Samurai Shodown

"Best 16-bit Samurai Shodown out there."

In the early 90s, Takara released the Genesis and SNES ports of the great Neo Geo game Samurai Shodown. They can be described as mediocre. The Genesis version had shoddy sound, graphics, and just didn't feel right. The SNES version had the characters scrolled down to their smaller size and was heavily censored. But what most people didn't know is that later on, JVC would create a Sega CD version. And the results were actually quite good.

Graphics- Once again, the game doesn't support the scrolling of the Neo Geo version. Fortunately, it is scrolled on the large sprites. The graphics are better than the Genesis version. I guess JVC tweaked them and used shading tricks to add more colors. One thing to note about this version is that it is uncensored. Blood flies everywhere, fatalities are included, and the dialogue remains intact. There are a couple of qualms though. First off, the referee was taken out. Second, the win screens don't include the referee nor the loser's body in the background. These really took away some of the Samurai Shodown charm.

Sound- First off, instead of using the Genesis's synthesizer for the music, it uses the cd format to play songs directly ripped from the Neo Geo version. In other words, the music is perfect. As for the voices, the characters' voices remain but the announcer's voice is cut out, for some odd reason. The only time you hear the announcer is in the map screen. This really takes away from the Samurai Shodown experience because the announcer was what really made it a classic.

Gameplay- I haven't played it with the 3-button yet, but the 6-button controller works better than the Neo Geo version. Instead of having to press both punches or kicks for hard attacks, you get separate buttons for the attacks. Moves pull off with minimal effort, though you still have to key in the full motion like all Neo Geo games. As for loading time, well, don't worry. Loading time is next to nothing. I think the longest it has taken to load is a little under 30 seconds.

Replay- Are you kidding? Two people and a copy of Samurai Shodown always equals a fun time. And honestly, the only other ways besides buying the Neo Geo version is play the 3D0 version or hunt down the Samurai Shodown 32-bit pack for PSX or Saturn, but doing so will run you $100. Unless you want to play the other 16-bit versions, which suck.

Overall- Probably the best version available for the 16-bitters. While some things are taken out which don't make any sense, it still is a very solid translation.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 11/29/04