Samurai Shodown NeoGeo Collection review

Samurai Shodown is a weapon-based 2D fighter that first saw release in 1993 in the arcades. The game spawned a vast array of sequels over the years across diverse platforms ranging from arcades to most recently the current-gen of consoles with Samurai Shodown which is cited as a reboot of the series. Despite the plethora of games, Samurai Shodown NeoGeo Collection focuses on games of the series that were released on the NeoGeo console which released in 1990. Let’s see if these classics stand the test of time.

Samurai Shodown Neo Geo Collection is a bundle of NeoGeo released Samurai Shodown games originally released between 1993 and 2004. The bundle includes:

• Samurai Shodown (originally released in 1993)
• Samurai Shodown II (originally released in 1994)
• Samurai Shodown III (originally released in 1995)
• Samurai Shodown IV AMAKUSA’S REVENGE (originally released in 1996)
• Samurai Shodown V (originally released in 2003)
• Samurai Shodown V SPECIAL (originally released in 2004)
• Samurai Shodown V PERFECT (mysterious final version of Samurai Shodown V SPECIAL which was never before released).

When starting up the game, you can choose whichever of the game you want to play first. You can set the difficulty for each game; by default, the game sets it to 2 (you can choose between 1 and 8; 1 being the easiest and 8 the hardest) which sounds fair. Unfortunately, it’s still can feel pretty brutal for newcomers to the series, let alone newcomers to the fighting genre. What makes it stand out from the other 2D fighters is that Samurai Shodown features weapons; swords most of the time. It allows for some interesting attacks and combos; also insanely overpowered attacks that can easily take away a good chunk of your health or the enemies. When the A.I. pulls such a move, it can feel cheap and leave players unable to make a comeback. Or playing with a friend could turn a simple fun match into a festival of spam of overpowered attacks.

The Samurai Shodown games use the same type of mechanics found in the Street Fighter games where in order to perform special moves, you need to do movements on the d-pad such as Down, Down-Forward, Forward for example, along with a punch or a kick button. Fans of the fighting genre will feel right at home, while newcomers will need a bit of time to adjust. Which brings me to the fact that none of the games include a practice mode or tutorial. So expect to get your face bashed it… a lot as you try to get a grasp of the controls and the feel for the game. Samurai Shodown IV: Amakusa’s Revenge is by far the most approachable entry in this collection. Which brings me to my next point.

One of the main problems is that due to the games from an older, more limiting console generation, the gameplay value is pretty thin as each game only includes an Arcade mode and Versus mode which make things go stale pretty quick. I understand there’s a handful of arcade modes across seven games, but there’s nothing inherently different from one game to another. Sure Arcade modes include a paper-thin story, but again who played fighters for story purposes back in the day.

Unfortunately, given the plethora of fighters released over the years, the control and gameplay in Samurai Shodown NeoGeo Collection feels dated, archaic and poorly aged by today’s standards. Controls respond well but controlling your fighter and pulling off special moves feels stiff. The controls vary from one game to another. While some are tailored similarly to Street Fighter games with a light slash, light kick, medium slash and medium kick, others will offer more diverse options such as Light/Medium/Heavy Slash and a Kick. This was done given the arcade’s limited number of buttons.

With these types of collections, developers like to add customizable options to players so they can enjoy the classics to the fullest. In this case, players can switch between American and Japanese versions of the game, options to switch the visuals between standard, full screen or even add tv scanlines to add a visual flair to the experience. Additionally, players can save their game, so if you’re trying to conquer one of the game’s arcade mode, you can save anytime and pick up at a later time.

For the Samurai Shodown fan in you, and more axed towards the long time fan of the series, the bundle includes a Museum section; something common with these classic collections. The museum features over 2000 artworks for fans to check out, developer interviews, history of each game along with a sound player where you can enjoy 200 tracks covering the seven games included in this bundle. But the more interesting thing here is the addition of a handful of tournament videos. You can watch pros go head-to-head in professional Samurai Showdown matches. The problem is, however, is that you can’t watch them in full-screen mode; the video plays on the left side of the screen in a small window while on the right there’s text describing the match. Would’ve appreciated a few more matches and the ability to watch full-screen; no amount of text can give you the appreciation of two pro gamers taking on each other.

The presentation for each game in the Samurai Shodown NeoGeo Collection is faithful to their original arcade counterparts. The visuals are pixel perfect and character details are pretty spot-on given the older technology. The backgrounds are colorful and alive each with their own unique design and happenings (or not) in the background. The soundtrack and ambiance are very much inspired by classic Japanese culture that adds a unique ambiance to the game given the very limited option in Japanese-centric fighting gaming experience.

While I’m a huge fan of these types of compilations, it’s hard to recommend Samurai Shodown NeoGeo Collection. The games haven’t aged well, newcomers to the series will feel beaten down by the games’ difficulty, even on the easier setting. And being older games, the gameplay content for each of them is the strict minimum. Unless you’re a long-time die-hard fan of Samurai Shodown, this is a pass.