Samantha Nishimura

Samantha "Sam" Nishimura is an American filmmaker and Lara Croft's best friend. She serves as the Director and Translator for the documentary about the search for Yamatai.

Her mother is Portuguese, and her father is Japanese, her ancestors having escaped from Yamatai prior to Himiko's fall.

She is a central character to the plot of Tomb Raider and the Tomb Raider Dark Horse Comics.

Early life
Samantha's mother Antonia Nishimura was a Portuguese model who was working in Los Angeles when she met Sam's father Hisao Nishimura, a media mogul from Japan. Growing up she moved a lot, not just down the street, but between continents. This had a negative effect on Sam's behavior and as a result, Samantha was often the outsider in school, and gained attention by being a bit of a wild child. Because of this, she was expelled from many of the schools she attended. Sam attended UCL, choosing to study film, specializing in documentary film making and cinematography. There she met Lara Croft, on a chance encounter. Despite the pair being polar opposites, they became great friends. Sam caused Lara to become less introverted by taking her to nightclubs, attempting to bring out Lara's "Inner Party Girl". Because of Sam, Lara saw more than just libraries during her time in University.

At some point the pair embarked on at least one backpacking trip, going to locales such as Mt. Kilimanjaro, Bulgaria and The Great Wall of China.

Expedition to Yamatai
While Lara worked on the Endurance officially as a deckhand, Sam kept her company onboard and worked on her tan. James Whitman hired the Endurance to come with him on a voyage to find Yamatai, but when his TV show's network pulled its funding, Lara called Sam for help and Sam was able to bail out the expedition with her uncle's money in exchange for a cut of the profits and for letting Sam work as the expedition's camera person. She believes Lara is onto something, and she wants to be there to film it for publicity.

During the voyage, Sam began recording various activities on the ship, ranging from the ship's cook Jonah Maiava teaching Whitman how to gut a fish, (which he hated), to its helmsman, Grim, claiming he met the Loch Ness Monster. In secret, Sam began recording Lara, wanting to make sure she got the credit she deserved. She also quickly grew tired of Whitman's egotistical and condescending nature, though she believed he'd calm down once they reached Yamatai. As they got closer to the Island, Sam began feeling a sense of dread. Initially she brushed it off as nerves but she began to realize it was something else.

When the Endurance is hit by a storm and begins to sink, Sam makes it to shore on her own, and ends up stranded alone. Sam spends at least one day on her own. She encounters a man, who claims his name is Mathias, and he leads her to believe he is trustworthy, even offering to tend to her injured foot. In return Sam tells Mathias of the story of Himiko, leading Mathias to believe that Sam is the key to getting off the island. Whilst telling him the story, Lara comes upon their camp site, and Sam continues her story. Once Lara falls into a deep sleep, Mathias kidnaps Sam, much to Lara's horror when she awakens. Sam manages to steal a radio from a guard and contacts Lara. She begs for help, and Lara assures her that she is coming to save her. Sam contacts Lara once more before she is discovered with the radio, and is abruptly cut-off from Lara.

Lara finds Sam tied to a pyre with Mathias intending to burn her. Lara steps out of the shadows and fires an arrow at the Solarii Brotherhood member holding the torch, but is beaten by the other enraged Solarii members. Mathias lights the pyre, only to have a powerful gust of wind blow the fire out. Mathias proclaims that Sam is the one (the 'key' frequently mentioned throughout the game) they have been waiting for, and Sam is once again separated from Lara as the Solarii take her away and momentarily disarm Lara. Following the previous events, Sam is brought to the main chamber of the Solarii base where Mathias expresses that she has been given a great honor, but she refuses to believe it. After Mathias leaves her with a guard, Lara kills the lone Solarii guard and rescues Sam. Lara and Sam encounter Whitman and Mathias, with the the doctor appearing to be captured. Retreating back into the main chamber, Lara urges Sam through an entryway and into a hallway before the debris from the burning building separates them.

Sam heeds her friend's advice to escape ahead of her. Sam encounters several Solarii, who attempt to recapture her, she takes a pistol from a fallen Solarii and threatens them with it, but they don't listen to her and advance. With no other option, Sam kills one of them and flees. Sam manages to escape them and reunite with the other Endurance crew members. Along with them, she witnesses the helicopter's crash with both Lara and Conrad Roth on board.

She and the other survivors make their way to the crash site to find Roth dead and Lara traumatized. Sam defends Lara when Joslin Reyes lashes out in anger at Roth's death. After Reyes leaves to fix a boat, Lara tells the others that she's not ready to leave Roth. Sam stays behind, and offers Lara a hug, and tells her to come to the beach when she's ready. Lara gives her one of Roth's pistols, and tells her to keep it close. Sam follows the others and leaves Lara to mourn Roth.

Lara later joins them, and Sam and Jonah hug her. Sam attempts to help, though ends up discharging a machine gun, much to Reyes' annoyance. After this Reyes presumably makes Sam stay out of the way. Sam finds an old copy of Robinson Crusoe to read. Whitman arrives on the beach and Sam and the others crowd around him, believing that the Solarii are after him. After a brief altercation, Lara heads to the Endurance to find Alex Weiss. Sam stays with the group.

The group later hears a massive explosion, and fear for the worst. However Lara returns with Reyes tool's after the sun has set. Sam realizes that Alex had died, and is deeply saddened to have lost another friend.

Whitman talks about how they'll have quite a tale to tell when they return to civilization, though Sam is no longer keen on her alleged heritage, and hopes to never hear the name Himiko again, and wants to forget. After a brief verbal exchange, between Lara and Reyes, Lara leaves again to search the nearby bunker. Sam assures Lara that she won't leave without Lara.

Sam attempts to get some sleep. Some time later, The Solarii attack the group, injuring Reyes. Whitman kidnaps Sam and hands her over to Mathias. Sam is forced into a ceremonial gown by Mathias and taken to the Monastery, along with Whitman. Mathias uses Whitman to distract the guards, and sneaks into the Monastery with Sam. They are followed by Lara.

Lara catches up to them, after a while, and Mathias holds Sam at the behest of his bladed staff, to keep Lara from coming any closer. However after lightning strikes causing a fire, Lara is cut off from them, and Sam is taken to the top of the monastery. Mathias brings Sam to Himiko's previous body. Mathias calls out to Himiko, saying that he has brought her the vessel she sought. The decaying corpse comes to life, and her soul begins to transfer to Sam, who is powerless against it, and rendered unconscious, as Lara battles her way to her friend. Lara is able to kill Mathias and destroy Himiko's remains.

Sam regains consciousness, with Lara looking over her. Sam is grateful, for Lara saving her life. With the curse lifted, the storms end, and the sun cuts through the clouds. Severely weakened, Sam is unable to walk, and Lara carries her down to the boat. Jonah takes Sam from Lara, and lays her down. With the storms no longer keeping them on the island, Sam and the surviving Endurance crew members are able to leave the island. They are later picked up at sea by a passing freighter.

After Yamatai

 * Main Article:Tomb Raider (Dark Horse Comics)

In the weeks following Yamatai, Sam wakes from a nightmare, which Lara shows concern for, and notices a hand shaped bruise on Sam's arm. Lara tries to talk to Sam about Yamatai, but Sam refuses and snaps at Lara. A few days later, Sam returns home after grocery shopping to find the flat ransacked and gets kidnapped again by a cult who worshiped the Solarii. Sam tells them that Lara will come for her no matter what, and rescue her, and kill her captors, just like she did to the real Solarii. Though they later revealed to Sam, that she was just being used as bait to lure Lara to Yamatai, as she was considered a "guardian" and was to be sacrificed to bring back Mathias. Sam inadvertently caused Mathias' resurrection, when she attacked Matsu over the seal, that the ritual was being performed on. Since Matsu was a guardian, his blood completed the ritual, and Mathias' soul possessed Matsu. Lara killed him again, and Sam escaped with Jonah and Reyes and waited at the beach for Lara to return.

When Lara expressed her intent to go to Pripyat to look for Alex's sister, Kaz Weiss, Sam was adamant about accompanying Lara, however Lara flat out refused, and went alone. When Lara returned with a new roommate, Sam and Kaz hit it off, and became fast friends, and helped Kaz change her look to make her harder to detect. Sam showed Moral support for Lara, when she was having doubts about appearing in Jonah's play. Sam's work with a documentary crew is interrupted, when they are sent a ransom tape from Las Serpientes Que Caminan, claiming to have Grim, who they previously thought had died on Yamatai. With a two week deadline, and no way to pay the ransom. Sam concocts a plan for them to travel to Mexico, using the cover of shooting a documentary about the Chupacabra. Sam also sets up an elaborate ruse, using friends from her acting class to pose as herself and Lara.

En Route to the island via boat, Sam begins to act strangely, she is in an almost vacant state and snapping at Lara. When a storm approaches their boat, she jumps into the water. Lara attempts to save her from a shark, though Sam attacks it herself, by stabbing it in the eye with her ankh necklace.

While shooting the documentary, a local woman in the local village recognizes that Sam is possessed and causes Sam to pass out. Sam snaps at Lara, that Lara is treating her unfairly, and has been ever since they got back from Yamatai. Lara leaves to find Grim alone, leaving Sam with Jonah and Kaz. They were later captured by by Las Serpientes Que Caminan, Sam and Cuddy Grimaldi, arrive and rescue them, and Sam kills one of her captors with a machete. Much like the incident with the shark, Sam seems to not have any memory of the incident in the immediate aftermath. In a near catatonic state, Sam looks in the mirror and sees Himiko in lieu of her own reflection. Despite Lara interrupting the ascension ceremony, Himiko successfully transferred a bit of her soul into Sam's body, lying dormant.

Upon returning home, Sam is cold and distant. Lara expresses her desire to help Sam, though Sam refuses, claiming she can handle her own problems, accusing Lara of running from her own problems. Whilst out for a run, Sam assaults a man who asked her for directions, and as a result, Sam is arrested. She is deemed to be a risk to herself and is placed within a mental ward. When Lara visits her, Himiko reveals to Lara that she has latched herself onto Sam, much to Lara's horror. In their last conversation, Sam tearfully said to Lara that no one can help her and said her goodbye. Since then, Sam has refuses to take any visit from friends and family, even Lara, even when the ward allows her to try to talk to her.

Bonded to Himiko's Soul
Sam was due to go on trial for assault, though was deemed mentally unfit to do so. She was transferred to Halburg Institue, in Sweden, likely a decision made by her mother. Sam became friendly with one of the nurses and was apparently doing well. However, Trinity took over the building and Sam was placed in the care of Dr. Taffe, which is when Sam took a turn for the worst. Late one night, Sam, seemingly now fully under Himiko's control, killed a nurse and escaped with five other patients.

Though Sam seemed to be aware of what Himiko was doing, she was unable to fight back due to how much control the Sun Queen had over her body. What's more, is that Himiko's was seemingly "strangling" Sam's soul to gain as much control as possible. During this time it seems that other spirits, who were friends with Professor Morrow, (resent ally of Lara) were able to contact Sam while she was under Himiko's control though they were unable to help her during this time.

Breaking Free of Himiko
As Himiko continued to make her way to Yamatai she was soon confronted by Trinity's forces and Lara Croft who had been tracking Himiko ever since she escaped the Halberg Institute. Lara fought with Himiko and was able to get Himiko/Sam out of the building so Trinity wouldn't be able to harm her. As they fought Lara tried to reach Sam, begging her to fight against Himiko's control over her but Himiko was able to fight her off and made a attempt to escape.

However, Lara was able to catch up with her and ran her off the road by launching a motorcycle in the van's path. With Himiko unconscious Lara took her to a barn where Jonah had place a the Wei Mirror which was the only item that could remove Himiko's soul from Sam. As Himiko and Sam began to gain consciousness the two began fight for control over Sam's body. Himiko demanded that Sam obey her and that her body belong to her before Sam was even born. However, Sam was able to fight against her and after breaking free of confines, using a knife that she had hidden on her person earlier, stabbed herself in her stomach, much to Himiko and Lara's horror.

With the sun rising up Jonah opened the shutters in the barn which bounced off all the mirrors in the room making it impossible for Himiko to open her eyes, without gazing on the mirror and having her soul extracted. However, Himiko refused to open her eyes. Lara then entered the room and told Sam to open her eyes as it was the only way for her to be free of Himiko. Before losing consciousness Sam was able to open her eyes and Himiko, who was still conscious, was forced to look upon the Wei Mirror as the sunlight shone upon it. Himiko's soul was sucked from Sam's body and trapped within the Mirror, along with the countless others Himiko had used it on, ending the Sun Queen once and for all and freeing Sam from her grip. Sam was rushed to the hospital, and survived her self-inflicted stab wound.

At the hospital, Lara had Jonah give Sam a box of Jaffa Cakes. Lara meets with Sam's mother and tells her to take Sam somewhere safe, where Trinity wouldn't find her.

Hallucination
Months after leaving Sam, Lara searched Trinity's leader in both an attempt to avenge her father and protect Sam. Lara's search eventually brought her to Antarctic but she was attacked by a agent of Trinity. A woman called Nadija who was sent to capture Lara.

However, Nadija didn't kill Lara but instead brought her to the Tree of Eden and forced her to eat the trees bark. After doing so Lara had a strong hallucination in which she saw all those she was either forced to kill, those she failed to save and those she felt she had let down. Among them was Sam but unlike most of the other hallucinations, which represented Lara's guilt and fears, "Sam" seemed to represent Lara's strengths as she tried to help and save Lara from those she killed or let die.

Towards the end of the hallucination Lara banished the memory of her enemies but when the Sam hallucination appeared before her and asked what Lara would do to her, Lara hugged her and decided to hold onto her memory instead of forgetting her.

Attempting to Contact Lara
During Lara's battle with Trinity Sam had gotten in contact with Jonah to wish him a happy birthday and had also managed to contract Lara while she was in Bali.

Personality and Characteristics
Sam is an outgoing, bubbly girl with a passion for adventure, a trait she shares with her best friend, Lara Croft. They have gone on a lot of trips together, although Sam was often forced to practically drag her friend away from her books to go out clubbing, meeting boys and the like. In this regard, the two balance each other out, with Sam making sure Lara does not become too much of a shut-in, while Lara keeps Sam's wild-child tendencies in check. Due to the way she was raised, Sam really cannot understand why Lara refuses to touch her fortune, and sometimes ribs her about it, but she does not let it get in the way of their friendship. Sam also has a bit of a superficial side, as seen when she comments that she "must look awful" after surviving some of the island's harrowing experiences, however this could also have been simply to have something else to talk about or to lighten the mood.

Sam also appears to be quite clumsy. When the group was on the beach trying to fix the PT boat, she caused a machine gun to go off, much to the annoyance of the rest of the group.

As a consequence of the many times she has switched schools (and even continents) Sam feels out of place in the world, a sentiment she shares with Lara.

Sam is shown to be quite clever and resourceful. After learning that "Grim" was alive she convinced Lara to let her, Jonah and Kaz come with her and was the one to form a plan to not only get to Mexico undetected through a combination of hiring actors that looked like her and Lara so that members of Las Serpientes Que Caminan wouldn't realize they had left their flat and going under the guise of "Documentary film crew" that were researching the Chupacabra to avoid drawing attention to themselves.

Sam is also very brave as shown when she offered to go with Lara to help save Kaz when Lara learned that she was in danger and the only reason she did not go was because Lara requested her to remain home and again when she helped Lara rescue "Grim" from Las Serpientes Que Caminan. When held captive by the Solarii Worshipers Sam mocked them stating that she knew Lara would come for her no matter what.

Another example of her bravery was shown during her final confrontation with Himiko. As the two fought for control of Sam's body and soul, Sam, likely realizing that Himiko had to be stopped no matter what, stabbed herself in the stomach in an attempt to finish Himiko once and for all. And during her final battle with Himiko, Sam, trusting Lara's words, opened her eyes to look upon the Wei Mirror, even though there was a good chance of her own soul being drawn into the Mirror in alongside Himiko's.

Sam is fiercely loyal and protective of Lara, calling out Reyes for blaming Lara for Roth's death and stated that she wouldn't leave Yamatai without Lara. When it seemed that the Solarii Worshipers were about to kill Lara, Sam stated that she would let Himiko take over her body and soul willingly if it meant that Lara would live. When Lara was held captive by Leticia Cortez, Cortez suspected that Sam would venture into the jungle herself to rescue Lara from the Las Serpientes Que Caminan.

After Himiko had transferred part of her soul to Sam she began change and act strange. She begins to suffer from violent outbursts, blackouts and being very distant. One of the results of which, Sam assaults a man, and ends up being imprisoned in a mental institution.

Sam is incredibly strong willed as shown when she and Himiko fought for control for her body after Lara had captured her. While Himiko managed to suppress Sam's own thoughts and take complete control of her body for days at a time, Sam was able to break through on a number of occasions and even directly managed to push back against Himiko's even as she demanded Sam obey her.

Skills and Abilities
Sam has a decent amount of experience as a filmmaker, having filmed in The Arctic, The Congo and The Red Desert.

Sam is not very skilled in combat, however she was able to temporarily subdue and member of Las Serpientes Que Caminan by getting two surprise attacks on him.

She's also knows how to use a gun, as shown when she was escaping from the Solarii palace after Lara saved her and had to kill one or two Solarii members who were trying to recapture her.

Physical Appearance
Sam is a very attractive young woman, she has very notable Asian facial features, pale pasty skin complexion, and light brown eyes, (sometimes light blue in the comics). She has dark brown hair (jet black in the comics), which she has cut in bob haircut style, (though she did have two different styles while in college, one of which being more of a punk style wit it being shaved on one side, and later having it as long as Lara's). She has a slender physique and stands roughly at 5'5" (165cm) tall.

After her final confrontation with Himiko, Sam gained a scar on the left side of her stomach which was self inflicted in an attempt to make sure that Himiko would not win if Lara's plan failed. The wound was later stitched up when Lara got Sam to a local hospital after Himiko was defeated. She also had some sort of sun mark on her left shoulder soon after leaving Yamatai but this has since faded away.

Tomb Raider: A Survivor is Born
Sam shows her mixed heritage physically, as her features do not completely give away her nationality, She is quite beautiful, is shown to take pride in her appearance, and is up to date with fashion trends. She wears her hair in a short bob cut, when she first met Lara, the left side of her head was shaved.

She is one of only two characters to have two outfits in game (Not counting Lara's DLC outfits)

Her first consists of a Brown, short sleeved leather jacket, a black v-neck t-shirt, white skinny jeans, and brown biker style boots with a heel to them.

Her second is a simple ceremonial robe (which was probably just made from salvaged cloth) and flowered headband. She also hand bands around her wrists and ankles.

Tomb Raider: Dark Horse Comics
In the comics Sam has a wide range of cloths, possibly the most in the series as she is almost always seen wearing a different outfit in each issue and has had at least 3 different hairstyles.

Hisao Nishimura
Sam's relationship with her Japanese father is strained. Growing up Sam was a trouble maker and as a result was expelled from multiple schools. Leading her to being moved between countries and even continents.

After Sam was possessed by Himiko and escaped from hospital. Hisao and his wife went on to appeal for any information of the whereabouts of their daughter, wanting her returned safely.

Antonia Nishimura
Much like her father, Sam's relationship with her Portuguese mother is strained due to Sam's behavior as a child.

However it's very clearly established that she cared deeply for her daughter, given her outrage at the poor condition of Sam's room in the hospital, as they had sent expensive gifts, such as bed-sheets, to ensure she was comfortable.

Antonia was openly hostile towards Lara, blaming her for Sam's condition.

Lara Croft
Sam met Lara in college in their first semester. The two quickly became friends and would often travel together, going to places like China, Africa and local night clubs. And while both often felt out of place sometimes because they were together they always ended up having fun.

At some point Sam told Lara about her family history and ties to the lost Kingdom of Yamatai which Lara was fascinated by and began to study. Sam was adamant to help Lara start her career in archaeology even going as far as to secure funding for the voyage to find Yamatai after Whitman's show was cancelled.

After the shipwreck on Yamatai, Sam was captured, but managed to send a distress call to Lara. Lara promised Sam that she would get her home. Despite the the chaos of the island, Sam's unwavering faith in Lara lead her to trusting Lara when she they couldn't leave yet.

Sam attempted to help Lara many times offering to go with her to Pripyat, offering her a business suit to see her uncle in order to claim ownership of the Croft family fortune.

After Sam was taken over by Himiko, Lara traveled all over Europe to track her down and break the possession.

It was later stated by Jonah that Lara is now hunting down Trinity for both killing her father and for hurting Sam for what they did to her while she was under Himiko's control. Showing that Lara still cares about Sam a great deal.

Soon after encountering one of Trinity's best assassins, a woman named Nadija, Lara was forced to eat the bark of a tree believed to be the Tree of Eden which caused her to have violent hallucinations. During the hallucinations Lara saw Sam and, unlike many of the other hallucinations, Sam tried to help Lara through her situation by trying to draw her away from the memories of those Lara had killed and those she failed to save. When Lara began to regain control of herself and banish the memories of her enemies, Sam appeared before her again and asked what Lara would do with the memory of her.

Lara chose to hold on to her memories of Sam instead of choosing to forget about her showing, yet again, how much Sam meant to Lara.

At some point between the events of Inferno and Shadow of the Tomb Raider Sam had called Lara while she and Jonah were in Bali and Lara states that she has been meaning to get back to her. This implies that the two are beginning to mend their relationship after everything that happened with Himiko.

Conrad Roth
Sam and Roth seem to be on good terms. Roth seems willing to allow her to film everything on the ship, he without any protest, even when she inadvertently caught him going into Reyes' room for what was obviously a romantic escapade.

Joslin Reyes
Much like Lara Sam was a bit scared of Reyes due to her intimidating personality. When she and Lara went to talk to Reyes about what Grim had told them about how Reyes thoughts the Expatiation and to thank her for believing in her plan Lara and Sam had a brief argument on which one of them would be the one to actually talk to Reyes as they were both scared of her. However, when Reyes began to blame Lara for Roth's death Sam was the only one to stand up to her and pointed out that blaming Lara was unfair given that all of them were to blame for everything that had gone wrong, which Reyes agreed with. Later, when Lara had decided to explore an old Tomb to learn more about the storms Reyes had threatened to leave as soon as she finished fixing the boat but Sam made a point of saying that she, Sam, wouldn't leave without her standing up to Reyes again. After this Reyes seemed to develop a bit of respect for Sam because of her willingness to stand up to her and later agreed to help Lara save Sam from the Solarii Worshipers when they had captured her.

Jonah Maiava
Despite the fact that he and Sam haven't talked much, it is strongly implied that they have a friendly relationship and trust each other. Sam and Jonah are still on friendly terms as Sam had called Jonah up while he was helping Lara fight Trinity to wish him a happy birthday.

Angus Grimaldi
Sam and Grim got along well, Grim was very enthusiastic to tell his stories for the documentary. In Grim's document that Lara finds while on Yamatai it was made clear that he was worried for Sam's safety along Lara and Alex showing that he did care for her.

Himiko
Before the start of the series Queen Himiko was someone Sam believed herself to be a descendant of. At some point Sam had told Lara the story that her, Sam's, grandmother had told her about Himiko and her mystic powers and was excited when she learned that Lara was going on a Voyage to find Yamatai.

However, soon getting ship wrecked on the island, Sam was captured by tthe Solarii and slowly came to learn the truth that Himiko was, in fact, some sort of dark Priestess who used her powers to hop from one host body to another in order to prolong her life and that she had chosen Sam has her new host. However, thanks to Lara, the ritual to transfer her soul into Sam wasn't complete and it was believed that Sam was freed of Himiko.

But a year later Sam began to act strangely and to her horror she slowly began to learn Himiko had succeeded in transferring a bit of her soul into Sam. However, because of Sam's rash behavior she, and by extension Himiko, ended up getting arrested and being sent to a Mental Asylum and despite her best efforts, Himiko was unable to take full control of Sam's body as she was able to hold her back for well over a year.

However, that would change when the Asylum Sam was being held in was bought by Trinity who began to experiment on Sam in order to strengthen Himiko's unknown connection to the Divine Source. In doing so Himiko was able to take full control of Sam and began to use her body in order to gather followers and retake her lost kingdom of Yamatai. But as she was gathering her followers Sam remained a thorn in the Sun Queens side as she continued to fight against her control and was even able to get in contract with other spirits who were able to tell Lara what was happening.

After Himiko was captured by Lara and taken to the Wei Mirror Himiko began to lose control of Sam once again and this time Sam managed to hold on long enough to stab herself and forced Himiko the look upon the Wei Mirror. In doing so Sam was able to free herself of Himiko once and for all.

Mathias
During their first meeting father Mathias presented himself as a kindly man who had bandaged Sam's injured foot. After Lara had found them Sam had begun to tell Mathias the story of Himiko in order to past the time and Mathias, still being presenting himself as a kindly old man, asked Sam to tell him the story of Himiko. However, it didn't take long for Mathias to reveal his true nature after kidnapped her and began sending people after Sam's friends and loved ones.

While being held in the Solarii stronghold Mathias ordered Sam be prepared for a Fire Ritual that would determine whether Sam was the chosen one who would be the new Host for Yamatai. Though Lara tried to stop the Ritual Mathias' Solarii were able to over power and subdue her, allowing Mathias to finish the Ritual. After Himiko used her powers to spare Sam from the flames Mathias ordered Sam to be taken to the Throne room in Order to prepare Sam foe the final stage of the Ascension Ritual.

It was very clear from their interactions in the Throne Room that Sam had come to hate Mathias for everything he had put her and her friends. Soon after escaping the Solarii stronghold Sam had noted that Mathias was insane but also believed him that the island was cursed. After being captured by Mathias again, thanks to Whitman's betrayal, Sam soon found herself being taken to where Himiko's body was being held in order to complete the ritual.

Though she rarely spoke of him it was clear that Sam still harbored hatred for Mathias as she mocked the leader of the Solarii worshipers when they threatened to finish what he began.

James Whitman
Though the two hadn't known each other for very long Sam and James Whitman did not get along with one another very well. A large part of this was due to Whitman's tendency to throw fits during filming, often resulting in multiple takes for several filler scenes. It also didn't help that he wasn't really helping with anything else during the expedition and would often criticize anyone who questioned his decisions.

However, while the two didn't like one another Sam remained professional while working with Whitman, putting up with his tantrums and even convincing to go along with the filler scenes, convincing him that the audience demand content.

During her time on Yamatai Sam grew colder towards Whitman after their escape from the Solarii palace and took Lara's side in distrusting Whitman. After Whitman betrayed the remaining members of the Endurance by kidnapping Sam and bringing her to Mathias Sam had likely grew to hate Whitman.

Appearances
In order of Release (*) = Mentioned only (^) = Dream
 * Tomb Raider: The Beginning
 * Tomb Raider (2013)
 * Tomb Raider (Dark Horse Comics) (Arcs 1-3)
 * Tomb Raider: The Ten Thousand Immortals
 * Rise of the Tomb Raider (Mentioned only)
 * Tomb Raider (Dark Horse Comics) (Arc 4^, 5, 6* & 7^)
 * Shadow of the Tomb Raider (Mentioned only)

Tomb Raider: The Beginning

 * "Oh my God! It's an Alexa!"
 * "I'm not one of the Crew. I'm just keeping Lara company, and working on my tan."
 * "It gets better... I'm coming with you!"
 * "I'd quit that attitude, Now if I were you, Alex. Or it's going to be a Very long trip!"
 * "I studied cinematography at Collage. I've filmed in the Arctic, the Congo and the Red Desert. I can do this."
 * "Ready for your close-up, Miss Croft?"
 * "You will be. One day. I know it."

Tomb Raider (2013)

 * "Here's the Soon to be famous, Lara Croft, in her native habitat. She's on the search for the lost Kingdom of Yamatai, home to the fabulous Himiko. Legendary Ruler, and ancestor of yours truly."
 * "I trust you, Roth trusts you. You got this."
 * "A tale? I hope I never hear Himiko's name again."
 * "I won't leave without you."
 * "LARA!"
 * "You saved me. I knew you would."

Season of the Witch

 * "Um, Josl... uh, Ms. Reyes? Lara has something to say.""
 * "Really? Well, I heard that she use to live under a bridge and eat children"
 * "You've reached me, Sam Nishimura, and I'm either off shooting an award-winning documentary or passed out drunk. You know what to do."
 * "Because, you well-dressed idiot... My friend will come for me."
 * "The Solarii, right. I remember them. Unlike you they actually were scary. Until Lara killed them all, I mean."
 * "Mind if I shoot you? Your Picture silly."
 * "Hmm. Make you a deal. Give me one of those and I'll put the camera away. For now."
 * "I'm Sam, Sam Nishimura. Wanna go dancing."
 * "Please don't hurt her. I will... I'll do the ritual. I'll let Himiko inhabit me, if that's what you want. Just don't hurt her."
 * "Well. Maybe this whole Blood Sacrifice thing isn't the best plan in the world after all, huh?"
 * "I'm not tied up Now, you bastard!"

Secrets and Lies

 * "No. You're not. We Always go together. Always."
 * "Yes, but you were Adorably awkward. He's just a idiot."
 * "They broke the mold when they made you, Lara."
 * "She looks less like a Lara Understudy now."
 * "You just about finished there, kiddo. Because it's only final dress rehearsal."
 * "You know what I love about you roomie? What I truly admire? It's that, when you see an artifact, something that could have just... turned to dust, but survived, somehow. You don't see a cost, you don't see a monetary value. And you don't see your name on a museum wall."
 * "You know you don't. Now wipe your mouth, Brando. And shut up. I'm saying brilliant stuff."
 * "You see the person who made the thing. You see their hands mastering their art, and the family they do it for, and the community where they live."
 * "And this play, Lara Croft, this story. It's my favorite. Have I ever told you that? The Book's two hundred years old. People today, who know nothing about the period, they just read it out of obligation, Lara. They love it. There's no other word to describe it. It lets us, it lets everyone, see the time the way you would. Its about class, love, and obligation. About knowing yourself, being who you are. And those things should never turn to dust."
 * "You've got that look in your eye. I've seen it before. You're going to do something daft, aren't you?"

Queen of Serpents

 * "Major brownie points for me. Still not sure what the Hell those are."
 * "This isn't happening. Not Again."
 * "Yeah, you'd Better run. I have more cupcakes, you know!"
 * "Er, what did you just save me from, Lara?"
 * "This is turning into a Really weird evening."
 * "No. But one things for certain -- We're not safe here. And Grim's not safe there. And I have an idea that could get us close without causing to much suspicion."
 * "See, we won't be going into the jungle to find the bandits. We'll be going into the jungle to find... Chupacbra!"
 * "Surprise! It's you. Well, the stand in you."

Choice and Sacrifice

 * "Please Lara, please don't abandon me again."
 * "No. You cannot take me Himiko."

Inferno

 * "LARA!! Lara, Grab My Hand!"
 * "Don't Listen, Lara! Reach for Me!!"
 * "So why did you leave?"
 * "And what do you have for me?"

Documents
Throughout the series Lara can find five Documents that are from or about Sam:
 * Sam: Feelings of Unease
 * Sam: Filmmaker
 * Sam: Family Story
 * Sam: Adventures with Lara
 * Sam

Trivia

 * Despite believing herself a descendant of Himiko, it is far more likely that she is the descendant of a family, who left Yamatai before the fall of Himiko, as it is implied Himiko never had any direct family, since she chose her own successors, who she would transfer her soul into, as opposed to passing it down by blood.
 * In issue 12 of the second run of Dark Horse Comics, Himiko refers to Sam as a "traitor" confirming that her family did at one point reside on Yamatai, and escaped before Himiko's fall.
 * As stated in the prequel comic, Sam owns the original Arri Alexa camera. However, the camera shown in the comic book is a different model to that shown in the game. However it's highly probable she has multiple cameras, given how Lara describes her as "a camera nut."
 * Arri Alexa cameras typically cost tens of thousands of dollars, which is a prime indicator of Sam's family's wealth.
 * Oddly, at the end of the game, Sam is seen wearing her normal outfit on the freighter, despite wearing the ceremonial attire when she had been rescued.
 * Sam's last name could be a reference to Toru Nishimura, Lara's Japanese contact in Tomb Raider: Legend.
 * Rhianna Pratchett has stated in an interview that a part of her would have loved to make Lara a lesbian, and that she liked how fans had speculated about the relationship between Lara and Sam. It is unknown if anything will ever come of this as Lara's sexuality is never directly stated, or alluded to during the game.
 * However, Sam could be bisexual, as it is stated that she is interested in men, in one of the documents that can be found.
 * It is possible that Sam possesses triple Citizenship, given her mixed Japanese and Portuguese heritage, and the fact she refers to herself as an American.
 * However, it is likely that Sam only possesses US and/or Portuguese citizenship as Japan's strict nationality law does not permit dual/multiple citizenship therefore, Sam (in accordance to Japanese nationality law) would have to renounce and/or lose her Japanese citizenship in order to retain her US and/or Portuguese citizenship's.
 * Though not as much a bibliophile as Lara. Sam does enjoy reading. Her favorite story is Pride and Prejudice, and she read a copy of Robinson Crusoe, she found whilst on Yamatai to pass the time.
 * By the time of the comics, Sam is working for a film crew, working on at least one documentary about gas leaks.
 * She also appears to be going through financial difficulty, claiming she can't afford to fly first class, on their trip to Mexico. She also claims her uncle will not give her money, after he lost his investment in the search for Yamatai.
 * Sam has two actresses credited to her performance. It is unknown which actress provided which parts.
 * Oddly Sam had a different voice in the initial trailers than the finished game.
 * Arden Cho, the primary voice actor for Sam, also provided the voice for Steph in the first games multiplayer.
 * Sam is a favorite among players in multiplayer, as she is one the smallest characters/targets, making it harder for enemy players to hit her. She is also unlocked by default.
 * Sam makes appearances in four arcs of Dark Horse's tie in comics, though she only appears in a vision in arc 4. She is mentioned in arcs she doesn't appear.
 * In her initial appearance Sam is clearly a brunette, which is in direct contrast to the comics where her hair is jet black. Her eye color also changes from brown to grey or blue.
 * The way Sam defeated Himiko is very reminiscent of the how Hoshi defeated her as both attempted committed seppuku in order to stop Himiko from possessing her, though Sam ultimately survived the ordeal.
 * Sam is one of the three characters to have appeared on covers of the Tomb Raider Dark Horse tie-in comics aside from Lara, the other two being Himiko and Reyes. Sam has also had the most appearance on the covers, three in total.
 * At one point Sam owned a Video Camera that belonged to the X700 line. Lara mentions that she was so jealous that Sam had owned one.
 * Sam has a lot in common with the unused character Izumi from the prototype project Tomb Raider Ascension (Game). Both are of Japanese decent, both have a connection to the Island they are on and both are someone Lara seeks to protect from the horrors of the Island. Given these similarities it's entirely possible that Izumi was the early concept for Sam before becoming who she was in the final version of the game.
 * Sam's design in the first game seems to have been based off one of Lara's redesign from Tomb Raider Ascension (Game) as Lara apparently a Asian/European mix with short hair and wearing a jacket with rolled up sleeves like Sam usually has.
 * According to The Official Shadow Of The Tomb Raider Artbook the idea to bring back Sam was pitched but was turned down in favor of Jonah.
 * Jackson Lanzing (Co-Writer for Survivor Crusade and Inferno arc in the Dark Horse Comics) has stated that Originally during Lara's toxic drug induced hallucination that Lara would come to understand that her feelings for Sam were romantic and that the page where Lara and Sam hug was suppose to be the two kissing. Phillip Sevy also said that he had drawn the image in question but by the time it went into the publishing state the kiss had been redrawn into a hug.