""Looks like we've jumped the shark, Mamahaha!""

Samurai Shodown put SNK on the fighting genre map when it was first released in 1993. It was one of the first weapon-based fighters, and along with the abominable Mortal Kombat, one of the few games in which you could kill your opponent. Because somehow, "knockout" just doesn't quite apply to cleaving someone in two.

SNK followed up with three sequels, all of them good, except the rather disappointing third installment. However, with SNK's demise, the torch was passed to Yuki/SNK Playmore, and not only did they drop said torch, but it started a fire that burned down the whole building and left it hollowed out shell of its former self. Because this game sucks. It sucks like the wind.

One of the most egregious flaws in Samurai Shodown 5 is that Yuki did not bother to translate it for English speaking audiences. Which means you get no introductory quotes, no cutscenes explaining what's going on, and worst of all, no endings. That's right, as soon as you finish off the rather uninspired boss, you are immediately dumped to the credits scroll with no explanation as to who or why you are fighting. I don't know, maybe the whole cast of Samurai Shodown just decided one day to up and start hacking each other to pieces. It makes about as much sense as anything else in this game.

Upon inserting their quarters and progressing to the character select, players will be greeted by some of the most awful character portraits I've ever seen. I literally cringed when I first saw Haohmaru and Nakoruru. Several new characters make their appearances, such as the hammer-wielding Sankuro or the scantily-clad archer Mina. Unfortunately, the new characters just aren't very interesting. Sankuro is apparently content to sit around and sic his helpers on you all day, annoying you to no end, and too often Mina comes across as cheap and lame like all the other new characters. And in case you were wondering, the Bust/Slash system is gone, and instead we get more new characters who are simply the Bust styles of the originals. So you have people like the undead Haohmaru and a female version of Ukyo masquerading as new characters, when all they are are the Bust versions from Samurai Shodown 4!

Graphically, the game is totally at odds with the games that preceded it. The Samurai Shodown games have always had a darker, more atmospheric mood, and then SS5 comes along and sweeps that all away, with bright, visually flat backgrounds that look more at home in the Street Fighter Alpha series than Samurai Shodown. Worse still, some of the backgrounds are ripped directly from the previous games, giving me the impression that, at this point, Yuki just wasn't trying anymore. Character sprites, for the most part, are copied from SS4, with slight palette changes.

Aurally, the game fails to impress, with characters sounds either ripped from the previous games, or made worse. Trust me, in the loud din of your average arcade, you're not missing much. Yuki has done the impossible and made Nakoruru's voice even more annoying, who now sounds about three years old. Perhaps a good disemboweling is in order for our tree-hugging, nature-obsessed friend.

The gameplay attempts to be something of a hybrid between the first two Samurai Shodown games and the last two. Slashes are handled like in SS1 and 2; A is weak slash, B is medium slash, and A+B is hard slash. However, kicks are handled with one button as in SS3 and 4, and is mapped to the C button, which means that the D button is relegated to a short little hop that serves little purpose. This change in controller scheme was totally unnecessary and proves the age-old maxim, "if it ain't broke don't fix it."

And now to the gameplay...good god what they have done? This is one of the few fighting games I know to take drastic steps BACKWARDS in terms of the fighting engine. The C+D combos are gone, the Rage Explosion is gone, the Combination Slash is gone, and desperation moves are gone, and the "No Contest" moves are also missing, as well as the aforementioned Bust/Slash system. What you end up with are battles that feel stale and tired, like the game developers simply wanted to push another Samurai Shodown out the door before moving on. It's unlikely you'll derive much enjoyment from playing against your friends, and NO enjoyment from the single player, as there is no story and no endings to reveal. This game feels horribly rushed, and is truly a sad end to a great series.

-StaplerFahrer wishes a tree would fall on Nakoruru.

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 08/29/04