Live by the sword, die by the sword. That’s how the phrase goes. However, in Samurai Shodown, though you might live by the sword, it’s possible to die without it because you can disarm opponents to give yourself a significant advantage.
What Is Disarming?
Disarming is exactly what it sounds like: you disarm the opponent, and leave them with nothing else to fight with but their hands and feet. Such an event wouldn’t be so bad were this a game like Tekken, but it’s practically a death sentence in a game like this where much of a character’s capabilities are tied to their weapon.
Needless to say, you’ll want to try and disarm your opponent if possible.
Sold. How Do I Do It?
There are four ways to disarm your opponent:
Weapon Flipping Technique
Though not as strong Super Secret Moves, Weapon Flipping Techniques have the benefit of being usable multiple times per match and, obviously, knocking an opponent’s weapon out of their hand when it connects.
Here’s what you need to know:
- 236B+C (Quarter Circle Forward + Medium Slash and Heavy Slash)
- Only usable during Max Rage/Rage Explosion
- Max Rage and Rage Explosion instantly expires upon use
Sword Clash
As the name suggests, Sword Clashes occur when both players swing at each other and their weapons collide. From there all you have to do is mash any attack button and whoever is slower loses their weapon.
Notably, this method has the distinction of only being able to occur once per round, and requiring several conditions to be fulfilled before it can occur:
- At least 16 seconds remaining
- Both opponents have at least 160 Life remaining
Counter
Compared to the other means to disarm opponents, counters are the most readily available. Simply time the maneuver when someone swings at you, knocking the weapon clean out of their hands when successful.
All you need to know is:
- 236A+B (Quarter Circle Forward + Light Slash and Medium Slash)
- Doesn’t work on aerial attacks
Blade Catch
This is similar in function to counters, with the only difference being that your character needs to have been disarmed first.
The details are the same as before:
- 236A+B (Quarter Circle Forward + Light Slash and Medium Slash)
- Doesn’t work on aerial attacks
That’s it for disarming in Samurai Shodown. Be sure to learn each method, so you can whip them out when the situation requires it. In a game like this, you’ll need every advantage you can get.
