- "Remember the name Haohmaru in the afterlife!"
- — Haohmaru
Haohmaru (覇王丸, Haōmaru; also can be written as "Haoumaru") is the protagonist of SNK's Samurai Shodown series and one of the series's most known characters, the other being Nakoruru.
Haohmaru was released in Soulcalibur VI as a DLC guest fighter for Season Pass 2 on March 31, 2020.
His nickname is Ronin Vagabond.
Biography[]
Soulcalibur VI[]
“You who are strong of spirit, I require you and your powerful soul. . .”
Just as he narrowly wrenched victory from the jaws of death, Haohmaru heard a mysterious voice speak directly in his mind. When he demanded to know who addressed him, however, he was met with silence. As if trying to pin down the figureless voice with his gaze, he looked every which way, and it was only then that he realized he was on Gairyu Isle. His last memory was fighting a duel to the death in a place far away from this island. Even so, his trusty blade Fugudoku still bore the signs of having freshly cut down an enemy.
Deciding he’d much rather act than stay put, Haohmaru headed toward the place he last remembered being. But something felt strange, and it wasn’t long before Haohmaru discovered the source of that uneasiness: he had been transported roughly two hundred years before his own birth, to the era of Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s rule.
Recalling the voice that had brought about this curious incident, Haohmaru puzzled over why he of all people had been chosen. Yet this era, still alive with the tumultuous climate of the Sengoku Period, felt comfortable to him. He met many warriors brimming with vigor, and crossed swords with not a few of them.
Eventually, whispers of the Soul Edge, the strongest blade in the world, reached Haohmaru’s ears. He hadn’t ever heard of something so incredible in his own time–
“The one who wields Soul Edge is the most powerful warrior of this realm, yet they do not exist in your world. But with your skill, you could match blades. . .”
The mysterious voice echoed in his mind again.
“Quit your yapping! I’m not about to let some disembodied voice order me around!”
Haohmaru immediately shook off the voice. However, he could not ignore how his blood stirred with excitement at the thought of facing off against the strongest warrior in this turbulent period in history. . .
Physical Appearance[]
Haohmaru is a muscular well-built man with wild long black hair tied into a large mane.
Personality[]
Confident in his abilities, Haohmaru enjoys the thrill of fighting against strong opponents. Seeking enlightenment with each encounter, he constantly journeys in order to improve himself. As he gets older, he feels less inclined to fight and will try to avoid it if possible.
Outside of battle, Haohmaru is a crude but easy-going man, caring only for sake and food. He has a romantic interest in a simple girl named Oshizu ("O" added as an honorific prefix).
Costumes[]
Haohmaru's first costume is his classic appearance in all of the Samurai Shodown games, sans Samurai Shodown: Warriors Rage. He wears a white samurai haori with the sleeves rolled up to his shoulders and triangular, black trim. The haori is tied at the waist with a red sash (uwa-obi). Haohmaru also wears matching hakama with black trim and tattered hems, white tabi-socks, straw samurai sandals (or waraji), and red wraps around each wrist.
His second outfit recolors his outfit red resembling one of his alternate color schemes from his home series.
His third outfit recolors his outfit blue, yet another color option from his series.
His fourth outfit gives him a black outfit and white hair. Possibly loosely based on his Bust variation, Rasetsumaru.
Weapon & Fighting Style[]
Fugudoku[]
A sturdy sword crafted on a certain master swordsman’s whims. On its blade is inscribed the phrase “Namu Amida Butsu.” Its great length and the density of the ore used in its forging give it an abnormally heavy weight, making it difficult for the average samurai to lift, let alone draw from its sheath. Rumors eventually spread that even demons could not wield it freely, and soon Fugudoku was entrusted to the temple of Todai-ji in Nara, where it lay forgotten for many years.
Time passed, and Fugudoku remained unused until it was discovered by Haohmaru on a visit to Nara. It is said that Haohmaru cut down the five-story pagoda housing Fugudoku when he claimed the sword as his own.
Self Taught[]
Born into a poor family of vassals to the shogun, Haohmaru grew up with a keen interest in the sword. During his youth, he would often leave home on training journeys to hone his skills. Eventually, at the age of 23, he severed ties with his family and ran away from his homeland to pursue the way of the blade.
After leaving his home he trained under the swordmaster Nicotine Caffeine, who helped him hone his skills further. Not only did Haohmaru put Nicotine’s teachings into practice, but he also began to form his own techniques over the course of many duels. With the strength to wield Fugudoku with ease, he created entire whirlwinds that could slice through even the toughest of steel. Such impressive techniques could no longer be considered simply extensions of Nicotine’s style, so Haohmaru began to call it his own self-taught style.
The strikes he can unleash are so formidable that they have inspired tall tales of his strength; some say that when he flies into a rage, he can easily cut down the supernatural, while others whisper that he can slice clean through entire mountains.
Though Haohmaru himself does not like his own short temper, and often finds it getting him into fights, there is no denying that his fiery disposition has saved him from the verge of death many times.
Critical Edge[]
- Judgment Blast Slash: He charges in at his opponent. If hit, he delivers a series of five Kogetsu Zan slashes, before delivering a powerful Kogetsu Zan.
- Flame of the Conqueror: Performs a powerful slash that knocks his opponent down. Can only be triggered when he's in Max Rage or Rage Explosion.
- Lightning Blade: Performs a lightning fast slash right through his opponent, rendering the screen in a black and white filter with the background a pure white. Can only be triggered when he's in Rage Explosion.
Weapons[]
- Fugudoku
- Fugudoku (East)
- Fugudoku (West)
- Fugudoku (South)
- Fugudoku (North)
- Fugudoku (Heaven)
- Fugudoku (Earth)
Stages[]
Quotes[]
Soulcalibur VI[]
- "Got my sword and my sauce!" — Character Select, 1P
- "Yeah, my time to shine!" — Character Select, 2P
- "Let's cut right to it!" — Standard entrance, 1P
- "I'll show you true swordsmanship!" — Standard entrance, 1P
- "Come at me!" — Standard entrance, 2P
- "Wanna kill me...? Give it a try!" — Standard entrance, 2P
- "I know you! Heard you were tough!" — Spoken when starting a fight against Mitsurugi
- "Oh yeah! Demon slaying time!" — Spoken when starting a fight against Nightmare, Inferno, Astaroth or Cervantes
- "You've got the wrong guy." — Spoken when starting a fight against Setsuka
- "Yesss! You didn't stand a chance!" - Generic
- "Remember the name Haohmaru in the afterlife!" - Generic (Also spoken after defeating Setsuka)
- "I won't settle for anything less than number one!" - Generic
- "Sorry, but holding back's not my thing." - Generic
- "You fought well! Glad I'd came all the way out here!" — Spoken after defeating Mitsurugi
- "As long as there are fierce warriors, there's Haohmaru." — Spoken after defeating Nightmare, Inferno, Astaroth or Cervantes
- "Here's where... you'll lose!"
- "Saw it coming!"
- "Say hi to Death for me!"
- "This is too much fun!"
- "Show me what you've got!"
- "What a letdown."
- "You're gonna love this."
- "Let's see what you got, faker!" — Reversal Edge against Himself [Offensive Quote]
- "Hell of a hairstyle you've got there!" — Reversal Edge against Maxi [Defensive Quote]
- "You know your way around this sword." — Reversal Edge against Mitsurugi [Offensive Quote]
- "Hmph! Let's do this." — Reversal Edge against Mitsurugi [Defensive Quote]
- "Time to go wild!" — Reversal Edge against Nightmare, Inferno, Astaroth or Cervantes [Offensive Quote]
- "All right! Gonna slay me a demon!" — Reversal Edge against Nightmare, Inferno, Astaroth or Cervantes [Defensive Quote]
- "I don't hold back for anyone!" Reversal Edge against Setsuka [Offensive Quote]
- "Show me what you can do!" Reversal Edge against Setsuka [Defensive Quote]
- "It ends now."
- "This is it!" — Spoken before "Lightning Blade" Critical Edge
- "This is what it means to be a warrior." — Spoken after "Lightning Blade" Critical Edge KO's an opponent
- "Zero-shiki!"
- "Kogetsuzan!"
- "Senpu!"
- "Reppu!"
- "Retsuzan!"
- "No getting away!" Spoken during Soul Attack
- "(gulp) Ah... That's what I'm talking about!" — Activating Soul Charge
- "(gulp) Ah... Feel the fire!" — Activating Soul Charge (Low Health)
- "Woah! Now I'm fired up!" — Activating Rage Explosion
- "Hyaaah! No more games!" — Activating Rage Explosion (low health)
- "Think fast!" — Spoken before Critical Edge
- "Tenha... Fujin-zan!" — Spoken during Critical Edge
- "Yeah!" — spoken after Critical Edge doesn't KO an opponent
- "Not good enough!" — Spoken after Critical Edge doesn't KO Mitsurugi, Nightmare, Inferno, Astaroth or Cervantes
- "Amateur!" — Spoken after Critical Edge doesn't KO himself; Also spoken during Wandering Cloud
- "Whew. Worked up a good sweat!" — Spoken after Critical Edge KO's an opponent
- "Try some of this!" — Spoken during "Flame of the Conqueror" Critical Edge
- "Don't think so!" — Spoken during successful Guard Impact
- "What's going on?" — Spoken during Tremor
- "What the hell?!" — Spoken during Opponent's throws or Zasalamel's Critical Edge with 3 curses
- "Damn you!" — Spoken during Opponent's throws or Zasalamel's Critical Edge with 3 curses
- "Can't sauce it too hard..." — Spoken during 2B's Limiter Release: Self-Destruct or Geralt's Axii Glyph
- "It ends now!"
- "Not even close."
- "Not impressed."
- "Hey... Not half bad!" — Taunt
- "(sigh) No point drinking to you." — Taunting a defeated opponent
- "Kyoshiro would love a weapon like that!" — Taunting Seong Mi-na, Kilik, or Hilde
- "I only need one blade to beat you." — Taunting Taki or Cervantes
- "I know someone with a blade like that!" — Taunting Raphael or Amy
- "That's a weird bird you got there!" — Taunting 2B
- "Ha-ha! Now that's a weapon!" — Taunting Astaroth, Inferno, Nightmare, Siegfried or Zasalamel
- "Never seen weapons like those before." — Taunting Azwel, Grøh, Ivy, Maxi, Talim, Tira or Voldo
- "I like how you swing a sword." — Taunting Cassandra, Sophitia or Xianghua
- "I know an old guy with tricks like yours." — Taunting Geralt
- "Heh. We all know who the real Haohmaru is!" — Taunting himself
- "That style's deadly. Trust me." — Taunting Setsuka
- "Oshizu...!" — Standing KO
- "You got me again!" — spoken during Ring Out
- "You're really strong!" — spoken during Ring Out
- "Tch. I got sloppy." — Lost via Time out
Etymology[]
- Haohmaru means "overlord" (覇王) (haoh) and "round, circle, pills, purity, suffix for ship names, complete" (丸) (maru).
Trivia[]
- Haohmaru is the third guest character to be appearing in the Soulcalibur VI, and the thirteenth licensed-guest character in the series.
- Haohmaru is the very first character hailing from SNK to be featured in Soulcalibur VI.
- He is also the fourth SNK character to be featured under the Bandai Namco Entertainment banner. Mai Shiranui and Iroha appeared in Queen's Gate: Spiral Chaos, while Geese Howard appeared in Tekken 7. Terry Bogard also appeared in the Bandai Namco-developed Super Smash Bros. Ultimate prior to Haohmaru's inclusion in Soulcalibur VI.
- Much like his Bandai Namco counterpart, Mitsurugi, Haohmaru has always been a sole staple veteran fighter within his home series since debuting in the series' first game, and being a ronin as well.
- Haohmaru, just like Mitsurugi, based on real-life Japanese ronin Miyamoto Musashi.
- This Haohmaru is mostly from the era prior to the storylines depicted in classic 3D arena fighting games: the Hyper Neo Geo 64 games and the PlayStation sequel, Warriors Rage.
- He is both the first 2D fighting game guest character and third-party fighting game guest character to be a guest character, and the second fighting game guest character since the now late-Heihachi Mishima.
- With his appearance in Soulcalibur VI, it marks as the first time Haohmaru is voiced in English (though this is technically the second because of Samurai Shodown: The Motion Picture).
- He is the first male guest character who can be freely customised. He's also the second character to do so, following 2B.
- His DLC pack comes with parts for a Nakoruru costume set, allowing players to be able to re-create her.
- Many of Haohmaru's moves and unique states are mechanics that are from his home series:
- His "Ronin Techniques" are the special moves he has in Samurai Shodown games.
- His Deflect and Blade Catch are universal mechanics in the Samurai Showdown games. Although, unlike in the Samurai Shodown games, successfully performing a Weapon Catch won't disarm the opponent.
- He can spot dodge attacks.
- Haohmaru's Power Slashes are his C-button attacks; they have long startup and deal high damage, but will cause Haohmaru to stagger backwards when blocked.
- His Max Rage, Rage Explosion and Lightning Blade are all universal mechanics found in the Samurai Shodown games. Furthermore, his "Flame of the Conqueror" is his Weapon Flipping Technique attack.
- He can go fight with his bare hands, just like in his home games.
- Unlike other characters, Haohmaru's alternate weapons are all recolored variations of Fugudoku, making him the only character to appear in the Soul series whose weapons are mere palette swaps. To this end, only the original Fugudoku has an entry in the Weapon Gallery.
- The Earth variation of Fugudoku however is based on the Yoto: Torikabuto used by Rasetsumaru, his Bust/heel variation from Samurai Shodown V.
- Unlike Geralt and 2B, the two other guests in Soulcalibur VI, Haohmaru has four costume colors rather than two.
Gallery[]
Videos[]
External Link[]
- Haohmaru on the SNK Wiki
References[]
- ^ SOULCALIBUR VI (ソウルキャリバー 6) | バンダイナムコエンターテインメント公式サイト. sc6.soularchive (in Japanese). Bandai Namco. Retrieved October 14, 2023. "CV:中村 大樹"