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- This article is about the 1993 video game. For the 2019 video game, check Samurai Shodown (2019).
"A samurai fears not death, struggles to triumph over evil, and lives for one purpose: TO DESTROY ALL ENEMIES."
-Intro
Samurai Shodown, known in Japan as Samurai Spirits (サムライスピリッツ), is the first game of the Samurai Shodown series. It is the third game of the official chronology, succeeding Samurai Shodown (2019).
Story[]
The official story, as given by SNK, is as follows:
"Plagues of unknown origin, strange phenomena, repeated outbreaks of war: these were enough to cause panic and plunge people into despair. But one smiled as he surveyed the unfolding chaos rending the world asunder. For this 'man,' once slain by the forces of the Tokugawa Shogunate, hate for the Shogunate is all he possesses along with newly acquired dark powers to bring it down. This 'man,' Shiro Tokisada Amakusa, unleashes his unworldly forces and spreads his false creed in an attempt to lead the world to ruin.But in the midst of such calamities, there were still warriors who put their beliefs to the test. These warriors spurred by different motives and beliefs converge as if drawn together, battle, and make their way to the source of the chaos."
Overview[]
The game is set in the late 18th century, in the Edo period, and all the characters wield white weapons. The game uses comparatively authentic music from the time period, rife with sounds of traditional Japanese instruments, such as the shakuhachi and shamisen, and a refined version of the camera zoom first found in Art of Fighting. True to its use of bladed weapons, the game also included copious amounts of blood.
The game quickly became renowned for its fast pace, focused more on quick, powerful strikes than the combos. As to emphasize the distinction of this gameplay system, slow motion was added to intensify damage dealt from hard hits. Also during a match, a referee held flags representing each player (player 1 was white; player 2 red). When a player landed a successful hit, the referee would lift the corresponding flag, letting everyone watching know who dealt the blow. To lessen the repetition of fights, a delivery man running in the background threw items such as chicken (that healed) or bombs, which could significantly change the outcome of a play.
The cast of characters, like many other fighting games of its time, spanned from fighters across the globe, allowing a wide range of weaponry open for the players' enjoyment.
Game System[]
Rage Gauge[]
Samurai Shodown introduces the Rage Gauge. As your character takes damage, the gauge rises from green to yellow, then yellow to red. The character himself changes color to indicate his rage. Once the gauge fills up to the maximum, the gauge flashes POW and for a limited time, all the character's attacks inflict critical damage. This is an aspect which should be taken advantage of during the battle. Once the rage subsides, the gauge empties and attack power reverts back to normal.
Characters[]
The original cast of sword-wielding ronin are:
Official Roster[]
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Boss[]
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Game Boy Exclusive Characters[]
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Stages[]
- Note: In Arcade Mode, there is a bonus stage, where the player needs to cut ten straw dolls in 20 seconds. Features a giant banner, a wooden stage and judges dressed like Kuroko, that vibrate when all the dolls are cut. This stage appears three times, each with a different atmosphere.
Normal Stages[]
 Gairyu Isle at Noon, Izu, Japan |
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 Gairyu Isle at Night, Izu, Japan |
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 Onigami Isle |
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Boss Stages[]
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Home Version and Ports[]
When SNK released the game for the home console version of the Neo Geo system, the AES, the fans bought it up in droves, and it still stands as the most successful run of home Neo cartridges ever produced. The game was ported to multiple other platforms, including the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Nintendo Game Boy, Sega Mega Drive, Sega Game Gear, Sega CD, Sega Saturn, 3DO, FM Towns, PlayStation, PlayStation 2, and Xbox. All of the cartridge versions were handled by Takara, while Crystal Dynamics ported the 3DO version, and JVC handled the Sega CD port. All the ports vary in quality, given the individual capabilities of the systems it appeared on.
All the 16-bit Sega versions of the game (including the Sega CD version) omitted Earthquake. Both versions lack the camera zoom, and as a result the camera is zoomed-in, which gives better detail to the characters, but the fighting area is smaller. Of note is the Sega CD version, which contained a bug which caused the game to crash when the final boss was reached. Publisher JVC offered to replace glitched discs with copies of Fatal Fury Special (which they also published for the system). No "fixed" version was released.
The Super NES version, by contrast, has the character line-up intact, but has the game zoomed-out, which makes the characters look tiny and harder to time attacks. The stages, on the other hand, are less restricted. This version also supports Dolby Surround.
The Neo Geo AES version of the game was released for the Wii's Virtual Console on October 16, 2007 in Japan; May 30, 2008 in Europe; and June 16, 2008 in North America.
The PlayStation 4 version was released as part of the line "ACA Neo Geo", developed by Hamster Corporation. In Asia and Europe, was released in December 8, 2016, and in Japan and North America, in December 9, 2016.
Censorship[]
The game was edited when it was first released for the AES as it featured blood and graphic fatal attacks that kills opponents by slicing them in half. This was mostly due to the negative publicity that sparked involving the use of violence in video games of the time, a most prominent example being Mortal Kombat. As a result, it was decided to censor the game for most platforms, by changing the blood from red to white and disabling all of the fatal attack animations. These censorship issues were also carried over to the win quotes, and references to death or blood were altered. This release incited controversy in the United States, as many fans who bought the game were angry that the game they had paid for was not 100% true to the arcade experience, a notion which ran contrary to the professed point of the AES in the first place.
The Sega 16-bit ports frequently had the violence toned down. While the blood is featured, it is used sparsely and one of the fatalities is cut for each version. In the Super NES version the blood was recolored orange and the half slicing is removed. The 3DO version, however, was ported almost a year later, and managed to reach the console with all blood and fatality graphics intact. As a result, some retailers didn't even carry this edition of the game.
Samurai Shodown is justifiably considered the starting point for the wave of Neo Geo console modchips, which would enable users to set the system's region to Japan, or play in arcade mode, which would in turn allow the game to be played with all of the blood and death animations intact, even on a U.S. console. It also marked the beginning of SNK's nebulous and much-discussed policy of censoring their games for release in the United States, which still persists (albeit sporadically) to this day.
Critical Reception[]
Neo Geo[]
Chad Okada, "The Gaming Lord", states that Samurai Shodown "put SNK on the map" and overwhelmed games in the arcade at the time. President of Noise Factory, Keiko Ijuu, adds that one of the factors contributing to the game's success was the change to medieval setting for a one-on-one fighting game, a stark contrast to other games set during contemporary times.
In Japan, Game Machine listed Samurai Spirits on their August 15, 1993, issue as being the most-popular table arcade game at the time.[1] It went on to be Japan's sixth highest-grossing arcade game of 1993.[2] In North America, RePlay reported Samurai Shodown to be the most-popular arcade software kit for four months in 1993, from August[3][4] to October[5][6] and then again in December.[7] Play Meter listed it as America's third most-popular arcade game in October 1993.[8] It went on to be one of America's top five highest-grossing arcade conversion kits of 1994.[9]
In the February 1994 issue of Gamest magazine in Japan, Samurai Shodown was awarded Best Game of 1993 in the Seventh Annual Gamest Grand Prize, as well as being the first to win in the category of Best Fighting Game (Street Fighter II Dash, the previous Game of the Year, won as Best Action Game). Samurai Shodown also placed first in Best VGM, Best Album and Best Direction, and second place in Best Graphics. In the Best Characters list, Nakoruru placed No. 1, Haohmaru at No. 6, Jubei Yagyu at No. 8, a tie between Ukyo Tachibana, Galford, and Poppy at No. 11, Charlotte at No. 16 (tied with Duck King from Fatal Fury Special), Kuroko at No. 18, Tam Tam and Hanzo Hattori tied for No. 22, Gen-an Shiranui at No. 29, and Wan-Fu tied at No. 45 with five other characters.[10]
Samurai Shodown won multiple awards from Electronic Gaming Monthly in their 1993 video game awards, including Best Neo-Geo Game, Best Fighting Game, and Game of the Year.[11] It was awarded "Game of the Year" at the April 1994 European Computer Trade Show (ECTS).[12]
In 1997, Electronic Gaming Monthly listed the Neo Geo AES version as number 99 on their "100 Best Games of All Time", citing the solid fighting engine, realistic use of blood, and easy to execute moves.[13]
Ports[]
Famicom Tsūshin gave the Super Famicom version an 8 out of 10 in their Reader Cross Review.[14] Electronic Gaming Monthly gave the Super NES version a 37 out of 50, commenting that despite the lack of scaling, it is still a very good port.[15]
GamePro considered the Genesis version to be superior to the Super NES version, citing the Genesis version's better scale (zoomed-in versus the zoomed-out graphics of the Super NES version) and the awkward control configuration on the Super NES version. They held the Game Boy version to be surprisingly good given the hardware, but ultimately unsatisfying, and concluded that hardcore fans should pass on even the Genesis version in favor of the upcoming 3DO and Sega CD versions.[16] Next Generation reviewed the Genesis version of the game, rating it three stars out of five, and stated that "fans of the arcade game won't be disappointed with this solid translation, complete with blood and all the varied endings of the original."[17]
Famicom Tsūshin scored the 3DO version of the game a 25 out of 40.[18] Electronic Gaming Monthly scored the 3DO version 38 out of 50, calling it "A very faithful home version of the arcade fighter".[19] A reviewer for Next Generation remarked that "The 3DO conversion is nearly identical to the arcade version, much more faithful than the previous SNES, Genesis, and Sega CD versions. The load time between rounds is noticeable, but acceptable." He gave it three out of five stars.[20] GamePro praised the general gameplay but criticized the quality of the conversion, complaining that the scaling is not as smooth as the arcade version, the animations are slower, the load times are interminably long, and the gameplay is crippled by a poor control configuration, which the player is not given the option to change.[21]
GamePro named the Sega CD port the best Sega CD game at the 1994 Consumer Electronics Show.[22] Their eventual review, however, was largely mixed. They criticized the slowdown, lack of scaling, frequent load times, and low-quality reproduction of the arcade version's sounds, and added that the fact that Samurai Shodown was by then a three-year-old game makes the Sega CD version's faults stand out more.[23] Electronic Gaming Monthly scored it 30 out of 40 and declared it "the best conversion of the game that made the Neo Geo the system of choice for fighting games." They particularly praised the accurate graphics, short load times, and ease of pulling off special moves.[24] In 2018, Complex rated Samurai Shodown 40th on their "The Best Super Nintendo Games of All Time." They praised the graphics, game controls and saying everything is on point in the game.[25] In 1995, Flux magazine listed Samurai Shodown 80th in their "Top 100 Video Games."[26] In 1996, Super Play named the game 99th on its Top 100 SNES Games of All Time.[27]
Legacy[]
Three anime adaptations based on the game have been made. Samurai Spirits: Haten Gouma no Shou in 1994, which is a full-length film; Samurai Spirits 2: Asura Zanmaden in 1999, with two episodes and Nakoruru ~Ano hito kara no okurimono~ in 2002, a one-episode OVA.
References[]
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- ↑ 読者 クロスレビュー: サムライスピリッツ. Weekly Famicom Tsūshin. No.309. Pg.39. November 11–18, 1994.
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- ↑ 3DO GAMES CROSS REVIEW: サムライ ショーダウン. Weekly Famicom Tsūshin. No.330. Pg.79. April 14, 1995.
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- ↑ Knight, Rich (April 30, 2018). The Best Super Nintendo Games of All Time (en).
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External links[]
- Neo Geo commercial
- 15 sec commercial for SNES
- Virtual Console page
- Arcade Archives official website, product page
- Samurai Shodown at Sega Retro
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