Difference between revisions of "The Second Samurai"

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The Second Samurai

System(s): Sega Mega Drive

Publisher: Psygnosis, Sony Electronic Publishing

Developer: Vivid Image, Psygnosis

Supporting companies: Krisalis Software (audio)

Sound driver: Krisalis sound driver

Genre: Action

Number of players: 1-2

Release	Date	Code
EU	1994-10^[1]	T-113106-50
PT	1994
UK	1994-10^[1]	T-113106-50
AU	199x

Non-Sega versions
Amiga

The Second Samurai is a beat-'em-up developed by Vivid Image and Psygnosis and released exclusively in Europe for the Commodore Amiga in 1993 and for the Sega Mega Drive 1994. It is the sequel to The First Samurai, a beat-'em-up released for various home computers and the Super NES internationally a few years prior.

A Sega Mega-CD port was advertised and was planned to launch alongside the Mega Drive version^[1]^[2], but never released.

Story

Two samurai pursue the Demon King through time.

Gameplay

2-player gameplay

The game is a side-scrolling beat-'em-up that can be played with one or two players. The first player plays as a male samurai, and the second player plays as a female samurai. Two-player games must be started from the title screen; a second player cannot join in the middle of a one-player game. In two-player games, the two samurai are occasionally placed in separate layers, with the male samurai in front and the female samurai in back (though this can be changed around in the game options). The goal of most stages is to free all of the souls trapped in jars, which grants access to the next segment of the stage and eventually to a boss fight. A counter in the bottom-center of the screen shows how many more souls must be freed. Some stages consist of a main path with entry points into shorter sub-stages (indicated by arrows) where more souls can be found. The game has significant platforming elements compared to arcade-style beat-'em-ups.

The samurai walk with and and crouch with . They jump with and jump down from platforms with +. They attack by punching with . They do a crouching punch with + or a crouching kick with + or +. The crouching kick has longer reach and can hit some enemies that are too low for the crouching punch. They can uppercut to attack enemies above them with +. They do a high kick with + or + and a flying kick with while in midair. They can pick up opponents and some objects by holding when in close proximity and throw them by releasing while holding a direction on the D-Pad. While initially unarmed, they can pick up white scrolls, which give them samurai swords and replace their moves with an array of sword slashes. The sword does more damage and defeats enemies in fewer hits. The first standing attack after acquiring a white scroll hurls a fireball across the screen that penetrates through multiple targets. Samurai also obtain throwing knives, which are thrown with . They can be thrown while crouching with + or directly upward with +.

Health is depicted by six red balls in the bottom corners of the screen. The samurai lose a bit of health when they take damage from opponents. If a samurai falls down a bottomless pit, they jump back out after losing some health (rather than dying). Losing an entire health ball causes a samurai to lose his or her sword, if equipped. Losing all health balls costs the samurai his or her life. The samurai respawns at the last checkpoint (or the beginning of the stage) if the player has lives remaining, or the game ends if the player runs out of lives. In two-player games, both samurai respawn if one samurai is defeated (though only the player who ran out of health loses a life).

Players can select the number of starting lives (3, 5, or 7) and the difficulty level (Easy, Brave, Heroic, and "Samurai!") in the options before starting the game. There is a password system for continuing.

Items

	Gem
	Touch to release an item.
	Throwing Knife
	Gives the samurai another throwing knife, up to a maximum of 30.
	Extra Energy
	Restores half a ball of the samurai's health.
	Full Energy
	Restores all six balls of the samurai's health.
	White Scroll
	Arms the samurai with a sword and makes their next attack shoot a fireball. Collecting multiple scrolls gives the samurai multiple fireballs.
	Yellow Scroll
	Leaves the current sub-stage.
	Red Scroll
	Destroys all enemies on screen.
	Blue Scroll
	Renders the samurai temporarily invulnerable.
	Blue Vase
	Attack to release the soul trapped inside. The samurai must release all of the souls to progress through the stage.
	Yellow Vase
	Checkpoint where the samurai respawn when defeated. Attack to activate.
	Barrier
	Bars the way. The samurai can pass if they free all the souls in the preceding part of the stage.

Stages

	Planet of the Apes

	Volcanic Caves

	In the Volcano

	Dino Race!
	This stage autoscrolls as the samurai ride dinosaurs. They speed up with , slow down with , and jump with .
	Cave

	Jungle

	River

	High Tec

	Holograms

	Labs

	Jetpac
	This stage autoscrolls as the samurai fly with jet packs. The samurai move using the D-Pad, shoot lasers with , and turn around to face the opposite direction with .
	Space Ship

	Old Japan

	Rock Jaw

	Demon's Castle!

History

Legacy

The Mega Drive version of the game was re-released on Steam in 2022 by Piko Interactive.

Versions

The Mega Drive version differs significantly from the Amiga original. It has different stage layouts, graphics, and music. The "second samurai" is a bald-headed monk in the Amiga version but a female warrior in the Mega Drive version.

Production credits

Programming: Raffaele Cecco
Graphics and Animation: Saurav Sarkar
Audio: Krisalis Software
Musical Composition & Sound Effects: Matt Furniss
Audio Software Programming: Shaun Hollingworth
Game Design: Raffaele Cecco, Mev Dinc, Saurav Sarker
Map Layouts: Raffaele Cecco, Saurav Sarkar
Development Tools: PsyQ by S.N. Systems/Psygnosis, Jaguar Software Consultants, Raffaele Cecco, Warren Mills, Rob Northern Computing
Vivid Image Project Management: Stephane Koenig
Psygnosis Project Management: Nick Wilde
Vivid Image Game Tester: Stefan 'The Herb' Marjoram, Nejati Dinc
Psygnosis Game Testers: Chris Graham, Paul Holmes, Paul Wallace
Special Thanks to...: Bill Hajee, Chris West, Tony West, Harris Bernardez, John Twiddy, The Infamous PCW Disk Wallet

Source:

In-game credits^[3]

Magazine articles

Main article: The Second Samurai/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Print advert in Mega Force (FR) #34: "Décembre 1994" (1994-12-02)

Print advert in AS Magazin-Video Igrice (YU) #13: "Jul-Avgust 1995" (1995-xx-xx)

Print advert in Velikiy Drakon (RU) #60: "xxxx xxxx" (2002-09-05)
also published in:

Velikiy Drakon (RU) #61: "xxxx xxxx" (2003-02-07)^[4]

Physical scans

Sega Retro Average

Publication

Version

Score

1700 igr dlya Sega (RU)

60

^[6]

Alaab Alcomputtar (SA)

85

^[7]

Cool Gamer (RU)

70

^[8]

Entsiklopediya luchshikh igr Sega. Vypusk 1 (RU)

60

^[9]

Entsiklopediya luchshikh igr Sega. Vypusk 3 (RU)

60

^[10]

MAN!AC (DE)

PAL

68

^[11]

Mega Force (FR)

PAL

80

^[12]

Mega Fun (DE)

PAL

40

^[13]

Player One (FR)

65

^[14]

Play Time (DE)

PAL

48

^[15]

Sega Magazin (DE)

70

^[16]

Sega Magazine (UK)

PAL

86

^[17]

Sega Power (UK)

PAL

88

^[18]

Sega Pro (UK)

PAL

82

^[19]

Sega Mega Drive Review (RU)

60

^[20]

Todo Sega (ES)

74

^[21]

Tricks 16 bit (RU)

82

^[22]

Video Games (DE)

PAL

58

^[23]

	69
Based on 18 reviews

The Second Samurai

Mega Drive, EU
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, FR (Blister pack)
Cover

Mega Drive, PT

Mega Drive, AU

Technical information

Main article: The Second Samurai/Technical information.

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 Mega Power, "May 1994" (UK; 1994-04-21), page 7
↑ Sega Pro, "July 1994" (UK; 1994-06-16), page 10
↑ File:Second Samurai MD credits.pdf
↑ Velikiy Drakon, "xxxx xxxx" (RU; 2003-02-07), page 68
↑ GamesMaster, "December 1994" (UK; 1994-11-17), page 77
↑ 1700 igr dlya Sega, "" (RU; 2001-xx-xx), page 201
↑ Alaab Alcomputtar, "" (SA; 1995-08-xx), page 73
↑ Cool Gamer, "9" (RU; 2002-10-13), page 182
↑ Entsiklopediya luchshikh igr Sega. Vypusk 1, "" (RU; 1999-xx-xx), page 356
↑ Entsiklopediya luchshikh igr Sega. Vypusk 3, "" (RU; 2000-xx-xx), page 237
↑ MAN!AC, "12/94" (DE; 1994-11-09), page 82
↑ Mega Force, "Janvier 1995" (FR; 199x-xx-xx), page 54
↑ Mega Fun, "12/94" (DE; 1994-11-23), page 124
↑ Player One, "Janvier 1995" (FR; 199x-xx-xx), page 118
↑ Play Time, "12/94" (DE; 1994-11-09), page 109
↑ Sega Magazin, "Dezember 1994" (DE; 1994-11-17), page 69
↑ Sega Magazine, "December 1994" (UK; 1994-11-15), page 97
↑ Sega Power, "November 1994" (UK; 1994-09-29), page 55
↑ Sega Pro, "December 1994" (UK; 1994-11-03), page 42
↑ Sega Mega Drive Review, "2" (RU; 1996-01-03), page 123
↑ Todo Sega, "Enero 1995" (ES; 199x-xx-xx), page 55
↑ Tricks 16 bit, "Tricks Sega Gold 800 igr" (RU; 1998-03-20), page 153
↑ Video Games, "12/94" (DE; 1994-11-23), page 111

The Second Samurai
	Main page \| Comparisons \| Maps \| Hidden content \| Magazine articles \| Video coverage \| Reception \| Region coding \| Technical information \| Bootlegs No results

[:File:MegaPower_UK_10.pdf_p7-1] 1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 Mega Power, "May 1994" (UK; 1994-04-21), page 7

[:File:SegaPro_UK_34.pdf_p10-2] Sega Pro, "July 1994" (UK; 1994-06-16), page 10

[:File:Second_Samurai_MD_credits.pdf_p-3] File:Second Samurai MD credits.pdf

[4] Velikiy Drakon, "xxxx xxxx" (RU; 2003-02-07), page 68

[5] GamesMaster, "December 1994" (UK; 1994-11-17), page 77

[6] 1700 igr dlya Sega, "" (RU; 2001-xx-xx), page 201

[:File:AlaabAlcomputtar_SA_2.pdf_p73-7] Alaab Alcomputtar, "" (SA; 1995-08-xx), page 73

[8] Cool Gamer, "9" (RU; 2002-10-13), page 182

[9] Entsiklopediya luchshikh igr Sega. Vypusk 1, "" (RU; 1999-xx-xx), page 356

[10] Entsiklopediya luchshikh igr Sega. Vypusk 3, "" (RU; 2000-xx-xx), page 237

[:File:MAN.21AC_DE_1994-12.pdf_p82-11] MAN!AC, "12/94" (DE; 1994-11-09), page 82

[:File:MegaForce_FR_35.pdf_p54-12] Mega Force, "Janvier 1995" (FR; 199x-xx-xx), page 54

[:File:MegaFun_DE_1994-12.pdf_p124-13] Mega Fun, "12/94" (DE; 1994-11-23), page 124

[:File:PlayerOne_FR_049.pdf_p118-14] Player One, "Janvier 1995" (FR; 199x-xx-xx), page 118

[:File:PlayTime_DE_1994-12.pdf_p109-15] Play Time, "12/94" (DE; 1994-11-09), page 109

[:File:SegaMagazin_DE_13.pdf_p69-16] Sega Magazin, "Dezember 1994" (DE; 1994-11-17), page 69

[:File:SegaMagazine_UK_12.pdf_p97-17] Sega Magazine, "December 1994" (UK; 1994-11-15), page 97

[:File:SegaPower_UK_60.pdf_p55-18] Sega Power, "November 1994" (UK; 1994-09-29), page 55

[:File:SegaPro_UK_39.pdf_p42-19] Sega Pro, "December 1994" (UK; 1994-11-03), page 42

[:File:Sega_Mega_Drive_Review_2_RU.pdf_p123-20] Sega Mega Drive Review, "2" (RU; 1996-01-03), page 123

[:File:TodoSega_ES_22.pdf_p55-21] Todo Sega, "Enero 1995" (ES; 199x-xx-xx), page 55

[22] Tricks 16 bit, "Tricks Sega Gold 800 igr" (RU; 1998-03-20), page 153

[:File:VideoGames_DE_1994-12.pdf_p111-23] Video Games, "12/94" (DE; 1994-11-23), page 111

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@@ Line 28: / Line 28: @@
 '''''{{PAGENAME}}''''' is a beat-'em-up developed by [[Vivid Image]] and [[Psygnosis]] and released exclusively in Europe for the [[Commodore Amiga]] in 1993 and for the [[Sega Mega Drive]] 1994. It is the sequel to ''The First Samurai'', a beat-'em-up released for various home computers and the [[Super NES]] internationally a few years prior.
-A [[Sega Mega-CD]] port was advertised and was planned to launch alongside the Mega Drive version{{magref|megapower|10|7}}, but never released.
+A [[Sega Mega-CD]] port was advertised and was planned to launch alongside the Mega Drive version{{magref|megapower|10|7}}{{magref|segapro|34|10}}, but never released.
 ==Story==