The Wandering Samurai

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There are roads that a samurai must travel.

— The Wandering Samurai, Rhythm Heaven Fever
The Wandering Samurai
Image
[[File:File:Samurai www.png|frameless|400x270px]]
Artwork from Rhythm Heaven Megamix
Appears in


The Wandering Samurai (虎伝こでん 立國りっこく?, Koden Rikkoku), also known as Samurai Steve in Beat the Beat: Rhythm Paradise, is a recurring character in the franchise, and appears in all four games in the series, much like Karate Joe, Hair Vegetables, and the Widgets. He is well known for his quick slice technique.[1]

Backstory

The Wandering Samurai is devoted to the samurai code of Bushido and has a generally poor sense of direction[2]. His tale has been passed down through the ages. With no clear record left, no one is sure what his real name actually was.

Demon Tengu .png

Back then, Yokai would often invaded the village. They say they didn't actually attack people, but when people 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.[1]

In a side story, the samurai stays at a village to slice watermelons, fish and yokai to feed the local children.

Pinwheel Girl.png

The samurai wanders further, and as the sun dips below the horizon, the Wandering Samurai 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 hodling 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. Later, 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 bunny toy which he bought for his daughter, that was stolen by the maurading spirits.

8-bit village girl.png

Sometime after that, the samurai travels the lands of old to complete his training[3], 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[4]. 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 mistified as the blue pieces are cool to the touch[5], but they are apparently more difficult to clean up[6].

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 occuring inside. The Wandering Samurai also makes an appearance in Game & Wario, where he takes on a part-time job at a fish factory. It is unclear where these events take place in relation to the general story.

Appearances

Gallery

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.
  • His name, Koden Rikkoku, derives from an anagram of Rhythm Tengoku.
  • In Rhythm World, the samurai's clothes were made to look more like a "pojol" (Korean police during the Chosun period). Rhythm World Wii and Rhythm World: The Best Plus also feature the Wandering Samurai in traditional Korean clothing instead of Japanese.
  • The Wandering Samurai makes a cameo during Kat & Ana's preview for WarioWare Gold.
  • The Wandering Samurai makes a minor appearance as a spirit in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, where he can only be obtained via summoning, and he can be enhanced into Wandering Samurai (Rhythm Heaven Fever) at level 99.

In Other Languages

Language Name Meaning
Flag of Japan.svg Japanese 虎伝 立國 (こでん りっこく) Legendary Warrior
Flag of the United States.svg EnglishNOA The Wandering Samurai
Flag of the United Kingdom (3-5).svg EnglishNOE Samurai Steve[7]
The Wandering Samurai[8]
Flag of France (1794–1815, 1830–1974, 2020–present).svg French Samouraï errant Wandering samurai
Flag of Spain.svg Spanish Samurái rebanador Samurai slicer
Flag of Italy.svg Italian Il samurai errante The wandering samurai
Flag of the Netherlands.svg Dutch De zwervende samoerai[9] The wandering samurai
Flag of Russia.svg Russian Бродячий самурай[9] Wandering samurai
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg ChineseSI The Wandering Samurai[9]
Flag of South Korea.svg Korean 방랑 무사 The Wandering Warrior

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 https://www.nintendo.co.jp/n08/brij/chara/stage02.html
  2. "I am called the Wandering Samurai, due to my devotion to the samurai code of Bushido and my generally poor sense of direction." ~ Picky Eaters' Song
  3. "I am a samurai traveling the lands of old to complete my training." ~ Dialogue in Super Samurai Slice, Rhythm Heaven Megamix
  4. "After every full moon, there are piles of this stuff lying all over the village. No one knows that the samurai is saving them, but he doesn't do it for the recognition." ~ Rhythm Item description for Super Samurai Slice, Rhythm Heaven Megamix
  5. "After much research, the village scientists figured out the black debris is from monsters. They're mystified by these blue pieces that are so cool to the touch, though." ~ Rhythm Item description for Super Samurai Slice 2, Rhythm Heaven Megamix
  6. "黒いヤツは、オバケのカケラだと分かったけど、この青いヤツは、いまだナゾのまま。さわるとヒンヤリしてて、キモチイイ。この青いカケラ、黒いのにくらべて、そうじがタイヘンなもんだから、そうじ係のおきぬ、おこってたよ。" (We found out that the black one is a piece of a monster, but this blue one is still a mystery. When you touch it, it feels nice and tingly. This blue piece is much more difficult to clean than the black one, so the cleaning staff was very upset.) ~ Rhythm Item description for Super Samurai Slice 2, Rhythm Tengoku: The Best Plus
  7. Beat the Beat: Rhythm Paradise
  8. Rhythm Paradise Megamix
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 Super Smash Bros. Ultimate