Yojimbo (用心棒 Yōjinbō), also referred to as Bodyguards, are common enemy generics.
Description
Former samurai and ronin warriors, these mercenaries work alone and are usually hired as high-level bodyguards and elite soldiers. Yojimbo are easily distinguished by their dark green clothing and calm demeanor, usually seen leaning against walls or casually strolling the area. They barely speak outside of combat and do not maintain a consistent patrol, making them difficult to locate in advance and avoid encountering during the course of a mission, with the subsequent battle proving challenging for the player.
Once a warlord becomes rich enough they will start hiring Yojimbo often. Since Yojimbo do not rely on warlords for provisions, it's not possible for the player to weaken them through the destruction of supply convoys.
In Way of the Ninja, Goh may also hire one yojimbo to protect his hut from barbarian and ninja attacks.
They are the target of high-level Total Destruction missions, special Assassination missions and might send the player a Duel request once in a while. Also, they will start appearing as non-mission related enemies once a warlord achieves enough military buildups.
They are playable as a skin model for Goh.
Fighting a Yojimbo
Yojimbo are very dangerous opponents to face directly, they boast one of the highest damage rates in the game, tieing with Samurai Generals and second only to Bears and some warlords, while also having movement and action speed comparable to the Kenobi and Mosu; be aware that an enemy Yojimbo in Hard or Very Hard difficulty will kill you if you so much as get caught in his six-slash combo once. Fortunately, the Yojimbo have many shortcomings: they have low HP comparable to common Soldiers, don't use items of any kind and won't call reinforcements.
You can easily weaken a Yojimbo with Spheres or distract them with Karakuri Chicks or Lizards, but they won't fall to poisoned Sushi and can't be weakened by low rations like Soldiers.
Yojimbo have no set patrol, they will simply find a wall to lean on and stay there. If something piques their attention they will slowly move towards the source of the sound, and either return to their previous post or move to a nearby wall if they don't see anything. If they are alerted of suspicious activity though they will move running towards the source. To Stealth Kill a Yojimbo it's suggested to make him move from his patrol position to facilitate a Stealth Kill from the air or from behind.
Yojimbo Moveset:
- Iaijutsu lunge
- Six slash combo
- Rising swipe
Changes in Shinobido 2
Yojimbo remain almost completely unchanged in Revenge of Zen. The only difference, a most insignificant one at that, is that they now wear a straw hat.
Like in the last game, Yojimbos are playable as a skin for Zen.