The Wandering Samurai

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"There are roads that a samurai must travel."
— The Wandering Samurai, Rhythm Heaven Fever

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 Rhythm Heaven Series, and appears in all four games. He is well known for his quick slice technique.[1]

Story

The Wandering Samurai earns his name from his devotion to the samurai code of Bushido and his 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 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.[1]

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.

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 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.

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 mystified 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 occurring 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

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.

No. 1193
Wandering Samurai Spirit.png
The Wandering Samurai
Attack
★★ ADVANCED 2 Can be Enhanced at Lv. 99 Summon with cores from Sakura Samurai and Ghosts
No. 1194
Wandering Samurai Fever Spirit.png
Flag of the United States.svg Wandering Samurai (Rhythm Heaven Fever)
Flag of the United Kingdom (3-5).svg Wandering Samurai (Beat the Beat)
Attack
★★★ ACE 2 Critical Hit ↑ Enhancing The Wandering Samurai

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 Japanese name, Koden Rikkoku, derives from an anagram of Rhythm Tengoku.
  • In Rhythm Sesang, the samurai's clothes were made to look more like a "pojol" (Korean police during the Chosun period). Rhythm Sesang Wii and Rhythm Sesang: The Best+ also feature the Wandering Samurai in traditional Korean clothing instead of Japanese, albiet using a different design.
    • Despite this, the samurai's Spirits in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate use the same artwork as every other region, with the Japanese clothing.

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
Wandering Samurai[7]
Flag of the United Kingdom (3-5).svg EnglishNOE Samurai Steve
The Wandering Samurai[8]
Wandering Samurai[7]
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg FrenchNOA Samouraï errant[7] Wandering samurai
Flag of France (1794–1815, 1830–1974, 2020–present).svg FrenchNOE Samouraï errant Wandering samurai
Flag of Mexico.svg SpanishNOA Samurái rebanador[7] Samurai slicer
Flag of Spain.svg SpanishNOE Samurái rebanador Samurai slicer
Flag of Germany.svg German Klingenmeister Blademaster
Flag of Italy.svg Italian Il samurai errante The wandering samurai
Flag of the Netherlands.svg Dutch De zwervende samoerai[7] The wandering samurai
Flag of Russia.svg Russian Бродячий самурай[7] Wandering samurai
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg ChineseSI The Wandering Samurai
Wandering Samurai[7]
Flag of the Republic of China.svg ChineseTR The Wandering Samurai
Wandering Samurai[7]
Flag of South Korea.svg Korean 방랑 무사 The Wandering Warrior

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 キャラクターアルバム ステージ2 (Character Album Stage 2)
  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, Rhythm Heaven Fever
  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." ~ Monster Debris, 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." ~ Splash Debris, 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.) ~ 水しぶきのカケラ (Splashing Pieces), Rhythm Tengoku: The Best+
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7 Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
  8. "The Wandering Samurai has been standing up to evil for a long, long time." ~ Super Samurai Slice description, Rhythm Paradise Megamix (English)