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Review: Samurai Shodown [Super Nintendo] |
Back in 1994, the arrival of this classic NEO*GEO fighter on the SNES was a welcome announcement indeed. However, its final form is a little less exciting.
Taking all 12 characters and beating them down to pint size is both good and bad. Having all the fighters and a good amount of the animation present is always welcome, but Takara’s decision to use the panoramic view of the NEO�GEO version, rather than its close-up view (found in the Genesis translation), was a poor one. Samurai Shodown for the SNES loses punch with its severely tiny graphics and oversaturated colours.
As well, the game suffers because of its inexplicable control scheme. Rather than using all six of the SNES controller’s buttons to control the light, medium, and hard slashes and kicks, the game requires players to hold down L or R and then press medium slash or kick to acheive a hard attack. Needless to say, this is a painful way to play and one that will require lots of practice with which to become comfortable.
In another perplexing move (since the game shipped a full three months after the industry-wide ratings system was initiated), the game is censored, with orange blood and neither of the two finishing moves that were tasteful and added a nice element of style to a well-fought match.
If one can get past these shortcomings, Samurai Shodown will still provide some fun. The awesome sounds (supporting Surround Sound, which is very nice indeed) and classic characters can’t be beat. Still, SNES owners deserve much better than this.
