With the current trend for nostalgia in the gaming industry , it comes as no big surprise that Ignition/ SNK have delved into their bountiful back catalogue to bring us a compilation of the successful Samurai Shodown franchise .
Released simultaneously on the PSP, PS2 and Wii platforms, the anthology contained all six titles from the popular franchise and for review purposes we were privy to the Wii version.
First appearing on the NEOGEO MVS system in 1993 (really ? That long ago – sure doesn’t feel it !), Samurai Shodown wasted no time in garnering a faithful following who enjoyed the fast paced action and humour associated with the game. The original Samurai Shodown brought weaponry into the fighting genre introducing a new aspect allowing for swordplay and some quite unique (!) contraptions.
Those who have never played Samurai Shodown before will be astounded by the riot of colour and sound. Played in 2D the backgrounds are jam packed with brightly coloured imagery and the shouts of the fighters as they are hacking and slashing will pull you right into the gameplay. For those “old hands” there are plenty of familiar faces (as well as some new ones too) such as Hauhmaru, Gen-An, Galford and his dog , among others.
The opening menu provides you with four different modes – Arcade, where you can choose to play from the first five Samurai Shodown games, Practice mode, Vs mode – a 2 player game and , the last option, Samurai Shodown VI . Once you select which mode you want to play you then get to select which character to use and considering there are 48 characters to choose from you’ll have no difficulty there. The main game screen displays a mediation gauge (characters strength), Energy gauge, sword gauge (attack power), time limit, character names and rage gauge ( extent of characters rage) all of which are well positioned as to not interfere or obscure any play yet easy to keep an eye on.
Progressing through the six titles you will find more fighting moves become available allowing you to appreciate the advances that were made during Shodown’s evolution. Limited to only a handful of moves in the first game advancing to snags , slashes , plunging and rolls as well as a spirit system enabling the player to choose varying attributes ie. High defence but low offence, more likely to weapon steal etc. The options are plentiful and it’s well worth keeping your manual close on hand for a while. What initially appears as a retro 2D fighting game is actually quite complex and diverse to the point where you can actually change colour schemes !
On the downside we did find the Wii mote not to be the best controller for these sorts of games and during the mini game where the dog had to catch food being thrown to/ at him he got “stuck” at the sides of the screen . However we may be able to rectify better use of the controller with more practice.
Although Samurai Shodown is from a genre I wouldn’t normally play, I can certainly appreciate it’s appeal .
The graphics are an absolute delight as is the audio with loads of catchy tunes and brilliant commentary – I dare you not to smile while listening to the dialogue or the whacky characters and their weapons. As far as longevity goes this is a title that will never lose its charm simply because it’s from that “arcade” era and you’ll enjoy revisiting it time and again.
Sometimes fun is where you least expect it
