Honorable Death

Honorable Deaths, also known simply as the Suicide or Self-Determination in Japan, is a recurrent special finisher move which debuted in Samurai Shodown IV and last seen in Samurai Shodown V Perfect.

During any moment of a round, the player can perform this by inputting + Start button while the character is armed, who then promptly end the match with a move that wipes the rest of their health bar.

In Samurai Shodown IV, Honorable Death provides a benefit to the player: at the next round (if any), the character will start in Rage Mode. For Samurai Shodown V, the player receives either only a portion or a full Rage Gauge, depending on the character. However, in Samurai Shodown V Special the player receives no rage energy.

Interestingly, some of these "suicides" aren't true acts of self-harm. Some characters just run away from the fighting arena, bungle up their moves to humorous results, or simply concede defeat peacefully.