Game Boy :: Genesis :: NES :: Sega CD :: SNES :: TurboGrafx-16 :: Complete System Listings

Samurai Shodown V review

Game: Samurai Shodown V
Platform: Arcade
Genre: Fighting Action
Developer: Unknown

Reader review by vincent_valentine

March 22, 2004

Samurai Shodown 5 is very, very difficult for me to review. On the one hand, I thoroughly enjoy the game, and I find myself playing it more and more. On the other, it’s basically a slap in the face to fans of the series; which I am admittedly not.

Samurai Shodown 5’s story takes place prior to all the other SS games…Oh, wait, it does? It’s kind of hard to know that since they completely scrapped the story mode in the English release. Completely. Scrapped. The Story. They didn’t just leave it in with no translation, it’s removed entirely. You have no idea what’s going on, and since it boasts several new characters, that’s something you kind of need to know. SNK/Playmore must be getting lazy… I’d like to touch more on the story point, but I can’t, since it ISN’T @#$%ING THERE.

Since I mentioned characters, let’s cover those. Boasting a surprising 24 characters, odds are you’ll find several characters to your liking. Most of them have very unique designs and great personalities, as well as quite interesting movesets. SNK has always been known for it’s great character design, and Samurai Shodown 5 certainly doesn’t fall short.

…Or does it? Two of the new characters added are Mina and Kusaregedo. Mina is a cute, longhaired girl and Kusaregedo is a giant, completely disgusting pot bellied demon. Mina uses a bow, which is something unseen in most fighters, but it seems kind of out of place when the rest of the lineup is using melee weapons of some sort, even though bows were a vital part of the Samurai. Kusaregedo, however, is totally ridiculous. He simply should not be in the game, as it has nothing to do with Samurai, his design is ridiculous, and he’s one of the most out of place characters of any game, ever.

On top of that, a good chunk of the lineup are clones. You basically have 3 Nakorurus, 2 Ukyos, 2 Kazukis, 2 Suijas(which are really just clones of the Kazukis, just with slightly different movesets) and 2 Haohmarus. This is really out of hand, and we really should have seen some more uniqueness in the character designs. It can almost be overlooked by the fact that there aren’t many varied styles of combat, especially Samurai, and many warrior families fight together, as well as friends and rivals.

The sound is…alright. Like every other fighting game, it sounds like they basically used the same striking sounds over and over, but at least their well done. The music is great, but it’s really low volume wise and hard to hear. Not that you’ll be listening hard in the first place, just letting you know. The sound isn’t easily touched on because it’s basically more of the same.

The gameplay is pretty down, sadly. The “fatalities” of old are completely removed, most likely to save space, and there’s a new combat mode called “enlightenment”, where your opponents movements slow down greatly, allowing you to combo them into next week. Other than that, it’s really more of the same. Anyone who’s ever played a fighter before can pick this up and start doing well right away. Mastering the game is another matter entirely.

In closing, Samurai Shodown 5 is a great game anyone new to the series can pick up and really, really enjoy. It’s got face paced, action-packed gameplay, some of the best characters to grace a fighting game and absolutely beautiful stages and backgrounds. However, longstanding fans of the series may find it hard to like, as it’s starting to do the same as King of Fighters, just putting old junk in fancy new packaging. More of the same is awesome if you’re just getting involved in the series, because you’re getting a fresh, new game you’ve never played. But if you’re a longstanding fan, you’re getting a stale, old game you’ve played 4 times before.

Not much else to say about a fighter, guides are the place for that.

Rating: 6/10

More Reviews by vincent_valentine
	Ragnarok Online (PC) Ragnarok Online (RO) is a very, very basic MMORPG (Which is a ridiculously long acronym for the even more ridiculously long phrase Massively Multiplayer Online ...
	Garou: Mark of the Wolves (Arcade) SNK has always been the glorious underdog of fighting games. Due to being mostly arcade based, since the Neo Geo's success can be considered laughable at best, ...
	Namco Museum (PlayStation 2) Namco Museum is pretty much just one big set of mini-games. Coming with a quite large list of games from the age of gaming where sound, plot and graphics weren'...

Feedback

If you enjoyed this Samurai Shodown V review, you're encouraged to leave feedback and talk about it with members of the site's community. You don't even need an HonestGamers account to get involved in the discussion. Please remember to keep your comments respectful and on-topic or they may be deleted by a moderator. Thank you for your understanding!

comments powered by Disqus

© 1998-2013 HonestGamers
None of the material contained within this site may be reproduced in any conceivable fashion without permission from the author(s) of said material. This site is not sponsored or endorsed by Nintendo, Sega, Sony, Microsoft, or any other such party. Samurai Shodown V is a registered trademark of its copyright holder. This site makes no claim to Samurai Shodown V, its characters, screenshots, artwork, music, or any intellectual property contained within. Opinions expressed on this site do not necessarily represent the opinion of site staff or sponsors.