Nakoruru (ナコルル) is the deuteragonist and one of the playable characters of the Samurai Shodown series, as well as a supporting character in The King of Fighters series, both from SNK.
A Mii Fighter Costume modeled after her was made available as DLC for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Character Description[]
Nakoruru is a calm, gentle, shy, and nurturing teenage girl. Born in 1771, she serves Mother Nature as an Ainu shrine maiden (Ainu are the indigenous people of Hokkaido) and is able to hear her voice and sense the spirits of nature itself. She is non-violent, believing that protecting nature can happen without killing and often looks for more peaceful solutions to solve problems. However, Nakoruru is still a fearsome warrior and will fight when the situation arises to protect her younger sister Rimururu and the people of her village, Kamui Kotan. She battles with her Chichi-ushi, a kodachi blade, alongside her pet mountain hawk-eagle named Mamahaha, or a legendary Hokkaido wolf named Shikuru. Though she is dedicated to her mission, she still desires to live life like a normal teenage girl, which often alienates her from her friends and peers.
Samurai Shodown series[]
Nakoruru as she appears in Samurai Shodown (2019)
At the age of 15 in the year 1786, Nakoruru leaves her village to journey to Hinowa to confront Gaoh Hinowanokami to end his war that is hurting the planet, which he is causing to build a new country. She eventually defeats him, after which the protector of her village appears in front of her and asks her to follow in her slain father's footsteps. Not wanting to put Rimururu at risk, she accepts her new role as the Kamui protector.
She continues to fulfill the duties of her new role throughout the series by both protecting nature and defeating other villains alongside series protagonist Haohmaru. After overthrowing Ambrosia Priestess Mizuki Rashojin in 1789, she falls into a coma in order to become one with the spirit of nature to restore balance, while her physical body sleeps within Kamui Kotan's forests protected by the spirit. She eventually reawakens in 1790 by nature's beckoning to help defeat Yuga the Destroyer; after his total destruction, Nakoruru returns to her village to resume her slumber.
Her soul eventually mends with Gaia to become one of nature's Divine Spirits, granting her the title of a Maiden of Light, and allowing her to travel across space and time to prevent disasters. In 1811 (currently the furthest point in the Samurai Shodown timeline), her spirit is suspended in limbo due to a magical spell cast by Jigen Taishi, who is in league with dark magician Oboro, leaving her unable to assume her original form and can only fight through the strength of other forest spirits. Knowing the only way she can defeat Oboro is through Rimururu, she tasks Haohmaru to free her sister, who has been sealed by Oboro. Eventually, Haohmaru manages to rescue Rimururu, and the sisters combine their powers to defeat the evil wizard.
Other appearances[]
Nakoruru as she appears in SNK Heroines: Tag-Team Frenzy as a part of Team Another World (with Love Heart and Mui Mui)
Though she has made minor cameo appearances before, Nakoruru wouldn't make her canonical debut in The King of Fighters series until The King of Fighters XIV. After the shift in the timeline caused by Ash Crimson's sacrifice at the end of the thirteenth tournament, Nakoruru senses the evil entity Verse through a rift in space and time. To prevent this, she time travels to the present and joins the tournament alongside pachislot characters Mui Mui (from Dragon Gal) and Love Heart (from Sky Love) to form Team Another World. After Verse's defeat, she senses that it may return, and decides to stay in the present for the time being. In the aftermath, she and her teammates travel to visit modern-day Hokkaido and China. Her and her teammates later return for the follow-up, SNK Heroines: Tag-Team Frenzy, as they and the other female fighters have been trapped in a pocket dimension by Kukri. In their individual endings, it is implied that it was all a dream, as it is shown that they have been sleeping during several points in their trip. Nakoruru later makes another appearance in The King of Fighters XV, this time joined by Haohmaru and Darli Dagger as Team Samurai. After Verse's defeat causes the revival of Rashoujin Mizuki, Nakoruru sends both of her fellow samurai into the present to join her and help defeat the evil spirit; in their team ending, they are able to defeat Mizuki, but ultimately decide to spare her life and have her join them in their world tour to experience the modern day, believing it will help rehabilitate her.
In real life, SNK has used Nakoruru as a mascot for its environmental awareness campaigns, most notably in 1994 in partnership with the Mitaka and Kyoto administrations and in 2011 to support the relief fund-raising for the victims of the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. Nakoruru and Fatal Fury's Terry Bogard are also the mascots for SNK's social action program for children, fittingly called The Nakoruru & Terry Club. Started in May 9, 2004, it works to better education for children, give them a hands-on experience with environmental action, and teach cooperation and relationships through sports.
In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate[]
Mii Fighter Costume[]
A costume for the Mii Swordfighter modeled after Nakoruru was made available as a part of the Round 4 batch of DLC costumes.
The sword it uses is the Chichi-ushi, which is her prized makiri (also known as an Ainu kodachi). It is a short ranged blade compared to other swords in Samurai Shodown. Much like the swords of the protagonists from Persona 3 and Persona 4, the sword's slash trail is uniquely yellow-colored.
Spirit[]
A DLC Spirit of Nakoruru was added into the game as a part of the DLC Spirit Board in Terry's Challenger Pack. It is a Support Spirit under the Advanced class.
Her Spirit Battle uses Zelda and is aided by a Tiny Falco, who is meant to be a stand-in for Mamahaha. Both opponents will have increased strength if they reach high percentage, which is meant to mimic the Rage Gauge mechanic in the Samurai Shodown series. It is also a Stamina match and only sword items will spawn (Zelda herself will start with a Killing Edge), the latter also meant to mimic the series' mechanic of characters getting disarmed if hit hard enough. The stage is the winter phase of Yoshi's Island (Brawl), meant to resemble Kamui Kotan from the first Samurai Shodown, with her theme song "Banquet of Nature" playing in the background. Both opponents must be defeated to win.
| No. | Spirit | Artwork Origin | Type | Rating | Effect | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1365 | 
|
Samurai Shodown (1993) | 
|
★★ | Air Attack ↑ | 1 |
Other[]
Nakoruru makes a cameo in Terry's reveal trailer; in it, she orders Mamahaha to catch the Smash invitation, only to miss it. The scene is an edited version of the opening movie to Samurai Shodown V.
Trivia[]
- Nakoruru is the only character that cameos in Terry's reveal trailer and the only SNK character to have a Mii costume that does not make an appearance in the background of the King of Fighters Stadium.
- Nakoruru's segment of the "Mii Fighter Costumes - Round 4" trailer make several references to the Samurai Shodown series:
- In the cold opening, the Nakoruru costume appears with Fletchling, who is meant to be a stand-in for Mamahaha.
- Falco also appears as a stand-in for Mamahaha, who performs Fire Bird at a downward angle. This is meant to mimic Nakoruru's Amube Yatoro attack.
- The still shot of the Nakoruru costume is seen alongside Wolf, who is meant to be a stand-in for Shikuru.
- Much like in her Spirit Battle, the promotional image for the costume has it in the winter phase of Yoshi's Island (Brawl), which is meant to mimic Kamui Kotan.
- The Nakoruru wig has flowing hair physics. This makes it one of eleven headgear pieces to have special physics, following the Inkling Squid hat, the Viridi wig, and Lloyd wig (all three only in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U), the Zero helmet, the Knuckles hat, the Veronica wig, the Erdrick Equipment helmet, the Martial Artists wigs, the Slime hat, the Rabbids hat, and the Callie wig.
[]
 Miscellaneous third-party universes
| ||
|---|---|---|
| Characters | Boss | Rathalos |
| Assist Trophies | Akira Yuki · Bomberman · Rathalos · Shovel Knight | |
| Mii Fighter Costumes | Akira Yuki · Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad · Arthur · Bomberman · Cuphead · Dante · Doom Slayer · Dragonborn · Felyne · Gil · Goemon · Iori Yagami · Jacky Bryant · Lloyd Irving · Monster Hunter · Nakoruru · Rabbids · Ryo Sakazaki · Sans · Shantae · Travis Touchdown · Vault Boy | |
| Background characters | Athena Asamiya · Chang Koehan & Choi Bounge · Goro Daimon · Iori Yagami · King · Kyo Kusanagi · Ralf Jones & Clark Still · Ryo Sakazaki · Yuri Sakazaki | |
| Enemies | Pooka · Bacura | |
| Items | Boss Galaga · Special Flag | |
| Music | Lists | List of Music (Namco games) · List of Music (SNK games) · List of Music (Monster Hunter / Undertale / Cuphead / Shantae) |
| Songs | "MEGALOVANIA" · "Psycho Soldier Theme" | |
| Collectibles | Trophies | 3DS Trophies · Wii U Trophies |
| Spirits | List of spirits (Others) | |
| Universe | List of minor universes | |
 Fatal Fury universe
| ||
|---|---|---|
| Characters | Terry Bogard (Ultimate) | |
| Side Characters | Background characters | Andy Bogard · Billy Kane · Blue Mary · Geese Howard · Joe Higashi · Kim Kaphwan · Rock Howard · Ryuji Yamazaki · Tung Fu Rue |
| Related characters | Athena Asamiya · Chang Koehan & Choi Bounge · Goro Daimon · Iori Yagami · King · Kyo Kusanagi · Nakoruru · Ralf Jones & Clark Still · Ryo Sakazaki · Yuri Sakazaki | |
| Stage | King of Fighters Stadium | |
| Music | List of Music (Fatal Fury series) | |
| Spirits | List of spirits (Fatal Fury series) | |
| Related universe | The King of Fighters | |