Samurai Shodown: Warriors Rage — the first change in the earlier games was an improved character roster, which included all of the new playable characters except two: Haohmaru and Hanzō Hattori, although Hattori is not actually the same person as in earlier versions of the game. In previous versions, Hattori was the son of Hanzo Shinzo, who took his name. Nicotine, Gaira, Nakoruru and Rimururu — characters from the previous game — not only play a role in the plot, but are also presented as playable options.
The game introduces a new life scale system, which is divided into 3 parts. The first "round" of combat lasts until 1 person has depleted all 3 sections, at which point 1 bar section will disappear and the remaining 2 will replenish. Once these 2 are emptied, the second section will be reset and the last one will be filled again. This was marked by a pause in the action during which another player performed a taunt animation. The match finally ended when one of the players lost that last bit of life.