Here’s the story of how Shirō Amakusa went from real-life martyr to queer
Virtually every fighting game in the 1990s brought together martial artists
from around the world to engage in one-on-one combat. Samurai Shodown did this
as well, but it stood apart as a result of two crucial differences. For one,
it had each fighter bring a weapon into battle, and for another, it was the
rare period piece fighting game, with the ten playable characters convening in
Edo-era Japan over the course of the spring and summer of 1788.
In the background of the tournament, however, lurks a bigger story about an
otherworldly phenomenon that threatens to topple the Tokugawa Shogunate ruling
over Japan. As your chosen fighter advances through the game, you’re given
glimpses of what awaits you in the final duel: a sinister presence that seems
to emerge from an even older time period.