Galford and Hanzō Hattori: Two Roads of the Ninja in Samurai Shodown

Swordsmen fill most of Samurai Shodown's roster, but in popularity and story, the two ninjas hold their own. One is Galford, an American ninja who fights with a dog. The other is Hanzō Hattori, the Iga ninja chief carrying the weight of his clan. Two roads of the ninja, heading in completely different directions.

Galford: the lovesick ninja who chased from America to Japan

Galford is an American trained in Iga-style ninjutsu, with a dog named Papa running at his side. He may look foreign, but his fighting is solid — and the dog can bite for him. His real reason for being there isn't battle, though: he's chasing someone. He fell in love with Nakoruru.

From America to Edo, all the way to the demon realm. But Samurai Shodown II hands his devotion the cruelest ending: he can only watch as Nakoruru dissolves into light, powerless to stop her. Galford might be the unluckiest lovesick character in fighting games — but his devotion is genuine.

Hanzō Hattori: the ninja chief who gives everything for his son

Hanzō Hattori is the chief of the Iga ninja under the Tokugawa shogunate — high rank, and one of the few "men of the establishment" in Samurai Shodown. His tragedy is his son: when Amakusa returned, he stole the body of Hanzō's eldest son, Shinzō, turning a healthy boy into a vessel for the demon king.

To save his son, Hanzō hunts Amakusa across the whole game. In the end his wife Kaede pays with her life to pull the boy's soul back from the demon realm. The family is reunited — but one member is forever missing.

Two roads, two ninjas

Galford fights for love; Hanzō for family. One puts his feelings first, the other shoulders his duty. With these two, SNK wrote "ninja" as two completely different lives.

Old players still split into "Team Galford" and "Team Hanzō" — not over who's stronger, but over two ways of living, each with its own appeal.