Samurai Shodown 2

System: Neo Geo	Publisher: SNK.	Release Date: 1994
	Genre: 2D fighting

[title]

Samurai Shodown 2 continued in the style of the original swordfest, and added some more to the spiffied story of Shio Amakusa. In this game, some new characters have joined the quest, and the old ones are improved in various aspects (some left out? I think so). If you loved the original, this one should only increase your addiction. Everyone loves acting as a slasher now, no?

The characters have the same high damage levels like in part one. So, you can be reckless and gain victory after landing a few good hits. Actually, it is not that simple - characters have different ranges and different styles of control. Note that the "foremost" characters are not dominant; the anti-air attacks are not invincible (like old SF), and the most versatile characters (Nicotine & Kyoshiro) require some practice. Choose your favourite from the list here (Mizuki & Kuroko are not pictured):

Galford

Neinhalt Sieger

Kyoshiro Senryo

Haohmaru

Genjuro Kibagami

Hanzo Hattori

Charlotte

Wan-Fu

Gen-An Shiranui

Nakoruru

Jubei Yagyu

Ukyo Tachibana

Cham Cham

Earthquake

Nicotine Caffeine

Oh yeah... I use almost all of them, but Hanzo, Charlotte and Ukyo are my favourites. Swordsmen persist - Kyoshiro uses a bo with a blade, Earthquake has a swordbreaker chain, Cham Cham has a boomerang... they are all unique in readily-seen ways. No two will offer the same style of play, so you've got to try 'em all... and they've got a genuine ninja (always a plus!).

Choose your player.

Nice combat system.

See the screenshot? The game is strictly two dimensional, but that doesn't mean that you can't avoid the cheapest tactics. Each character has special moves; some can be used in combos and some are just continuations of a starting technique. If they connect, the damage done varies with the opposing character and the game's difficulty level - but it is rarely more than the 2-power slash combo (all characters). If blocked, the move would do "tick" damage with each hit (cheese w/ Haohmaru - that overhead leaping slash). [A very important aspect in this game is the user-friendliness; when the AI uses a special move, the movement and button presses required are written under the lifebar (see? reading is helpful!).]
The standard battle system is used - drain the opponent's lifebar within the allotted time. Points are awarded based on your remaining life, the hitting percentage secured, and if you avoid being damaged. The timer is variable, and handicaps can be pre-set... speed also offers some challenge here. If you get one of the top three times for completion of a round in story or versus mode, you can place your initials in the scoreboard (for time) immediately. Getting a sub-90 second finish is really not that difficult, once you have right character.

Very special interactivities are allowed in the game. The bonus stages are no longer present, but there are a host of other goodies. Some objects can be partially destroyed, and then coins will fly out. Some can be cut, altering the stage slightly. When you kill an opponent, sometimes their signature valuables will be scattered (extra points! - violence, nuh-uh). You will also see a man running in the background; he throws bombs of different sizes (and thence, different time settings) which can damage either player. If you are lucky, some food will be thrown, and either player can walk over to it to replenish some life! The large one really helps when you are in a jam... you usually have to play dirty to get it.

When you get hit, your life bar loses an amount, and the power bar gains some blocks. You just happen to change colour in the process, also (Genjuro is an Amerindian!). The stronger hit you receive, the higher the gauge climbs, until it reaches the maximum. Your character does a power-up animation (is invincible and uncontrollable for a while), and the gauge flashes, with the directions for performing the move shown above. Depending on your character, you can use the gauge a few times until it hits, or until the gauge drains (after a set time period); note that each would have a different range, and some characters have more than one (secrets, blah). If you hit the opponent squarely, they lose a great deal of life, and their weapon is destroyed. A replacement is thrown in after a while (if they survive, hehe).

Use your gauge for awesome techniques .

If a player loses his weapon (normally), it will be placed on the ground at some variable distance, with a label indicating the player. It must be manually retrieved... this is a very easy way to beat some characters. All moves do damage if blocked, and the opponent might not be able to use special moves without the weapon (that's why the ninja rules; the most powerful moves are still available). Haohmaru would still have that jug on a string, and Nakoruru retains the bird.

Secrets are best left undiscovered.

Back in the days, real skill had to be used to conquer this game. There are deflections for each character (Jubei has a very effective one as a special, using the two swords), and many projectiles can be sliced in two! To use the deflector, you have to actually perform a slash which would reasonably deflect an incoming blow - so some are actually not stoppable (some power slashes). When you succeed, the opponent is left wide open - and your counter is available.
Sometimes, you can actually knock the weapon out of 'is hands! Some situations lead to a deadlock, where both players compete for the "upper hand", with the weaker losing his weapon. Many later games added to this new standard set by Samurai Shodown.

The picture above shows the most deadly encounter you will ever have in your SNK bouts (even more challenging than a match with Geese or Ryo). That's the famed Kuroko, and he fights you somewhere in the Himalayas (in a temple). You really don't want to find him, right? He has the only raging demon-type move, and you know what the raging demon does now, do you? All his "normal" special moves have very high damage capacity, but he can't use many in combos (damn! so he uses them in counters!). An awesome move is his reversal - he "splits" into two pieces and when you head over to investigate, guess what? KABLOOOOEY! (only a special hold can make use of that delay - that's why Hanzo rules!).

So, head down to the oldie store which stocks the classics, and if you don't find this, you can kindly recommend that they get hold of a copy soon (with that there zanbatou!).

Graphics: ( 8.5 out of 10)	Good graphics can be found in this game; the characters are well-detailed, the colourful environments are interactive in some cases, and the effects are seamless. The winds move the wheat, the swords spill the blood, and the barrels give way to steel.
Sound: ( 8.3 out of 10)	Yeah yeah - the sounds are good. They range from the taunts of a victor to the clash of swords, and are easily distinguished when the need arises. The music is really good for such an old neo game - the tunes fit the scenes nicely.
Fun: ( 8.0 out of 10)	This was a good challenge in the arcades... I remember leaving the SF rack to gear up on this. Ukyo was my first fighter, and I had a streak of about six wins in my first game. So, the two player games were always good - with the reversals and the careless moves that left room for them. The single player game is still alright... some more fun can be gained from the challenges of top times for a kill (single player or versus).
Replay/Addiction: ( 7.5 out of 10)	After a few games, you will really like this. The power of the swords took some getting used to, and watching the masters play will always be a treat. The excellent variety offered by the characters add a whole new side to replay value. The endings may not be vastly different, but the experience of trying different characters will keep you locked for a while. The sequels are vastly different - this is a one of a kind game (part 5 is on PSX).
Total	32.3 out of 40


	Review done by LChrysler for Emula Zone exclusively. No part of this compilation may be duplicated in ANY form without permission from the Zone.