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VICTOLY!

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 10 / 10
Date: July 31, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Despite having a long history playing fighting games (since 1991 when I was but 6 years old), I was never that into the Samurai Shodown series. Be it because I didn't own a NeoGeo system which they were primarily released for, or because the arcades here that had NeoGeo cabinets didn't feature any Samurai Shodown games, I didn't get many chances to play any. But I always wanted to. The character designs were incredible- you can't deny that Haohmaru's design has had influence on many modern samurai, including Mitsurugi from the Soul Calibur games. On top of great artwork, the fact that the weapon damage was fairly realistic for an early fighting game: heavy slash was in fact, a heavy slash- not just some slightly stronger than a regular slash attack. Over the years, a few Samurai Shodown games have finally been hitting more mainstream consoles, now including the Xbox. Unfortunately, having played some of the earlier SS games at arcades that now carry them, I can tell you that SSV is probably the one you'd least be satisfied with, even with the online play feature. And that's unfortunate, given that the online gameplay has practically no lag to be seen- something rare in 2D online fighters these days. It's funny though- SSV here seems fairly rushed overall, but has outstanding online gameplay. While other games like Guilty Gear X2 #Reload, a stunning 2D fighter of the highest quality in every gameplay, visual and sound aspect, has some of the worst lag you'll ever experience online. What's going on?

With this basic edition of Samurai Shodown V, there isn't much to the plot. In fact, the Japanese Samurai Showdown V Special has the plot, and since we got this one instead, don't expect to get the other version here any time soon (assuming sales for SSV are as low as I'm guessing they are). But, the main plot premise is that you play as one of many fighters, out to either attain glory, complete a personal goal of their own, or just search for someone as powerful as they are. There's a lot of variety in the characters here, though there are more clones than I'm comfortable with. Haohmaru has an evil clone who isn't explained, there are practically two Ukyos and two Genjuros when you count a semi-boss character in Yumeji, and then there are the obligatory twin element characters: one for fire and one for water. When you look carefully over every character here, you'll see that probably only half are original, real characters rather than variants of already existing ones. Selecting one of the many characters, you go through Arcade mode, making what you can of the scraps of plot thrown at you for whoever you're playing as, while praying to God that you can actually beat the semi-boss characters and the final boss as well. Trust me when I say that these fights are damn near impossible. The first semi-boss you'll fight is basically an ogre version of the "comedian" Gallagher, sledgehammer and all. He has 3 buddies that can attack you or hold you in place whenever he sees fit, and can heal almost all of his health while you're being held down. Don't expect to beat this guy on your first 10 tries. Simply put, pick a character with a cheap move (like the big monk's earthquake stomps), and spam the heck out of that move until he dies. Better yet, set the match count option to one round per fight. That way, if you beat him one round, you can move on to the next fighter, and not worry about lucking out and trying to win again. The other two bosses are Yumeji and Gaoh. Yumeji can use Ukyo and Genjuro's moves, which are in fact, better than Ukyo and Genjuro's versions, which is a slap in the face to both characters. Again, spam the same move over and over and pray you'll win. Gaoh however, is a beast, and I'm a bit ashamed to say that I've still yet to beat him. Even if you set the match count to one, you'll have to beat him twice. Good luck attempting that.

Like most fighting games, the replay isn't in the arcade mode (especially here), but in the versus and online options. Versus is self-explanatory in that you can face off against another opponent like in any other fighting game. Going on Xbox Live to face other SS players though, is the coolest part. No matter how much of a strong following SS has, the truth is that there probably aren't many other fans of the game where you live, so going online is a blessing for becoming a better player. The best part though, is that there's no lag to be found, at least, in the dozens of matches I've played on there. Everything ran smooth as silk, something I didn't expect after the GGX2#R incident. I also liked how there was a Tournament feature where you can create your own tournaments with tons of other players included. The only problem might be that there aren't -that- many people that play this game online. Your best bet is to go on SS message boards and ask around if anyone has this game and Xbox Live. Go from there. Just be careful- there are some pretty damn good SS players that will completely waste you if you don't put a bit of effort into mastering at least one character.

Here's where the game's rating drops a bit more than just the poor story mode and cheap bosses: the graphics are fairly ugly. Sprites have jagged lines, there's some slowdown once in a while, and some background textures could've used a few more people helping out on them. Compared to the likes of SS3 and 4, 5 doesn't look like a step up like it was supposed to be. When the sprites get zoomed in on for the short story portions, their flaws really begin to show. Playing as Ukyo and seeing his awkward side-pose win animation makes you wonder if someone completely different did the animations there. Fortunately, the audio's more balanced. There are some voice samples, as with any other fighting game, while some tend to be cool and others sound silly. Hearing "VICTOLY!" when you win a fight still makes me laugh. I absolutely love some of the tracks here too- Yoshitora's in particular. Classic Oriental instruments start it out, then it gets right into rocking. Sound effects, the chime that plays whenever you move the cursor over to select an option or character especially, needed some more work though. My girlfriend made sure to point out, "that's getting annoying" when I'd go into Training mode, and keep moving the cursor over to pick the stage I wanted to play in. Hearing it constantly for even 3 seconds does get old right away.

It's not so much that SSV isn't worth your money, it's just that myself and many other fighting game fans would've rather had the SSV: Special, or even better- a SS compilation put out instead of this basic version with hardly anything special to make it stand out. But, it is another online fighter for the Xbox, a system that doesn't have much in that department. If you're a fan of SNK, then you shouldn't be reading reviews to make the decision on buying this. But if you're more into Capcom or the Guilty Gear games, you may want to borrow or rent this one before putting down any money on it. Just remember- this is NOT the best one in the series, and doesn't make for a great first impression.

Well, at least it has Charlotte in it.

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: February 17, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Anyone who has played Samusrai Showdown III will know what my review title means. You can't have a real Samurai Showdown video game without the French Femme Fatale.
Anyway, some people may be a little angry that the controls in this game no not match that of the first game. Personally, I like the new set-up. Three slashes and one kick may not make sense, but it's effective. What I don't like is that when you change the button settings in the game, the moves list in the pause-screen menu becomes less helpful: for example, when I changed fierce slahs from trigger L to button A, the list still told me that to execute Charlotte's projectile attack (it had a name, but I can't remember) I still had to end the button combination with either X, Y, or L. This isn't very bothersome if you know all the moves by heart ... I can almost see you Samurai Showdown enthusiasts shaking your heads! Not everyone has played thist series inside out!!
Anyway, the online play would be much better if there were others who played the game. Unfortunately, you'll usually find yourself waiting a long time for an opponent if you create a match or you'll just get the game's error message if you go into quickmatch or optimatch. This is a problem: there are a lot of Samurai Showdown fans and there are a lot of XBox owners, but there are apparently not a lot of Samurai Showdown fans who own XBoxes and have XBox Live. If you want to know if this game is compatible with 360, you'll have to look at another review or ask Microsoft because I don't know. I'm sorry if this review is not helpful. Please vote accordingly so I'll know for sure. If this review is unhelpful, I need not take up valuable space on this website and will delete this review.

Good old fun!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: March 09, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I remember playing this game for hours in the arcade of a bowling alley in high school. We used to play against each other for quarters, and eventually see if we can win the game using one man. The characters, sound effects, game-play, colors, and storyline are outstanding. I know this game is not like todays new games, but this brings back traditional combat games we have grown to love. I definitely recommend this to everyone who loves martial arts, fighting games, and those who would like to challenge all their friends online or perfect their own fighting style with their favorite character.

It's finally out!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: January 19, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Those who played this (or any other SS game) more than once in arcades will love it. New(er) generation of gamers may not.

This is a direct port from the NEOGEO platform. Graphics prove it. They are easily the worst thing in the game. Controls are very smooth and responsive (I gave up playing SF Aniv. Ed. because of its horrible controls). Gameplay is much more advanced then I remember from SS and SS2. Most of the original characters are present, plus a whole bunch of new ones, some good some bad. Sound is a marginal improvement over the previous titles and some character noises are downright annoying. The Arcade mode starts out pretty easy, but gets more difficult after first three challenges.

For those nostalgic for "the way games used to be" this should be a lot of fun. With XBOX Live (Which I don't have) it should be a blast.

Neo Geo 2D Goodness... ONLINE

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: January 26, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Plain and simple this game is made for those 2d fighter fans out there who waited years and years to be able to play the 2D games they loved online. This is an excellent port of the Neo Geo original which adds online play as a part of the package.

The graphics are dated and can't compare in sharpness or quality to those in SF3 or any of the GG games, but then again, if you're a Neo fan you already know what to expect. The game runs fast and fluidly both in single player and online. The new characters are ok, but I still tend to play with most of the SS1/SS2 cast. The online ranking system is flawed IMO, as the way it counts wins/losses wasn't very well thought out IMO.

Overall, a solid 2d title with LIVE support and a great price tag. If you're a 2D fighter fan waiting for something new to play on LIVE this is it. Stay tuned for KOF94 Rebout and more from SNK this year!

Perfect arcade translation to the Xbox!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: February 04, 2006
Author: Amazon User

For years the Samurai Shodown Series when ported over to a video game system always just plain flat sucked.....Except mabye the Game Boy cartridge version. Strangly it had good graphics for a primative hand held system and played well for only having two buttons. Anyways this is it other than shelling out a lot of money for a neo geo system and getting that 4 pound cartridge of Samurai Shodown (ok there was an arcade translation but, who the hell had 700 bucks for the machine and 150 bucks for the cartridge in 1994-1995) I've played all 5 of these in the arcades and all the characters are here! Most people are familer with 1-3 but, 4 and 5 was out and about if you were lucky to find them! For some this game may be a bit out dated and rather frustrating. Battles are a bit diffrent than the Street Fighter Series and Mortal Kombat. But, it's rather easy to learn the basic of every character. Once you master that you're not to far from figuring out the rage mode and whatnot which quickly speeds up the game into a good ol samurai shodown!!!! Which you'll need cause the later stages in arcade mode get hard unless you're playing on lower leval settings. You have a choice between 1-10 so beginners to hard core fighters can all enjoy this fun game. If you're not a hard core fan of SNK or 2d fighters you may want to pass on this one or rent it for a weekend. Best way to enjoy this game is with friends or play some rounds online. I've always found this series a good relaxing game to play after a day at work.

What a waste!

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: January 24, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This game sucks! I was shocked to learn that even though you have a great console (ps3, xbox, etc.) you can get games that contain graphics from 8-bit designs. Unless you're a hardcore fan of the title, don't get this game. It's like they took a Nintendo game from '89 and allow you to play it on your Xbox! Where's the update? I live in the new millennium and I expect my games (even 2-d fighters) to have outstanding graphics...

Good 2-D fighter

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: March 29, 2007
Author: Amazon User

SSV is from a series that started the armed 2-D fighting genre. While most games are 3-D, this is still quite fun.

Ah...Retro...Brilliant!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: October 22, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I will firstly mention - that unlike most of the countless narrow minded attempts at reviewing this game that I have recently read (by so-called professionals), my rating will be one aimed at the hardcore 2D fighting game connoisseur and NOT one aimed at the modern day `give me amazing 3D graphics or I'm not interested' gamer! AND, it will be about the GAME, and not an attempt to impress the viewer with cryptic metaphors and useless pulp.

Games like these are specifically aimed at those who have an appreciation for traditional artwork in games, and characterisation - something that most will agree SNK are the grand masters of.

GAMEPLAY
Awesome - depending on how much investment of time you put in you will get a lot out of this game. There are many elements to the gameplay that make it timelessly fun. You can dash, duck, retreat, and obviously block, to name a few of the core tactical defensive elements - and these really lay the foundations for some speedy epic gameplay, for which the controls a very responsive.
In terms of defence, there is nothing quite like the moments where you and your opponent each exchange blows, each defending one another's blows one after the other until an opening is left, this almost becomes a full blown sword fight at times! And the beauty of it is that unlike your average non-weapon based 2D fighters, you sustain no damage when blocking with weapons (unless you are disarmed), this makes for some very exciting moments which can draw the length of the bout out, giving it an amazingly challenging intensity. In the case that you are disarmed you may get relentlessly slashed at with only your arms to defend you which will cause blood loss and some small damage. The option menu allows you to increase the amount of successful bouts to I think FIVE a piece if I remember correctly - which is great if you like an epic lengthy battle.

This game's fun element pays off the most if you wait for the right moments to strike your opponent, instead of button mashing your way through. And to be honest you are not likely to be successful button mashing as the computer A.I. is very good most of the time. The A.I. is at a perfect balance for the most part - the computer is equally defensive as it is offensive - almost as if you are battling a human controlled opponent, a big plus. Much of the time you will have to study your opponents tactics in order to find openings for the best attack timing (this is something that many reviewers interpret as a severe imbalance because they were not prepared to learn their opponent's strengths and weaknesses, and have another shot)
Knock out's are nice with a slow motion effect kicking in as the looser gets sliced or smashed - this is particularly nice when you manage to KO your opponent with Genjuro's grab and stab style move, where you get to hear your opponents innards burst within them as Genjuro lifts them off the ground while he runs them through 2 times in a row with his razor sharp Katana blade. Nice.

It's a shame that SNK Playmore didn't release the `Special' version of Samurai Shodown V for PS2/XBOX which has the death moves, but it's understandable that with it being the final NEO GEO AES/MVS release that they wanted to keep it exclusive. This game still has enough to it to be worth your time despite it only being the standard release though - don't be swayed.

GRAPHICS/PRESENTATION
Good - and again I remind you that I aim this review at hardcore 2D fighting game connoisseurs and budding enthusiasts alike.

The sprite animation is not particularly consistent, but there is worse out there. It makes the grade at least. There are certain animations that are very fluid indeed leaving you with a satisfied `arcade reminiscent' feeling. Characters all have their own distinct stances and personalities - the animation conveys these very well and it gives the game a very interesting look. I personally find that having the colour/brightness settings on my TV lower than typical helps as it gives the graphics a less cartoony look and more of a washed out look which helps give the game the darker more brooding atmosphere that it lacks slightly compared with earlier games in the series. Because the characters may be stylised caricatures, but they are apparently loosely based on real people way back in history who had motives as dark as those conveyed in the game.

The zooming in and out effect is used with fluidity - just as it was in the arcade. Backdrops are pretty good - not the best I have seen by any means, but they are colourful and set the scene nicely. What's nice about the backdrops is they extend beyond the top of the screen with separate layers for horizon detail which is nice to see as you get pummelled up into the sky by your opponent or vice-versa.

SOUND/MUSIC
Very nice - You get `chings' and `changs' of colliding metal weapons, slicing flesh sounds, monotone spurting blood sounds - all very effective - and best if you have your console linked up to a hi-fi system so you can really feel the bass impact of the body blows or when a body hits the deck. The battle cries are brilliant for the most part - each character has more of these than you would find in your typical 2D fighter which keeps it interesting. Some of the characters have some repetitive battle cries which can become a little irritating, but hey, this just gives you an incentive to decimate them a whole lot faster! - A little annoying but you just overlook it because for the most part battle grunts and such are modest and realistic. It tends to be the quirkier characters that are a little more flamboyant in this department.

Music is good - some good variation - some stages are up-tempo and energetic while others are more sombre or melancholy, but all done with the distinct traditional Japanese instruments which sets the scene just right, and at times create almost a ghostly atmosphere - excellent.

IN A NUTSHELL
Basically if you're like me and LOVE the oldskool 2D fighters for their unique feel and have been deprived of a decent Samurai Shodown game because you didn't have the money or the right console or whatever the case may be - BUY THIS. As long as you expect a strictly oldskool affair and don't build yourself up into thinking its trying to be something more than what it's actually aiming to be, it's money well spent.

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