Samurai Goroh

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Samurai Goroh
GX Samurai Goroh.png
Samurai Goroh, as seen in F-Zero GX/AX.
Character information
Machine Fire Stingray, Super Stingray
Age Unknown (believed to be early 40's) (F-Zero)
44 (F-Zero X)
45 (F-Zero GX)
Gender Male
Game Appearance(s) F-Zero
F-Zero X
F-Zero GX
F-Zero AX
F-Zero: GP Legend
F-Zero Climax
Voice F-Zero GX - Ryan Drees

SSB series - Akio Otsuka

Samurai Goroh (サムライ ゴロー, Samurai Gorō[?]) is the pilot of the Fire Stingray and Super Stingray, and a recurring playable character in the F-Zero series.

Biography

Samurai Goroh is a space bandit and bounty hunter of uncertain origin (though he is rumored to be of Japanese-American descent)[1] who leads a notorious gang of thieves. This gang calls Red Canyon their home, and it's their presence in part that makes the venue so infamously treacherous. Much of his life, including his true name, is shrouded in mystery. Nevertheless, he is known as an infamous bounty hunter, and further recognized for the intense rivalry he harbors with fellow bounty hunter Captain Falcon – a rivalry that often ends in victory for Falcon, much to Goroh's chagrin. Samurai Goroh masterfully wields a katana, and also has a son named Daigoroh.

Though a notorious scoundrel of a man, Samurai Goroh is hearty and larger-than-life. He takes immense pride in himself and his status both as a bounty hunter and F-Zero pilot – and in his F-Zero TV interview, can often be heard referring to himself in the third person. He has a strong hatred for Captain Falcon, seeing the captain's victories as illegitimate robberies of his own; in fact, his perfect attendance record at the F-Zero Grand Prix could be entirely out of spite for Falcon. Goroh has made his own fair share of enemies over his career, however, most notably his former right-hand man Antonio Guster, who Goroh let fall into the hands of authorities.

Appearance

Samurai Goroh with the Super Stingray as seen in the F-Zero X Expansion Kit.

Samurai Goroh is a tall, stocky human of tan complexion, instantly recognizable for his broad face, permanent scowl, and dark, circular-rimmed shades obscuring his eyes. F-Zero depicts him as rotund, but he has since been seen with enormous, rippling muscles (although Daigoroh still refers to him as "fat"). Goroh wears a brown aviator hat (purple in F-Zero) with a white ridge on its forehead that has a bright red starburst design on it which highly resembles the Japanese Rising Sun Flag, perhaps a symbol of his heritage. He wears a brown sleeveless vest with a prominent collar, and under that, a white T-shirt with the sleeves ripped off, with the Kanji character 激 (meaning "to incite/stimulate" as a verb, or "sharp/violent" as an adjective) printed in black on its center. In the anime, the kanji on his shirt is 刀, which is the kanji for "katana". From F-Zero X onwards, he wears white bandages wrapped around his forearms. Prior to F-Zero GX, he carries his katana's scabbard on his right hip, which may indicate that he is left-handed. The scabbard is yellow in F-Zero, but the color is indeterminate in X. He wears baggy pants with a cloth sash tied through them in a knot as a belt, though the color of both of these articles have changed in every game since his debut (yellow pants with white sash in F-Zero, light blue pants with orange sash in X, and navy pants with yellow sash in GX). Finally, he wears heavy, dark green boots, though they are silver in X, and he wears black shoes resembling tabi in the original F-Zero.

In F-Zero X Expansion Kit, Samurai Goroh has a different outfit when piloting the Super Stingray. He retains his T-shirt and shades from before, but the absence of his hat reveals neck-length straight black hair that he combs backwards, revealing a prominent widow's peak. He wears a dark brown leather jacket with a popped collar that reveals a hot pink interior, together with blue jeans ripped at the knees and white sneakers with yellow and red designs.

Appearances

Samurai Goroh and the Fire Stingray have appeared in every F-Zero game with the exception of F-Zero: Maximum Velocity, and Goroh's status as a rival to protagonist Captain Falcon has made him altogether one of the most prominent characters in the series.

As with fellow series veterans Captain Falcon, Pico, and Dr. Stewart, Samurai Goroh is never seen outside of his machine in-game in F-Zero, although he does appear in the manual and its enclosed comic book. In this comic, Captain Falcon is seen chasing a murderer by the name of Scale Head to a rocky area resembling Red Canyon and shooting him. When Captain Falcon moves to make off with the corpse, Samurai Goroh appears with his gang at his back and threatens Captain Falcon with his katana, warning him to step back. Before Goroh can steal the bounty, he and his gang are caught off-guard when Falcon suddenly calls in the Falcon Flyer, which he uses to make his getaway while Goroh swears revenge at the Grand Prix.

Samurai Goroh reappears, making his first story-based appearance in a video game, in the Story mode of F-Zero GX. He appears in its second chapter, entitled Goroh: The Vengeful Samurai. Captain Falcon is seen patrolling Red Canyon in search of another bounty, when he is ambushed again by Samurai Goroh and his gang. Out for revenge, Goroh accuses Falcon of "[stealing] the prize money from [them] last time", possibly in reference to the aforementioned incident with Scale Head's bounty, and challenges Falcon to a high-stakes race for a distant checkpoint where the loser forfeits their machine. After a hazardous race against a rockslide, Falcon comes out on top, and, again, Goroh swears to get back at Falcon at the Grand Prix.

Samurai Goroh is also one of eight pilots to have his own path in the Story mode of F-Zero: GP Legend.

Profiles and statistics

F-Zero X

Samurai GorohX.png Samurai Goroh
No. Age Machine
5 44 Fire Stingray
Instruction manual description
He's one of the best bounty hunters around and the leader of a group of space thieves. Goroh's reason for joining F-Zero is because of his hatred for Capt. Falcon, his rival.
Ending screen
XEnding-SamuraiGoroh.png

F-Zero GX

GX Samurai Goroh.png Samurai Goroh
No. Age Sex Machine Cost Autograph
05 45 Male File:GX-Logo-Fire Stingray.png - File:GX-Autograph-Samurai Goroh.png
In game description
In outward appearance, Goroh is a bounty hunter just like Falcon, but in actuality, he is the boss of an intergalactic group of bandits with a terrible reputation. This group of cutthroats is said to use the Red Canyon for a hideout. Exactly what Goroh has plundered and extorted over the years is unknown. As a bounty hunter, he travels from planet to planet evaluating the value of possible spoils. He actually dreams of performing notorious deeds as a bounty hunter, but Falcon always seems to beat him to the punch in the newest and most profitable projects—Goroh is very bitter about this. He enters every Grand Prix without fail and is known as a rival of Falcon who will never stop trying to defeat him.

Instruction manual description
Goroh claims to be a bounty hunter like Captain Falcon, but is in reality the leader of a group of space bandits from the Red Canyon. He means to establish himself as a renowned bounty hunter, but Captain Falcon always finishes with the upper hand.

Default Yellow Green Blue
GX Samurai Goroh Default.png GX Samurai Goroh Yellow.png GX Samurai Goroh Green.png GX Samurai Goroh Blue.png

Super Smash Bros. series

Samurai Goroh appears together with the Fire Stingray as a collectible trophy in all Super Smash Bros. games since Melee, with the exception of Ultimate, in which the two appear as a spirit. From Brawl onwards, he also appears as one of several characters summonable by the Assist Trophy item; when summoned, he runs around and attacks indiscriminately with his katana.

Super Smash Bros. Melee trophy

Name Image Description Unlock Method
Samurai Goroh
Samurai Goroh Trophy Melee.png
A rival bounty hunter, Samurai Goroh has crossed paths with Captain Falcon in many a dark corner of the universe. He also goes head-to-head with Falcon in F-Zero races, so the threads of their fates seem to be deeply intertwined. Samurai Goroh is famous for his katana, and his signature T-shirt is instantly recognizable. Randomly Obtained

Samurai Goroh and the Fire Stingray also appear in the opening sequence of Super Smash Bros. Melee, where he is seen racing Captain Falcon. Falcon bashes the Fire Stingray off of Mute City and then the Fire Stingray collides with the television screen and explodes. The Fire Stingray also appears on a trophy displaying all of the F-Zero Racers.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl trophy

Name Image Description Unlock Method
Samurai Goroh
Samurai Goroh - Brawl Trophy.png
A man who presents himself as a bounty hunter much like Captain Falcon but is also the boss of a notorious bandit group. He tries to collect criminal bounties but always fails to beat Captain Falcon to the collar. He considers himself Falcon's archrival and always tries to beat him in F-Zero races. His machine, the Fire Stingray (#05), has a high top speed. Randomly Obtained

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U trophy

Name Image Description Unlock Method
Samurai Goroh
SamuraiGorohTrophyWiiU.png
NTSC-U: This infamous pilot considers himself to be Captain Falcon's main rival. His racing machine, the Fire Stingray, is incredibly fast. If summoned into battle, he'll head toward the nearest opponent and slash with his katana. He definitely makes a better friend than foe!

PAL: An infamous F-Zero pilot who considers himself to be Captain Falcon's main rival. He races as number 5 with his speedy Fire Stingray. When released in this game, he'll head straight for the nearest opponent, swinging his sword with reckless abandon. Try not to get on his bad side.
Randomly Obtained

Trivia

Gallery

References

Characters of F-Zero
Racer #04
[[Baba]]
Racer #05
Samurai Goroh
Racer #06
[[Pico]]
  1. (1991) in Nintendo EAD: F-Zero instruction manual (in English). Nintendo.