Samurai Shodown II

"Samurai Shodown II is back now with complete online sword slashing"

After playing the Virtual Console release of the Neo Geo version of Samurai Shodown II. I was readying to prepare for true competition on the upcoming Samurai Shodown II for X-Box Live Arcade knowing that it will feature more to offer than just arcade perfection play and I was right, SSII for Live Arcade is a much more replayable package but then again something else got lost and this time it's not the fault of the game.

Graphics:

Yeap, the arcade graphics of the original SSII are all here. Rarely, you don't feel like the game is missing any frames of animation at all and details of the backgrounds are just so full of interest for example the portrait art of the SS1 cast seen in Charlotte's stage and the appearance of Shikuru and Rimururu seen in Nakoruru's stage. If 2D eye-candy effects are your thing then there are lots to see such as wind blowing crops in Genjuro's stage, water boiling pot in Gen-An's stage, crow bird flying in Hanzo's stage, thunder roaring in Sieger's stage, fogs in Nicotine's stage, and more. There's just so much you will want to see in this game. Perhaps maybe the only downside to the look of this game is that it now presented in 4:3 ratio with ugly border around (Game Boy Player style), but really once getting used to, it won't be much of a problem unless if you already play the VC version and hated this kind of presentation. Also no updated HD graphics are also a bummer but since the graphics of SSII are so rich in details, most arcade players won't probably care at all.

Sound/Music:

If you had ever played a previous Samurai Shodown game before or watch anime like Rurouni Kenshin, Samurai X, and Naruto, you'll get use to the silence feudel style tunes of SSII. The game is litter with Japanese tunes all over except for say Earthquake and a few of Galford's San Francisco western theme but overall, the rest of SSII soundtracks are all about feudel. Then next comes the sounds, how could it be SSII without hearing a cling of a sword, a scream of a cry, a slit of an agony, a punch of the palm, a sound of an explosion, a bark of a dog, and lastly a humor of a bad English translation and a tons of Japanese accents.

Control:

Yes, you guess it, it's the control issue again, this was a small problem in the VC version and now it's an even bigger problem in this version. With the default X-Box 360 controller, the d-pad and analog control work horribly when trying to execute special attacks. Moves that require precise motion of the d-pad or analog stick took practice and sometime impossible feat to accomplish, this then leaves a lot of players using basic attacks more often then special seeing as the control is difficult to get use to. On the VC version, quick motion special attacks are no problems, only simultaneous buttons technique and lack of a button mapping option cause the stress but here on X-Box Live Arcade, since an option for button mapping is now included, it really is a shame that the control doesn't work as well with special attacks as the VC version does and this really is disappointing. This is not the fault of the game but of Microsoft not able to produce a better controller with comfortable d-pad and analog function. Even though you could use a third party controller or an arcade stick to play in this cast the game plays close to perfect, would it be great to play it without shelling extra for this game and I'm reviewing this by default using the default controller, not by using any extra control even though I knew I should. The VC version I review by using a classic controller and a GameCube controller both played quite good but here it wasn't the same. The third party control does help a bit but with a bit of slowdown in the game, it sometime won't register as the VC version does.

Gameplay:

Unfortunately, even if the control are good or horrible, the gameplay remains the greatest factor of the game. You still fight one-on-one against CPU, local friends, or in this version for the first time in an SS game, online and it really had tons of replay value to satisfied arcade player by offering these. Unlike the VC version, this game offers achievements to accomplish, characters to unlock, leaderboard to build up and yes you could fight against anybody online both locally or internationally. One downside to this is that there won't be any movelist to view in the case of trying to execute a special attack so best if gamefaqs.com be the study guide for that and yes like the VC version before it, the arcade features are all here, that means blood fountain, death screams, zooming and scaling, slashing in half, etc. are present.

Is it worth it?

If you are a retro arcade player, an SS fan, who deeply want online play and already had a third party arcade stick handy, then this is a real treat for you. If you simply can't stand the 4:3 ratio presentation or don't care much about online play and much wanted the bigger arcade style visual, then the VC version is your best bet but who would want to pass off the opportunity to play as Haohmaru or any of the fifteen samurais and duke it out around the globe rather then going to a friend's house for a match? This version (800 MS Points, $10) is only a dollar more than VC version (900 Wii Points, $9) and had more features than what that one offer. I know the default control sucks but that alone could be solve by using a third party control and by doing that you are playing one of the greatest 2D arcade weapon-based fighting game of any 2D fighters.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 10/06/08

Game Release: Samurai Shodown II (US, 09/10/08)