''Samurai Shodown IV: Amakusa's Revenge'' is the fourth in

SNK is a Japanese video gaming and interactive entertainment company. It was founded in 1978 as by Eikichi Kawasaki and began by developing arcade games. SNK is known for its Neo Geo arcade system on which the company established many franchises ...

's flagship ''

Samurai Shodown ''Samurai Shodown'', known in Japan as is a fighting game series by SNK. The series began in 1993 and is known for being one of the earliest in the genre with a primary focus on weapon-based combat. Plot The stories in the series take place i ...

'' series of

fighting game The fighting game video game genre, genre involves combat between multiple characters, often (but not limited to) one-on-one battles. Fighting game combat often features mechanics such as Blocking (martial arts), blocking, grappling, counter- ...

s. Chronologically, it is the second and final chapter of a story between ''

'' and ''

Samurai Shodown II ''Samurai Shodown II'', known in Japan as is a 1994 fighting game released as the second entry in SNK's ''Samurai Shodown'' series. Like the original ''Samurai Shodown'', the sequel was initially released for the Neo Geo arcade and home system. ...

'', with ''

Samurai Shodown III ''Samurai Shodown III: Blades of Blood'' is an arcade fighting game developed by SNK and released on November 15, 1995. While it is the third game in the main ''Samurai Shodown'' series, it is the first part of a two-chapter story that is chronol ...

'' being the first chapter. ''Samurai Shodown!'' on the

Neo Geo Pocket The Neo Geo Pocket series is a line of handheld game consoles developed and manufactured by SNK between 1998 and 2001. It began with the monochrome released in Japan on October 28, 1998 as SNK's first handheld system and a direct competitor to ...

is a monochrome adaptation of this game, and it was followed by ''Samurai Shodown! 2'' on the

Neo Geo Pocket Color The Neo Geo Pocket series is a line of handheld game consoles developed and manufactured by SNK between 1998 and 2001. It began with the monochrome released in Japan on October 28, 1998 as SNK's first handheld system and a direct competitor to N ...

, which is a 2D adaptation of '' Samurai Shodown 64: Warriors Rage''.

Gameplay

The ability to select from "Slash" and "Bust" versions of characters is retained from ''Samurai Shodown III''. Among other series changes, aerial blocking was removed entirely. One can also no longer charge one's own "pow" gauge. The off-screen delivery man was omitted entirely from the game. The "CD combo" was added, wherein a player can press the C and D buttons together, triggering a strike that can be followed up by a sequence of button taps. SNK also added a "suicide" move, wherein one's character forfeits the round. The bonus to this is that the one committing suicide will start the next round with a full "POW" gauge. Certain finishes also enable a " fatality" move in the vein of ''

Mortal Kombat ''Mortal Kombat'' is an American media franchise centered on a series of fighting game, fighting video games originally developed by Midway Games in 1992. The original ''Mortal Kombat (1992 video game), Mortal Kombat'' arcade game spawned Lis ...

''.

Characters

All twelve playable characters from ''

'' return, though some have been retouched to further enhance the cartoonish look. Three additional characters from previous games,

Charlotte Charlotte most commonly refers to: *Charlotte (given name), a feminine form of the given name Charles ** Princess Charlotte (disambiguation) ** Queen Charlotte (disambiguation) *Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, a city * Charlotte (cake) ...

, Tam Tam and Jubei Yagyu, are also included. Joining the cast are the two

ninja A , or was a spy and infiltrator in pre-modern Japan. The functions of a ninja included siege and infiltration, ambush, reconnaissance, espionage, deception, and later bodyguarding.Kawakami, pp. 21–22 Antecedents may have existed as ear ...

brothers: *Kazuki Kazama - member of the Kazama ninja clan specializing in fire jutsu, he deserts to rescue his younger sister, Hazuki, from Amakusa's clutches. *Sogetsu Kazama - older brother to Kazuki and Hazuki who uses water jutsu; unlike Kazuki, he stays with the clan and is ordered to assassinate his brother for leaving. Cham Cham from ''

'' also makes a playable appearance, exclusively for the

PlayStation is a video gaming brand owned and produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), a division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. Its flagship products consists of a series of home video game consoles produced under the brand; it also consists ...

port of the game known in Japan as ''Samurai Spirits: Amakusa's Descent Special''.

Reception

In Japan, ''Game Machine'' listed ''Samurai Shodown IV'' on their December 1, 1996 issue as being the most-popular arcade game at the time. According to ''

Famitsu , formerly , is a line of Japanese Video game journalism, video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation, Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly f ...

'', the AES version sold over 9,253 copies in its first week on the market. Reviewing the arcade version in ''

GamePro ''GamePro'' was an American multiplatform video game magazine media company that published online and print content covering the video game industry, video game hardware and video game software. The magazine featured content on various video ...

'', The Union Buster commented that ''Samurai Shodown IV'' lacks the depth of contemporaries such as ''

Street Fighter Alpha 2 ''Street Fighter Alpha 2'', known as in Japan, Asia, South America, and Oceania, is a 1996 fighting game developed and published by Capcom for arcades. The game is the sequel to the previous year's '' Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors' Dreams'' an ...

'' and ''

Soul Edge is a 1996 fighting game developed and published by Namco for arcades. It is the first installment in the ''Soulcalibur'' series. Introduced at the JAMMA trade show in November 1995, the full arcade game was released in February 1996 on System ...

'', but for the same reason offers an easier pick-up-and-play experience. He was unimpressed with the two new characters but pleased with the return of those which had been dropped from the roster in ''Samurai Shodown III''. He particularly praised the visuals, remarking that "The fighters have superb animation; several fighting stages are outright beautiful; and the special moves look awesome." The four reviewers of ''

Electronic Gaming Monthly ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' (''EGM'') is a monthly American video game magazine. It offers video game news, coverage of industry events, interviews with gaming figures, editorial content and product reviews. History The magazine was fou ...

'' gave the Neo Geo home version a unanimous score of 8 out of 10, praising the high number of characters and the size of the character sprites. In a review of the Virtual Console release, ''Nintendo Life'' also gave the game an 8 out of 10, but their praise focused more on the animations, heavy challenge, and the thrilling pacing of battles, commenting, "a single slash scapable of turning the tide against any opponent."

Notes

References

External links

*
''Samurai Shodown IV''
at

GameFAQs GameFAQs is a video gaming website that hosts guides and other resources, as well as an active Internet forum, message board forum. It was created in November 1995 by Jeff Veasey and has been owned by Fandom (website), Fandom, Inc. since October ...

''Samurai Shodown IV''
at

Giant Bomb ''Giant Bomb'' is an American video game website and wiki that includes personality-driven gaming videos, commentary, news and reviews, created by former ''GameSpot'' editors Jeff Gerstmann and Ryan Davis. The website was voted by ''Time (maga ...

''Samurai Shodown IV''
at

Killer List of Videogames Museum of the Game, which includes the Killer List of Videogames (KLOV), is a website featuring an online encyclopedia devoted to cataloging arcade games past and present. It is the video game department of the International Arcade Museum, and h ...

''Samurai Shodown IV''
at

MobyGames MobyGames is a commercial website that catalogs information on video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controlle ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Samurai Shodown IV 1996 video games ACA Neo Geo games Arcade video games D4 Enterprise games Fighting games 2D fighting games Video game interquels Multiplayer and single-player video games Neo Geo games Neo Geo CD games Nintendo Switch games PlayStation (console) games PlayStation Network games PlayStation 4 games Samurai Shodown video games Sega Saturn games SNK games SNK Playmore games Video game sequels Video games about samurai Virtual Console games Video games developed in Japan Xbox One games Hamster Corporation games