Samurai Goroh

This article is about the Main Universe Samurai Goroh. For the Anime Universe character with the same name, see Samurai Goroh (Anime).

## Samurai Goroh

* F-Zero GX
* F-Zero X

### Aliases

The Japanese Warrior (Chapter 7 in the F-Zero GX Story Mode)

### Occupation

Leader of a group of space bandits
Bounty hunter
F-Zero pilot (SNES, X, GX/AX)
Super Smash Bros. Assist Trophy

## Biographical information

### Age

"Believed to be early 40s" (SNES)
44 (X)
45 (GX/AX)

### Place of birth

Unknown (Believed to be Japanese American in SNES manual)

## Appearances

### Appears in

F-Zero (SNES)
F-Zero X
F-Zero GX
F-Zero AX

### Debut

F-Zero (SNES)

Samurai Goroh is the pilot of the Fire Stingray. He is also a bounty hunter, and is the leader of a band of intergalactic bandits. He has a notable and strong rivalry with Captain Falcon, a factor that has carried on from SNES all the way to GX.

Goroh has entered every F-Zero Grand Prix without fail, fueled by apparent hatred for Falcon and the opportunity to beat him in F-Zero. Besides that, Samurai Goroh is also the father of Daigoroh.

## History

### **Before F-Zero (SNES)**

Samurai Goroh was been the leader of a band of Space Bandits, making their home turf in Red Canyon. Goroh also doesn't take lightly to bounty hunting trespassers on his ground.

At some point, he became an F-Zero pilot, but it is stated the SNES manual that the name "Samurai Goroh" is an alias he used in order to enter the races. It was also rumored that his machine, the Fire Stingray, was stolen property.

### **F-Zero (SNES)**

**Age:** Unknown (believed to be early 40’s.)
The leader of a renegade band of thieves known to hide out in Red Canyon. It is known that he participates in the Grand Prix under an alias, and it is also rumored that this machine is stolen property.

#### **The Story Of Captain Falcon**

Goroh appears in the comic within the SNES manual, The Story Of Captain Falcon.

After having encountered Captain Falcon who was about to retrieve Scale Head's corpse, Goroh declared that Falcon was trespassing on his property. He also instructed for Falcon to "back away from that carcass, and I might just let you live." But Falcon's escape with Scale Head, along with his remark of "You lose, Samurai! And I don't have time for losers!" prompted Goroh to raise a fist and declare revenge on Falcon at the upcoming F-Zero Grand Prix. Goroh then arrives as a last minute entry, and is seen racing alongside Falcon, Dr. Stewart, and Pico.

### **The Huge F-Zero Accident**

At some point, though it is not confirmed *(as F-Zero GX says Goroh "is known as a rival of [Captain] Falcon and enters every Grand Prix without fail" but does not outright mention him being a part of the accident that occurred 4 years prior to GX)*, Samurai Goroh may have been part of the huge accident three years before F-Zero X. It is presumed that he was a participant during this time.

### **F-Zero X**

Fueled by hatred for his rival due to the fact that Captain Falcon keeps getting to the most profitable bounties first, Samurai Goroh entered the F-Zero X Grand Prix after three years of race suspension following the accident. By the end of the Grand Prix, he would end up losing to Falcon.

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 Captain Falcon, his rival.

 **(English Translation by Sidier):** He's a "bounty hunter" just like Captain Falcon, but Falcon gets the best bounties ahead of him. It'd seem he really is the boss of the Space Pirates.  He joined the Grand Prix mostly because of his rivalry with Falcon.

### **F-Zero GX**

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 Red Canyon as 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.

 **DeepL Translation:** On a surface level, he is a bounty hunter like Captain Falcon. However, he is also the boss of the infamous space bandits who use Red Canyon as their hideout. The amount of money and goods he has accumulated over time are countless. While Goroh pursues bounties, he's always frustrated that Captain Falcon seems to snatch them up first. He is a regular participant in the Grand Prix because of his rivalry with Captain Falcon, and aims to beat him one day.

***The Boss Of An Intergalactic Gang.***
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.

### **F-Zero GX Story Mode**

Samurai Goroh appears during Chapter 2 and 7 of the F-Zero GX Story Mode.

In Chapter 2, he claims that Falcon "stole the prize money... last time," referring to F-Zero X a year before GX. He then tells Falcon of a particular law in Red Canyon; Whoever loses their machine in a race on Goroh's turf, forfeits their machine. Goroh's bandits draw their weapons after Goroh draws his katana aimed at Falcon's neck. With no other choice, Falcon and Goroh race on Red Canyon. However, Goroh loses and angrily declared his revenge at the F-Zero GX Grand Prix later.

He is seen at the start of Chapter 7's opening cutscene, as Mr. Zero introduces some of the participants. Samurai Goroh is referred to as "The Japanese Warrior" but is seemingly booed by the crowd, to his confusion. He is also one of the 29 other pilots Falcon must race against in order to win the Grand Prix.

#### **Moonlight Outlaw Samurai Goroh**

Upon beating any Grand Prix on Master mode with the Fire Stingray, it will unlock a special video for Samurai Goroh, which also features his theme song.

Samurai Goroh is seen going for a drive at night, albeit his machine is entirely invisible. As he passes through an area, he clashes with a silver driver, and ends up swinging his sword at the driver. He then hits the brakes as Silver Neelsen is seen crossing the road. However, Goroh has no patience and drives past Silver Neelsen, making the older pilot spin. Despite his old age, Silver Neelsen manages to catch up to Goroh and uses his cane to whack him on the head as the video ends.

## Other Appearances

### **Super Smash Bros. Series**

Outside of F-Zero, Samurai Goroh was featured as a trophy in Super Smash Bros. Melee, and was even seen racing along with Captain Falcon on the Mute City track in the intro before Falcon rammed him off it.

Goroh has been a trophy in each game except for the very first Smash game and Ultimate. He also became an Assist Trophy fighter in Super Smash Bros. Brawl all the way to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Although trophies were discarded after Super Smash Bros. for 3DS & Wii U, Goroh is still an Assist Trophy, but he has become a Spirit in Ultimate. He can be unlocked by giving up cores, and is featured as a Legend class Spirit.

#### **Super Smash Bros. For 3DS & Wii U**

 **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.

#### **Super Smash Bros. Ultimate**

 **Possible References:** | As most of the F-Zero spirits have an effect that correlates to their machines going fast or being racers, Goroh's +Speed effect is no different. Requirements of Samurai esque characters are none other than a reference to Samurai Goroh's name.

## Trivia

* In the F-Zero (SNES) US manual, it states that the name "Samurai Goroh" is actually an alias, and that he is believed to be Japanese American.
* An early build of F-Zero GX] was showcased at E3 2002, revealing what may actually be intended details that were later possibly scrapped about Goroh. Although his age was listed as 46, with a contradictory (to final in-game model scale comparison with Falcon, who is shorter than Goroh) height of 173 cm, Goroh's birth planet was revealed to be Mars. This may be a strong lead in determining not only where he may have come from, but also where Red Canyon might be located.
	+ Similarly, other pilots such as Captain Falcon, Dr. Stewart, and Pico have had various information revealed as well. It may be possible that these attributes were once considered to be implemented into the final version of F-Zero GX, but ultimately never made it in. Plus, Goroh's age in the final version of F-Zero GX is 45.
	+ While this may provide just a shred of possibly canon information, fans should be wary of the possibility that this may not have been intended to be taken seriously, but is still very much a strong sort of lead.
	+ Additionally, if this is to be taken as canon minus the age, Port Town would be confirmed to NOT be on Earth, as Earth is listed to be Dr. Stewart's birth planet. Dr. Stewart is stated to be from Mute City, which for the longest time, has been implied to be on Earth, and because the SNES manual states there are 15 F-Zero courses across 9 different planets, this further cements the idea that Port Town is NOT on Earth.
	+ Oddly, Captain Falcon and Samurai Goroh's heights (190 cm and 173 cm respectively) from the video seem to contradict the scales of their final in-game F-Zero GX models, as Goroh is actually taller than Falcon.
* A Kabuki *"Yoo~ooh"* sound effect is used in his pilot theme in GX, which is a trope of Japanese theatre meant to announce a character.

## References

1. ↑ [1]F-Zero X US manual
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 F-Zero GX US in-game Pilot Profiles
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 [2] F-Zero (SNES) US manual