Shiro Tokisada Amakusa

Shiro Tokisada Amakusa (天草 四郎 時貞, Amakusa Shirō Tokisada) is a recurring boss and playable character in the Samurai Showdown series. He is based on the historical Amakusa Shirō, who led a Christian rebellion in the Shimabara region of Japan where the bakufu army crushed his revolt and executed him. Though his portrayal bears similarities with the Amakusa in Makai Tensho, the developers haven't confirmed if he was particularly based on him. According to Gamest Mook, he was a possible candidate for the Samurai Shodown 64 lineup but was taken out due to time constraints.

Story
Prior to to the events of Samurai Shodown, Amakusa is resurrected by the dark god Ambrosia; he uses the body of Shinzo Hattori (one of Hanzo's sons). His main plot involves him stealing the Palenke stone, which he intended to use to bring Ambrosia to the mortal world. The player prevents this from happening by defeating him. Upon his resurrection in Samurai Shodown IV, his spirit splits into two halves: one good and one evil. His evil counterpart is slain by Zankuro in the same game but his good side lives on thanks to Shinzo. During the events in Samurai Shodown II, he saves certain characters from Mizuki's wrath but is defeated, leaving only Shinzo's body for Hanzo to claim.

His ending in Samurai Shodown VI is possibly based on the prevailing beliefs of what Christians were back in the days of the samurais-- magical conjurers of evil and destruction. In his ending, he succeeds and throws the world in turmoil and terror.

Personality
He's a mad and vengeful spirit, resurrected by Ambrosia as a being of destruction to put up a new world order. Once he is relieved of the dark god's possession, he reverts to his living persona as a kind and merciful soul. He is a narcissist by nature, which is what originally lured him to Ambrosia's temptations.

True to the historical Christian Amakusa, he speaks of sin, mercy and salvation, especially in later appearances.

Powers

 * Levitation - Amakusa has the power to levitate his weapon and other characters off the ground.
 * Teleport - Amakusa can teleport himself.
 * Multiple Attacks: Amakusa can deliver several slaps at once.
 * Fire Projectile: Amakusa has the ability to project a fiery image of a demon.

Fighting Style
Amakusa fights his opponents by attacking them with a levitating gem. He can direct the gem with an impressive range, able to smash his enemies from the air and ground level from nearly any distance easily. At times, his gem may not compensate for opponents close to him so he also has a multi-hitting slap attack when he is close. To confuse his adversaries, he may also teleport and hover above them before diving upon them with a damaging attack. He also projects fiery projectiles in the image of demons to his foes, making him a formidable long-distance fighter.

Music

 * Ankoku (Darkness) - Samurai Shodown
 * Kyoutai (Madhouse) - Samurai Shodown III
 * Movement to Tranquility - Samurai Shodown IV
 * Crazy Behavior 1, 2, 3 - Shinsetsu Samurai Spirits: Bushidou Retsuden

Voice Actors

 * Eiji Yano - Samurai Shodown ~ Samurai Shodown IV, Nakoruru: Ano Hito kara no Okurimono, Samurai Shodown VI (Anthology Redub)
 * Yū Daiki - Samurai Shodown: The Motion Picture
 * Marcy Rae - Samurai Shodown: The Motion Picture (English voice)
 * Kaneto Shiozawa - Samurai Shodown Dengeki drama CD series
 * Misuaki Madono - Shinsetsu Samurai Spirits: Bushidou Retsuden
 * Takashi Ōhara - Samurai Shodown V Special
 * Junji Majima - Samurai Shodown VI
 * Show Hayami - Samurai Spirits Oni

Game Appearances

 * Samurai Shodown - playable in the Sega Genesis and SNES versions
 * Samurai Shodown III
 * Shinsetsu Samurai Spirits: Bushidou Retsuden - as one of the main villains
 * Samurai Shodown!
 * Samurai Shodown IV
 * Samurai Shodown V Special
 * Samurai Shodown VI
 * Samurai Spirits Oni
 * Quiz King of Fighters - unplayable boss

Mobile Appearances

 * Samurai Spirits - Shimensouka (enemy character)
 * Samurai Spirits - Makai Rineki

Cameo Appearances

 * Samurai Shodown II - during cutscenes
 * Nakoruru: Ano Hito kara no Okurimono
 * SNK vs Capcom: Match of the Millenium - during Akari's super
 * Samurai Spirits (pachinko)
 * Samurai Spirits Gaiden: Cham Cham
 * Samurai Spirits 2: Asura-Zanmaden (OVA) in Shiki's visions

Anime Appearances

 * Samurai Shodown: The Motion Picture

Trivia

 * Pattern of his normal attacks changed in every game in he has appeared so far.
 * His Polish lover was a tomboyish childhood friend who picked on him when they were younger. She grew up to be a fair yet strong lady. Apparently, he is beginning to forget what her expressions were like.
 * He apparently holds a grudge against Tokugawa, possibly based on real events where Tokugawa Ieyasu banned Christianity from Japan, and Amakusa himself based on a real Christian figure. It is unknown how he would've acted towards Yoshitora though, being a Tokugawa himself.

Similar Characters

 * Aku Amakusa