Samurai Shodown III

"The most "mature" of the 2d Samurai Shodowns..."

The first time I played Samurai Shodown 3, I was hoping that it would improve on everything that 2 had. Did it?

well... yes and no...

Yes because graphically and musically, this was perhaps the best, moodiest, and downright coolest Samurai Shodown yet, even darker then Samurai Shodown 4. Charachters from Samurai Shodown 2 that were deemed too ''goofy'' by team Garapagos were either ditched, or made much more badass in the transition. The new charachters that were made fitted perfectly with the new mood present. The music was also vastly improved; much darker, much more ''japanese,'' if you will. There's little of the old Samurai Shodown 2 soundtrack in here.

No because, though it isn't bad by a large stretch, its still nothing like the first 2 Samurai Shodown games. It was also a bit rushed in some areas. This made for a game that not everyone would enjoy.

anyway, on to the nitty gritty of the game...

Graphics(10): Good god, was I really looking at a Samurai Shodown game? You bet, team Garapagos had decided to make the next Samurai Shodown game darker, moodier, and much more ''mature.'' Charachters like Earthquake, Gen-an, and Cham Cham were all gone, replaced with the likes of Gaira, Basara, and Rimururu(ok, so you can't have enough ''cute'' charachters). These charachters are much darker, much scarier, and much cooler (I could never take seriously the likes of Gen-An), and they just scream to be played. The returning charachters have recieved GIGANTIC face-lifts. All the returning charachters not only sport huge, extremely detailed sprites, but ungodly amounts of animation. Backgrounds are no fingerpainting exercise either, they're all incredibly well animated and detailed (I just love Amakusa's stage). Everything about the graphics is so perfect, there are few, very unnoticable quirks.

What are they? Some characters that should have stayed in (Jubei, why did they ditch the only real samurai in the whole game!?) got ditched. Including those that were SS staples, including those like Charlotte and the aformentioned Jubei. But that's only a quirk that was easily remedied in Samurai Shodown 4.

Sound(9): Also very, very, very excellent. Charachter voices are sharp, crisp, and match the look of the charachter exactly (Amakusa's voice is SO much better in this game then in 4, as well as Zankuro's). Music is also very good, not a bad tune in the bunch, if you prefer moody, dark music instead of the rock-infused soundtrack from Samurai Shodown 2 (though, Galford still has a rock score for his music). The songs that stayed in are either too good to ditch, or still fit into the mood of the new game. As before, there are quirks, though they are much bigger.

The biggest quirk is that the sound is actually quite glitchy. When playing 1 player, you never hear your charachter's voice when they do their intro. Also, some death screams were really... freaky... (Galford's screaming like he got something down low cut off, yikes!). Otherwise, besides the glitches and the girly death screams, the sound is about as perfect as you can get.

Gameplay(8): Not the strongest gameplay ever, but its still not bad. Instead of keeping to the control scheme present in SS1 and 2, they completely re-did it. Slashes now each have their own button and kicks are stuck with one button. There are new tricks to learn, like dodging, guard crushing, hop attacks, and many more; Its a whole new game to be learned. Characters have recieved new tricks. Heck, they recieved whole new fighting styles. Thanks to the ability to choose your characters's personality, you can alter, almost completely, the way he/she plays. This effectively doubles the number of characters one can choose.

Sadly, gameplay isn't Samurai Shodown 3's strongest point. Character balance could have been improved (Amakusa simply sucks in this game, sadly). Attack damages are also extremely strange. Some normal attacks, in certain situations, will do more damage then must SUPERS. Of course, cutting a sword into a guy isn't the slowest way to off him, but the damage done is almost random in many cases. CPU AI can also be pretty random, in certain situations, its absolutely frustrating, in others, its downright stupid (Zankuro doesn't know how to block most supers, just a tip for ya). The almost random damage scale, combined with the weird CPU AI (if you even play the CPU), can make for some of the fastest fights, or the slowest fights ever. Throws are also gone, replaced with guard crushes. These are simply throws that cause one's opponent to stumble away with their guard down, allowing for a free hit. Why team G replaced normal throws with this is beyond me, as both would accomplish the same thing.

Overall(8): Graphically, musically, vocally. This game stands the test of time. A true testament to the sheer power capable in the Neo Geo system. It also is a testament to SNK and their creative teams. It doesn't have the greatest gameplay either, it can be downright annoying in single-player, but its still not bad, especially in multiplay.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/08/02, Updated 07/08/02