Samurai Shodown 64

Samurai Shodown 64

Developer(s) SNK
Publisher(s) SNK
Platform(s) Arcade
Release date(s) December 19, 1997
Genre(s) 3D Weapon Based Versus fighting
Mode(s) Up to 2 players simultaneously
Cabinet Upright
Arcade system Hyper Neo-Geo 64
Display Raster (Horizontal)

Samurai Shodown 64, known simply as Samurai Spirits (SAMURAI SPIRITS ～侍魂～ Samurai Supirittsu) in Japan, is a 3D fighting game produced by SNK for its Hyper Neo-Geo 64 system. It was SNK's first attempt to bring one of their franchises into the 3D realm. After having released four Samurai Shodown games on the Neo-Geo, SNK announced that they would be producing a new arcade hardware platform, this one 64-bit and with extensive 3D capabilities. Although it was never ported to home consoles, it was followed by a second 3D installment titled Samurai Shodown 64: Warriors Rage.

Storyline

Chronologically, Samurai Shodown 64 takes place one year after Samurai Shodown II. The storyline is described officially by SNK as follows:

"It all began over two decades ago...and took several years to carry out.

'Yuga the Destroyer' seized unborn children throughout the land, provided them with various mysterious skills, and then returned them to their mothers.

The babies were later brought into the world as if nothing had happened.

These infants displayed unique abilities from infancy and were called child gods by some, child demons by others. Over the subsequent decades, they grew to become extremely gifted children, ending up as the true movers and shakers of their generation.

Then one day "Yuga the Destroyer" suddenly appeared before them.

He came to show these individuals who remembered nothing of him...a puppet show.

And those who saw this performance remembered: the missions they were given before they came into this world..."

Gameplay

The gameplay takes full advantage of its 3D engine, with the ability to move in any direction (in a fashion that was later modified and used in Namco's Soul series). It is also the first 3D fighting game to use multi-tiered stages (although Midway's Mortal Kombat 3, a 2D fighter, utilized this concept two years earlier), where it was possible to knock an opponent through a wall or floor into a different section of the same arena. This idea was later used in Tecmo's Dead or Alive series, which is frequently (and erroneously) credited for the innovation. It also makes use of the then-traditional setup of being able to knock an opponent out of the fighting area entirely, thus resulting in a victory by "ring out."

Each character also has a "stamina bar" which decreases with excessive movement and attacks, and it replenishes while inactive. There is also a "POW meter", which, once it reaches maximum, allows the player the ability to obtain unlimited stamina for a period of time, and the ability to execute a super move, with devastating results.

Compared to previous games in the series, the overall pace is slower and more methodical. The control scheme also took some growing accustomed to, as special moves tended to have only one version, rather than multiple strengths based on the buttons pressed. The hardware itself was also something of an underperformer, and the visuals were lacking in fine detail, with the textures looking particularly low-resolution and characters looking blocky with clearly visible polygonal edges. The game also introduced two new playable characters:

All in all, the game was not received as well as SNK had hoped, so they sought to remedy the game's problems in the sequel, Samurai Shodown 64: Warriors Rage.

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