Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Samurai Shodown VI - The Path of Haohmaru

Haohmaru is about to face off in the finals against eternal nemesis Genjuro.

Genjuro: Oh yes! Our time has come at last!
Haohmaru: Time for me to cleave you from this existence!
Genjuro: Silence, my quarry! You will be consumed by my fury!
Haohmaru: I will remember happily how I killed you.

Haohmaru emerges victorious.

Haohmaru: Your destiny is decided. Your fight is noble, but futile.
Genjuro: Your mind games are inspired, but you fool only yourself!
Haohmaru: Your history is already written. Your weakness is legendary.

A new enemy appears out of nowhere.

Haohmaru: I do not comprehend what I am seeing!

The uninvited foe, randomly selected out of the four bosses from previous installments, arrives to pick a fight with the legendary warrior.

Haohmaru: This fight annoys me!! But if I must, I will dispatch you.

Haohmaru makes short work of the boss.

Haohmaru: You cannot avoid me. I will be everywhere. Attack me now!!

The real final boss, Demon Gaoh, takes over.

Demon Gaoh: I am the lord of all demons, and I only fight the strongest.
My sword will rule both the mortal world and the demon world!!!
Reveal to me your SAMURAI SPIRIT!

Haohmaru and Demon Gaoh battle in Hell. The fighting ends in one more victory for Haohmaru.

Haohmaru: History will remember me as the greatest warrior.
Power is a strange feeling. I must meditate upon it.
This land is broad and the world is vast!
My destiny lies beyond this place.
Perhaps I will find a battle worth fighting.

Haohmaru meets with his master, Caffeine Nicotine.

Nicotine: Haohmaru, you've met your destiny. The rest is up to you.
Haohmaru: Master My future is the fruit of your teachings.
Kyoshiro (who is there for no apparent reason): Hey, dude, it's been great, you know?
Haohmaru: Whatever my future will be, remember me sometimes.
I will fight the devils in hell in the hereafter.
So long. My samurai spirit is eternal.

Haohmaru runs into his longtime lover, Oshizu.

Oshizu: My master, my love Haohmaru.
Haohmaru: Oshizu.
Oshizu: Without you, I am nothing.
Haohmaru: You are not strong enough for the journey. I must go alone.
Oshizu: Please, don't leave me, Haohmaru, please.
Haohmaru: A warrior can't be encumbered with love. It'll dull my blade.

Haohmaru runs off.

Epilogue
Recorded history leaves us nothing more than legends concerning the path Haohmaru took. there are unconfirmed stories of a great warrior who traveled the lands fighting for justice.
there are some who say he fathered many children, and his blood runs in the veins of kings.

* * * * *

In other business, I should retract my previous criticism of the game's audio. As it turns out, the muffled quality is only present with certain characters, such as Haohmaru. What's more, on further inspection, the game actually offers a choice between two sets of voices. I had been playing with the new arranged voice clips recorded specially for the console versions. Setting it to the original arcade voices, Haohmaru's speech is much clearer. It's all rather counterintuitive, and I obviously don't have time to check every character, but so far, the arcade audio sounds like the way to go.

1 comment: