Samurai Shodown (2019)

''This artice is about the 2019 video game. For the 1993 video game, check Samurai Shodown.''

Samurai Shodown, known as Samurai Spirits (侍魂) in Japan, is a weapon-based fighting game by SNK released in June 2019. It's the 12th "mainline" installment of the Samurai Shodown series and the first "mainline" game since 2008's Samurai Shodown Sen, marking an 11 year gap between the releases themselves. Also it's a prequel for the first Samurai Shodown and the second of the official chronology, succeeding Samurai Shodown V.

This is also the first SNK game that utilizes Unreal Engine graphics (in this case, Unreal Engine 4).

The illustrations, in-game artwork and background were mostly done by Yumi Saji while covers were done by Eisuke Ogura.

The game was first released in June 2019 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One and later ported to the Nintendo Switch and Stadia. An arcade version (running on Taito Type X3 hardware with the NESICAxLive2 digital distribution platform) was playable in August at EVO 2019 in Las Vegas and was released in October 2019 in Japan. A PC version has been released in June 11, 2020 via the Epic Games Store, and the Xbox Series version will be released at the Winter of 2020.

Story
It is 1787, the 7th year of the Tenmei era. A newly appointed counsel to the Shogun, Matsudaira Sadanobu, has been chosen to usher in a new age of reform with the Kansei era. However, the land remains beset by fire, ruin, and famine, all while a sinister cloud darkens the air with a foreboding sense of dread.

Characters
Like in KOF XIV, the voice cast changes considerably, with new voice actors, including those who have been voiced by the same actors since their debut or for several years. The exceptions include Haohmaru, Genjuro and Kyoshiro. Seira Ryu (Ruixiang's voice), Mai Nakahara (Nakoruru's voice) and Masaki Masaki (Kazuki's voice) have already worked on the KOF series.

The starting roster features a total of 16 characters, with 13 returning veterans from the past Samurai Shodown games, along with three newcomers and a new final boss to the series. For now, 10 additional characters (divided in two seasons) are slated to appear as DLC, between veterans of the series and guest characters. The new characters added to the cast are:
 * Yashamaru Kurama, a young man of Tengu lineage, who lost his father at the hands of the Tokugawa Shogunate, and seeks revenge for his death;
 * Darli Dagger, a shipwright, who travels the world in search of a masked man who destroyed one of her ships;
 * Wu-Ruixiang, a wanderer and descendant of an ancient and honorable Feng Shui clan, she travels the world in the service of the Emperor of the Qing Dynasty;
 * Shizuka Gozen, the final boss of the game, was a young woman who died some time before the game's events. However, her bitterness and grief over her own death and that of her beloved made her soul unable to move to the afterlife. As a result, she ends corrupted by an evil influence and opens the gate to the Underworld, returning as a vengeful demonic force which spreads chaos and destruction throughout Japan.

Returning Characters

 * Haohmaru
 * Nakoruru
 * Genjuro Kibagami
 * Charlotte
 * Galford
 * Jubei Yagyu
 * Earthquake
 * Shiki
 * Ukyo Tachibana
 * Yoshitora Tokugawa
 * Hanzo Hattori
 * Kyoshiro Senryo
 * Tam Tam

New Characters

 * Yashamaru Kurama (protagonist)
 * Darli Dagger
 * Wu-Ruixiang
 * Note: Unlike the last two games in the KOF series, the DLC characters have relevance to the game's history (including guests from other companies).

Boss

 * Shizuka Gozen (non-playable)

NPC Character

 * Kuroko

Season 1

 * Rimururu
 * Shizumaru Hisame (Free Character)
 * Basara
 * Kazuki Kazama
 * Wan-Fu

Season 2

 * Mina Majikina
 * Sogetsu Kazama
 * Iroha

Season 3
TBA

Guest Characters (Only in Season 2)

 * Warden (Ubisoft's For Honor series)
 * Gongsun Li (Tencent's Honor of Kings series) (Free Character)

Original SNK Character (Only in Season 3)

 * TBA (The Last Blade series)

Gameplay
This section needs expansion.

Stages

 * Note 1: In Story Mode, the following characters doesn't have an associated stage, fighting in the featured places:


 * Earthquake: Gairyu Isle (Nighttime), Green Hell & Kumano Kodo;
 * Shiki: Mikatagahara & Kumano Kodo;
 * Yoshitora: Rakucyu Sanmonmae, Uduki & Gairyu Isle (Nighttime) [only in Hanzo's Story Mode];
 * Darli: Gairyu Isle (Daytime), Mikatagahara, Kumano Kodo & Uduki (only in Shizumaru's Story Mode);
 * Ruixiang: Uduki, Green Hell, Kumano Kodo (only in her Fateful Battle vs. Shiki) & Kamui Kotan;
 * Gongsun Li: Kamui Kotan;
 * Basara & Mina: Rakucyu Sanmonmae;
 * Wan-Fu & Iroha: Kamui Kotan (Late Winter);
 * Warden: Nikko;
 * Sogetsu: Sumidagawa.
 * Note 2: Unlike the regular characters without a fixed stage, who fight in different places, depending on the character chosen by the player, the DLC characters always fight in the same scenarios, despite not having one associated with them.


 * Note 3: In Battle Mode, the Boss Stage (Sakura of Shizuka) is available only in the first version. In addition, the Dojo stage is only available in the Battle and Dojo Modes.


 * Note 4: In Story Mode, the following characters fights in the respective stages:


 * Nakoruru: Uduki, Mitakagahara and Kumano Kodo (in Rimururu, Mina and Gongsun Li's Stories, respectively);
 * Mina: Nikko (in Iroha's Story).


 * Note 5: In Story Mode, the DLC characters are always faced before the first two cutscenes.

Normal Stages

 * Gairyu Isle: Daytime (A.K.A. Gairyujima) — Haohmaru: The new version of the famous stage, showing the Mount Fuji and the Miyajima Shrine. Bonsais, lamps, a boat, a lighthouse and sharp stones are featured. Stage reminiscent of Samurai Shodown I, Samurai Shodown II  and Samurai Shodown V Special.
 * Kamui Kotan, Late Autumn — Nakoruru: A forest on an autumn day. Various animals, a waterfall, trees, a bamboo bridge and the village can be seen in the background. Similar to the stage of Samurai Shodown II.
 * Note: in the update 1.60, the deer present in the stage, which was crouching before, stands.
 * Mikatagahara (A.K.A. Mikatagahara Field) — Genjuro: The new version of the famous dandelion field on a full moon night with a red sky. Features mountains and dead trees in the background, besides pathways through the field. Stage reminiscent of Samurai Shodown II.
 * Note: the new name of the stage is a reference to the Battle of Mikatagahara, occured during the Genki era.
 * Minerva no Ma (A.K.A. Hall of Minerva) — Charlotte: The new version of the salon of the de Colde family. Features a new portrait showing all the original cast in the game (the same showed in the first promotional trailer and except the DLC characters), a red carpet, chandeliers and vases with red roses. Stage reminiscent of the two games of the series.
 * Pirate Galleon or On The Galleon (A.K.A. Galleon Senjyo) — Galford: The deck of a pirate ship. Other ships appear in the background and the crew can be seen (which reacts when certain fighters win or lose fights, no matter the position, and especially when Galford win or lose fights in this stage), as well as barrels, cannons, woman statues and ropes. Similar to the stages of Samurai Shodown I and II.
 * Note: When the fight's time is almost over (starting from 10 seconds), the ocean water rises high, scaring the crew.
 * Uduki (A.K.A. Early Summer) — Jubei: The new version of the open bamboo forest. Features shacks, stones (some with Buddha face) and lamps. Also can be seen a gate in the background and the sun. Stage reminiscent of Samurai Shodown I and II.
 * Note: in the Nintendo Switch version, the bamboo trees are static.
 * Gairyu Isle: Nighttime — Ukyo: In this version, the shrine and lamps are multiplied and a shack can be seen. The boat and the lighthouse disappear, and in the left side, can be seen a full moon. Stage reminiscent of Samurai Shodown I, Samurai Shodown II  and Samurai Shodown V Special.
 * Kumano Kodo — Hanzo: The famous pilgrimage route forest next to the Nachi Falls and the Tsugizakura-oji, Chikatsuyu-oji and Hosshinmon-oji shrines, in a cloudy and misty day. The stage is raining lightly. Similar to the stage of Samurai Shodown I.
 * Note: in the Nintendo Switch version, the rain doesn't fall in this stage, and the mist disappears.
 * Shibaigoya (A.K.A. The Kabuki Stage) — Kyoshiro: The new version of the famous stage which the Kabuki dancer performs his act. Features sakura trees, a Kanji sign, painted walls, flags with horses and an audience watching the fight. Stage reminiscent of the three first games of the series.
 * Note: the crowd reacts with screams when certain fighters win or lose fights in this stage (and especially when Kyoshiro win or lose fights in this stage).
 * Green Hell — Tam Tam: The new version of the birthplace of the Mayan sacred warrior. The fight takes place on a stone bridge next to the muddy ruins of the Mayan city, with a waterfall in the background, small waterfalls and native vegetation.
 * Note: in the Nintendo Switch version, a fine mist can be seen in the stage.


 * Rakucyu Sanmonmae (A.K.A. Before The Temple Gate) — Yashamaru: The main gate of the Ninna-ji Temple, in Kyoto. Features trees, lamps, mountains, flags, flying birds and the pagoda of the temple, in the background. A small rain of snow falls slowly on the stage, and can be seen an amount in the right side.
 * Note: in the Nintendo Switch version, there are fewer birds flying in the background.


 * Sakura of Shizuka: A courtyard of a temple. In the first version, a sakura tree, multiple stairs, corridors and lanterns can be seen. In the second version of the stage, only the sakura tree and the lanterns are featured. Associated with Shizuka.
 * Dojo: A empty dojo with small windows and a samurai sword in the background. Kuroko can be seen judging the matches.
 * Note: This stage is the only one in which Kuroko appears.

DLC Stages
of the shogunate that bears his surname.
 * Kamui Kotan, Late Winter — Rimururu: The same stage as Nakoruru, but in the depths of winter. Leafless trees, snow-covered ground and forest animals can be seen, besides snow falling on the stage. Similar to the stage of Samurai Shodown III.
 * Note: in the Nintendo Switch version, a mist can be seen in the stage.
 * Nikko — Shizumaru: The Toshogu Shrine, next to the Yomeimon Gate, in the background. Redwood trees feature prominently and dead leaves are strewn about the arena, besides lion statues and some trees in the background. Pigeons flock about the stage floor, which divides into a tiled walkway and dead ground.
 * Note: This stage is the final resting place of Ieyasu Tokugawa, the founder
 * Sumidagawa (A.K.A. Sumida River) — Kazuki: A wooden boat next to the Edo Bay and the Shin-Ohashi bridge, during the annual fireworks celebrations in Edo. Features a rope, lamps and multiple boats, besides fireworks fill the sky.
 * Note 1: The bridge of the stage also appears in a woodblock print called Sudden Shower over Shin-Ōhashi bridge and Atake.
 * Note 2: In the Story Mode, the people in the boats react differently when the Kazama brothers fight in the stage: vibrates when Kazuki wins and regrets when he loses, and the contrary occurs when Sogetsu wins (regrets) or loses (vibrates).

Development
Samurai Shodown was unveiled at the SNK Investor Relations 2018 IPO conference, being developed by SNK. The twelfth main game in the Samurai Shodown series, it is the first mainline entry since 2008's Samurai Shodown Sen.

The development team consists of members who worked on The King of Fighters XIV and SNK Heroines Tag Team Frenzy. Nobuyuki Kuroki is the director and one of the artists, while Yasuyuki Oda serves as producer. Kuroki has been previously involved with the series through the Samurai Shodown 64 titles. The internal staff at SNK who worked on the game consisted of 50 to 60 employees, as well as outsourcing some art assets, to form a total of an estimated 200 employees who worked on the game. Some of the reasons for making a new title were the recent focus on the esports community and the many fan requests. The team considered using a realistic art style for the graphics but decided against it because too many fighting games were using it already. Oda has expressed interest in adding guest characters from other video game franchises.

Due to outdated graphics involving the releases of The King of Fighters XIV and SNK Heroines Tag Team Frenzy, SNK chairman Zhihui GE had stated that the future SNK fighting games will use Unreal Engine 4 graphics in order to give a better graphical presentation.

The returning characters Wan-Fu and Shiki were originally meant to be part of initial roster and DLC Season 1 Pass respectively, until the developer decide to switch their roster places in final release, whereas Shiki being put in initial roster and Wan-Fu being put in DLC Season 1 Pass character list.

Trivia

 * Although it's advertised as a reboot, this is very unlikely, since the game apparently happens after Samurai Shodown V (the first in the chronology) but before the first Samurai Shodown.
 * A cinematic after the character ending plays heavily implies Ambrosia's influence being the cause of Shizuka's corruption, and with the appearance of the Palenke Stone, foreshadows Amakusa's introduction into the lore and cementing its chronological timeline.
 * Of all the DLC characters, the existence of Sogetsu being a DLC character was accidentally discovered in the release of arcade version of the game, with his graphical assets already officially created ahead of the eventual reveal. Sogetsu's existence was also speculated by fans due to the fact his brother Kazuki has been released as a DLC character in Season 1, before the aforementioned leak, culminating finally with the official announcement at EVO Japan 2020.