Samurai Spirits IV: Amakusa Kourin Special

"Not too bad for a PSX port"

I am actually a much bigger fan of Samurai Shodown 3 than I am of part 4.
However as far as the PSX version of SS4 is concerned I must admit that SNK did a much better job at porting this title to PSX than they did with SS3.

PSX SS4 plays much more closer to the arcade/home version of the original SNK game and did not suffer the slowdown problems than the previous PSX SS3 had.

Gameplay -
Since PSX SS4 is more or less a direct port of the Neo Geo version, any issues you had with the actual gameplay as a result of the original game will no doubt be present in the PSX version.

As a game (and not as a PSX title) SS4 hasn't really changed much from SS3.
As in the previous SS3, you can choose from two different styles for each character (slash/Chivalry or bust/treachery)
however, in SS4 the differences between slash & bust for certain characters are more significant.

Whereas in the previous SS3, the slash & Bust characters only have slight variations/differences in certain moves, their style of play is still somewhat similar.
This is not true for SS4 where the slash & bust characters not only differ in terms of movesets but may also change drastically in the way those characters are played.

SS4 also made other additions to each character's repetoire of moves.
However, the only few noteworthy additions to the game are chain combos and also Rage Explosion and 'Fatal Slash'.
The others imo, are not worthwhile in the sense that they don't really add much to the gameplay.

With regards to chain combos, each character can perform a chain combo.
However one major gripe is that, all characters have essentially the same chain combo and they require the exact same button press in order to execute them (no variation there).
another problem I had with the chain combos is that apart from the 14 hit chain combo which instantly maxes out your rage gauge when performed properly, Chain combos are not really worth the effort because you could easily do more damage with your own combos.
Even a single fierce slash by a powerful character like Haohmaru can do as much damage as a chain combo.

The other significant addition is the Rage Explosion and Fatal Slash. When You activate your rage explosion move, your rage gauge will max out and slowly start to deplete. During this time, you can attempt to perform a super move as often as you can before the meter depletes. Once the meter is depleted, your rage gauge will be gone and you will not be able to use super moves for the rest of the match.
On the other hand, when you perform a Fatal Slash during rage explosion, your character will perform a single, deadly slash attack which takes off a sizable chunk of your opponent's life but will also instantly take away your rage gauge.

Apart from chain combos and Rage Explosion, each character can now perform a down-hit (hits a fallen opponent) similar to the Soul Edge game, A suicide move (to take the satisfaction away from your opponent of beating you him/herself.) and a Final Fatality move (kinda like MK games but better implemented imo).
As mentioned before, apart from the chain combos, the rest of the new features don't really contribute much to the gameplay.

Exclusive to the PSX version, is the re-introduction of SS2 favorite Cham Cham.
However, what is rather disappointing is the fact that she can only be played in versus mode.
This game has a practice mode as well, and you cannot use her on that game mode either.
It's a shame that a game would introduce a bonus character for you, but then not give you enough opportunity to use it.

Speaking of practice mode, the one in PSX SS4 is rather useful.
One feature I liked is that it allows you to view some of the more complex manouvres in the game. There is even one option that allows you to see the chars' infinite combo (if he/she has one). Quite cool =)

Finally, loading times in PSX SS4 isn't that bad. Even better is that the story scenes are implemented into the loading screen so that while you're waiting for the game to load, you can read into the game's story.
Even if you've already read the story many, many times the loading time is relatively brief.

Controls -
Character moves flawlessly without any hint of slowdown (unlike SS3 for PSX) and special moves and chain combos are easy to perform using the PSX pad. No problems here.

Audio/Video -
Video:
as in most PSX fighting games in 2D, there are usually some missing frames of animation. this is true for this game also.
What you see however is still rather manageable and there aren't any obvious or glaring problems are far as graphics are concerned.

Sound:
The soundtrack of this game is amazingly beautiful and better yet, you can listen to it on your CD player (just skip over track 1 as that is game data).
One major gripe I had in terms of sound is that the game reloads after every round.
this means, If you win/lose a round, the music will stop abruptly then it will restart from the beginning thus ruining whatever enjoyment you may have had if you wanted to absorb yourself in the bgm while playing.

Replayability -
The game has no bonus secrets. Nothing that will reward you for playing through the game multiple times or by accomplishing certain tasks.
Replayability in this game stems only from your own personal enjoyment of this game.
If you enjoyed SS4 then you're probably going to be playing this game more than once.
If you don't like the game, then there's hardly anything that will motivate you to play it further.

To buy or to rent? -
As a fighting game, it is definitely not THE best one to buy.
However, If you're a fan of SS4 or just want to try something new you're strongly advised to rent this game at least once.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 12/20/02, Updated 12/20/02