Samurai Shodown's Web of Relationships: Master-Disciple Feuds, Couples and Grudges That Never Fade

Fighting games usually get by with "rival" and "master" templates. Samurai Shodown actually weaves you a relationship web — master-disciple feuds, loves unto death, father-son bonds, sisterhood, it's all here.

The dojo: Haohmaru and Gaira Caffeine

Haohmaru and Gaira Caffeine trained under the same master. From their first day at the dojo they couldn't stand each other, and they've fought ever since without either giving ground. Gaira follows the crooked path, Haohmaru the straight one — one light, one dark, yet taught by the same man. That "classmates are rivals" setup makes every fight between them feel like settling an old score.

Couples: no love story here is easy

• Galford → Nakoruru: the textbook one-sided pursuit. Galford chases her the whole way; Nakoruru gives herself to nature — separated by life and death.
• Ukyo → Kei: the purest one. For a flower for her, Ukyo leaves his life in the demon realm.
• Haohmaru → Oshizu: the most exhausting. Haohmaru was stubborn for half his life, until a wounded rescue finally opened his eyes and the two made it.
• Charlotte → Haohmaru: unrequited. The French swordswoman loved him, saw him choose Oshizu, cut her hair and her feelings, and became a heroine of France.

Family: father and son, sisters

Hanzō spends an entire game hunting Amakusa to save his son, finally trading his wife's life for the boy's return. Nakoruru and her sister Rimururu are inheritors: the elder disappears to protect nature, the younger picks up the blade and walks the road her sister left unfinished.

The villain line: who is whose pawn

Amakusa thinks he's the mastermind, but the dark god Ambrosia sits above him; Mizuki Rashōjin is a warrior the dark god raised with its own hands; and Zankuro is an "oni" even Amakusa can't control. Villains scheming against each other — this "pawn within a pawn" structure makes Samurai Shodown's story far more chewable than the average fighting game.

Spread the web out and you'll find almost nobody in Samurai Shodown stands alone. Everyone carries a story on their back — which is why it's still worth retelling twenty-plus years later.