Samurai Shodown

"One of the earliest SNK/Takara offerings for the GB!!"

This is probably the start of the good ol' "Nettou" (Dead Heat) Series of SNK games ported to the Gameboy by Takara. So how does it stack up? Well...

Graphics: 9/10
The GB versions of SNK's titles were all done by Takara. (Except for one (two in Japan) of the Takara offerings, which the console version was all Takara anyway...but I'm not discussing Toshinden here (or Beast Wars), I'm talkin' Samurai Spirits!!) All of them have the chibi-style graphics. (Including Toshinden, but...) Amazingly, it looks really great. The GB needed something fresh to stand out from among the masses, and the graphics here in SS (and ALL the SNK/Takara offerings) definitely do it. The pictures of the characters also look incredible.

Sound: 7/10
I don't really pay that much attention to the music, especially since I'm not too aware of it on the Neo Geo (I've only played the Snes, Megadrive, and GB versions extensively like that, so you can guess I know little about the music). However, there are the many sword slashes and the like. One thing I don't like is that everything sounds almost the same, including that annoying ground-hitting effect. You hear it in SF2', you hear it in KoF, you hear it in Toshinden, you even hear it in other genres altogether (Rockman X: Cyber Mission/Megaman Xtreme immediately comes to mind). If you've heard it in one game, odds are you already know what SS sounds like here.

Gameplay: 10/10
This is where it shines above the rest. The game itself is HARD. This was the very first game where I'd been exposed to the instance of "Only on the Gameboy can this be possible", both on my end AND the AI's end. You have to worry about every little thing you'd have to worry about on the big screens!!! And unlike them, the AI here is much more relentless, and is far more apt to smack you out of things. And the game is FAST. I guess this must've proven to be popular, as many of the later SNK/Takara offerings even go as far as to include an even faster mode (usually called Jet Mode or Scorcher Mode)!! Too bad this didn't have it...or...IS it too bad?
Combos didn't really exist in the first SS, btw, so that's not an issue here. Word has it that the ones that did exist, aren't even on the GB version. But I never really bothered to attempt any of them (they're with characters I just don't use), so that doesn't matter in my book.

Control: 8/10
The controls are wonderful, as well, though some moves can be a pain to do on such a tiny d-pad as any of the GB ones. And this isn't the only fighter to have this sort of flaw...it seems the GB d-pads do NOT like diagonals very much. ^_^ Doesn't detract from the overall experience, though.

Overall, I must say that this gem is pretty intense. And it's pretty rare, too, as with nearly all of the SNK/Takara offerings!!! If you find it, then by all means GET IT. But if you come to it looking for the same kind of swordplay from the consoles...heh, you'd better strap into some safety gear, because you're in for a fast and furious ride. This is the former Ninja Smoke/Shin_Starmie, signing out...good luck...and good night.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 10/12/05