Samurai Shodown 64: Warriors Rage - Overview

Overview

After the lukewarm critical and fan reception of the previous Samurai Shodown game, SNK listened to customer comments and complaints, and set about trying to restore more of a two-dimensional feel to the gameplay, in order to draw fans who enjoyed the earlier iterations of the series.

The most obvious difference is the lack of full 3D movement, which was replaced by a more standard dodge into the foreground or background. Controls were more standardized, with multiple strengths of special moves, and the near-total removal of short chain combos. Also, when a character's "rage gauge" was fully charged, it was possible to power up certain moves, in a fashion similar to that of ES Specials in DarkStalkers. To help promote aggressive play, a "stumbling" system was introduced, wherein a character would stumble and fall backwards if trying to hop backwards twice in a row. The system continued the use of the Slash/Bust system, in which there were two alternate versions of each character, with different movesets. This game also further differentiated the two by making the two versions also look dramatically different from one another, in most cases. Only two new characters are introduced to the series in this installment:

• Asura, a revived warrior with the power to summon seven weapons, who wants to destroy his old opponent, Yuga.

• Taizan Morozumi, a warrior who wants to avenge the death of his wife and son, both killed by Yuga.

In spite of all the positive changes, the game still met with average reviews, not helped by the platform's meager graphical capabilities when compared to other contemporary arcade hardware, such as the Sega Model 3.

The game experienced a minor revival in the form of a scaled-down 2D "port" for the Neo-Geo Pocket Color, entitled Samurai Shodown! 2. It included the entire cast except for Hanma Yagyu, and re-added Charlotte and Jubei.