Demons

The demons^[1] (悪霊^?, Akuryō) (also known as Yokai (妖怪^[2]^?, Yokai), monsters^[3], ghouls^[4], evil spirits^[5] and marauding spirits^[6]) are the main antagonists of the Samurai Slice games in the Rhythm Heaven Series.

Story

Their first appearance was in Rhythm Tengoku, where they were known as Yokai (妖怪^?, Yokai). Here, they can be found wearing red Tengu-like masks.

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^[2].

They appear hopping towards him along a roof, and upon reaching him, the samurai would quickly draw his sword, slice their masks off, and sheate it again quickly. Humourously, the masks are shown to tear up after being sliced off.

Some yokai appear with a bigger mask, or flying in with propellers or wings, until the last batch, where four yokai move together to give the appearance of one large creature. In the middle of this, an ominous fog starts appearing, partially obscuring the samurai's view. At one point, they start attacking two at a time, and with more fog.

These monsters also appear in Samurai Slice in Rhythm Heaven, where the samurai slices their masks off once again. Here, they are shown to be rather squishy, as they get squished upon landing on the ground if the samurai messes up.

In Samurai Slice and in Rhythm Heaven Fever and Rhythm Heaven Megamix, the evil spirits are pitch-black creatures with hand-like claws and spiky teeth who cause all kinds of mischief. They create trouble by stealing precious items, such a pinwheel and a stuffed bunny. The Wandering Samurai once again appears to vanquish them. These demons either attack the samurai one at a time, within patterns, or in groups. Although they vary in size, with some carrying weapons, they all fall to a single slice.

In Super Samurai Slice in Rhythm Heaven Megamix, the demons resort to kidnapping women. The Wandering Samurai, who is travelling the lands of old to complete his training, ^[7] proceeds to slice every demon in his path to rescue the women. The villagers are left confused by the black debris on the ground, as the samurai did not stay for the recognition^[8]. The village scientists eventually figure out the debris comes from the monsters, and are mystified as the blue pieces are cool to the touch,^[9] but they are apparently more difficult to clean up^[10].

Appearances

Gallery

Artwork from Rhythm Tengoku
Solo artwork from Rhythm Tengoku
Solo artwork from Rhythm Tengoku
Solo artwork from Rhythm Tengoku
Solo artwork from Rhythm Tengoku
Solo artwork from Rhythm Tengoku
Sprite from Rhythm Heaven Fever
Demons 8 bit.png

Artwork from Rhythm Heaven Megamix

In Other Languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	<span class="tooltip" title="Yokai Akuryō" style="text-decoration: underline; text-decoration-style: dotted">妖怪悪霊	Yokai Evil Spirits
English^NOA	Demons
English^NOE	Demons
French	Démons^[11]
Spanish	Monstruos^[12] Demonios^[13]	Monsters Demons
Italian	Spiriti maligni^[14] Demoni^[15]	Evil spirits Demons
Korean	악령	Evil Spirits

References

↑ "So many unsliced demons!" ~ Demon Slayer, Rhythm Heaven Megamix
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 https://www.nintendo.co.jp/n08/brij/chara/stage02.html
↑ "Uh-oh! I sense a group of monsters lurking..." ~ Dialogue in Samurai Slice, Rhythm Heaven Fever
↑ "Uh-oh! I sense a group of ghouls coming..." ~ Dialogue in Samurai Slice, Beat the Beat: Rhythm Paradise
↑ "An army of evil spirits has invaded a peaceful village." ~ Samurai Slice description, Rhythm Heaven Fever
↑ "The lone samurai followed the marauding spirits to another of their victims." ~ Samurai Slice 2 description, Beat the Beat: Rhythm Paradise
↑ "I am a samurai traveling the lands of old to complete my training." ~ Dialogue in Super Samurai Slice, Rhythm Heaven Megamix
↑ "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
↑ "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
↑ "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 (Splash Pieces), Rhythm Tengoku: The Best Plus
↑ "Démons ou villageois, vous avez fait votre choix !" ~ "Chasseur de démons", Rhythm Paradise Megamix
↑ "Unos monstruos temibles han atacado una tranquila aldea." ~ "El samurái rebanador" description, Beat the Beat: Rhythm Paradise
↑ "¡Tantos demonios con los que acabar!" ~ "Cazademonios", Rhythm Paradise Megamix
↑ "Un'orda di spiriti maligni si sta avvicinando..." ~ Dialogue in Samurai Slice, Beat the Beat: Rhythm Paradise
↑ "Così tanti demoni da affettare, così tanti ostaggi da salvare..." ~ "Il cacciatore di demoni", Rhythm Paradise Megamix

[1] "So many unsliced demons!" ~ Demon Slayer, Rhythm Heaven Megamix

[chara-2] 2.0 ^2.1 https://www.nintendo.co.jp/n08/brij/chara/stage02.html

[3] "Uh-oh! I sense a group of monsters lurking..." ~ Dialogue in Samurai Slice, Rhythm Heaven Fever

[4] "Uh-oh! I sense a group of ghouls coming..." ~ Dialogue in Samurai Slice, Beat the Beat: Rhythm Paradise

[5] "An army of evil spirits has invaded a peaceful village." ~ Samurai Slice description, Rhythm Heaven Fever

[6] "The lone samurai followed the marauding spirits to another of their victims." ~ Samurai Slice 2 description, Beat the Beat: Rhythm Paradise

[7] "I am a samurai traveling the lands of old to complete my training." ~ Dialogue in Super Samurai Slice, Rhythm Heaven Megamix

[8] "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

[9] "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

[10] "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 (Splash Pieces), Rhythm Tengoku: The Best Plus

[11] "Démons ou villageois, vous avez fait votre choix !" ~ "Chasseur de démons", Rhythm Paradise Megamix

[12] "Unos monstruos temibles han atacado una tranquila aldea." ~ "El samurái rebanador" description, Beat the Beat: Rhythm Paradise

[13] "¡Tantos demonios con los que acabar!" ~ "Cazademonios", Rhythm Paradise Megamix

[14] "Un'orda di spiriti maligni si sta avvicinando..." ~ Dialogue in Samurai Slice, Beat the Beat: Rhythm Paradise

[15] "Così tanti demoni da affettare, così tanti ostaggi da salvare..." ~ "Il cacciatore di demoni", Rhythm Paradise Megamix

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