Samurai Shodown IV

Last updated
Samurai Shodown IV: Amakusa's Revenge
Samurai Shodown IV arcade flyer.jpg
Developer(s) SNK
Publisher(s)
SNK
  • TNSsoft (Windows)
Designer(s) Kiyoji Tomita
Artist(s) Y. Koyasu
Writer(s) Y. Yoshimitsu
Composer(s) Hideki Asanaka
Yasumasa Yamada
Yoshihiko Kitamura
Series Samurai Shodown
Platform(s)
Release
1996
  • Arcade
    • WW: 25 October 1996
    Neo Geo AES
    • WW: 29 November 1996
    Neo Geo CD
    • WW: 27 December 1997
    Saturn
    • JP: 2 October 1997
    PlayStation
    Original release
    • JP: 25 December 1997
    Re-release
    • JP: 24 April 2003
    Windows
    • JP: December 2000
Genre(s) Fighting
Mode(s)
Arcade system Neo Geo MVS

Samurai Shodown IV: Amakusa's Revenge [lower-alpha 1] 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 and Samurai Shodown II , with Samurai Shodown III being the first chapter. Samurai Shodown! on the Neo Geo Pocket is a monochrome adaptation of this game, and it was followed by Samurai Shodown! 2 on the Neo Geo Pocket Color, which is a 2D adaptation of Samurai Shodown 64: Warriors Rage .

Contents

Gameplay

Gameplay screenshot showcasing a match between Rimururu and Basara Kubikiri. NEOGEO Samurai Shodown IV - Amakusa's Revenge (Samurai Spirits - Amakusa Korin).png
Gameplay screenshot showcasing a match between Rimururu and Basara Kubikiri.

The ability to select from "Slash" and "Bust" versions of characters is retained from Samurai Shodown III. [2]

Among other series changes, aerial blocking was removed entirely. One can also no longer charge one's own "pow" gauge. The off-screen delivery man was omitted entirely from the game. The "CD combo" was added, wherein a player can press the C and D buttons together, triggering a strike that can be followed up by a sequence of button taps.

SNK also added a "suicide" move, wherein one's character forfeits the round. The bonus to this is that the one committing suicide will start the next round with a full "POW" gauge. Certain finishes also enable a "fatality" move in the vein of Mortal Kombat .

Characters

All twelve playable characters from Samurai Shodown III return, [2] though some have been retouched to further enhance the cartoonish look. Three additional characters from previous games, Charlotte, Tam Tam and Jubei Yagyu, are also included.

Joining the cast are the two ninja brothers:

Cham Cham from Samurai Shodown II also makes a playable appearance, exclusively for the PlayStation port of the game known in Japan as Samurai Spirits: Amakusa's Descent Special.

Reception

In Japan, Game Machine listed Samurai Shodown IV on their December 1, 1996 issue as being the most-popular arcade game at the time. [3] According to Famitsu , the AES version sold over 9,253 copies in its first week on the market. [4]

Reviewing the arcade version in GamePro , The Union Buster commented that Samurai Shodown IV lacks the depth of contemporaries such as Street Fighter Alpha 2 and Soul Edge , but for the same reason offers an easier pick-up-and-play experience. He was unimpressed with the two new characters but pleased with the return of those which had been dropped from the roster in Samurai Shodown III. He particularly praised the visuals, remarking that "The fighters have superb animation; several fighting stages are outright beautiful; and the special moves look awesome." [5]

The four reviewers of Electronic Gaming Monthly gave the Neo Geo home version a unanimous score of 8 out of 10, praising the high number of characters and the size of the character sprites. [6]

In a review of the Virtual Console release, Nintendo Life also gave the game an 8 out of 10, but their praise focused more on the animations, heavy challenge, and the thrilling pacing of battles, commenting, "a single slash [is] capable of turning the tide against any opponent." [7]

Notes

  1. ↑ Also known as Samurai Spirits: Amakusa's Descent (Japanese: サムライスピリッツ: 天草降臨, Hepburn: Samurai Supirittsu: Amakusa Kōrin) or TenSamu for short in Japan, and as Paewang Jeonseol: Legend of a Warrior in Korea. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SNK</span> Japanese video game company

SNK Corporation is a Japanese video game hardware and software company. The company was founded in 1978 as Shin Nihon Kikaku by Eikichi Kawasaki. In 1981, the name was informally shortened to SNK Corporation, which became the company's official name in 1986.

Masahiro Nonaka is a Japanese voice actor affiliated with Vozator Voice Production. Nonaka has been excessively famous for his role as Kyo Kusanagi, as well as the two Kyo clones, Kyo-1 and Kyo-2, in The King of Fighters fighting game series. Nonaka is also did the voice of another SNK character, Basara in the Samurai Shodown series.

<i>Shinsetsu Samurai Spirits Bushidō Retsuden</i> 1997 video game

Shinsetsu Samurai Spirits Bushidō Retsuden is a role-playing video game for SNK's Neo Geo CD system, which retells the events of Samurai Shodown and Samurai Shodown II in greater detail. It was ported to the Sega Saturn and PlayStation.

<i>Samurai Shodown 64: Warriors Rage</i> 1998 video game

Samurai Shodown 64: Warriors Rage, known as Samurai Spirits 2: Asura Zanmaden in Japan, is a 3D fighting game produced by SNK for its Hyper Neo Geo 64 system. It is the follow-up to the original Samurai Shodown 64 on the same platform. A PlayStation game was released as part of the same series; despite using the Warriors Rage subtitle in America, it is a different game than 64: Warriors Rage. Samurai Shodown! 2 on the Neo Geo Pocket Color is a 2D adaptation of this game, and a sequel to Samurai Shodown! on the Neo Geo Pocket which was a monochrome adaptation of Samurai Shodown IV.

<i>Samurai Shodown 64</i> 1997 video game

Samurai Shodown 64, known as Samurai Spirits in Japan, is a 3D fighting game produced by SNK for its Hyper Neo-Geo 64 system. It was SNK's first 3D fighting game. After having released four Samurai Shodown games on the Neo-Geo, SNK announced that they would be producing a new arcade hardware platform, this one 64-bit and with extensive 3D capabilities. Although it was never ported to home consoles, it was followed by a second 3D installment titled Samurai Shodown 64: Warriors Rage.

<i>Samurai Shodown II</i> 1994 video game

Samurai Shodown II, known in Japan as Shin Samurai Spirits: Haōmaru Jigokuhen, is a 1994 fighting game released as the second entry in SNK's Samurai Shodown series. Like the original Samurai Shodown, the sequel was initially released for the Neo Geo arcade and home system.

<i>Samurai Shodown III</i> 1995 video game

Samurai Shodown III: Blades of Blood is an arcade game developed by SNK and released on November 15, 1995. It is the third game in SNK's Samurai Shodown series of fighting games. While it is the third game in the main series, it is the first part of a two-chapter story that is chronologically set between the events of Samurai Shodown and Samurai Shodown II.

<i>Samurai Shodown! 2</i> 1999 video game

Samurai Shodown! 2 is a handheld game in SNK's Samurai Shodown series of fighting games, released on the Neo-Geo Pocket Color in 1999. Unlike its predecessor, which was released for the monochrome Neo Geo Pocket, it features full color graphics. It was designed as a conversion from the most recent game in the Samurai Shodown series, Samurai Shodown 64: Warriors Rage, and almost all of its story events, endings and cutscenes are derived from its arcade cousin. Almost all of the characters from Samurai Shodown 64: Warriors Rage are included. It also re-added two series favorites who were not in the arcade release, Charlotte and Yagyu Jubei.

<i>Samurai Shodown V</i> 2003 video game

Samurai Shodown V is the eighth game in SNK's Samurai Shodown series of fighting games. It was one of the last games to be released on the Neo Geo. This title takes place before the first Samurai Shodown.

<i>Samurai Shodown VI</i> 2005 video game

Samurai Shodown VI, known as Samurai Spirits: Tale of the World's Greatest Swordsman in Japan, is the tenth iteration in the Samurai Shodown series.

<i>Samurai Shodown V Special</i> 2004 video game

Samurai Shodown V Special is the ninth entry in SNK's Samurai Shodown series of fighting games. It is an upgraded version of the game Samurai Shodown V and is the last official game for the Neo Geo platform. A further upgraded version of the game called Samurai Shodown V Perfect was location-tested in late 2004, but not officially released until it was included in the Samurai Shodown NeoGeo Collection in 2020. However, the fully uncensored version was released only in arcades on exA-Arcadia on September 29, 2022.

<i>Neo Geo Battle Coliseum</i> 2005 video game

Neo Geo Battle Coliseum is a fighting game designed for the Atomiswave arcade board developed and released by SNK in 2005. The game features characters from several SNK and ADK titles. Subsequently, a PlayStation 2 version of the game was released in Japan, North America, and Europe. The Xbox Live Arcade version was released worldwide on June 9, 2010. In 2020, a homebrew conversion was released for the Dreamcast.

<i>Karnovs Revenge</i> 1994 video game

Karnov's Revenge is a 1994 fighting game developed by Data East, released for the Neo Geo. It is the second game in the Fighter's History series. The game was later ported to the Neo Geo, Neo Geo CD and Sega Saturn home consoles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neo Geo</span> Family of video game hardware

Neo Geo is a family of video game hardware that was developed by SNK. On the market from 1990 to 2004, the brand originated with the release of an arcade system, the Neo Geo Multi Video System (MVS) and its home console counterpart, the Neo Geo Advanced Entertainment System (AES).

<i>Ninja Masters</i> 1996 video game

Ninja Master's: Haō Ninpō Chō,, is a ninja-themed 2D fighting game produced by ADK and originally released in 1996 for the Neo Geo arcade and home platform. Ninja Master's was the sixth and final fighting game produced by ADK, following the four games in the World Heroes series and Aggressors of Dark Kombat. It was later featured in the 2008 compilation ADK Damashii for the PlayStation 2. Ninja Master's was also re-released on the Neo-Geo X handheld system in 2012, and for the Virtual Console in 2013. In 2019 it was released as part of Arcade Archives developed by Japanese company Hamster. As of 2021, Ninja Master's was released worldwide on Nintendo Switch and Xbox One. The PS4 version remains exclusive to Asia but includes both Japanese and English releases.

<i>Burning Fight</i> 1991 video game

Burning Fight is a beat 'em up arcade game released by SNK in 1991 for the Neo Geo MVS system. Introduced to capture a share in the then-popular beat 'em ups market, it was meant to compete with Technōs' Double Dragon, the leader of the genre at the time. Three years after its release in the arcades and on the Neo Geo AES, it was released on Neo Geo CD as the only other home version.

<i>Samurai Shodown Sen</i> 2008 video game

Samurai Spirits Sen (サムライスピリッツ閃) is the fourth 3D game in SNK Playmore's Samurai Shodown series of fighting games, and the eleventh overall title in the series. The arcade version was released in most countries as Samurai Shodown: Edge of Destiny, and Shi Hun: Mingyun zhi Ren in China. The Xbox 360 version was released as Samurai Shodown Sen.

<i>Samurai Shodown</i> (1993 video game) 1993 video game

Samurai Shodown, known in Japan as Samurai Spirits, is a fighting game developed and published by SNK for the Neo Geo arcade and home platform. Released in 1993, it is the first installment in the Samurai Shodown series. 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 and was SNK's first arcade fighting game to focus primarily on weapon-based combat.

<i>Samurai Shodown</i> (2019 video game) 2019 video game

Samurai Shodown is a 2019 fighting game developed and published by SNK for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Stadia, Xbox Series X and Series S, Android and iOS via Netflix Games, and Windows as an entry in the Samurai Shodown series, as well as a reboot to the series. An arcade version was released by Taito.

References

  1. ↑ Watsuki, Nobuhiro. "Free Talk," Rurouni Kenshin Volume 14. Viz Media. 166.
  2. 1 2 "Feudal Four Play". Sega Saturn Magazine . No. 26. Emap International Limited. December 1997. p. 12.
  3. ↑ "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - TVゲーム機ーソフトウェア (Video Game Software)". Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 531. Amusement Press, Inc. 1 December 1996. p. 21.
  4. ↑ "Game Search". Game Data Library. Archived from the original on 2019-04-24. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  5. ↑ "Hot at the Arcades: Samurai Shodown IV: Amakusa's Revenge". GamePro . No. 102. IDG. March 1997. p. 64.
  6. ↑ "Samurai Shodown IV Review". Electronic Gaming Monthly . No. 90. Ziff Davis. January 1997. p. 74.
  7. ↑ Newton, James (12 March 2012). "Samurai Showdown IV Review". Nintendo Life. Retrieved 21 April 2014.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.