My Played Video Games Review: Samurai Shodown for the Sega Genesis
Samurai Shodown, which was known in Japan as Samurai Spirits, is a weapons-based fighting game developed and published by SNK of Japan for their Neo Geo arcade and home console in 1993. it is the first installment in the Samurai Shodown series of fighting games. It was ported to other game consoles including the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive in 1994.
When I saw the arcade version nearly 2 decades ago, I was awestruck by the beautiful, Japan-style samurai art graphics. And then came this Sega Genesis version which was watered-down. But it still has the good gameplay intact.
The Story
Draw your weapon and prepare to defend your honor against the world's best warriors. Defeat an opponent in two-player versus mode or enter the ultimate showdown in arcade mode, packed with the combatants' special power moves and the interactive backgrounds.
The Graphics and Sound
The Genesis lacks many colors than the arcade version. The difference between this and the Super Nintendo (SNES) version graphics is that the Genesis has larger sprites while the SNES has smaller ones. And a big character, Earthquake, is missing in this Genesis version. The backgrounds are not perfect but polished, even more than in the SNES. Obviously, the Genesis lacks more details and frames than the arcade, but it still holds up.
The music and sound effects are good as are the voice effects. The sound effects are clear and fit the moves and actions nicely. The music is excellent, most of it is traditional Japanese music and every song fits the stage. The voices are good. They are a bit garbled, but it is not too bad.
The Gameplay
The gameplay in this game could be tough or easy depending on how good at fighting games you are. There's a Story mode and Versus mode. After choosing a fighter in versus mode, you could determine each player's handicap, choose how often the running courier man throws out items, and choose a battle stage to fight in.
This Genesis version also has the fun exclusive Showdown Mode, a new multiplayer mode where both players could choose a team of four to battle against each other to the finish.
The controls are smooth. Anyone who knows Street Fighter controls can easily adapt here.
The replay value is good. There is a lot of combat to play and several characters to master in this game. You could play in Story Mode and discover all the endings, have fun in the superior Versus Mode against a friend, or in the exclusive Showdown Mode with both playing four warriors instead of one including the final boss, Amakusa himself.
My Verdict
Samurai Shodown may be the best fighter on the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive and one of the best you can play in 16-bit fighters. It is a good arcade port. The game can be easy to get into, but not easy to master. This is a good game for a rainy day and even though you will probably never play it today, it still is worthy of being called one of the best fighting games on the system.
Play this on the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive or with an emulator you love.