Hanzo Hattori

Hanzo Hattori is a character from the Samurai Shodown series.

Development
Hanzo is the first ninja to be added to the franchise and was designed by Yasushi Adachi. The creation of Hanzo would later inspire Yasushi to create Galford D. Weller. He is based on the historical figures who all shared the same name and were Tokugawa ninja and heads of the Iga clan in various fictional mediums.

Like several other mythical incarnations, he is an old friend to Jubei Yagyu due to their ties to the Tokugawa clan. He married a Koga ninja, Kaede, quelling a long feud between the two ninja clans that is often romanticized in the historical novel, The Kouga Ninja Scrolls. He appears as a secret character in KOF: Maximum Impact 2.

He was the development team's third favorite character in Samurai Shodown II. In Gamest's 1997 Heroes Collection, Hanzo ranked 46 of the staff's favorite characters. He shared the spot with seven other characters, including Art of Fighting character, Robert Garcia and Darkstalkers character, Demitri Maximoff. He has one known action figure, based on his appearance in Samurai Shodown 64.

Personality
Hanzo is a serious and condescending man. He is often seen laughing at his enemies in a superior manner. He wants to fight worthy opponents and knows that his fate is to die in battle.

Powers
Aside from these powers, he has all the skills perceived to be had by ninja (stealth, swimming, climbing, etc.)
 * Use of Shurikens - Hanzo is only character in series to use shuriken projectiles.
 * Pyrotechnical Attacks - Hanzo uses a variety of fire-based ninja attacks, such as ground fire waves, various applications of normal and flash bombs.
 * Koppojutsu - Hanzo can use specific hand-to-hand fighting skills, grabs and acrobatic moves to break the bones of his opponents.
 * Invisibility - Hanzo can become invisible at will, in some cases it requires use of flash bomb.
 * Teleportation - Hanzo can teleport to short distances.

Fighting Style
Comparable to most other ninjas in fiction, Hanzo's ninjutsu focuses on the mystical properties of the style rather than its physical fighting techniques. He possesses the ability to teleport and trick his attackers with a dummy when hit. He can also create multiple illusions of himself in hopes of misleading his opponents for an open strike. He later integrates a heavy emphasis on bone-breaking grappling, a trait that follows him in his newer appearances. When first introduced, he and Galford nearly mirrored each other in most aspects. As the series progresses, however, Hanzo becomes the slightly slower but more powerful of the two ninja. His projectile element is fire, whereas his counterpart, Galford, is lightning. He can throw shuriken and use a variety of bombs to stun or damage his enemies.

In addition to above, in Sen his fighting style emphasizes kicks, featuring different kinds such as somersault kicks or aerial spin kicks.

Music

 * Shadow (影, Kage) - Samurai Shodown
 * True Shadow (真影, Shinkage) - Samurai Shodown II
 * Prison (獄, Hitoya) - Samurai Shodown III
 * Darkness (闇, Yami) - Samurai Shodown 64
 * Divine Punishment - Samurai Shodown (2019)

Voice Actors

 * Masaki Usui - Samurai Shodown, Sen, KOF Maximum Impact 2, Samurai Shodown VI (re-dub voice)
 * Toshimitsu Arai - Samurai Shodown II ~ 64 series
 * Hiroyuki Koga - Samurai Shodown VI
 * Tadahisa Saizen - Samurai Shodown (2019)
 * Liou Johnson - KOF Maximum Impact 2 (English voice)
 * Takeshi Aono - Samurai Shodown: The Motion Picture
 * Mungle Roberts - Samurai Shodown: The Motion Picture (English voice)
 * Yūsaku Yara - Samurai Shodown Dengeki drama CD series

Appearances
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Games

 * Samurai Shodown
 * Samurai Shodown II
 * Samurai Shodown III
 * Samurai Shodown IV
 * Samurai Shodown!
 * Shinsetsu Samurai Spirits: Bushidou Retsuden - as a guest member
 * Samurai Shodown 64
 * Samurai Shodown! 2
 * Samurai Shodown 64-2 - his Bust form will not appear as a CPU opponent
 * Samurai Shodown V
 * Samurai Shodown V Special
 * Samurai Shodown V Perfect
 * Samurai Shodown VI
 * KOF: Maximum Impact 2 - unlockable
 * KOF: Maximum Impact Regulation A
 * Samurai Shodown Sen
 * Samurai Spirits ~Kengou Hachi-ban Shoubu~
 * Samurai Shodown (2019)

Mobile

 * Samurai Spirits - Shimensouka (enemy character)
 * Samurai Spirits - Makai Rineki
 * Wizardry Online
 * Kingdom Story
 * Kimi wa Hero
 * Samurai Shodown Tenkadaiichi Kenkakuden
 * Samurai Shodown: Oborozuki Densetsu
 * SNK All Star
 * SNK Fighting Age
 * Puzzle & Dragons

Cameos

 * Samurai Shodown: Warriors Rage - in his son's ending
 * Days of Memories (third title) - in-text cameo; seen in various stories
 * Maid by Iroha
 * Samurai Spirits (pachinko)
 * Samurai Spirits Gaiden: Cham Cham
 * Samurai Spirits Oni
 * The King of Fighters XIII- in the Stadium Rooftop stage

Anime
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 * Samurai Shodown: The Motion Picture

Similar Characters

 * Hanzo Hattori (WR)

Etymology

 * The name Hanzo means "half" (半) (han) and "warehouse, cellar, magazine" (蔵) (zo).
 * Hanzo's surname Hattori means "clothes/clothing, admit, obey, discharge" (服) (hat) and "part, department, category" (部) (tori).
 * Hattori (服部) is written in the same way as the famous ninja's, Hattori Hanzō's (服部 半蔵) last name.

Cards