SAMURAI SHODOWN
A chop off the old block
The old SNK magic’s been recaptured, and Samurai Shodown’s delivering all the fun of the ’90s without the Gen-X navel-gazing, that 4 Non Blondes song, and wall-to-wall plaid shirts. The game starts with a satisfying ‘brrrling’ and you’re straight back into some of the best combos on PS4.
As far as reboots go, this revival of the classic 1993 2D sword ‘n’ slash-’em-up manages to feel just like the original, yet its presentation is very much of the moment. The 3D cinematic style is pure Street Fighter V, though admittedly a little rougher around the edges. From the moment you launch an attack the game is a spectacle of flaming blades and, erm, giant bullfrogs. Pull off a Super Special move and the camera spins and zooms to reveal your character-specific fatal attack in all its glory. Fans will appreciate how these are modernised versions of the same extravagant moves we loved on dusty arcade screens 25 years ago.
The specials can end a bout in a single strike, ensuring you need to block, counter, and time your strikes in order to land a hit or avoid taking one. A round can often be over in three hits. It’s this sense of duelling rather than battering, of looking for or crafting a weakness through parries and pokes, that makes Samurai Shodown such a unique fighter; once you start fighting you’ll be playing more footsie than Goldman Sachs.
KATANA BE GOOD?
The sparring nature of the game filters into the core combat. To access special combos you need to build your Rage gauge by taking hits or from mastering Just Defense – in this technique poached from Garou: Mark Of The Wolves, a timed block counters an opponent, and then pressing light and medium strikes together pushes them away, leaving them open to an attack. Indeed, much of Samurai Shodown is about managing your space on screen. Other tools in the box include a dodge on u and a sneak attack on o, but like everything in the game these are risk-andreward moves.
There’s no greater example of the game’s nuance than Rage Explosion. A take on the series’ Fatal Flash, pressing p activates the mode and tapping p again launches a potential one-hit-win attack. Sounds game-breaking? In reality it’s not quite, as the move can be blocked or dodged, and you only get one shot at the win. If you fail you lose your Rage Gauge for the remainder of all remaining bouts, leaving you at a distinct disadvantage.
The 16 characters all play distinctly enough to make mastering these moves enjoyable, and the newcomers, in particular, are some of the best. In Wu-Ruixiang
“IT’S THE SENSE OF DUELLING THAT MAKES THIS SUCH A UNIQUE FIGHTER.”
the series has found a new star. She’s clumsy and full of charm, and fights using a large golden compass imbued with the power of a dragon’s spirit. The animation is packed with personality as she bumbles from one attack to the next, and it’s what SNK does so well.
WHAT A PARRY ON
Each character has a story path to play, but none are particularly engaging and the new boss, Shizuka, is a cheap road-block to the end credits who lacks appeal or fun to battle. Luckily you haven’t come for the story, and other modes make better use of the game’s creative weaponbased combat. The Dojo mode is a fantastic addition. Here you can download and battle AI fighters created from the gameplay of other players, and you can upload your own into a rankings board. The Ironman challenge even enables you to face up to 100 AI Ghosts in a row. The spontaneity of fighting these ‘human’ AIs ensures every round feels fresh.
Is it enough? Not quite. While Samurai Shodown captures the spirit of the series, visually it’s a step behind Street Fighter V and it’s hard not to feel the main story mode is half-baked. But the game impresses where it counts: in its tense bout-by-bout tussles that can end or turn on one moment of madness or skill. Poaching ideas from the entire series, and other SNK games, Samurai Shodown plays like no other fighting game on PS4, a cut above the rest, and for that reason alone it should be in your collection.
VERDICT
A fantastic reboot that reworks Samurai Shodown’s best ideas into an accomplished Street Fighter V-alike. It can’t truly escape the trappings of its own heritage, but fans will adore SNK’s return. Ian Dean