Samurai Shodown

n/a

Samurai Shodown

System(s): Sega Mega Drive, Sega Mega-CD, Sega Game Gear

Publisher:

Sega

Takara

JVC Musical Industries

Developer:

Saurus

System Vision

Funcom

Santos

Licensor: SNK

Original system(s): Neo Geo

Publisher(s) of original games: SNK

Developer(s) of original games: SNK

Sound driver:

SMPS 68000

Peripherals supported:

Six Button Control Pad

Genre: Action^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]

Number of players:

1-2,

1

Release	Date	RRP	Code
JP	1994-11-19^[2]	¥8,8008,800	G-4127
US	1994-12^[5]		T-103066
EU	1995-02^[6]		1184-50
PT	199x
UK	1995-02^[6]	£49.9949.99^[7]^[6]	1184-50
AU	1995-04^[8]	$99.9599.95^[8]	FSAM01SMC
JP	1994-12-09^[4]	¥4,8004,800	T-146027
US	1994		T-103018
US	1995-02^[9]		T-60175
EU	1995-06^[10]^[11]		T-60175-50
PT	1995
UK	1995-06^[10]^[11]	£34.9934.99^[12]	T-60175-50
AU	199x
BR	1996-06	R$69.9969.99	063696

Non-Sega versions
3DO Arcade FM Towns Neo Geo Neo Geo CD Neo Geo Pocket Super NES

This short article is in need of work. You can help Sega Retro by adding to it.

Samurai Shodown, known as Samurai Spirits (サムライスピリッツ) in Japan, is a versus fighting game by SNK, originally developed for Neo Geo AES/MVS hardware. It is the first in the series, and is notable for using weapons rather than relying on hand-to-hand combat during battles - one of the first fighting games of its type to do so.

After being released for the Neo Geo in 1993, ports were made to a variety of platforms, including the Sega Mega Drive, Sega Mega-CD and Sega Game Gear.

Gameplay

Characters

	Gen-An

	Calford

	Haohmaru

	Ukyo

	Charlotte

	Tamtam

	Nakoruru

	Wan-Fu

	Jubei

	Hanzo

	Kyoshiro

Versions

Localised names

Also known as
Language	Localised Name	English Translation
English	Samurai Shodown	Samurai Shodown
English (US)	Samurai Shodown	Samurai Shodown
Japanese	サムライスピリッツ	Samurai Spirits

Production credits

Mega Drive version

Executive Producer: Nobuyuki Tanaka
Producer: Yasushi Okahara, Takahiro Shima
Direction: Zizi
Main Programmer: Haccyan
Assistant Programmer: Yama
Graphic System: Hideki
Graphic Design: Original from SNK
Graphic Design Modify: M.Toshiro, T.Koyama
Sound Design: Original from SNK
Sound System: Den
Sound Arrangement: Shinichi Yamazaki, Kazuhiko Oshikiri, Hideki Nagai, Hiroyuki Takei
Collision Tuning: Kuzira, Shikanosuke, Koyaman 3D

Takara Staff and Takara USA Staff

Producers: S.Suzuki
Director: T.Ikenoue
Production Composers: T.Hocho, K.Kijima, S.Takagi, D.Fowler
USA Marketing Planner: T.Kinya
Art Work Composers: INTAC I.T.C. Staff
Special Thanks to: All SNK Staff, Rika
Translated by: Saurus Co., Ltd.
Presented by: Takara Co., Ltd.

Mega-CD version

JVC Musical Industries Inc

Executive Producer: Makato Orii
Producer: Yoji Takenaka
Game Testers: Aki Akaike, Julio C Arreygue, Jeremy Klein

JVC Victor Entertainment Inc

Executive Producer: Harunobu Komori
Producer: Toshiyuki Nagai
Director: Kazuya Tominaga
Co Director: Gaku Sato
Assistant: Ryo Misawa

Funcom

Main Programmer: Roar Flølo
Cruncher and Realtime Animation Decruncher: Eivind Hagen, Johan Köhler, Morten B Ofstad
Other Programming: Anders Dybdahl, Eivind Eklund, Morten B Ofstad, Carl-Henrik Skårstedt
Graphic Artists: Joachim Barrum, Torkell Bernsen, Colin McMahon, Tommy Svensson
Music and Sound: Kim Jensen
Animation Editing: Vebjørn Strømmen
Producer: Trond W Larsen

Source:

In-game credits^[13]

Funcom

Artist: Colin McMahon, Torkell Bernsen, Joachim Barrum, Vebjørn Strømmen, Glenn Kristofferson, Jack Kristoffersen

Source:

Manual credits

Magazine articles

Main article: Samurai Shodown/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Main article: Samurai Shodown/Promotional material.

Artwork

Physical scans

Mega Drive version

Sega Retro Average

Publication

Version

Score

1700 igr dlya Sega (RU)

50

^[15]

Beep! MegaDrive (JP)

NTSC-J

60

^[16]

Consoles + (FR)

93

^[17]

Cool Gamer (RU)

80

^[18]

Electronic Gaming Monthly (US)

NTSC-U

76

^[19]

Famitsu (JP)

NTSC-J

60

^[20]

Freak (IL)

88

^[21]

GamePro (US)

NTSC-U

88

^[22]

Games World: The Magazine (UK)

PAL

86

^[7]

Hobby Consolas (ES)

89

^[23]

MAN!AC (DE)

PAL

67

^[24]

Mega (UK)

PAL

79

^[25]

Mega Fun (DE)

NTSC-U

75

^[26]

Micromanía (tercera época) (ES)

75

^[27]

Mean Machines Sega (UK)

PAL

61

^[28]

Next Generation (US)

NTSC-U

50

^[29]

Player One (FR)

94

^[30]

Saturn Fan (JP)

NTSC-J

69

^[31]

Sega Magazine (UK)

PAL

62

^[6]

Sega Power (UK)

PAL

75

^[32]

Sega Pro (UK)

PAL

85

^[33]

Sega Mega Drive Review (RU)

72

^[34]

Sega Saturn Magazine (JP)

NTSC-J

69

^[35]

Todo Sega (ES)

88

^[36]

Tricks 16 bit (RU)

85

^[37]

Video Games (DE)

PAL

86

^[38]

VideoGames (US)

70

^[39]

	75
Based on 27 reviews

Samurai Shodown

Mega Drive, JP
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, US
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, EU
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, PT

Mega Drive, AU
Cover

Mega Drive, AU (Silver)

Cart

Mega-CD version

Sega Retro Average

Publication

Version

Score

Computer & Video Games (UK)

71

^[10]

Electronic Gaming Monthly (US)

NTSC-U

75

^[40]

Electronic Gaming Monthly (US)

NTSC-U

73

^[41]

GamePro (US)

NTSC-U

68

^[42]

Gamers (DE)

87

^[43]

Hobby Consolas (ES)

85

^[44]

Mega (UK)

PAL

47

^[45]

Player One (FR)

90

^[46]

Sega Magazin (DE)

79

^[47]

Sega Magazine (UK)

PAL

67

^[48]

Sega Power (UK)

PAL

53

^[11]

Sega Pro (UK)

PAL

68

^[49]

Videogame Advisor (US)

NTSC-U

42

^[50]

VideoGames (US)

NTSC-U

80

^[51]

	70
Based on 14 reviews

Samurai Shodown

Mega-CD, US
Cover
Disc Manual

Mega-CD, EU
Cover
Disc Manual

Mega-CD, PT

Mega-CD, BR
Cover

Game Gear version

Sega Retro Average

Publication

Version

Score

Beep! MegaDrive (JP)

NTSC-J

68

^[52]

Famitsu (JP)

NTSC-J

55

^[53]

Sega Saturn Magazine (JP)

NTSC-J

73

^[54]

	65
Based on 3 reviews

Samurai Shodown

Game Gear, JP
Cover
Cart

Game Gear, US
Cover
Cart Manual

Technical information

ROM dump status

System

Hash

Size

Build Date

Source

Comments

?

CRC32	93fd73dc
MD5	71b53a4577065e11453928774a7b64b0
SHA-1	2aaf7b6f9d37275995d4a62bb8a465333d8b0bf4

512kB

Cartridge (JP)

?

CRC32	98171deb
MD5	4898db4b63c7024842e748fb81c95a55
SHA-1	d7330f5abcadb5c199299b24c22334be0072ec80

512kB

Cartridge (US)

References

↑ File:SamuraiShodown MD JP Box.jpg
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 https://sega.jp/history/hard/megadrive/software.html (Wayback Machine: 2020-07-20 09:51)
↑ File:SamuraiShodown GG JP Box Front.jpg
↑ ^4.0 ^4.1 http://sega.jp/fb/segahard/gg/soft_licensee.html (Wayback Machine: 2013-01-01 20:24)
↑ Mega Play, "August 1994" (US; 1994-0x-xx), page 40
↑ ^6.0 ^6.1 ^6.2 ^6.3 Sega Magazine, "February 1995" (UK; 1995-01-15), page 94
↑ ^7.0 ^7.1 Games World: The Magazine, "April 1995" (UK; 1995-0x-xx), page 13
↑ ^8.0 ^8.1 File:NewReleasesCatalogueApril-May1995AU.pdf, page 12
↑ https://groups.google.com/g/rec.games.video.sega/c/2_XPmLVygEY/m/2fcTyybkMLsJ
↑ ^10.0 ^10.1 ^10.2 Computer & Video Games, "July 1995" (UK; 1995-06-09), page 60
↑ ^11.0 ^11.1 ^11.2 Sega Power, "July 1995" (UK; 1995-05-18), page 52
↑ File:SegaPower 68 jul 95.pdf, page 52
↑ File:Samurai Shodown MCD credits.pdf
↑ GamesMaster, "March 1995" (UK; 1995-02-16), page 72
↑ 1700 igr dlya Sega, "" (RU; 2003-03-10), page 198
↑ Beep! MegaDrive, "December 1994" (JP; 1994-11-08), page 23
↑ Consoles +, "Janvier 1995" (FR; 199x-xx-xx), page 110
↑ Cool Gamer, "9" (RU; 2002-10-13), page 180
↑ Electronic Gaming Monthly, "November 1994" (US; 1994-xx-xx), page 46
↑ Famitsu, "1994-11-25" (JP; 1994-11-11), page 40
↑ Freak, "1/95" (IL; 1995-xx-xx), page 1
↑ GamePro, "December 1994" (US; 1994-xx-xx), page 44
↑ Hobby Consolas, "Marzo 1995" (ES; 1995-xx-xx), page 60
↑ MAN!AC, "03/95" (DE; 1995-02-08), page 61
↑ Mega, "May 1995" (UK; 1995-04-30), page 16
↑ Mega Fun, "02/95" (DE; 1995-01-18), page 96
↑ Micromanía (tercera época), "Febrero 1995" (ES; 1995-xx-xx), page 106
↑ Mean Machines Sega, "March 1995" (UK; 1995-01-30), page 76
↑ Next Generation, "Premiere Issue 1995" (US; 1994-12-08), page 108
↑ Player One, "Mars 1995" (FR; 1995-0x-xx), page 82
↑ Saturn Fan, "1995 February" (JP; 1995-01-07), page 33
↑ Sega Power, "March 1995" (UK; 1995-01-19), page 40
↑ Sega Pro, "February 1995" (UK; 1994-12-29), page 34
↑ Sega Mega Drive Review, "2" (RU; 1996-01-03), page 115
↑ Sega Saturn Magazine, "September 1995" (JP; 1995-08-08), page 86
↑ Todo Sega, "Marzo 1995" (ES; 1995-0x-xx), page 30
↑ Tricks 16 bit, "Tricks Sega Gold 800 igr" (RU; 1998-03-20), page 151
↑ Video Games, "3/95" (DE; 1995-02-23), page 91
↑ VideoGames, "December 1994" (US; 1994-1x-xx), page 101
↑ Electronic Gaming Monthly, "June 1995" (US; 1995-0x-xx), page 36
↑ Electronic Gaming Monthly, "August 1995" (US; 1995-0x-xx), page 36
↑ GamePro, "September 1995" (US; 1995-xx-xx), page 48
↑ Gamers, "November 1995" (DE; 1995-10-11), page 55
↑ Hobby Consolas, "Agosto 1995" (ES; 1995-xx-xx), page 78
↑ Mega, "September 1995" (UK; 1995-08-31), page 20
↑ Player One, "Novembre 1995" (FR; 1995-1x-xx), page 142
↑ Sega Magazin, "Februar 1996" (DE; 1996-01-10), page 10
↑ Sega Magazine, "July 1995" (UK; 1995-06-15), page 82
↑ Sega Pro, "August 1995" (UK; 1995-07-13), page 65
↑ Videogame Advisor, "Volume 1, Number 3: July 1995" (US; 1995-0x-xx), page 32
↑ VideoGames, "September 1995" (US; 1995-08-22), page 81
↑ Beep! MegaDrive, "January 1995" (JP; 1994-12-08), page 27
↑ Famitsu, "1994-12-23" (JP; 1994-12-09), page 44
↑ Sega Saturn Magazine, "September 1995" (JP; 1995-08-08), page 88

Samurai Shodown
	Main page \| Comparisons \| Hidden content \| Magazine articles \| Video coverage \| Reception \| Promotional material \| Region coding Demos: Samurai Shodown (1995) No results

Samurai Shodown/Samurai Spirits games for Sega systems
	Samurai Shodown (1994)
	Samurai Shodown (1994)
	Samurai Shodown (1995)
	Samurai Spirits Zankurou Musouken (1996) \| Shinsetsu Samurai Spirits Bushidou Retsuden (1997) \| Samurai Spirits Amakusa Kourin (1997) \| Samurai Spirits Best Collection (1998)
	Nakoruru: Anohito Kara no Okurimono (2002)
	Samurai Spirits Tenkaichi Kenkakuden (2005)
Unlicensed Samurai Shodown/Samurai Spirits games for Sega systems
	Soul Edge vs. Samurai Spirits (1997) \| Shin Samurai Spirits Haohmaru Jigokuhen (1998)

[:File:SamuraiShodown_MD_JP_Box.jpg_p-1] File:SamuraiShodown MD JP Box.jpg

[https:.2F.2Fweb.archive.org.2Fweb.2F20200720095133.2Fhttps:.2F.2Fsega.jp.2Fhistory.2Fhard.2Fmegadrive.2Fsoftware.html-2] 2.0 ^2.1 https://sega.jp/history/hard/megadrive/software.html (Wayback Machine: 2020-07-20 09:51)

[:File:SamuraiShodown_GG_JP_Box_Front.jpg_p-3] File:SamuraiShodown GG JP Box Front.jpg

[https:.2F.2Fweb.archive.org.2Fweb.2F20130101202427.2Fhttp:.2F.2Fsega.jp.2Ffb.2Fsegahard.2Fgg.2Fsoft_licensee.html-4] 4.0 ^4.1 http://sega.jp/fb/segahard/gg/soft_licensee.html (Wayback Machine: 2013-01-01 20:24)

[:File:MegaPlay_US_0504.pdf_p40-5] Mega Play, "August 1994" (US; 1994-0x-xx), page 40

[:File:SegaMagazine_UK_14.pdf_p94-6] 6.0 ^6.1 ^6.2 ^6.3 Sega Magazine, "February 1995" (UK; 1995-01-15), page 94

[:File:Games_World_The_Magazine_UK_10.pdf_p13-7] 7.0 ^7.1 Games World: The Magazine, "April 1995" (UK; 1995-0x-xx), page 13

[:File:NewReleasesCatalogueApril-May1995AU.pdf_p12-8] 8.0 ^8.1 File:NewReleasesCatalogueApril-May1995AU.pdf, page 12

[https:.2F.2Fgroups.google.com.2Fg.2Frec.games.video.sega.2Fc.2F2_XPmLVygEY.2Fm.2F2fcTyybkMLsJ-9] ttps://groups.google.com/g/rec.games.video.sega/c/2_XPmLVygEY/m/2fcTyybkMLsJ

[:File:CVG_UK_164.pdf_p60-10] 10.0 ^10.1 ^10.2 Computer & Video Games, "July 1995" (UK; 1995-06-09), page 60

[:File:SegaPower_UK_68.pdf_p52-11] 11.0 ^11.1 ^11.2 Sega Power, "July 1995" (UK; 1995-05-18), page 52

[:File:SegaPower_68_jul_95.pdf_p52-12] File:SegaPower 68 jul 95.pdf, page 52

[:File:Samurai_Shodown_MCD_credits.pdf_p-13] File:Samurai Shodown MCD credits.pdf

[14] GamesMaster, "March 1995" (UK; 1995-02-16), page 72

[:File:1700_igr_dlya_Sega_2003.pdf_p198-15] 1700 igr dlya Sega, "" (RU; 2003-03-10), page 198

[:File:BeepMD_JP_1994-12.pdf_p23-16] Beep! MegaDrive, "December 1994" (JP; 1994-11-08), page 23

[:File:ConsolesPlus_FR_039.pdf_p110-17] Consoles +, "Janvier 1995" (FR; 199x-xx-xx), page 110

[18] Cool Gamer, "9" (RU; 2002-10-13), page 180

[:File:EGM_US_064.pdf_p46-19] Electronic Gaming Monthly, "November 1994" (US; 1994-xx-xx), page 46

[20] Famitsu, "1994-11-25" (JP; 1994-11-11), page 40

[21] Freak, "1/95" (IL; 1995-xx-xx), page 1

[:File:GamePro_US_065.pdf_p44-22] GamePro, "December 1994" (US; 1994-xx-xx), page 44

[:File:HobbyConsolas_ES_042.pdf_p60-23] Hobby Consolas, "Marzo 1995" (ES; 1995-xx-xx), page 60

[:File:MAN.21AC_DE_1995-03.pdf_p61-24] MAN!AC, "03/95" (DE; 1995-02-08), page 61

[:File:Mega_UK_32.pdf_p16-25] Mega, "May 1995" (UK; 1995-04-30), page 16

[:File:MegaFun_DE_1995-02.pdf_p96-26] Mega Fun, "02/95" (DE; 1995-01-18), page 96

[:File:Micromania3_ES_001.pdf_p106-27] Micromanía (tercera época), "Febrero 1995" (ES; 1995-xx-xx), page 106

[:File:MeanMachinesSega29UK.pdf_p76-28] Mean Machines Sega, "March 1995" (UK; 1995-01-30), page 76

[:File:NextGeneration_US_01.pdf_p108-29] Next Generation, "Premiere Issue 1995" (US; 1994-12-08), page 108

[:File:PlayerOne_FR_051.pdf_p82-30] Player One, "Mars 1995" (FR; 1995-0x-xx), page 82

[:File:SaturnFan_JP_1995-02_19950215.pdf_p33-31] Saturn Fan, "1995 February" (JP; 1995-01-07), page 33

[:File:SegaPower_UK_64.pdf_p40-32] Sega Power, "March 1995" (UK; 1995-01-19), page 40

[:File:SegaPro_UK_41.pdf_p34-33] Sega Pro, "February 1995" (UK; 1994-12-29), page 34

[:File:Sega_Mega_Drive_Review_2_RU.pdf_p115-34] Sega Mega Drive Review, "2" (RU; 1996-01-03), page 115

[:File:SSM_JP_19950901_1995-09.pdf_p86-35] Sega Saturn Magazine, "September 1995" (JP; 1995-08-08), page 86

[:File:TodoSega_ES_24.pdf_p30-36] Todo Sega, "Marzo 1995" (ES; 1995-0x-xx), page 30

[37] Tricks 16 bit, "Tricks Sega Gold 800 igr" (RU; 1998-03-20), page 151

[:File:VideoGames_DE_1995-03.pdf_p91-38] Video Games, "3/95" (DE; 1995-02-23), page 91

[:File:VideoGames_US_71.pdf_p101-39] VideoGames, "December 1994" (US; 1994-1x-xx), page 101

[:File:EGM_US_071.pdf_p36-40] Electronic Gaming Monthly, "June 1995" (US; 1995-0x-xx), page 36

[:File:EGM_US_073.pdf_p36-41] Electronic Gaming Monthly, "August 1995" (US; 1995-0x-xx), page 36

[:File:GamePro_US_074.pdf_p48-42] GamePro, "September 1995" (US; 1995-xx-xx), page 48

[:File:Gamers_DE_1995-11.pdf_p55-43] Gamers, "November 1995" (DE; 1995-10-11), page 55

[:File:HobbyConsolas_ES_047.pdf_p78-44] Hobby Consolas, "Agosto 1995" (ES; 1995-xx-xx), page 78

[:File:Mega_UK_36.pdf_p20-45] Mega, "September 1995" (UK; 1995-08-31), page 20

[:File:PlayerOne_FR_058.pdf_p142-46] Player One, "Novembre 1995" (FR; 1995-1x-xx), page 142

[:File:SegaMagazin_DE_27.pdf_p10-47] Sega Magazin, "Februar 1996" (DE; 1996-01-10), page 10

[:File:SegaMagazine_UK_19.pdf_p82-48] Sega Magazine, "July 1995" (UK; 1995-06-15), page 82

[:File:SegaPro_UK_48.pdf_p65-49] Sega Pro, "August 1995" (UK; 1995-07-13), page 65

[:File:VideogameAdvisor_US_0103.pdf_p32-50] Videogame Advisor, "Volume 1, Number 3: July 1995" (US; 1995-0x-xx), page 32

[:File:VideoGames_US_80.pdf_p81-51] VideoGames, "September 1995" (US; 1995-08-22), page 81

[:File:BeepMD_JP_1995-01.pdf_p27-52] Beep! MegaDrive, "January 1995" (JP; 1994-12-08), page 27

[53] Famitsu, "1994-12-23" (JP; 1994-12-09), page 44

[:File:SSM_JP_19950901_1995-09.pdf_p88-54] Sega Saturn Magazine, "September 1995" (JP; 1995-08-08), page 88

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Samurai Shodown

From Sega Retro

Contents

Gameplay

Characters

Versions

Localised names

Production credits

Mega Drive version

Mega-CD version

Magazine articles

Promotional material

Artwork

Physical scans

Mega Drive version

Mega-CD version

Game Gear version

Technical information

ROM dump status

References