Samurai Shodown II
| Samurai Shodown II | |
|---|---|
 Neo Geo AES cover art for Samurai Shodown II, featuring art by Shinkiro. | |
| Developer(s) | SNK |
| Publisher(s) | SNK |
| Platform(s) | Arcade, Neo Geo CD, PlayStation, Windows, PlayStation Network, Wii (Virtual Console), Xbox 360 (XBLA), Neo Geo X |
| Release date(s) | Neo Geo October 28, 1994 PlayStation Network
September 10, 2008 Neo Geo X
|
| Genre(s) | Fighting game |
| Mode(s) | Up to 2 players simultaneously |
| Cabinet | Upright |
| Arcade system | Neo Geo (202 Mbit cartridge) |
| Display | Raster, 304 x 224 pixels (Horizontal), 4096 colors |
Samurai Shodown II (真 SAMURAI SPIRITS 覇王丸地獄変 Shin Samurai Spirits Haōmaru Jigokuhen, lit. "True Samurai Spirits - Haohmaru's Portrait of Hell"), is the second game in SNK's popular Samurai Shodown series of versus fighting games. This game has been released on the Wii's Virtual Console in Europe on August 8, 2008 and in North America on August 25, 2008 at a cost of 900 Wii Points.[1] It has also been released on Xbox 360 for Xbox Live Arcade on September 10, 2008. On December 18, 2012, SNK has released the game on the onboard memory on the Neo Geo X. SNK Playmore released the game port for iOS and Android platforms on iOS App Store and Google Play in June, 2013.
Gameplay
Following up on the extremely enthusiastic fan reception of the first SS game, SNK rebuilt the sequel from the ground up, including almost all of its predecessor's cast, adding several new characters, and refining the overall gameplay with more responsive control, more moves (particularly the use of the POW meter as a super special move meter; these moves not only cause severe damage to the opponents but also break their weapons, forcing them to fight unarmed for a short interval before a replacement weapon is issued), and a substantial number of Easter eggs.
The overall gameplay was expanded to include several movement options, such as being able to roll forward and backward, ducking to avoid high attacks, or doing small hops to avoid low strikes. This game was also the first game to incorporate an offensive blocking technique or "parry", via a command issued at the last second, a player would be able to deflect the incoming attack and leave their adversary open to attack by a split second. Such a technique was later also used in Namco's Weaponlord and later popularized by Capcom's Street Fighter III. There are also cameo appearances from other SNK characters, a hidden boss who would occasionally come out to challenge players, and several other treats for fans to uncover.
Characters
The cast of characters was expanded to include the following new additions:
- Genjuro Kibagami, who was to become Haohmaru's greatest rival.
- Cham Cham, a young, catlike girl who was the younger sister of Tam Tam (who was excluded from the game).
- Neinhalt Sieger, a knight from Prussia, who fights with a giant, gun-containing gauntlet.
- Nicotine Caffeine, an old, diminutive monk, and master of Haohmaru and Genjuro.
- Kuroko, the hidden boss of the game, is playable for the first time. Kuroko's movelist is interesting as he uses moves that are used by some of the characters in the game as well as characters from other SNK fighters such as Ryo Sakazaki. His super move in the game is a comical version of Ryo's Ryuko Ranbu.
- Rashojin Mizuki, the first female final boss in the series and the only boss to have assistance from an animal.
Plot
Reception
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Samurai Shodown II was even better-received than the original[3] and is commonly regarded as one of SNK's finest games ever produced. It also made GameSpot's list of "The Greatest Games of All Time"[4] and EGM's List of "Top Ten Cult Classics".[5] At Game Rankings, it holds the overall rating at 92.50%.[6] It was ranked as the 18th best arcade game of the 1990s by Complex.[7]
In spite of (or perhaps because of) its considerable popularity, the game went for several years without being released on any other system.[8] When it did happen, it was a port of the Neo Geo CD version for Windows-based PCs.[9] This version did actually get a release in the United States. The only other port was for the PlayStation, in the form of the Samurai Spirits Kenkaku Shinan Pack (サムライスピリッツ剣客指南パック), which combined the first two games into one package, and was only released in Japan. However, at the 2007 Tokyo Game Show on September 21, 2007, an Xbox Live Arcade port and a PlayStation 2/Wii anthology containing every Samurai Shodown game were announced.[10]
The game is renowned for having some of the most popular bits of Engrish in the history of video games, even considering SNK's history of questionable translation. Chad Okada (the Game Lord) has stated that efforts to localize the text were stunted as the time and money needed to fix it would have been more expensive than releasing the title in its original state.[11] Manga artist Nobuhiro Watsuki, creator of Rurouni Kenshin and Buso Renkin, briefly discusses playing "Shin Samurai Spirits" as well as certain characters' influence on his villain designs in early volumes of the former series.
References
- ↑ "One WiiWare Game and Two Virtual Console Games Added to Wii Shop Channel". Nintendo of America. 2008-08-25. Retrieved 2008-08-25.
- ↑ NEO GEO GAMES CROSS REVIEW: 真サムライスピリッツ. Weekly Famicom Tsūshin. No.332. Pg.23. 28 April 1995.
- ↑ "Samurai Shodown II Site at GameSpot". GameSpot - A Video Game Review Site. Retrieved December 21, 2007. "The second game in SNK's Samurai Shodown line is widely regarded as the best of the series."
- ↑ "The Greatest Games of All Time". GameSpot - A Video Game Review Site. Retrieved December 21, 2007.
- ↑ EGM Staff. "Top 10 Cult Classics from 1UP.com". 1UP.com - A Video Game Review Site. Retrieved December 21, 2007.
- ↑ "Samurai Shodown II Reviews". Game Rankings - A Video Game Review Site. Retrieved December 19, 2007.
- ↑ Rich Knight, Hanuman Welch, The 30 Best Arcade Video Games of the 1990s, Complex.com, August 28, 2013.
- ↑ Lachel, Cyril. "Defunct Games - Top Ten Games That Brought Us to Capcom vs. SNK 2". Defunct Games - A Retro Video Game Site. Retrieved December 21, 2007. "Though this is the highlight of the series, it's odd that the game was never given justice on a home console (outside of the Neo Geo, of course)."
- ↑ "真サムライスピリッツ 覇王丸地獄変：SNKプレイモア ゲーム情報総合サイト NEOGEO WORLD". SNK Playmore Official Homepage (in Japanese). Archived from the original on October 13, 2007. Retrieved February 6, 2008.
- ↑ "Tokyo Game Show 2007: Samurai Shodown 2 to XBLA, Wii new from 1UP.com". 1UP.com - A Video Game Review Site. Retrieved September 21, 2007.
- ↑ Provo, Frank. "The History of SNK~Banking on NeoGeo". GameSpot. Retrieved June 2, 2008.
External links
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