Gaidens for *Chronicles*, Magoichi and the protagonist are dragged around in Gracia's search for her true beloved.

*Sengoku Musou 3: Empires* shows Magoichi's first meeting with Masamune in the latter's own story. Having sneaked into the Date warlord's room uninvited, he strikes up a brief partnership with him due to Hideyoshi's disarmament edict giving mercenaries less jobs. Astonished by Masamune's decision to defy the Toyotomi, Magoichi advises him to ally with the Hōjō before parting ways.

*Samurai Warriors 4* Magoichi keeps his friendship with Hideyoshi. At his friend's request, he helps create a path for Nobunaga towards the capital. Resuming his wandering life as a mercenary, he answers Koshōshō's call for arms at Kannonji Castle. Magoichi later joins Motochika's side at Asan and recognizes Goemon. The hired gunman learns from the thief that Koshōshō is on the enemy side and wishes to woo her. He is shot down yet again, a fact that Gracia eloquently rubs in during her boredom after the battle. He explains his lifestyle to the inquisitive girl and introduces the concept of friendship to her. Magoichi accepts her label as her friend in good jest.

Magoichi soon regrets leaving the main land when he learns that his comrades have been ruthlessly slaughtered by Nobunaga's forces. He enters the fray at Noda-Fukushima with the sole purpose of obtaining revenge. When the Oda forces threatens Kii Province, Magoichi summons his many acquaintances and calls for the Mōri's support. Despite his efforts, he is captured by Hideyoshi and steels himself for his execution. Hideyoshi, finding his new purpose in life, spares him in the name of friendship. Magoichi later joins the Akechi army at Honnōji to seek closure for his vengeance. Whether he personally gets it or not is up to the player, but Nobunaga is amused to see him still alive if he faces him.

Having faith in Hideyoshi's pacifistic vision, Magoichi decides to support his friend's conquests at Yamazaki. Hideyoshi asks him to be his informant in Oshū to keep an eye on the ambitious Masamune. Magoichi poses himself as a wandering mercenary to the Date forces by casually offering his assistance at Koriyama. Kojūrō realizes his real motives early within the battle and reveals his findings when the Toyotomi forces draws near Oshū. Magoichi keeps fighting for the Date even when his cover is blown to ensure that Kojūrō survives the conflict for Hideyoshi. If the player uses him for the third stage in the Tohoku chapter, Magoichi can briefly reunite with Motochika.

After Hideyoshi dies Magoichi decides to stay with the Date to watch over Masamune, the last man who he believes is donned with his friend's favor. He fights for them at Hasedō, soon realizing that Masamune is a promising pioneer for the new age of peace. Feeling that Hideyoshi's vision has ended, Magoichi thinks he has nothing left for himself. He either imagines or hears Hideyoshi's spirit yelling at him to introduce a cute girl to him; Magoichi disappears as he answers, never to be seen again.

The *4-II* Love and Fear story has him co-star as Koshōshō's love interest. After one of his jobs leads him to assassinate her previous lover, he is amused that she has followed him and lets her do as she pleases. He promises to woo her and, through their antics, Magoichi hopes to restore Koshōshō's love for other people by making her fall in love with him. When he sacrifices himself at Honnōji, it's heavily implied that his heroic stunt costs him his life. Koshōshō is in heavy denial of his death for the second half of her story and continues to imagine him beside her. Her delusion of him disappears only when she restores her courage to face reality.

Magoichi is the leading man for the fifth downloadable scenario. Hideyoshi wants to stage a grand tea party with the land's ladies but invites the attractive men of the land to arrive first. Catching onto his ploy, Magoichi leads a trio of men avoided by women into battle. The gunner says to his crew that they will learn the secret to popularity with the opposite sex by beating their targets, but he is partially venting due to a recent string of rejections. Hideyoshi tries to be sneaky by sailing away to the tea party by himself, but Magoichi and his men force him to take them along. When they arrive, the place is barren because Nene had caught onto their game in advance. An upset Magoichi tells Hideyoshi to face his wife's wrath by himself.

Throughout *Samurai Warriors Chronicles 3'*s what-if events, Magoichi role varies. If the Azai defeat the Oda at Anegawa, Magoichi's men will be hired by Hisahide to resist Nagamasa. His role as part of the anti-Nobunaga Coalition is retained in the hypothetical situation that both the Mōri and the Uesugi back the alliance as well. He is later tricked by Matsunaga to attack the Mōri after Nobunaga's demise.

In an altered Honnōji, where Nobunaga fakes his own death and lives a peasant's life, free from the conflict, Magoichi is able to track the Demon King down. While he wishes to kill Nobunaga, he puts his gun down, and explains that Hideyoshi's recent brutality against his nephew and vassals were not the things that were expected when Nobunaga was "killed off". Hoping to change his friend, he and Munenori join Nobunaga in attacking Hideyoshi at Ōsaka, where he is heartbroken to see his friend become a heartless tyrant, caring only for the security of his position. He sadly watches as his friend shows no remorse or empathy, even before he is executed.

In an alternate scenario where Kanbei fakes his death and joins Hideyoshi, the strategist is able to revert Hideyoshi back to his old personality, much to Magoichi's delight. He is then content to see the land molded by the return of his old friend.

*Spirit of Sanada* places Magoichi as one of the founding members of the Anti-Nobunaga Coalition, working alongside both the Azai and the Takeda in his quest to avenge his fallen comrades. He aids the Azai's attack on the Oda at Noda-Fukushima, but Shingen's untimely death leads to the eventual ruin of the Azai and Asakura as well.

Refusing to give up, Magoichi then moves to support the Mōri in defying Nobunaga's rule at Ishiyama as well as accompanying Hisahide's forces after their desertion. Although Hideyoshi arrives to try and convince Magoichi to surrender, Magoichi refuses the offer and chases Hideyoshi out for fear that their friendship would put him in danger. Despite pushing back Nobunaga's fleet, the conqueror's forces are too vast and powerful for them to ever truly defeat.

When Nobunaga is killed by Mitsuhide at Honnōji, Magoichi is sent to join the Akechi forces barring Ieyasu's path at the Iga mountains. After Mitsuhide's demise, Magoichi is last seen accompanying Masamune's forces at Hasedō, attempting to cut off Kagekatsu and Kanetsugu's route home.

In *Samurai Warriors 5*, Magoichi first appears at Kanegasaki, having been hired by the shogunate to assassinate Nobunaga. His attempt fails when the light reflects off of his barrel and allows Nō to rush ahead of her husband and shield him. Magoichi would then make subsequent attempts at Anegawa and Mt. Hiei but is forced to flee on both occasions. When Nobunaga finally learns of Magoichi's contractor and sieges Yoshiaki Ashikaga and Fujihide Mitsubuchi at Makishima, Magoichi arrives to try and assist. Unfortunately, Yoshiaki's cowardice throws away any chance at victory, and a disgruntled Magoichi captures the shogun as he is attempting to flee and deposits him to the Oda before making a getaway.

He is subsequently hired by Takakage Kobayakawa for assistance at Kizugawaguchi and is not seen in the story again.

A hypothetical scenario has Yoshiaki Ashikaga gain the support of the Imagawa, Takeda, Uesugi, and Mori clans for his march on Kyoto rather than the Oda. Looking to bolster respect for the Shogunate, Fujihide Mitsubuchi suggests a contest between the 4 clans who helped them, with the position of Vice-Shogun going to the winner. Magoichi's Renegades are hired to keep the clans in line during the contest but he also decides to join the clan leader he believes most likely to succeed (the player's choice), eager to have the future Vice-Shogun owe him a favor.

### Warriors Orochi

Magoichi first appears to try to save Yue Ying in *Warriors Orochi*. After Shu's men escape, he offers to assist their search for Liu Bei with rumors and information. He continues to try to impress the ladies in the army, namely Yue Ying, Zhu Rong, and Xing Cai. In one of the side story stages, he catches Masamune in a pincer attack and convinces him to join Shu.

In *Warriors Orochi 2*, Magoichi and Toshiie are leading a failing defense at Ji Castle against Sun Wukong. They are saved by Xiahou Yuan's timely reinforcements and Magoichi will have a special event with Xiahou Yuan if they meet in the field. To turn the tide of battle, Magoichi decides to call for his Saika renegades and temporarily leaves the field. He returns with plenty of riflemen and joins Wei after the battle. In his dream stage, he and Kunoichi are employed by Dong Zhuo. His two helpers are hired to escort the gold that he stole from Yuan Shao. With his partner, Masamune, he also acts as a firearm rival in the archers' dream mode.

During the all-women dream stage in *Musou OROCHI Z*, he appears to help the ladies. Da Ji tells him to help them by defending their main camp. After the women trash all of their male opponents, he praises the ladies on a job well done. Nu Wa and Ginchiyo are more than willing to take him out of their all-ladies victory.

After Orochi's second defeat, Magoichi and his mercenaries resume their life of wandering in *Warriors Orochi 3*. Spotting a struggling Joan of Arc at Komaki-Nagakute, he and his men sacrifice themselves to save her. She relies on him as he bides time for her escape at Mt. Dingjun. Magoichi continues to fall in battle against Sun Wukong as the Coalition save Joan. To prevent his death, an invigorated Joan goes back in time twice to lead her men and fight for him. Touched that she would go through such lengths for him, Magoichi joins the coalition and later helps Xiahou Ba in rescuing Xiahou Yuan at Nanjun.

Magoichi joins forces with Guo Jia in the downloadable stage "Mystic Love", as they try to charm female mystics at Yangping Gate. He also helps Zhong Hui with his ambitions in "Zhong Hui's Pride".

He later reappears in *Ultimate* at the altered Mt. Dingjun, where he helps rescue the Coalition with Joan and company.

Magoichi ends up becoming a member of Nobunaga's army at *Warriors Orochi 4*, having been hired by them, as well as thanks to Gracia's involvement with the army as well. He was initially stationed at Luoyang with Dong Zhuo, Yuan Shao, and Yoshimoto when they are attacked by Liu Bei's rebel army. After his defeat, Magoichi joins the Coalition.

He later helps the Coalition rescue Kaguya, who is stranded at Tedorigawa by Da Ji's army.