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Review by vincent_valentine
March 22, 2004
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
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Most recent video game reviews written by vincent_valentine
Ragnarok Online (PC) [March 20, 2004]
Garou: Mark of the Wolves (Arcade) [February 11, 2004]
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Dark Cloud (PlayStation 2) [March 24, 2003]
Devil May Cry 2 (PlayStation 2) [March 21, 2003]
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