The Wandering Samurai

"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, much like Karate Joe, and others. He is well known for his quick slice technique.

The Wandering Samurai

Image

File:Samurai www.png
Artwork from Rhythm Heaven Megamix

Appears in

Rhythm Tengoku
Rhythm Heaven
Rhythm Heaven Fever
Rhythm Heaven Megamix

Backstory

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.

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 bunny toy which he bought for his daughter, that was stolen by the marauding spirits.

Sometime after that, 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. It is unclear where these events take place in relation to the general story.

Appearances

• File:Samurai Slice icon.png Iai Giri
• File:2nd Remix icon.png Remix 2
• File:6th Remix icon.png Remix 6
• File:7th Remix icon.png Remix 7
• File:8th Remix icon.png Remix 8
• File:EndlessGameSamuraiSliceIcon.gif Samurai Slice
• File:Samurai Slice Wii 3DS icon.png Samurai Slice
• File:Remix 4 Wii icon.png Remix 4
• File:Samurai Slice 2 icon.png Samurai Slice 2
• File:Remix 8 Wii icon.png Remix 8
• File:Remix 10 wii icon.png Remix 10
• File:Samurai Slice 3DS icon.png Super Samurai Slice
• File:Samurai Slice 2 3DS icon.png Super Samurai Slice 2
• File:Right Remix icon.png Right-Hand Remix
• File:Final Remix icon.png Final Remix

Gallery

• 

  Artwork from Rhythm Tengoku

• 

  Artwork from Rhythm Tengoku

• 

  Artwork for Samurai Slice 2 from Rhythm Heaven Fever

• Wandering Samurai is 2.png

  Artwork for Samurai Slice 2 from Rhythm Heaven Fever

• Korean samurai.png

  Artwork for Samurai Slice 2 from Rhythm World Wii

• 

  Official towel distributed by Club Nintendo Japan.

• Samurai www.png

  Artwork for Samurai Slice from Rhythm Heaven Megamix

• Samurai 8 bit.png

  Artwork for Super Samurai Slice from Rhythm Heaven Megamix

• Korean Warrior 1.png

  Artwork for Samurai Slice from Rhythm World: The Best+

• Figure ctrDotSamurai L (KR).png

  Artwork for Super Samurai Slice from Rhythm World: The Best+

• Game & Wario Samurai.png

  The Wandering Samurai in Game & Wario

• Screenshot (144).png

  Cameo in Kat & Ana's trailer for WarioWare Gold

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.

No.	Image	Name	Type	Class	Slots	Ability
1,193		The Wandering Samurai		★★	2	Can be Enhanced at Lv. 99
1,194		Wandering Samurai (Rhythm Heaven Fever) Wandering Samurai (Beat the Beat)		★★★	2	Critical Hit ↑

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 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+ also feature the Wandering Samurai in traditional Korean clothing instead of Japanese, albiet using a different design.

In Other Languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	虎伝 立國 (こでん りっこく)	Legendary Warrior
EnglishNOA	The Wandering Samurai
EnglishNOE	Samurai Steve The Wandering Samurai
French	Samouraï errant	Wandering samurai
Spanish	Samurái rebanador	Samurai slicer
Italian	Il samurai errante	The wandering samurai
Dutch	De zwervende samoerai	The wandering samurai
Russian	Бродячий самурай	Wandering samurai
ChineseSI	The Wandering Samurai
Korean	방랑 무사	The Wandering Warrior