Toroko Warriors/Thorn

Thorn is a playable character in Toroko Warriors, being one of the six playable third-party characters that can be downloaded for use in the game. An incredibly stubborn woman with a tough exterior that's hard to break, Thorn is a fun-loving Siren with extraordinary skill with knives and combat in general. Inside is a struggling spirit though, one that prompts her to run from problems and keep her negative thoughts to herself.

Thorn is blatantly an offense fighter, having intense skill with her fighting and her usage of knives. A gimmick mostly unique to her is her ability to ignore defenses with her knives, meaning that it's very difficult to resist attacks from Thorn. Thorn carries around a bunch of knives of varying sizes; true to her character she does not have any supernatural powers, with her abundance of knives replacing advanced techniques. She is designed to be simple to play, and rough on the battlefield.

Playstyle
Thorn is a tall character with an average weight, boasting decent statistics all around. Her average attack power is unusual for an offense character, but her ability to slice through and ignore defenses makes her very dangerous, her ability only ignored by Hokusai. It's not like her statistics remain average all in all; her statistics slightly change when she switches between different knives with the shoulder buttons. Each knife has a different purpose, some knives are heavier and stronger, and some knives have a certain gimmick to them that aids in battle. Thorn can wall jump, climb atop ledges, and use a grappling hook to swing from area to area, aiding her decent mobility.

A real strength about Thorn is that she can go all out without really needing to worry about her defense; her knife swings are blinding quick and it's easy to control the direction of where she swings. Her defense is slightly above average, able to take on various attacks, but strong moves and status can really cripple Thorn and require her to seek out supporting allies. Her various knives alter her statistics slightly, which can render her unpredictable and difficult to battle head-on. Her amazing reflexes from up close mean that her only threats are those that can fire at her from a distance, and even then she shouldn't have too much trouble approaching them.

A big advantage for Theron is her high athletic ability, having arguably the most of the playable characters. While she can wall jump, it's not even a necessity as she can straight up climb walls using her various knives. She can crawl under tight spaces, perform a double jump, and easily make her way up ropes. She is also capable of manning any unoccupied vehicle and making use of it. If there is a lock that prevents access to a room, not a problem: Thorn can use her knives to shatter the locks and make her way through. This means that Thorn is very good at hunting down her opponents, able to chase them wherever just by relying on her knife talents.

Something quite unique to Thorn is her ability to not become infatuated in any sense of the word, able to completely focus on whatever she's trying to do. As a contradiction, her charisma as a Siren somewhat influences opponents around her, their attacks don't do as much damage to Thorn as they would to others, stopping them from shattering her defenses. Allies that hang around Thorn long enough are also affected, their attacks strengthening and helping the team ward off groups of enemies. This makes Thorn highly appreciated when large groups are battling against each other, as Thorn can weaken enemies and power up her allies to defeat them.

Even though Thorn lacks supernatural powers, that doesn't mean that some of her knives don't! One of her knives sends forward shockwaves that tip over opponents, which can lead up to a knife-related combo attack. Another can be swung to form a weak tornado, which forces foes away from her and gives both her and her team room to battle. A third knife generates fire when swung, able to burn through enemies and help her slice through any ice-related obstacles. Her varying knives allows her to gain a literal edge on the battlefield, as it's not really certain what sorts of knives she'll be really using.

The idea that Thorn is all about swinging or tossing knives renders her simple to play, making her easy for anyone to use. However, she isn't without her flaws: her only decent statistics means that she doesn't really have the defense or speed to deal with various characters if her health is too low for combat. In particular, NULL, Crow and Corrina all threaten Thorn, with their speed outmatching hers and their attacks strong enough to cut holes through her. The biggest threats are Cosmetta and Ethereal though; their attacks are quick and they can make her life very difficult, especially the former who can reflect her knives straight back at her.

Thorn works well with allies thanks to her Siren-related abilities; weakening enemies and boosting allies close to her. While Thorn is for the most part a one-woman army, she will sometimes need assistance in taking down her usual threats. A good ally for Thorn is Syande; she can stall out Cosmetta and take down offense-based opponents for her and heal her with the blood she steals from them. In return, Thorn can crush the Iron Mask and the Mistake, two allies that Syande has a lot of trouble battling, and provide her with a Vampire Knife to take down foes that otherwise resist her biting attacks.

Thorn's FINALE is Knife Night, which has her take out all her knive and fire them out into the night sky, having them fall down on the battlefeild in great numbers, damaging opponents all across the arena. Their defense-piercing qualities mean that shields can't really do much against it either, meaning that the only way to avoid the attack is to reflect the knives, which is only an easy task as Cosmetta. To compensate, the knives that fall all have dull edges other than a couple, meaning that most of them don't do much damage but they can definitely weaken Thorn's enemies.

Her incredible offense and her automatic gimmicks make Thorn a great and often more-reliable-than-not ally, but she can be hampered by her unusually just-decent statistics. She is a shining star for any offensive based team, and a formidable guardian for defense-praising ones.

List of knives
"Knives" in this game is more or less a general term for "bladed weapons", meaning that it's not just knives that she can use. She can also utilize blades, sawblades, ninja stars, and swords. To switch through knives, the player must use the V² controller's thumbsticks, able to specifically choose a knife when pausing.


 * Butcher Knife: Deadly knife that is excellent at cutting through meat. Excellent at slicing through weakened foes, but it's a little difficult to swing around.
 * Butter Knife: A weak knife that increases Thorn's pride if it lands a final blow, increasing her strength. It has no real reason to be used otherwise.
 * Casey Bat: Not really a sharp-ended weapon at all, but this legendary weapon came straight out of Earthbound. If it hits, enormous damage, but 75% chance it'll whiff!
 * Char Blade: When swung, this knife will be set aflame, able to burn through plants and ice with utmost ease. Fast and strong, but easy to get carried away with.
 * Excalibur: A legendary sword with incredible offense, able to slice through anyone with absurd amounts of power.  It is also a good defensive tool, but really drags at Thorn's speed.
 * Final Knife: A cursed knife, it is meant to be Thorn's last resort. If she's on the verge of death, she can toss this to end the life of any foe -- but it'll take her down too!
 * Great White Tooth: This tooth can be thrusted into a foe to get them to begin bleeding out. It'll soon fall out, but Thorn can land the nail in the coffin by striking it hard.
 * Hunting Knife: This is Thorn's default knife, designed to cut through thick skin.  It does not add or subtract from her current statistics, making it a good and reliable tool.
 * Jerry, the Big Boy: Jerry is a knife with a very huge blade, making it near impossible to swing around, but offers a chance to instant kill if it goes through the heart of a foe.
 * Launcher: This heavy weapon fires standard knives, but severely decreases her speed and leaves her open to attacks. On the bright side, it really brings an assault.
 * Machete: A lightweight knife that is excellent at cutting through wood and light skin.  It's slightly weak and isn't a good defending tool, but comes out very fast.
 * Ninja Stars: Sharp tools that can replace knives if physical battling is a problem. They come out fast but severely lack in offense.  If stuck to walls, they can be climbed.
 * Pointy Shield: A shield made from knives, Thorn can swing this wheel around to defend herself and damage those who touch the giant weapon. It severely hinders her speed, though.
 * Saw Blades: Thorn swings these around like yo-yos. They're very difficult to land but do a bunch of damage upon contact with most enemies.
 * Thunder Shocker: This electrocuted long knife slightly damages Thorn while she's holding it. When launched, it'll shock and knock any foe it hits unconscious.
 * Vampire Knife: This tool is very fast to swing around and absorbs blood from opponents to heal herself or nearby allies, but leaves her with little defense.
 * Wave Blade: Swung across the ground, the Wave Blade sends powerful shockwaves that knock over opponents they hit. Very fast and easy to control, but wields no offensive power.
 * Whirricane: This knife creates mini-tornadoes when swung, sending opponents off and away from Thorn. It's very lightweight so it's not a good offense tool, but it's very fast.
 * Zipper Sword: A very straight sword that can easily jab through the air, but leaves her open to attacks and it isn't too strong. It's just really easy to land.

Standard

 * "A determined and stubborn Siren that will basically do whatever it takes to accomplish her missions. Yet, under her rather friendly and optimistic surface, she is a paranoid woman that bottles up her feelings around others and feels insecure when her freedom is threatened.  But the amazing thing about her is how much crap she pulls through on a daily basis!"

Alt

 * "Knives, knives, and more knives is Thorn's kind of playstyle. It's not even just knives, she can also use a few swords and even ninja stars to tackle her foes.  These knives come with varying advantages and can give Thorn all sorts of different tactics on the battlefield.  Her ability to pierce nearly any defense makes up for otherwise mediocre statistics."

FINALE

 * "Knife Night forces a nighttime sky over the battlefield, launching thousands of knives into the air with her Launcher weapon! While most of those knives are dull and don't do much damage, they can rack up lots of damage in no-time flat, making it difficult to survive in these heated twenty seconds, especially as Thorn's allies don't receive any damage themselves."