Naotora Ii

Unreleased

Naotora Ii (Kanji: 井伊 直虎, Rōmaji: Ii Naotora) is a fictional interpretation of the eponymous Warring States historical figure who appears in Tecmo Koei's Samurai Warriors series.

History
Dragged into a mysterious portal by-way-of a Victor Donovan's M.I.S.T. time-travelling experiment, the ruler of Japan’s Warring States era Ii Clan, Naotora Ii, emerges and stranded in present-day next to a competitor of the DEAD OR ALIVE fighting tournament. Given no other choice but to fight for her life, and keeping her family motto of ‘once on the battlefield, one must face the enemy head on’ in mind, a determined Naotora sets out to emerge victorious from this strange new challenge.

Development
Hisashi Koinuma, the producer of the Samurai Warriors series, wanted to answer fans' requests for new characters while appealing to the team's desire to include characters who could fit the multiple scenario options in the series main story mode. He comments that these characters feel as though they would not normally fit in a typical Samurai Warriors title. In Naotora's case, she was designed to be a contrast to previously established female characters in the series. The ladies in the cast more or less choose to fight, yet Naotora was conceptualized to be the woman forced against her will to battle. Koinuma remarks that this is derived from her historical inheritance as clan head, which seems as though it was imposed on her merely because she was the only surviving applicant. The developers are fond of her and call her "Naotora-chan".

She is visually modeled after Japanese actress Satomi Ishihara who Koinuma is noted to favor.

Appearance

 * See also: Naotora's Costumes 

Personality
Naotora is kind and optimistic but shy. She is habitually apologetic for any mishap she believes to have caused others, which even extends into battle against her enemies. She often remembers the words of her best friend, Tazu, or her great-grandfather, Naohira, for guidance. Her friend's words instill her with the bravery to fight; her ancestor is the all-knowing sage of their family creed to her. She is unfortunately unaware that Naohira has become a loon in his elderly years and is often misguided to do several violent and/or unnecessary deeds on his behalf. Her lack of tact has made the elders of the Ii clan shake their heads in shame. Their condemnation and her bashfulness doesn't cloud her selfless desire to persevere for Naomasa's sake.

Although she half-dreads her duties, Naotora feels very insecure of her giant proportions. She towers over other women and men, and awkwardly sticks out in crowds. Her showy battle attire embarrasses her, but she keeps it because Naohira told her to wear it for their family honor. She mistakenly believes herself to be ugly, clumsy, and brutish. When she isn't worried about the future of her clan, she fears the possibility of forever forsaking her chance to live a normal life of femininity.

Naotora is grateful to have someone understand her and feels safe with his reassurance. She often gains the courage to decide her clan's future through their private chats together. Naotora dotes on Naomasa and happily smothers him with affection. She frets when the daredevil antics from his playable counterpart offends others, often apologizing for him and voicing her faith in his honorable traits. Even when he reaches adulthood, she hasn't dropped her preference for calling him by his childhood name, Toramatsu, and struggles to correct herself. Naotora rejoices when Naomasa kindly permits her to keep using it.

Etymology
Naotora (直虎) is a masculine name that uses the "Nao" (直, "straight") passed on within the Ii family.

Gameplay

 * See also: Naotora's Command List 

Naotora Ii fights using powerful kicking attacks enhanced by the blades attached to the ankles of her metal combat boots.

Dead or Alive Series

 * Dead or Alive 5 Last Round (Playable DLC, only for Arcade; PS4; XONE and Steam/Windows, 2016)

Samurai Warriors
Samurai Warriors Naotora first appeared in the Japanese-only Samurai Warriors Chronicles 2nd as one of its three new characters. She is the Ii clan head who is new to her responsibilities. Her friend from the Iio family, Tazu, tells her to trust Ieyasu Tokugawa. She fights for the Tokugawa throughout the series to foster the infant Naomasa and to someday pass on clan leadership to him. Her same origin story and actions are repeated with few alterations in Samurai Warriors 4.

Samurai Warriors 4-II has her fight until Komaki-Nagakute, where she gladly passes on Ii clan leadership to a matured Naomasa and retires. The Women of War scenario addresses her low self-esteem with a group dance performance.

The same persona appears as DLC in Romance of the Three Kingdoms Maker.

Toukiden
Samurai Warriors Naotora and her son star in a Samurai Warriors event for the now-defunct Quiz Battle Toukiden social game. They appear as Mitama (departed heroes) and are aware that they are already dead. Naotora is more willing to help the nameless protagonist than her son, who leaves their saviors behind. She urges the protagonist to rescue Naomasa from danger and is happy when the duo get along.

Trivia

 * She is the first guest character to be originally from the first party company itself, and the first guest character in the 5th game not to be a guest character from third party Sega's Virtua Fighter.
 * Because of her hailing from the Samurai Warriors franchise, her debut set/DLC's release will coincide with the Samurai Warriors Collaboration DLC set.
 * Naotora Ii is currently the only female fighter in the Dead or Alive roster to be a confirmed mother (due to her being the mother of Naomasa Ii in the Samurai Warriors franchise), and one of only five characters in the roster to be confirmed parents (the only others being Bass Armstrong, Gen Fu, Shidane, and Raidou).