{"id":470,"date":"2015-07-19T02:24:51","date_gmt":"2015-07-19T06:24:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gaminginsurrection.com\/stories\/?p=470"},"modified":"2022-07-17T18:34:11","modified_gmt":"2022-07-17T22:34:11","slug":"samurai-shodown-anthology-2q2015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/gaminginsurrection.com\/reviews\/index.php\/2015\/07\/19\/samurai-shodown-anthology-2q2015\/","title":{"rendered":"Samurai Shodown Anthology \u2014 2Q2015<\/span> issue"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

A com\u00adplete clas\u00adsic collection<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The fight\u00ading game indus\u00adtry has always thrived on the very con\u00adcept that makes a title in the genre: com\u00adpe\u00adti\u00adtion. There have been fabled rivals through\u00adout the entire lifes\u00adpan of the genre, with quite a few pre\u00adtenders to throne. How\u00adev\u00ader, SNK<\/span> Play\u00admore was one of the orig\u00adi\u00adna\u00adtors and the pack\u00adage of games with\u00adin Samu\u00adrai Shodown Anthol\u00ado\u00adgy shows they weren\u2019t play\u00ading around in the \u201990s in the slightest.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s pret\u00adty safe to say that Samu\u00adrai Shodown was nev\u00ader a pre\u00adtender. It\u2019s got all the mark\u00adings of a mar\u00adquee series, some\u00adthing that could car\u00adry a com\u00adpa\u00adny far in the worst of times and keep eyes on the prod\u00aduct. At its core, it\u2019s a game about samu\u00adrai and oth\u00ader war\u00adriors fight\u00ading to the death. What sets it apart from the com\u00adpe\u00adti\u00adtion \u2014 even from with\u00adin its own sta\u00adble with brethren King of Fight\u00aders \u2014 is its pro\u00adduc\u00adtion val\u00adues. The games have always been gor\u00adgeous and there\u2019s a lev\u00adel of detail that has\u00adn\u2019t been seen in oth\u00ader series except for the likes of Tekken. With\u00adin the col\u00adlec\u00adtion of that is Anthol\u00ado\u00adgy, all of the nat\u00adu\u00adral\u00adly gor\u00adgeous art\u00adwork and lev\u00adel of detail is on dis\u00adplay. It\u2019s impor\u00adtant that this be empha\u00adsized because that\u2019s what Samu\u00adrai Shodown is about at the end of the day: Samu\u00adrai fight\u00ading to the death while look\u00ading fantastic.<\/p>\n

The lev\u00adel of detail extends to the sound\u00adtrack as well. In all games in the pack\u00adage, the sound\u00adtrack is an excel\u00adlent con\u00adcer\u00adto of Japan\u00adese bam\u00adboo flute and shamisen. This may not float your boat, but for a pack\u00adage that focus\u00ades on samu\u00adrai, this is an excel\u00adlent choice to make up the back\u00ading soundtrack.<\/p>\n

Samu\u00adrai Shodown Anthol\u00ado\u00adgy is per\u00adfect col\u00adlec\u00adtion of fight\u00ading games, most\u00adly because it\u2019s good to have the entire set of games on one disc with\u00adout hav\u00ading to own infe\u00adri\u00ador ver\u00adsions of noto\u00adri\u00adous\u00adly arcade-per\u00adfect games. These are exact\u00adly what you fell in love with in the arcade and they\u2019re all in one place, lov\u00ading\u00adly includ\u00aded at the orig\u00adi\u00adnal def\u00adi\u00adn\u00adi\u00adtion. If you\u2019ve nev\u00ader expe\u00adri\u00adenced the hype that was Samu\u00adrai Shodown, now\u2019s an excel\u00adlent chance to do so. Pre\u00adpared to be wowed.<\/p>\n

2UP<\/span> EVALUATION<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Final\u00adly, a clas\u00adsic game that start\u00aded the weapon-based fight\u00ading genre is back on the PlaySta\u00adtion 2. For decades, SNK<\/span> Play\u00admore con\u00adtin\u00adued this series with not one but six titles, empha\u00adsiz\u00ading Japan\u2019s adap\u00adtion of duels. Uti\u00adliz\u00ading var\u00adi\u00adous char\u00adac\u00adters and locales, Samu\u00adrai Shodown gives gamers a break from the Tekken\/Street Fight\u00ader clones on the mar\u00adket, and shows a brief slice of life in medieval Japan dur\u00ading which samu\u00adrai fought under the code of Bushido.<\/p>\n

I was allowed for a brief moment to not only act out a samu\u00adrai fan\u00adta\u00adsy, but also to release any anger in a healthy way. While the mechan\u00adics take some prac\u00adtice to become famil\u00adiar with, the music, char\u00adac\u00adters and graph\u00adics are top-notch and the sto\u00adry is sim\u00adple. My only com\u00adplaint is that there\u2019s one cheap-shot char\u00adac\u00adter that loves to pounce. For all of the Soul\u00adCal\u00adibur clones flood\u00ading the mar\u00adket these days, I proud\u00adly say Samu\u00adrai Shodown Anthol\u00ado\u00adgy has great replay val\u00adue, and it DEMANDS<\/span> a space in any gamer\u2019s library. I\u2019m glad that SNK<\/span> Play\u00admore had the wis\u00addom to keep this series alive from the begin\u00adning, instead of a com\u00adpa\u00adny that relies on milk\u00ading their cash cow to the bone. Well done, SNK<\/span> Play\u00admore. Well done.<\/p>\n