The balance was better, and although there are still problems with the game, it was generally well received.Īfter a 7 year gap because of the collapse of the creators of the series, Samurai Shodown V was released. Samurai Shodown IV improves on many of the flaws of SSIII, and it's particularly noticeable that the game is more light-hearted and brighter than the previous game. Unfortunately, at launch the game was marred by bugs, and poor overall balance, which are attributed to a rushed development. A lot of SSII's movement techniques were removed, and replaced with the ability to press A and B together to dodge attacks. It's considerably darker, with all the characters being redrawn to reflect this.
Samurai Shodown III took the series in a new direction.
I was able to get by a few fights with my epic combinations of light attacks and heavy attacks, but I had no chance of pulling off one of the long combination moves. Apparently this is considered one of the best Samurai Shodown games. Although when I played it, I couldn't hope to avoid a single attack, I'm sure that this addition (along with a parry mechanic that was adopted later by Street Fighter III) added a new level of strategy for fans. Samurai Shodown 2 adds several things to this, like the ability to do a roll or a small jump, which was meant for avoiding low or high blows. In the Anthology, all of this has been kept, with all of the original characters appearing. Samurai Shodown was the first game to break from the Street Fighter II mould, and was also unique for its focus on weapon based combat, rather than hand-to-hand fighting. The first Samurai Shodown game was released in 1993 for the Neo Geo console, and the Anthology covers this and five others. However, with a bit of online research, I was able to understand why the game will be enjoyable for many, and why it appeals to its fans. Being new to the Samurai Shodown games, and I have little experience with fighting games in general, so I was pretty confused when I first played the Samurai Shodown Anthology.