Samurai Shodown, from the developers of the King of Fighters and Art of Fighting series, has a new DLC character coming out on April 13th. This time, it’s fan favorite Iroha, the sword-wielding crane maid. She’s officially canon now! Learn more about Iroha’s insane background and watch her debut trailer below.
Kill People With A Chick In A Maid Costume: Samurai Shodown’s Iroha Cuts In As DLC
Iroha made her debut in 2005’s Samurai Shodown VI, which was made as a non-canon entry in the series. While the series isn’t exactly known for its storyline in the first place, SSVI was especially plotless, and SNK took the opportunity to make a few of the most ridiculous new characters they could.
Iroha quickly became the breakout star of the game. She’s fun to use and is considered one of the stronger characters in SSVI, but more importantly, she’s one of the most fetish-dense characters ever put in a fighting game. Iroha is so many things that so many people are into, all at once, that it’s a wonder she doesn’t explode. It’s kind of nuts. Just look at her new trailer and see for yourself:
Iroha’s backstory is simple. She’s based loosely on the Japanese legend of the “Crane Wife.” Therefore, she is a crane that can become a Japanese woman, for reasons, who’s dressed in half a French maid costume, for reasons. She’s totally devoted to an unseen master, who’s intended by the creators to be the person who’s playing as Iroha; in SSVI, Iroha will break the fourth wall before and after a fight to speak directly to her player. She had a super move in SSVI, which she seems to still have in the new Samurai Shodown, where she strips naked in silhouette and beats the hell out of her opponent. For reasons.
This will only be Iroha’s second appearance in the core Samurai Shodown series, although she’s shown up in many of SNK’s mobile and slot games, including a starring solo role in Maid by Iroha. The developers reportedly resisted including Iroha for as long as they could, as she’s really out of place in the dark, menacing atmosphere of the 2019 Samurai Shodown, but she was one of the most popular fan picks for DLC in a poll held last year by Dengeki Online.
Iroha will be available for download by Samurai Shodown owners on April 13th. She’s the third of four planned characters for Samurai Shodown’s second season of DLC fighters, after Mina Majikina in February and Sogetsu in April. SNK has not yet revealed the fourth character in the season yet, but fan speculation is that it might be Mitsurugi from Soul Calibur VI. Ideally, we’ll know next week once Iroha becomes available.
We like a lot of fighting and brawling games here at Prima, whether it’s head-to-head or an arcade-style beat-’em-up. Here are some of our tips, tricks, and articles about our love of breaking pixel skulls:
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Nobody knows who the King of Fighters studio SNK has picked for Samurai Shodown’s next DLC fighter yet, although it will probably be announced next week. One fan theory is that Mitsurugi will make the trip over from Soul Calibur 6, but it’s anyone’s guess. Make your call by checking in on our Twitter, @PrimaGames.
