Samurai Shodown
Encyclopedia
Samurai Shodown, known as in Japan, is a competitive fighting game
Fighting game
Fighting game is a video game genre where the player controls an on-screen character and engages in close combat with an opponent. These characters tend to be of equal power and fight matches consisting of several rounds, which take place in an arena. Players must master techniques such as...

 produced by SNK
SNK Playmore
SNK Playmore Corporation is a Japanese video game hardware and software company. SNK is an acronym of , which was SNK's original name. The company's legal and trading name became SNK in 1986....

 for their Neo Geo
Neo Geo (console)
The is a cartridge-based arcade and home video game system released on July 1, 1991 by Japanese game company SNK. Being in the Fourth generation of Gaming, it was the first console in the former Neo Geo family, which only lived through the 1990s...

 arcade and home platform. In contrast to other fighting games at the time which were set in modern times and focused primarily on hand-to-hand combat, Samurai Shodown is set in feudal-era Japan (similar to Kaneko
Kaneko
, also referred to as , was a Japanese video game publisher founded in Suginami, Tokyo, Japan by Hiroshi Kaneko. It published a number of games both under its brand and other companies, such as Air Buster, Nexzr, Shogun Warriors, DJ Boy, Guts'n, and the Gals Panic series...

's Shogun Warriors
Shogun Warriors (arcade game)
Shogun Warriors, known in Japan as , is a 1992 fighting arcade game developed by Atop and Kaneko and published in Japan by Sammy Corporation and published in North America and Europe by Kaneko. It was the first modern-fighting game based on ancient Japanese mythology, and was created during the...

) and was one of the first fighting games to focus primarily on weapon-based combat after the success of Capcom
Capcom
is a Japanese developer and publisher of video games, known for creating multi-million-selling franchises such as Devil May Cry, Chaos Legion, Street Fighter, Mega Man and Resident Evil. Capcom developed and published Bionic Commando, Lost Planet and Dark Void too, but they are less known. Its...

's Street Fighter II
Street Fighter II
is a competitive fighting game originally released for the arcades in . It is the arcade sequel to the original Street Fighter released in and was Capcom's fourteenth title that ran on the CP System arcade hardware...

.

Gameplay

The game is set in the late 18th century and all the characters wield weapons. The game uses comparatively authentic music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...

 from the time period, rife with sounds of traditional Japanese instruments, such as the shakuhachi
Shakuhachi
The is a Japanese end-blown flute. It is traditionally made of bamboo, but versions now exist in ABS and hardwoods. It was used by the monks of the Fuke school of Zen Buddhism in the practice of...

 and shamisen
Shamisen
The , also called is a three-stringed, Japanese musical instrument played with a plectrum called a bachi. The Japanese pronunciation is usually "shamisen" but sometimes "jamisen" when used as a suffix . -Construction:The shamisen is a plucked stringed instrument...

, and a refined version of the camera zoom first found in Art of Fighting
Art of Fighting
is a trilogy of competitive fighting game titles that were released for the Neo Geo platform in the early 1990s. It was the second fighting game franchise created by SNK, following the Fatal Fury series and is set in the same fictional universe...

. True to its use of bladed weapons, the game also included copious amounts of blood.

The game quickly became renowned for its fast pace, focused more on quick, powerful strikes than the combos. As to emphasize the distinction of this gameplay system, slow motion was added to intensify damage dealt from hard hits. Also during a match, a referee held flags representing each player (player 1 was white; player 2 red). When a player landed a successful hit, the referee would lift the corresponding flag, letting everyone watching know who dealt the blow. To lessen the repetition of fights, a delivery man running in the background threw items such as chicken (that healed) or bombs, which could significantly change the outcome of a play.

Characters

The cast of characters, like many other fighting games of its time, spanned from fighters across the globe, allowing a wide range of weaponry open for the players' preference. Playable characters include:
  • Haohmaru - the main hero; a ronin who travels to sharpen his swordsmanship and his sense of bushido
    Bushido
    , meaning "Way of the Warrior-Knight", is a Japanese word which is used to describe a uniquely Japanese code of conduct and a way of the samurai life, loosely analogous to the concept of chivalry. It originates from the samurai moral code and stresses frugality, loyalty, martial arts mastery, and...

    .
  • Nakoruru - an Ainu
    Ainu people
    The , also called Aynu, Aino , and in historical texts Ezo , are indigenous people or groups in Japan and Russia. Historically they spoke the Ainu language and related varieties and lived in Hokkaidō, the Kuril Islands, and much of Sakhalin...

     miko
    Miko
    is a Japanese term that anciently meant a "female shaman, spirit medium" who conveyed oracles from kami , and currently means a "shrine maiden; virgin consecrated to a deity" who serves at Shinto shrines.-Word:...

     who fights to protect Mother Nature
    Mother Nature
    Mother Nature is a common personification of nature that focuses on the life-giving and nurturing aspects of nature by embodying it in the form of the mother. Images of women representing mother earth, and mother nature, are timeless...

    .
  • Ukyo Tachibana - an ailing narcisist swordsman who searches for the perfect flower for his loved one, Kei.
  • Wan-fu - a power general
    General
    A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....

     from the Qing dynasty
    Qing Dynasty
    The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....

     seeking to recruit powerful warriors for the unification of China
    China
    Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

    .
  • Tam Tam - renowned Maya hero from Mexico (referred to as "Green Hell" in the game); he fights to retrieve the sacred artifact, the Palenke Stone.
  • Charlotte Christine Colde - a noblewoman fencer
    Fencing
    Fencing, which is also known as modern fencing to distinguish it from historical fencing, is a family of combat sports using bladed weapons.Fencing is one of four sports which have been featured at every one of the modern Olympic Games...

     from Versailles
    Versailles
    Versailles , a city renowned for its château, the Palace of Versailles, was the de facto capital of the kingdom of France for over a century, from 1682 to 1789. It is now a wealthy suburb of Paris and remains an important administrative and judicial centre...

     who fights to save her country from Amakusa.
  • Galford D. Weller - American
    United States
    The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

     sailor
    Sailor
    A sailor, mariner, or seaman is a person who navigates water-borne vessels or assists in their operation, maintenance, or service. The term can apply to professional mariners, military personnel, and recreational sailors as well as a plethora of other uses...

     turned ninja
    Ninja
    A or was a covert agent or mercenary of feudal Japan specializing in unorthodox arts of war. The functions of the ninja included espionage, sabotage, infiltration, and assassination, as well as open combat in certain situations...

     who fights in the name of justice.
  • Kyoshiro Senryo - famed kabuki
    Kabuki
    is classical Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for the stylization of its drama and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers.The individual kanji characters, from left to right, mean sing , dance , and skill...

     performer who wishes to strengthen his dance
    Dance
    Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....

    s through swordplay.
  • Earthquake - American ninja and Flunky-turned bandit, he wants to steal all the world's treasure
    Treasure
    Treasure is a concentration of riches, often one which is considered lost or forgotten until being rediscovered...

    .
  • Hanzo Hattori - ninja serving Ieyasu Tokugawa
    Tokugawa Ieyasu
     was the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan , which ruled from the Battle of Sekigahara  in 1600 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. Ieyasu seized power in 1600, received appointment as shogun in 1603, abdicated from office in 1605, but...

    . In this fictional account, he fights to save his son, Shinzo, who is actually Amakusa (the truth is Amakusa's spirit possessed Hanzo's son body).
  • Jubei Yagyu - similar to other fictional accounts, he is a ronin
    Ronin
    A or rounin was a Bushi with no lord or master during the feudal period of Japan. A samurai became masterless from the death or fall of his master, or after the loss of his master's favor or privilege....

     hired by the Shogunate to execute a demon
    Demon
    call - 1347 531 7769 for more infoIn Ancient Near Eastern religions as well as in the Abrahamic traditions, including ancient and medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered an "unclean spirit" which may cause demonic possession, to be addressed with an act of exorcism...

    .
  • Genan Shiranui - an eccentric member of the Shiranui clan, he strives to make himself more evil.
  • Shiro Tokisada Amakusa - last boss and villain of the game; in this fictional account, he is resurrected years after his death by the demon, Ambrosia
    Ambrosia
    In ancient Greek mythology, ambrosia is sometimes the food or drink of the Greek gods , often depicted as conferring ageless immortality upon whoever consumes it...

    . Due to a pact made with the demon, he wants to revive Ambrosia thus destroying the world.
  • Kuroko - exclusive playable character in the Game Boy
    Game Boy
    The , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...

     port. He is the background referee
    Referee
    A referee is the person of authority, in a variety of sports, who is responsible for presiding over the game from a neutral point of view and making on the fly decisions that enforce the rules of the sport...

     who acknowledges the winner of the match, in the GB game he wields two flag blades as his weapon. He did not get a console debut until Samurai Shodown II
    Samurai Shodown II
    , is the second game in SNK's popular Samurai Shodown series of versus fighting games. This game has been released on the Wii's Virtual Console in Europe on August 8, 2008 and in North America on August 25, 2008 at a cost of 900 Wii Points...

    , in which he imitates moves of several fighters of other SNK games (like Ryo Sakazaki
    Ryo Sakazaki
    is a video game character developed for the fighting game Art of Fighting from SNK Playmore . His name is most often written in kana, however, in some games kanji is used to write parts of his name. In the series, Ryo is a martial artist that practices his family's fighting style, the Kyokugenryu...

    's Haoshokoken). The Game Boy port is the only game where he had his own original moves and weapons unlike his console counterpart.
  • Hikyaku - exclusive playable character in the Game Boy port. He is the delivery man running in the background of stages who is forced to disrupt fights by Amakusa.

Ports

When SNK released the game for the home console version of the Neo Geo system, the AES, the fans bought it up in droves, and it still stands as the most successful run of home Neo cartridges ever produced. The game was ported to multiple other platforms, including the Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...

, Nintendo Game Boy, Sega Mega Drive
Sega Mega Drive
The Sega Genesis is a fourth-generation video game console developed and produced by Sega. It was originally released in Japan in 1988 as , then in North America in 1989 as Sega Genesis, and in Europe, Australia and other PAL regions in 1990 as Mega Drive. The reason for the two names is that...

, Sega Game Gear
Sega Game Gear
The was Sega's first handheld game console. It was the third commercially available color handheld console, after the Atari Lynx and the TurboExpress....

, Sega CD, Sega Saturn
Sega Saturn
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console that was first released by Sega on November 22, 1994 in Japan, May 11, 1995 in North America, and July 8, 1995 in Europe...

, 3DO
3DO Interactive Multiplayer
The 3DO Interactive Multiplayer is a video game console originally produced by Panasonic in 1993. Further renditions of the hardware were released in 1994 by Sanyo and Goldstar. The consoles were manufactured according to specifications created by The 3DO Company, and were originally designed by...

, FM Towns
FM Towns
The FM Towns system is a Japanese PC variant, built by Fujitsu from February 1989 to the summer of 1997. It started as a proprietary PC variant intended for multimedia applications and PC games, but later became more compatible with regular PCs...

, PlayStation, PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...

, and Xbox
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...

. All of the cartridge versions were handled by Takara
Takara
Takara Co., Ltd. was a Japanese toy company founded in 1955, that merged with another prominent Japanese toy company, Tomy Co., Ltd., on March 1, 2006 to form Takara Tomy, also known in English as TOMY Company Ltd....

, while Crystal Dynamics
Crystal Dynamics
Crystal Dynamics is an American video game developer based in the San Francisco Bay Area and founded in 1992 by Judy Lang, Madaline Canepa and Dave Morris...

 ported the 3DO version, and JVC
JVC
, usually referred to as JVC, is a Japanese international consumer and professional electronics corporation based in Yokohama, Japan which was founded in 1927...

 handled the Sega CD port. All the ports vary in quality, given the individual capabilities of the systems on which the game appeared.

All the 16-bit
16-bit
-16-bit architecture:The HP BPC, introduced in 1975, was the world's first 16-bit microprocessor. Prominent 16-bit processors include the PDP-11, Intel 8086, Intel 80286 and the WDC 65C816. The Intel 8088 was program-compatible with the Intel 8086, and was 16-bit in that its registers were 16...

 Sega versions of the game (including the Sega CD version) omitted Earthquake. Both versions lack the camera zoom, and as a result the camera is zoomed-in, which gives better detail to the characters, but the fighting area is smaller. Of note is the Sega CD version, which contained a bug which caused the game to crash when the final boss was reached. Publisher JVC offered to replace glitched discs with copies of Fatal Fury Special (which they also published for the system). No "fixed" version was released.

The Super NES version, by contrast, has the character line-up intact, but has the game zoomed-out, which makes the characters look tiny and harder to time attacks. The stages, on the other hand, are less restricted. This version also supports Dolby Surround
Dolby Surround
Dolby Surround was the earliest consumer version of Dolby's multichannel analog film sound decoding format Dolby Stereo introduced to the public in 1982 during the time home video recording formats were introducing Stereo and HiFi capability...

.

The Neo Geo AES version of the game was released for the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...

 Virtual Console
Virtual console
A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...

 on October 16, 2007 in Japan; May 30, 2008 in Europe; and June 16, 2008 in North America. However, before the Virtual Console version was released in the North America, the game was released as part of SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 1
SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 1
SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 1 is a video game compilation created and published by SNK Playmore which includes sixteen Neo Geo games.The compilation was released on the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, and the Wii...

.

The game was edited when it was first released for the AES as it featured blood and graphic fatal attacks that kills opponents by slicing them in half. This was mostly due to the negative publicity that sparked involving the use of violence in video games of the time, a most prominent example being Mortal Kombat. As a result, it was decided to censor
Censorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...

 the game for most platforms, by changing the blood from red to white and disabling all of the fatal attack animations. These censorship issues were also carried over to the win quotes, and references to death or blood were altered. This release incited controversy in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, as many fans who bought the game were angry that the game they had paid for was not 100% true to the arcade experience, a notion which ran contrary to the professed point of the AES in the first place.

The Sega 16-bit ports frequently had the violence toned down. While the blood is featured, it is used sparsely and one of the fatalities is cut for each version. In the Super NES version the blood was recolored orange and the half slicing is removed. The 3DO version, however, was ported almost a year later, and managed to reach the console with all blood and fatality graphics intact. As a result, some retailers didn't even carry this edition of the game.

Samurai Shodown is justifiably considered the starting point for the wave of Neo Geo console modifications
Modchip
A modchip is a small electronic device used to modify or disable built-in restrictions and limitations of computers, specifically videogame consoles...

, which would enable users to set the system's region to Japan, or play in arcade mode, which would in turn allow the game to be played with all of the blood and death animations intact, even on a North American/PAL console. It also marked the beginning of SNK's nebulous and much-discussed policy of censoring their games for release outside of Japan, which still persists (albeit sporadically) to this day.

Reception

In the February 1994 issue of Gamest magazine in Japan, Samurai Spirits was awarded Best Game of 1993 in the Seventh Annual Gamest Grand Prize, being the first to win in the category of Best Fighting Game as well (Street Fighter II Dash, the previous Game of the Year, won as Best Action Game). Samurai Spirits placed first place in Best VGM, Best Album and Best Direction, and second place in Best Graphics. In the Best Characters list, Nakoruru placed No. 1, Haohmaru at No. 6, Jubei Yagyu at No. 8, a tie between Ukyo Tachibana, Galford, and Poppy at No. 11, Charlotte at No. 16 (tied with Duck King from Fatal Fury Special
Fatal Fury Special
is a 1993 head-to-head fighting game produced by SNK originally released for the Neo Geo arcade and home platforms. It is an updated version of Fatal Fury 2, introducing several changes to the gameplay system while expanding the available character roster....

), Kuroko at No. 18, Tam Tam and Hanzo Hattori tied for No. 22, Gen-an Shiranui at No. 29, and Wan-Fu tied at No. 45 with five other characters.

Samurai Shodown won multiple awards from Electronic Gaming Monthly
Electronic Gaming Monthly
Electronic Gaming Monthly is a bimonthly American video game magazine. It has been published by EGM Media, LLC. since relaunching in April of 2010. Its previous run, which ended in January 2009, was published by Ziff Davis...

in their 1993 video game awards, including Best Neo-Geo Game, Best Fighting Game, and Game of the Year.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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