''Samurai Shodown V'' is the eighth game 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 of

fighting games 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- ...

. It was one of the last games to be released on 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 ...

. This title takes place two years before the first ''

''.

Gameplay

Following the revitalization of SNK after its collapse in 2001, the company decided that it would be worthwhile to create another game in the largely-defunct ''

'' series. As part of their reorganization, development duties were given over to the relatively-unknown

Yuki Enterprise Examu, formerly known as Yuki Enterprise, was a Japanese video game company founded in 2000. It mostly produced fighting games for arcade game, arcades and home consoles. It is known for owning Team Arcana, the developer of the original intellect ...

, which had mainly only created simulation and board games for the Simple 2000 series of PlayStation 2 games in Japan, and had no experience in developing fighting games. This announcement caused considerable unease among series fans. In spite of this, SNK managed to raise excitement by announcing that

Nobuhiro Watsuki , better known by his pen name , is a Japanese manga artist. He is best known for his samurai-themed series '' Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story'' (1994–1999), which has over 70 million copies in circulation, and a sequel he is cur ...

, the creator and author of the ''

Rurouni Kenshin is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Nobuhiro Watsuki. The story begins in 1878, the 11th year of the Meiji era in Japan, and follows a former assassin of the Bakumatsu, known as Hitokiri Battosai. After his work against ...

'' manga and anime series, was hired to design some of the new characters, and they were gradually revealed by way of silhouettes on the official website, and slowly showing the official artwork. Word finally got out that the game was to be a true prequel to the rest of the series, taking place two years before ''

''. This created its own issues with the series timeline. The gameplay was sped up slightly from ''

Samurai Shodown IV ''Samurai Shodown IV: Amakusa's Revenge'' is the fourth in SNK's flagship ''Samurai Shodown'' series of fighting games. Chronologically, it is the second and final chapter of a story between ''Samurai Shodown (1993 video game), Samurai Shodown'' ...

'', and the button layout was changed again. The Slash/Bust system of the last few games was done away with, and each character now only had one version, though in several cases, the Bust mode was replaced by a new character of very similar setup.

Synopsis

Seven years after the release of ''

'', the storyline of this game is a prequel for the rest of the series, two years before the events of the original ''

'', focusing on a new protagonist named Yoshitora Tokugawa as he and many other warriors must face the rebellion of Yoshitora's former mentor, Gaoh Kyogoku Hinowanokami who intends on conquering and unifying all of Japan under his rule.

Development

SNK Playmore hired Yuki Enterprise (later became

Examu Examu, formerly known as Yuki Enterprise, was a Japanese video game company founded in 2000. It mostly produced fighting games for arcades and home consoles. It is known for owning Team Arcana, the developer of the original intellectual propert ...

) to develop a new ''Samurai Shodown'' installment, where project lead Koji Takaya was a former SNK employee and worked on the main titles of the series. Takaya and the team developed the title based on decompiled ROM of ''Samurai Shodown IV'' with their own development tools.

Release

Samurai Shodown V (Xbox)

In 2005, a remixed version was released on the Xbox that had Sankuro Yorozu and Yumeji Kurokouchi as playable characters.

Samurai Shodown V Special

Reception

The game had mediocre reception. GameSpot said "This 2D fighting game is a real blast from the past, but its big cast of fairly interesting characters and its online play can make it worthwhile for NeoGeo fans." IGN said "It's got lots of moves, a deep fighting system, and the online play is a big plus, but it really isn't that enjoyable in the end." GameSpy summarised it as "A competent port of an iffy game in a good series", while EGM said "this classic weapons-based fighting series has lost much of its soul. While the original cast moves as fluidly as ever, the newer faces are the epitome of mediocre design and animation". The Official Xbox Magazine said it was "an obsolete relic". Metacritic rated the Xbox version of the game 58% based on 29 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

Notes

References

External links

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''Samurai Shodown V''
at

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