| Introduction:
Samurai Shodown was originally released for the Neo Geo
arcade and home systems. It was the Neo Geo's first
legitimate offering at a one-on-one fighting game after
several failed attempts. Takara, responsible for most of the
lackluster ports to other systems, finally did a decent job
of converting a Neo Geo game to the Super NES. The game is a
whopping 32 Mb and actually looks and plays VERY close to
the arcade version. Really the only thing missing is the
scaling zoom camera, which really was one of my favorite
parts of the arcade version. Basically you can choose
between 12 samurai type fighters and duke it out in
weapon-style combat as well as hand-to-hand style combat.
But how does the Super NES version stack up against the
original arcade counterpart. I'll tell ya!
Graphics [9/10]:
Takara really went all out on this one in the graphics
department. It looks absolutely amazing. In fact the
graphics are the part of the game that really surprised me.
Normally most of the Neo Geo ports to the Super NES look
pretty lame and play even worse. I guess Takara finally got
tired of the letters from game players telling them to step
it up a notch, because they did. The background have all the
detail found in the Neo Geo version minus the cool scaling
zoom camera effect. The players are a bit smaller but the
detail of them makes up for it. Now I know why the game cart
is 32Mb. And well worth it.
Music and Sound [8/10]:
The music and sound are nearly identical to the Neo Geo
version. Problem is the music and sound in the Neo Geo
version wasn't that great to begin with. Personally it would
have been nice if Takara had souped up the music but I guess
you can't have everything. I think the speech in the game
could have used some work too. It's hard to hear in many
places and sounds almost garbled at times. The sound and
music is definately the low point of the game but it doesn't
really detract from the game itself and if you liked the
original arcade version's sound and music then you should
feel right at home with the SNES version.
Game Play [8.5/10]:
Every other Takara Neo Geo translation I have played for the
SNES had substandard control. Fatal Fury was one of the most
frustrating and near-impossible games to play and almost
kept me from ever buying another Takara Neo Geo port.
Luckily though I tried Samurai Shodown because I loved the
arcade version so much and they finally did a good job on
the control. It's almost as good as the Neo Geo version. I
did have a little trouble pulling off some of the special
moves but they were not impossible. Nothing a little
programmable game pad couldn't fix. Overall good game
control. And it's about time!
Challenge and Replay [7/10]:
I personally thought the game was fairly easy to beat
against the computer opponent. But this game's strength has
always been as a two-player game. As far as replay value
go...it's probably a game you'll play through once against
the computer and then drag it out only when friends come
over. Not a lot of replay value in this one but if you are a
Samurai Shodown fan or really enjoy one-on-one fighting
games then this game is right up your alley. I only wish
Takara had ported Samurai Shodown 2 to the SNES.
Conclusion/Overall [8/10]:
Overall I have to say that this game is one of the best
fighters available for the SNES. I would put it right up
there behind Street Fighter II and Mortal Kombat. And as I
said before Takara really went all out on this one. Great
graphics, good play control, and an already great game, make
Samurai Shodown a must have game for SNES fight freaks! Bravo Takara.
|
