The Wandering Samurai

There are roads that a samurai must travel. There are mountains that a samurai must climb.

The Wandering Samurai (虎伝こでん 立國りっこく), also known as Samurai Steve in Beat the Beat: Rhythm Paradise, is a recurring character in the Rhythm Heaven Series, and appears in all four games. He is well known for his quick slice technique.

Story
The Wandering Samurai earns his name from his devotion to the samurai code of Bushido and his generally poor sense of direction. His tale has been passed down through the ages. With no clear record left, no one is sure what his real name actually was.

Back in the day, Yokai would often invade the village. They say they didn't actually attack people, but when they stumble upon them at night they get a big fright, so they were reasonably scared. Out of concern for those people, The Wandering Samurai went to slice all of those pesky monsters.

In a side story, the samurai stays at a village to slice watermelons, fish and yokai to feed the local children. During this story, the moon occassionally shows the number 555-SAMURAI. Dialing it on the Phone plays sound effects of the samurai fighting Yokai.

As the Samurai wanders, the sun dips below the horizon, and he rests his weary body under a tree on the grounds of an old temple. He proceeds to sing the Picky Eaters' Song as he sleeps, and wakes up to two children, one holding a pinwheel, and the other holding a rice ball. Their mother asked them to offer the rice ball to the samurai, who graciously accepts it, and finds the taste similar to how his own mother used to make them. While thinking about how to repay them, he stumbles upon the kids in distress, as their pinwheel was stolen by Demons. In the name of justice, the samurai follows the demons to a cliff, where he proceeds to slice them all until getting the pinwheel back. The samurai wanders further into a city, where he helps a businessman recover a stuffed bunny that was stolen by the marauding spirits.

At some point, the samurai travels the lands of old to complete his training, and at that moment, the demons kidnap a lady walking through the streets. He proceeds to slice every demon in his path to rescue her. The villagers are left confused by the black debris on the ground, as the samurai did not stay for the recognition.

At some point, the demons strike again and kidnap four ladies at once, with the samurai once again slicing many demons along the way to save them. This time he even gets a ride from Mister Eagle and uses a lightning bolt technique. The village scientists eventually figure out the debris comes from the monsters, and are mystified as the blue pieces are cool to the touch, but they are apparently more difficult to clean up.

In all of the Remixes the samurai has appeared in, he is seen protecting the village he wandered into for a little while longer before continuing on his journey. In Remix 4 from Rhythm Heaven Fever specifically, he is seen protecting a castle from the Demons, while a Wrestler interview and sorting job seem to be occurring inside. The Wandering Samurai also makes an appearance in Game & Wario, where he takes on a part-time job at a fish factory.

Appearances

 * Game GBA 2-2.png Iai Giri
 * Game GBA 2-6.png Remix 2
 * Game GBA 6-6.png Remix 6
 * Game GBA 7-6.png Remix 7
 * Game GBA 8-6.png Remix 8
 * Game DS E-4.gif Samurai Slice
 * Game DS T-2.gif Phone (cameo)
 * Game 3DS rvlSamurai L.png Samurai Slice
 * Game Wii 4-5.png Remix 4
 * Game Wii 8-1.png Samurai Slice 2
 * Game Wii 8-5.png Remix 8
 * Game Wii 10-5.png Remix 10
 * Game Wii T-2.gif Police Call (cameo)
 * Game 3DS ctrDotsamurai L.png Super Samurai Slice
 * Game 3DS ctrDotsamurai A.png Super Samurai Slice 2
 * Game 3DS remix 06 2.png Right-Hand Remix
 * Game 3DS remix TED 2.png Final Remix

In Super Smash Bros.
The Wandering Samurai appears in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as a spirit, depicting him in his Samurai Slice design from Rhythm Heaven Megamix, which can be enhanced into his design from Samurai Slice 2 in Rhythm Heaven Fever. He is only ontaibable by Summoning, and therefore cannot be fought.

Trivia

 * The Wandering Samurai has appeared as a playable character in 16 different games through the series, while Karate Joe appears in 23 games (excluding cameos).
 * The Wandering Samurai and the Flippers are the two characters to have printed towels that could be bought from Club Nintendo Japan in December 2012.
 * In Rhythm Heaven Fever, the game Samurai Slice ends with a "To be continued..." message displayed on the screen, and Samurai Slice 2 ends with a "The End" message. In Rhythm Heaven Megamix, the game Samurai Slice stills ends with a "To be continued..." message, despite that Samurai Slice 2 is not present in this game. It can be inferred that Super Samurai Slice and Super Samurai Slice 2 are the continuation instead, and so it can also be inferred that Samurai Slice 2 may take place after them.
 * In Rhythm World, the samurai's clothes were made to look more like a "pojol" (Korean police during the Joseon period). He was also given a beard. Rhythm World Wii and Rhythm Sesang: The Best+ also feature the Wandering Samurai in this outfit, albiet with a headband instead of a hat and without the beard. His design is changed further in Samurai Slice 2, going from a lightning-based rework of his normal outfit in other versions to a new outfit with a hat decorated with lightning blots, and sporting the beard once again, in Rhythm World Wii.
 * Despite this, the Official Game Trailer for Rhythm Sesang: The Best+ and the samurai's Spirits in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate use the same artwork as in all other regions, with the Japanese clothing.