Yasuo, Haohmaru, and Susanoo
Disclaimer: Yasuo is my absolute favorite champion. I'm so hyped about him getting a friend that I felt compelled to make a thread about him.
#The Commonality Between the three It would seem the common trope of the wind-controlling swordsman has its roots in the legend of the god of wind and storms, Susano'o. Since the creators of Smite try to go along the original myths, of course they used the original guy. And of course, there's striking similarity between Yasuo and Susano'o's appearances and theme. (Just like there's similarity between Sobek and Renekton because Ren's based off of the god Sobek despite Smite's later introduction of the god into their own game) The three-strike combo seen in games or newer stories with a wind controlling samurai character is, I presume, a reference to a sword of Susano'os being transformed into 3 goddesses.
Smite: Susanoo's Kit As expected, they went with a 3-hit combo for his first ability. Each cast is different, and the third is a non-damaging dash. His ultimate creates a typhoon/hurricane. (obviously not a tornado, hahahaha) His other two abilities are a cone that knocks enemies in his direction and a skillshot that allows him to blink to enemies.
Yasuo and Haohmaru However, Yasuo is much more similar to a certain character of this theme: Samurai Shodown's Haohmaru. Yasuo throws out a small tornado without charging up, like Haohmaru. (though he does need to land 2 attacks first to keep with the 3-hit style) Yasuo was, until Braum, the only character in the game with the able to nullify specifically ranged abilities, as is a main strength of Haohmaru's. Yasuo's ultimate is a midair combo, just as Haohmaru's special combo keeps opponents airborne for the duration. And finally, Yasuo and Haohmaru both have unnaturally large ponytails.
Conclusion There... really isn't much of a conclusion. It just seems that Yasuo is a huge reference to a lesser-known fighting game. As I said before, the three characters share their theme from the story of Susano'o, the god of the same name as the character in Smite. It could also be said that they share similarity to the man who created the (unrelated) dual-wielding style, Miyamoto Misashi, who's seen in the manga Vagabond. But it's undeniable that Yasuo;s kit shares a very strong resemblance to Haohmaru even after taking into account the similar background.
The wind-controlling samurai/ronin is a common trope in comics, manga, and games, but it's one I personally love. I hope it continues to be seen in stories.
Next time: We talk about what Taliyah's gonna do when she gets back to Shurima only to find that Azir is against slavery and isn't enslaving her people.
