Lei Kugo
“And you don't look all that respectable either...Thought a girl'd be easy prey, huh? Think again!
”
—Lei Kugo, upon attacking you in the final chapter
Lei Kugo (or Li Kuugo in the fan translation) is a main character and one of the protagonists in The Successor chapter. Along with Hong and Yun, she's one of the possible successors to the Shifu's dojo and his Earthen Heart kung fu mastery. She represents the martial arts of the skill or spirit.
Profile
Appearance
Lei is a tall and slim woman with long brown hair and two braids. She has a dark eyes and a scar on her face. Lei wears a pair of black shoes, red pants (although her sprite portrays her with black pants) and a long pink robe held by a yellow cloth belt.
Personality
When introduced, Lei is a tough and short-tempered woman committing banditry in the bamboo forest. After her attempt to mug the shifu results in failure, she agrees to become one of his disciples to learn what she'll need to get even. However, as the story progresses, the harsher aspects of her temperament sooth as she learns and matures. She takes the teachings of the Earthen Heart Shifu to heart, and after his death, she addresses his grave, telling him how she feels she's matured, though she admits she's still working on her temper. She's not sure she'll ever be as calm and collected as her master, but is determined to improve herself.
After Oersted's defeat in the final chapter, Lei explains her perspective to him, noting how envious she was of others, and unable to see how hard those others had to work to achieve what they had, as well as how much additional work failed to yield the results desired. Unlike Oersted, who succumbed to his envy and hate, Lei overcame her envy, recognizing that one isn't entitled to have whatever they want, and there are some things that, no matter how hard one works for them, can never be had.
Background
During The Successor
Lei was a lone bandit lurking around the bamboo forest, stealing from unfortunate travelers. One fateful day, she has a run in with the Earthen Heart Shifu who she attempts to mug only to get beaten. Rather than berate her though, the Shifu sees talent in her and offers to train her in exchange for her abandoning the life of the bandit. Frustrated over being beaten but interested, Lei accepts the offer.
Alongside Yun and Hong, Lei begins her training under the Shifu. When the Shifu leaves to handle Sun Tzu Wang in the market, in his absence, the dojo is ransacked. If Lei is not the most trained student of the three or is tied with Hong, her story ends here with her death.
If she is the most trained student, the Shifu finds her injured but alive as she reveals that the Indomitable Fist attacked the dojo while he was away, the two of them finding Yun and Hong dead shortly after. With this, the Shifu teaches Lei his most powerful technique, Heavenly Peaks Descent, before leaving to face the Indomitable Fist. However, Lei, wanting to settle a score with them herself as well as feeling responsible for the deaths of Yun and Hong, joins the Shifu. Together, they fight their way into the Indomitable Fist's domain to find its leader, Ou Di Wan Lee, who forces them to fight his most powerful martial artists. After beating them all, Ou Di Wan Lee then reveals he also has assassins to kill them. With this, the Shifu tells Lei to fight Ou Di Wan Lee in his place while he deals with the assassins.
Thanks to the Shifu's training and the power of Heavenly Peaks Descent, Lei manages to successfully defeat Ou Di Wan Lee and avenge Yun and Hong. However, she finds the Shifu dying after dealing with the assassins. He tells Lei that he is proud of her before passing. Later on, Lei breaks the boulder atop Mount Aspiration, proving herself a worthy successor and solidifying her status as the new Earthen Heart Master.
During The Dominion of Hate
If Lei is the Earthen Heart Master, she will be sent to the middle ages by Odio, being warped to the summit of The Last Hero's Grave in front of the hero's tombstone, where the Brion can be found. If she isn't selected as the main protagonist for the final chapter, then she challenges the party leader to a fight and joins the team after she's defeated.
After beating Odio and freeing Oersted from his own hate, if Lei is the protagonist, she will comment on how Oersted's plight reminds her of what she was like before she met the Shifu. After being sent home, the epilogue reveals she has started a class, training more students in the Earthen Heart.
Bad Endings
If Oersted is finished off after Purity of Odio's defeat, a concerned Lei can only utter "Tell me that I did it right, old man..." Since Oersted was killed too early, the Lord of Dark's hatred is free to continue the cycle, and Lei along with the other six heroes are presumably trapped in Lucrece.
If Oersted was chosen for the Dominion of Hate, the empowered Ou Di Wan Lee kills the last remaining vestiges of Earthen Heart, rendering her struggles all for naught.
Voice
Trivia
- Lei's personality and name are based off of Bruce Lee, an actor and martial artist known for his movies and prowess in martial arts.
- She is also based off Sun Wukong, one of the three disciples in the novel Journey to the West.
- Lei has the highest Speed trait among the main heroes.
- Her speed is demonstrated during the course of the game, where she's seen moving so fast in the bamboo forest just like it was a blur.
- Lei is one of only two female playable characters in the game, the other being Beru, and is the only female character who can be used in the final chapter.
- If Lei is the lead character in the final chapter, Pogo will voluntarily join the party without having to fight him.
- Lei consistently refers to her master as ‘old man’ except for his death scene where she addresses him as ‘shifu’.
| Imperial China: The Successor |
|---|
| Characters |
| Earthen Heart Kung Fu (Earthen Heart Shifu • Yun Jou • Lei Kugo • Hong Hakka) • Indomitable Fist (Sun Tzu Wang • Ou Di Wan Lee) |
| Locations |
| Mount Aspiration • Wong Village • Yunfa Market • Bamboo Forest • Indomitable Fist Fortress |
| Enemies |
| Wild Tiger • Hot-Headed Lackey • Indomitable Fist Disciple A • Indomitable Fist Disciple B • White Tiger • Chun Chun Pai • San Xi • Su Xi • Yi Xi • Er Xi • Tong Cha • Shan Cha • Nan Cha • Pei Cha • Chan • Lin • Xian • Yi Pei Kou |
| Music |
| Unto the Birds the Heavens, unto the Fish the Seas • The Shifu Descends from the Mount • Clash in China |
| Transcripts |
| 2022 (English) |
| Final Chapter: The Dominion of Hate |
|---|
| Characters |
| Pogo • Earthen Heart Master (Yun Jou • Lei Kugo • Hong Hakka) • The Sundown Kid • Oboromaru • Masaru Takahara • Akira Tadokoro • Cube • Oersted • Odio |
| Locations |
| Seat of the Betrayers • Silent Wood • Condemned Village • The Last Hero's Grave • The Archon's Roost • Trials (Instinct • Skill • Time • Keys • Power • Heart • Wisdom) |
| Enemies |
| Xavier • Polydectes • Oedipus • Daedalus • Teil Queen • Pawnbert • Ruby Tyrant • Cerberus • Lightbringer • Souleater • Dreadbulb • Phantom Rider • Deathfist Disciple • Chrono Legionary • Ravenous Bear • Nekomata • Mecha-Satake 98 • Earthshaker • Entomophilia • Claustrophilia • Babaliyan • Grand Visages • Dragon Killer • Ishtar • Glasya Labolas • Tsunayoshi • Pup Lord • Grammoth • Pistachio • Titanblood • Riftwalker Genzaemon • Roly Poly • Ship of Horrors • Acrophilia • Scotophilia • Hygrophilia • Helios Hound • Darkwall • Shadow • Lucretius • The Bountiful Heart • Jaggedy Jacks • Apophisphilo • Euraokos • Death Prophet • Headhunter • Eyes of Odio • Maw of Odio • Brow of Odio • Purity of Odio • Arm of Odio (Left) • Arm of Odio (Right) • Sin of Odio |
| Music |
| The Dominion of Hate • Silent Labyrinth • Illusion • Pure Odio • Armageddon • Live over Again • Live for Live • Gigalomania |
| Transcripts |
| 2022 (English) • 1994 (English, Japanese) |