''Samurai Shodown II'', known in Japan as is a 1994

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- ...

released as the second entry 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 ''

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. Like the original ''Samurai Shodown'', the sequel was initially released for the

Neo Geo The , stylized as NEO•GEO, is a video game platform released in 1990 by Japanese game company SNK Corporation. It was initially released in two ROM cartridge-based formats: an arcade system board (Multi Video System; MVS) and a home video gam ...

arcade and home system.

Gameplay

Following up on the extremely enthusiastic fan reception of the first ''

'' game, SNK rebuilt the sequel from the ground up, including almost all of its predecessor's cast, adding several new characters, and refining the overall gameplay with more responsive control, more moves (particularly the use of the POW meter as a super special move meter; these moves not only cause severe damage to the opponents but also break their weapons, forcing them to fight unarmed for a short interval before a replacement weapon is issued), and a substantial number of

Easter eggs Easter eggs, also called Paschal eggs, are eggs that are Egg decorating, decorated for the Christian holiday of Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. As such, Easter eggs are commonly used during the season of Eastertide (Easter ...

. The overall gameplay was expanded to include several movement options, such as being able to roll forward and backward, ducking to avoid high attacks, or doing small hops to avoid low strikes. This game was also the first game to incorporate an offensive blocking technique or "parry", via a command issued at the last second, a player would be able to deflect the incoming attack and leave their adversary open to attack by a split second. Such a technique was later also used in

Namco was a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company founded in 1955. It operated video arcades and amusement parks globally, and produced video games, films, toys, and arcade cabinets. Namco was one of the most influential c ...

's '' Weaponlord'' and later popularized by

Capcom is a Japanese video game company. It has created a number of critically acclaimed and List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being ''Resident Evil'', ''Monster ...

's '' Street Fighter III''. There are also cameo appearances from other SNK characters, a hidden boss who would occasionally come out to challenge players, and several other treats for fans to uncover.

Plot

One year after the defeat of Amakusa from within the first ''

'', a new threat soon emerges in the form of Mizuki Rashojin: a vengeful spirit who possess a local shrine priestess named Mizuki and seeks to bring forth chaos and destruction to the world in the name of the dark god Ambrosia's will. Those who had fought before in the past during Amakusa's reign of terror now find themselves, along with a few new faces, battling against Mizuki and her loyal forces in order to determine the fate of the entire world itself.

Characters

With the exception of Tam Tam and Amakusa, the remaining cast of the original ''Samurai Shodown'' return for the sequel, being joined by six new warriors: * Genjuro Kibagami - a cruel and merciless swordsman who is Haohmaru's greatest rival. * Cham Cham - a young cat-like girl who is the younger sister of Tam Tam (who was transformed into her pet chimpanzee Paku Paku as divine punishment for losing and failing to protect his village's two sacred stones from Mizuki and her loyal forces). * Neinhalt Sieger - a noble and valiant knight from

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

who fights with a giant gun-containing gauntlet. * Nicotine Caffeine - an old diminutive monk who serves as the wise master of Haohmaru and Genjuro. * Kuroko - the background referee who serves as a hidden boss of the game. Kuroko's move-list is interesting as he uses moves that are used by some of the characters in the game as well as characters from other SNK fighters such as Ryo Sakazaki and Tung Fu Rue. His super move in the game is a comical version of Ryo's Ryuko Ranbu. * Mizuki Rashojin - a vengeful spirit who desires to carry out Ambrosia's will in bringing forth chaos and destruction to the world. Mizuki is the first female final boss in the series and the only boss to have assistance from an animal (a dog-like demon named Maju who serves as both Mizuki's personal pet and guardian).

Release

''Samurai Shodown II'' was originally released for the

arcades and home consoles in 1994. In spite of its considerable popularity, the game went for several years without being released on any other system in the west except for PC. In 1996, a port of the

Neo Geo CD The is a home video game console produced by SNK Corporation, released on September 9, 1994. The system is the same platform as the cartridge-based Neo Geo released four years earlier, but converted to the cheaper CD media format which reta ...

version for

Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...

-based PCs was released in Japan. The North American version of this was released in 1999. It was ported to 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 ...

only for the Japanese market in 1998, in the form of the ''Samurai Spirits Kenkaku Shinan Pack'' (combines the first two games into one package). As with the original ''Samurai Shodown'', the Neo Geo AES version censors all blood in the game. However, ''Samurai Shodown II'' also includes a "blood code" to enable all blood; SNK provided this code to gaming magazines for publication and to those who called their customer service department. However, later, an official

Xbox Live Arcade Xbox Live Arcade (or XBLA) was a video game Digital distribution in video games, digital distribution service that was available for the Xbox (console), Xbox and Xbox 360 consoles. It focused on smaller downloadable games from both major publisher ...

port and a

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...

Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America, and in December 2006 for most other regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major home game console, f ...

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs, or related fiction/non-fiction excerpts by different authors. There are also thematic and g ...

containing every ''Samurai Shodown'' game was announced at the

Tokyo Game Show , commonly known as TGS, is a video game trade fair and convention held annually in September in the Makuhari Messe, in Chiba, Japan. It is presented by the Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association (CESA) and Nikkei Business Publication ...

2007. It was released on Xbox Live Arcade for

Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the Xbox (console), original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005, with detail ...

on September 10, 2008, and on the Wii's

Virtual Console The Virtual Console was a line of downloadable retro video games for Nintendo's Wii and Wii U home video game consoles and the Nintendo 3DS family of handheld systems. The Virtual Console lineup consisted of titles originally released on pa ...

in Europe on August 8, 2008, and in North America on August 25, 2008. On December 18, 2012,

SNK Playmore 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 ...

released the game on the onboard memory of the

Neo Geo X The Neo Geo X (NGX) is a hybrid video game console manufactured by Tommo, licensed by SNK Playmore and released on December 18, 2012. It features games that were popular on the original Neo Geo (system), Neo Geo hardware and comes built-in with 2 ...

portable console. It was also ported for

iOS Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...

and Android platforms and released on

iOS App Store The App Store is an app marketplace developed and maintained by Apple, for mobile apps on its iOS and iPadOS operating systems. The store allows users to browse and download approved apps developed within Apple's iOS SDK. Apps can be download ...

and

Google Play Google Play, also known as the Google Play Store, Play Store, or sometimes the Android Store (and was formerly Android Market), is a digital distribution service operated and developed by Google. It serves as the official app store for certifie ...

in June 2013. A digital PC version of ''Samurai Shodown II'' with Neo Geo emulation was bundled with many other SNK Playmore Neo Geo emulated ports and released on the Humble Bundle store on December 8, 2015. Though the browser version of some of these games including this one played a bit too fast in the emulated software window, they had Steam client versions available. This game and many others in the Neo Geo 25th Anniversary bundle that were on Humble Bundle were later released for DRM-free download on GOG.com on May 31, 2017. Also starting in 2017 the game was released for various platforms as part of the '' ACA Neo Geo'' offerings. It was also released as part of the ''Samurai Shodown NeoGeo Collection'' compilation in July 2020, on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Windows.

Reception

Commercial

In North America, ''RePlay'' reported it to be the 12th most-popular arcade game in October 1994, despite only being available for location testing at the time. In Japan, ''Game Machine'' listed it on their December 1, 1994 issue as being the most-successful table arcade unit of the month. It went on to be Japan's eighth highest-grossing arcade game of 1995. 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 ...

'', both the Neo Geo AES and Neo Geo CD versions sold over 75,066 and 20,487 copies during their first week on the Japanese market, respectively. The AES version went on to sell 205,554 units and the CD version 129,951 units, for a total of 335,505 units sold in Japan.

Critical

''Samurai Shodown II'' was well received by critics and considered an improvement over the original. The four reviewers of '' EGM'' gave the Neo Geo home version unanimous scores of 9/10 each and the "Game of the Month" title, saying that the game improved in every aspect over its already excellent predecessor. They later ranked it #4 in the 1995 ''EGM'' "Hot 50", higher than any other fighting game. ''

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 ...

'' praised improvements such as the revised POW meter and secret moves as well as "the best graphics ever seen in a hand-drawn animated fighting game" but said the combos are still unbalanced, with some characters able to do far more damage than others. They remarked that, in combination with other recent releases such as ''

Fatal Fury Special ''Fatal Fury Special'', known as in Japan, is a 1993 fighting game developed and published by SNK and originally released for the Neo Geo (console), Neo Geo arcade and home platforms. It is an updated version of 1992's ''Fatal Fury 2'', introduc ...

'', SNK was close to overtaking Capcom as the premier maker of fighting games. A reviewer for '' Next Generation'' said that the game was the same as its predecessor aside from some "minor improvements", but that "that's what makes it so darn good." ''Samurai Shodown II'' made

GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady, and Jon Epstein. In addition ...

's list of the greatest games of all time and ''EGM'' list of top ten cult classics. It was also ranked as the 18th best arcade game of the 1990s by ''

Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...

''. ''

Retro Gamer ''Retro Gamer'' is a British magazine, published worldwide, covering Retrogaming, retro video games. It was the first commercial magazine to be devoted entirely to the subject. Launched in January 2004 as a quarterly publication, ''Retro Gamer'' ...

'' included it among top ten Neo Geo games: "With its beautiful graphics, silky smooth animation and eclectic character roster, the second part of SNKs ''Samurai Shodown'' series is easily its best. The 202-meg cart featured new fighters, glorious backdrops and even slicker controls than the impressive original. A massive arcade success, ''Samurai Shodown II'' was a fantastic two-fingered salute to Capcom and proved that SNKs style and ambition knew no bounds. It certainly lacks the depth of later games in the series, but for sheer fun and accessibility ''Samurai Shodown II'' is without equal. A truly monumental fighter that still plays brilliantly today." In 2008, they gave the XBLA re-release a review score of 91%. In 2019, ''Game Informer'' ranked it as the 9th best fighting game of all time. According to ''Retro Gamer'', "this incredible game proved that SNK was willing and able to challenge genre conventions and go toe to toe with Capcom in the fighting game arena. The heated competition between the two companies would last through the decade and beyond as both companies tried to out-innovate each other with each new release."''Retro Gamer'' 70 pages 75-76. The game's awkward

Engrish ''Engrish'' is a slang term for the inaccurate, poorly translated, nonsensical or ungrammatical use of the English language by native speakers of other languages. The word itself relates to Japanese speakers learning r and l, Japanese speaker ...

text intro has often been commented on. Chad Okada (Game Lord) stated that efforts to localize the text were stunted as the small profit earned from Neo Geo home versions was not considered worth the time and money needed to fix translation errors. '' Next Generation'' reviewed the Neo-Geo version of the game and stated that "Unfortunately, even in its full arcade reproduction, ''Samurai Showdown II'' is still just another fighting game. It's definitely a game every Neo-Geo owner should invest in, but not a reason to buy a machine if you don't own one."

Notes

References

External links

*
''Samurai Shodown II''
at

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