Difference between revisions of "Samurai Shodown"
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| md_date_jp=1994-11-19{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20200720095133/https://sega.jp/history/hard/megadrive/software.html}} | | md_date_jp=1994-11-19{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20200720095133/https://sega.jp/history/hard/megadrive/software.html}} |
Revision as of 20:14, 28 October 2023
Samurai Shodown | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Official in-game languages: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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 released for the Neo Geo in 1993 and subsequently ported to a variety of platforms, including the Sega Mega Drive, Sega Mega-CD, and Sega Game Gear.
It is the first game in the Samurai Shodown series. It is one of the first fighting games with a focus on weapons rather than solely hand-to-hand combat.
Contents
Story
Shiro Tokisada Amakusa, slain in Japan in the 17th century by the forces of the Tokugawa Shogunate for his part in the Shimabara Rebellion, is resurrected over a hundred years later by the dark god Ambrosia. Driven by his hatred for the Shogunate, he unleashes his dark powers to rain destruction upon the world. A group of warriors converge upon the source of the chaos, each driven by their own motivations. The game takes artistic license to include foreign-born characters (including some from places that did not exist as such at the time), historical figures, and fictional monsters.
Gameplay
Mega Drive and Mega-CD versions
The game is a versus fighting game set in Japan in the late 18th century. All of the characters wield weapons. The goal is to win the best of three duels against an opponent. Each duel is timed. The winner is the player who depletes the other character's life meter or has the most life remaining when time runs out.
In the single-player mode, the player faces every character in a randomized order, ending in a fight against the boss Amakusa. A bonus stage appears after every three matches where the character destroys straw dummies that pop up in three randomized positions for extra points. A second player can join the game as an opponent by pressing START at any time. The Mega Drive version has a dedicated two-player mode where players can choose a handicap and a stage. The Mega-CD only allows two-player matches in the standard arcade mode (with players able to choose different characters at the end of every match to mitigate load times). The Mega Drive version has an additional two-player "Showdown" mode where each player chooses five characters to fight in five consecutive matches.
Characters move with or
. They dash with
or
. They jump upward with
and jump behind and ahead with
or
. They crouch with
. Using a Six Button Control Pad, characters can slash (or punch if disarmed) with
(weak),
(normal), or
(strong) and kick with
(weak),
(normal), or
(strong). Powerful strikes are accompanied by a slow-motion effect to intensify the hit.
Using a standard control pad on the Mega Drive version, characters slash or punch with (weak),
(normal), or
(strong) and kick with
+
(weak),
+
(normal), or
+
(strong). On the Mega-CD version, characters slash or punch with
(weak),
(normal), or
+
(strong) and kick with
(weak),
+
(normal), or
+
(strong).
When characters slash each other at the same time, they lock swords. Players must press the slash buttons rapidly to break the lock, with the player who loses the hold (by not pressing the buttons as fast as the opposing player) having the character knocked back and disarmed. A character can equip his or her weapon again by pressing a slash button while standing next to it. In addition to their standard attacks, characters can perform special moves using specific button combinations (though many special moves cannot be performed if the character is disarmed).
Characters can guard against attacks by holding the D-Pad away from the opponent. Guarding can be done while standing or crouching. Characters can throw an opponent by pressing the medium or strong slash or kick button in close range. Each character has a POW meter that fills as the player is hit by enemy attacks or guards against an attack. When the meter is full, the character turns red and attacks with increased strength for a duration.
In the Mega Drive version, a referee appears during the match and holds flags representing each player. The referee raises a flag whenever a player lands a successful hit. In both versions, bonus items occasionally appear during a match: coins that provide extra points and food that restore some life.
Characters
Move lists assume the player is facing right. If facing left, and
should be reversed. S refers to any of the slash or punch buttons, while K refers to any of the kick buttons.
All of the characters from the Neo Geo game are present except for Earthquake.
Charlotte | |
---|---|
Charlotte is a French noblewoman and master fencer. | |
Galford | |
Galford is an American who traveled to Japan to become a ninja. He is aided by his pet dog, Poppy. | |
Gen-An | |
Gen-An is a monstrous creature with clawed hands. He is a member of the enigmatic Shiranui clan (a reference to Mai Shiranui from the Fatal Fury games). | |
Hanzo | |
Hanzo is an Iga ninja who fights to save his son from Amakusa's control. He is based on the historical figure Hittori Hanzou, like the character of the same name from the World Heroes games. | |
Haohmaru | |
Haohmaru is a wondering samurai who is searching for strong opponents to hone his skills. | |
Jubei | |
Jubei is a ronin who strives to protect Japan from its enemies. | |
Kyoshiro | |
Kyoshiro is a kabuki performer who uses his art to entertain and perfect his own fighting skills. | |
Nakoruru | |
Nakoruru is a young girl who strives to protect nature. She is aided by her pet hawk, Mamahaha. | |
Tam Tam | |
Tam Tam is an Incan warrior who is charged with retrieving the stolen Palenke Stone back from Amakusa. | |
Ukyo | |
Ukyo is an ailing samurai warrior who is fighting to gain a flower for his beloved. | |
Wan-Fu | |
Wan-Fu is a Chinese warrior who serves the Qing Emperor. He searches Japan for worthy fighters to help him unify his homeland. |
Bosses
Stages
- Main article: Samurai Shodown/Comparisons.
Each character has his or her own stage when faced in the single-player mode.
Game Gear version
The game is a fighting game. Compared to the other version of the game, it has simplified controls and omits some of the characters and special moves. There is a single-player mode where the player chooses a character and fights every other character in random order, ending with the final boss Amakusa. There is no two-player mode.
Characters move with or
. They dash with
or
. They jump upward with
and jump behind and ahead with
or
. They crouch with
. Characters can slash (or punch if disarmed) with
and kick with
. Slashes and kicks only have one strength, but characters can perform a "power slash" with
+
, which is a slower but stronger attack.
Characters lock swords when they slash each other at the same time. The player must press rapidly to break the hold. If the player presses the button fast enough, the opponent is thrown back and disarmed; otherwise, the player's character is. Weapons are re-equipped by standing over them and pressing
. Characters can perform special moves using specific button combinations (though some moves require a weapon to perform).
Characters can guard against attacks by holding the D-Pad away from the opponent. Guarding can be done while standing or crouching. Characters can throw an opponent by pressing the medium or strong slash or kick button in close range. Each character has a POW meter that fills as the player is hit by enemy attacks or guards against an attack. When the meter is full, the character turns red and attacks with increased strength for a duration.
Items sometimes fall from the top of the screen during a match. Food items restore health when collected, while bombs explode and harm the fighters.
Characters
All of the characters from the Neo Geo game are present except for Earthquake, Tam Tam, and Wan-Fu.
- Charlotte
- Galford
- Gen-An
- Hanzo
- Haohmaru
- Jubei
- Kyoshiro
- Nakoruru
- Ukyo
Stages
Versions
The Mega Drive and Mega-CD versions were ported separately and by different companies. Both lack the character Earthquake, likely due to the large size of his sprite, and omit the zooming effect from the original Neo Geo versions, instead employing a fixed perspective. The fatal finishing attacks, where the opponent is sliced in half, are also omitted, but the blood is retained. The Mega Drive version includes the referee in the background of every fight, and the final boss Amakusa is playable in two-player matches. The Mega Drive version is missing the arcade introduction, the character artwork shown after a match, and many of the announcer lines. The Mega-CD version restores these omissions and also reproduces the arcade soundtrack, but the referee is absent and Amakusa is not playable in this version.
The Neo Geo versions use a four-button layout, where strong attacks are performed by pressing the weak and normal punch or kick buttons simultaneously. The Mega Drive and Mega-CD versions allow for a six-button layout where each strength is assigned its own button (similar to Capcom's fighting games).
The Super NES port includes Earthquake but has smaller sprites than the Mega Drive and Mega-CD versions. It likewise omits the fatal finishing moves and also replaces the blood with "sweat." Amakusa is playable in two-player matches with a cheat code.
The 3DO port is the only contemporaneous port of the game to retain the camera zooming and all of the violence from the Neo Geo versions.
Localised names
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
- 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
- Executive Producer: Makato Orii
- Producer: Yoji Takenaka
- Game Testers: Aki Akaike, Julio C Arreygue, Jeremy Klein
- Executive Producer: Harunobu Komori
- Producer: Toshiyuki Nagai
- Director: Kazuya Tominaga
- Co Director: Gaku Sato
- Assistant: Ryo Misawa
- 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
Magazine articles
- Main article: Samurai Shodown/Magazine articles.
Promotional material
- Main article: Samurai Shodown/Promotional material.
Artwork
Physical scans
Mega Drive version
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|
76 | |
---|---|
Based on 31 reviews |
Mega Drive, PT |
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|
Mega-CD version
Sega Retro Average | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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|
71 | |
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Based on 15 reviews |
Mega-CD, PT |
---|
|
Game Gear version
Sega Retro Average | |||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
65 | |
---|---|
Based on 3 reviews |
Technical information
- Main article: Samurai Shodown/Technical information.
ROM dump status
System | Hash | Size | Build Date | Source | Comments | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
? |
|
Cartridge (US) | ||||||||||||
? |
|
Cartridge (EU) | ||||||||||||
? |
|
Cartridge (JP) | ||||||||||||
? |
|
CD-ROM (US) | ||||||||||||
? |
|
CD-ROM (EU) | ||||||||||||
? |
|
512kB | Cartridge (JP) | |||||||||||
? |
|
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 MD credits.pdf
- ↑ File:Samurai Shodown MCD credits.pdf
- ↑ GamesMaster, "March 1995" (UK; 1995-02-16), page 72
- ↑ 1700 igr dlya Sega, "" (RU; 2001-xx-xx), 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
- ↑ Digitiser (UK) (1995-04-12)
- ↑ 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
- ↑ Joypad, "Mars 1995" (FR; 1995-0x-xx), page 88
- ↑ 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
- ↑ Micro Kid's Multimédia, "Mai 1995" (FR; 1995-0x-xx), page 62
- ↑ 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
- ↑ Play Time, "3/95" (DE; 1995-02-08), page 110
- ↑ 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
- ↑ Game Informer, "June 1995" (US; 1995-0x-xx), page 54
- ↑ 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 | Bugs | Magazine articles | Video coverage | Reception | Promotional material | Region coding | Bootlegs
Demos: Samurai Shodown (1995) |
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) |
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