Samurai Shodown (series)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Samurai Shodown (Samurai Spirits in Japan) is the name of a versus fighting game series by SNK. It is considered to be the premier 2D weapons fighter, and is one of the best-known video games created by SNK. This series also started SNK's reputation for their unique style of Engrish, known as SNKglish in their games.^{[citation needed]} Unlike Mortal Kombat, the usage of blood in this game is generally accepted, and the decision to replace blood with "sweat" or "white blood" (or green, in the case of the second game) for the English releases remains a sore point among fans of this series.

The Samurai Shodown games are most famous for their "rage gauge", a super combo gauge that only increases as a player receives damage. Earlier games also have a referee in the background, officiating the match.

Despite the name of the series, most of the characters are not samurai in the true sense of the word. In Japan, the name of the series is officially in katakana, but is often written in kanji (侍魂, samurai damashii), with the second character pronounced supiritsu, "spirits," to better reflect the game's setting.

1 Overview
- 1.1 Impact of the Series
2 Games
3 Timeline
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] Overview

The stories in the series takes place in 18th century Japan (the first four games run across 1788 and 1789), with some artistic license so that foreign-born characters (including some from places that didn't exist as such in 1788) and fictional monsters can also be part of the story. The plot of each game is quite different, but they circle a central group of characters and a region in Japan.

Samurai Shodown is considered by some to portray Japanese culture and language effectively. Unlike most American versions of Japanese video games, the characters in this game (including the announcer) generally speak fluent Japanese with subtitles. Much of the music is based on traditional Japanese music and several characters are loosely based on real people from Japanese history.

There are two main artists responsible for the character designs and illustrations. For the early games (Part 1 to 4), the characters are created by Eiji Shiroi, his illustrations featured a distinctive, traditional Japanese calligraphy style. A few of the later games are illustrated by another artist named Senri Kita.

[edit] Impact of the Series

Samurai Shodown was among the first fighting games that modified the classical Street Fighter II formula and chose a different fighting system and many gameplay improvements (and graphical effects as well, such as the then revolutionary zoom effect, first seen in Art of Fighting). Many believe Samurai Shodown to have been the best and most original fighting game in its days. Its successor Samurai Shodown II was also enthusiastically received by critics and fans alike, but probably mostly by graphics that surpassed everything seen before in this genre since the gameplay was only incrementally changed.

Like many of SNK's flagship series, Samurai Shodown is home to several firsts in the history of Versus fighting games. For instance:

Samurai Shodown 64 was the first 3D fighting game to incorporate multi-tiered arenas, where you could break through one section of the stage to fight in another area close by. This idea was later showcased in (and is often erroneously credited to) Dead or Alive 2.
The series is the first to incorporate a specialized form of blocking: block an incoming attack at the last possible instant to deflect the opponent's strike and stun him/her, enabling time for a counterattack. This ability has persisted throughout the series, and variations on the theme have shown up in many other games, such as The Last Blade and later into parrying in Capcom's Street Fighter III.

[edit] Games

English Title	Japanese Title	Platform	Release Date
Samurai Shodown	Samurai Spirits (サムライスピリッツ)	Neo Geo	07-07-1993
Samurai Shodown II	Shin Samurai Spirits: Haohmaru Jigokuhen (真サムライスピリッツ覇王丸地獄変)	Neo Geo	10-28-1994
Samurai Shodown III Blades of Blood	Samurai Spirits: Zankurou Musouken (サムライスピリッツ斬紅郎無双剣)	Neo Geo	11-15-1995
Samurai Shodown IV: Amakusa's Revenge	Samurai Spirits: Amakusa Kourin (サムライスピリッツ天草降臨)	Neo Geo	10-25-1996
Samurai Shodown RPG	Shinsetsu Samurai Spirits Bushidou Retsuden (新説サムライスピリッツ武士道列伝)	Neo*Geo CD	06-27-1997
Samurai Shodown 64	Samurai Spirits (侍魂 ~SAMURAI SPIRITS~)	Hyper Neogeo 64	12-19-1997
Samurai Shodown: Warriors Rage	Samurai Spirits 2: Asura Zanmaden (SAMURAI SPIRITS 2 アスラ斬魔伝)	Hyper Neogeo 64	10-16-1998
Samurai Shodown!	Samurai Spirits! (サムライスピリッツ!)	Neo Geo Pocket	12-25-1998
Samurai Shodown! 2	Samurai Spirits! 2 (サムライスピリッツ! 2)	Neo Geo Pocket Color	04-30-1999
Samurai Shodown: Warriors Rage	Kenkyaku Ibunroku-Yomigaerishi Soukou no Yaiba-Samurai Spirits Shinshou (剣客異聞録甦りし蒼紅の刃サムライスピリッツ新章)	PlayStation	12-22-1999
Nakoruru ADV	Nakoruru -Ano Hito kara no Okurimono- (ナコルル〜あのひとからのおくりもの〜)	PC	03-28-2002
Samurai Shodown V	Samurai Spirits Zero (サムライスピリッツ零)	Neo Geo	10-10-2003
Samurai Shodown V Special	Samurai Spirits Zero Special (サムライスピリッツ零 Special)	Neo Geo	04-22-2004
Samurai Shodown VI	Samurai Spirits Tenkaichi Kenkakuden (サムライスピリッツ天下一剣客伝)	Atomiswave	09-15-2005
Samurai Shodown Flash (unofficial, translation of Japanese title)	Samurai Spirits Sen (サムライスピリッツ閃)	Taito Type-X2	TBA 2007
Samurai Shodown Collection	Samurai Shodown Collection	PlayStation 2	TBA 2007