The "Samurai Shodown" series from SNK has always been viewed with both admiration and dismay. People admire and respect this series because it was the first fighting game to introduce Weapons. It also managed to carry a memorable cast of characters in a cool setting (a 'samurai' feudal setting). Yet after Samurai Shodown 3, many SS fans were turned off and dismayed by the direction the series was going in. Along comes "Samurai Shodown 4: Amakusa's Revenge," and while it barely made an impact at the arcades, it is now available for the import Saturn, and it is _good_. This is arguably The Best 'Samurai Shodown' yet, and definitely the best SNK port ever! What "Samurai Shodown 4" delivers is a superior game , and definitely the Best 2D fighter this side of "Street Fighter Zero 2 Dash" and "King of Fighters '96."
One thing that "Samurai" always has had was 'The MOOD.' From the clanging swords to the garrulous fighters, the series has always exuded Personality and a cool setting. Well SNK has taken a rather daring approach with this new 'Samurai,' and they have gone over-the-top with 'Mood,' and 'ambiance.' This is mainly reflected in the choice of backgrounds, music tracks, and in the end it works. The backgrounds are no longer character specific, and basically, each background reflects some aspect of the 'feudal Japan' that this SS4 takes place in, such as a desolate beach at night, a burning rural town, or a bamboo forest. In combination with these backgrounds is a very _ambient_ sounding set of music tracks. Basically, when you're on the Beach stage, all you hear are the desolate sounds of waves crashing along the rocks of the beach! Or, in the burning town, you all you hear is just the sound of wood burning and crackling with some moans in the background. Other stages include a sakura forest setting where a very 'typical samurai' type music track plays. Very cool! The only noticeable break from these tracks are for Rimururu and Genjuro. Rimururu's music is very 'synth'/pop light stuff (it fits her), and Genjuro's is just plain hard guitar rockin' stuff which fits 'Mr. Bad Boy.' Overall, it is a very welcome change from the typical 'fighting game tunes' that are commonplace in all the fighters. I applaud SNK for willing to go in a new, and refreshing direction. In regards to the sound effects, they are still excellent and sharp, such as when you hear the swords clanging together, and when you connect with various moves. The only disappointment are in the voices. While erroneously stated elsewhere, the voices in this game are _not_ 'perfect' or 'crystal clear.' It seems unfortunate that SNK and Capcom have yet to uncover the secrets to delivering 'clear voices.' I realize that with so much speech (and a limited sound RAM), there is only so much you can do, but it is still regrettable. But these voice samples are decent. They are an improvement over previous travesties such as "VF2," and don't detract from the game at all.
Graphically, SNK has delivered yet again. This is their best port yet, and it seems most (if not all) the frames for all the characters made it intact. The character sprites are massive, and they are all animated smoothly. Another area that SNK "Samurai" series has always excelled in was their 2D art. Their resident 2D artist for the Character Portraits and character art throughout the game and manual is back again to deliver even more godly 2D illustrations! The characters are all drawn with excellent bold strokes and vibrant colors.
The biggest improvement for "Samurai Shodown 4" (and for the Samurai series) is the inclusion of _True_ 2-in-1's. Now you can really do a standing Medium Slash into a Rising 'Upper Cut' Special move, etc. This adds a much needed gameplay element that was missing in previous installments. Besides that, you can 'sacrifice' your Super bar at any time (by pressing A,B,X) and from there, you can start up a 'super combo' or do an 'Iisen,' which is a massive, single strike, that does major damage if it connects.
In regards to the characters, this is the biggest Samurai yet, with 18 characters. As with SS3, there are "Bust" (Chivalry) and "Slash"(Treachery) versions of every character. What this translates to are basically New moves for each version of the character. While some characters have minor differences, most characters moves change drastically, and effectively they are really a 'whole new character'! For example, the "Bust" version of Jubei is an offensive character - he has a fireball move, and an 'uppercut' type move. The "Slash" version has no 'uppercut' move and all his new moves are Counter moves and Guard drops! Galford is even more dramatic in difference.
But perhaps the greatest achievement for SNK's Saturn version of "Samurai Shodown 4" isn't with all of the above, but with the overall production and 'total package.' This is truly their best port yet, and in fact SNK has finally given us lucky Saturn owners a 'true' home version of a fighting game: For the first time ever, SNK has added a "Training Mode." This is a 'full' training mode along the lines of Capcom's excellent Training Modes, where you can bring up the command list of all your moves, have the CPU block after 1 hit (for testing out combos) or jump, or crouch, etc. Very well done. For the Load Screens, they've done the coolest thing possible: Every Load Screen in Arcade mode tells part of the Story of Amakusa's revival (and you're quest to stop her)! No more just looking at a blank screen; now you're treated to a good drawing and part of a story, and even without it the load times with the RAM cart are good (5-9 sec). In addition, they've given us nearly total control of all the options (something sorely lacking in KOF'96): Time Limit (finally!), Damage, Life Bar (Handicap), Super bar gauge, and even Sound and Music tests - I can't wait to see all these implemented in their godly Saturn version of "King of Fighters '97"! Now if they only gave us Turbo settings and a choice between Remix or Original tunes, then it'd be Perfection! But for now, it's pretty darn close.
One last note for all the newbies to SNK's Saturn games: Most are in English! "Samurai Shodown 4" (as with KOF'96) gives you the option to view the game and story in English or Japanese! How cool is that?
Final Scores (out of a perfect 10):
Graphics: 9.0
+ Huge, well-drawn sprites
+ Excellent backgrounds
+ Beautiful Character art and portraits
+ Cool death animations (Fatalities, Suicides, Death spray, chopping people in half)
- Slowdown occurring when sprite intensive supers occur (less than in MSH, though)
Sound/Music: 8.5
+ Awesome ambient, Japanese feudal 'samurai' type BGM's and effects
+ Vibrant sound effects for sword slashes and weapon blocks
- Muffled voice samples for the characters (not as bad as VF or MSH, though)
Gameplay: 8.0
+ True 2-in-1's for SF skill combos.
+ Cool idea for 'Super Bar sacrifice' (use it now, but lose it for the rest of the match).
+ Effectively 36 characters to choose from (Bust and Slash versions)!
- A tad slow.
- A bit too much over-emphasis on certain moves (the dramatic pause is too long).
OVERALL: 8.5
"The Best 2D fighter on the Saturn (after SFZ2' and KOF'96)."
Thanks for your time, please feel free to e-mail me with your questions and comments.
Ken Lee
(klee@interplay.com)
