(LAST UPDATE: 7/30/2010)
Developer(s): SNK
Publisher(s): SNK
Platform(s): Arcade (Hyper
Neo Geo 64)
Release Date(s): December 19th 1997
Characters:
Haohmaru,
Genjuro,
Ukyo,
Galford,
Hanzo,
Shiki,
Yagyu
Hanma, Sogetsu,
Kazuki,
Nakoruru,
Rimururu, Gandara,
Deku & Dekuina, Yuga
Related Games:
Samurai
Shodown, Samurai Shodown 2, Samurai
Shodown 3, Samurai Shodown 4, Samurai
Shodown 5, Samurai Shodown 5 Special,
Samurai
Shodown 6, Samurai Shodown 64 - 2, Samurai
Shodown Pocket, Samurai Shodown
2 Pocket,
Samurai Shodown Warrior's
Rage, Samurai Shodown: Edge of Destiny, Samurai
Shodown Anthology
Story:
Twenty years ago... a certain process was done over the years. Yuga
would take out babies from a mothers stomach for a few days. She would put a
certain spell on them and return them to the mother's stomach. The baby would be
born as if nothing happened. The child would show incredible talent in different
fields. These children were called "Shindou" or "Kidou".
Twenty years later, the children would become incredible adults who have a high
status or are well known. Yuga would appear before these people and would show
them a mysterious puppet show. This causes them to remember why they were born
in this world and would follow orders given by Yuga...
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General: Joining the ranks of most other 2D fighting game franchises, SNK's staple weapon-based 2D fighting game series Samurai Shodown, finally makes the jump to 3D. Samurai Shodown 64 brings back several classic characters, and introduces two new faces (Shiki & Yagyu Hanma). The characters are presented in halfway decent 3D animation & graphics (for the time), though textures were low quality and character models were plagued with noticeable pointy polygons. The overall gameplay was on the slow side, but retained most of the series' staple gameplay elements. The "Rage Explosion" was brought back from Samurai Shodown 4, and every character also had a powerful super move called a "Fatal Flash". Unfortunately, special moves now didn't vary in strength depending on the button the was used, which put a damper on the basic gameplay.
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The gameplay takes full advantage of its 3D engine, with the
ability to move in any direction (in a fashion that was later modified and used
in the Soul
Calibur series). It is also the first 3D fighting game to use
multi-tiered stages (although Mortal
Kombat 3, a 2D fighter, utilized this concept two years earlier), where it
was possible to knock an opponent through a wall or floor into a different
section of the same arena. This idea was later used in the Dead
or Alive series, which is frequently (and erroneously) credited for the
innovation. SS64 also makes use of the then-traditional setup of being able to
knock an opponent out of the fighting area entirely, thus resulting in a victory
by "ring out."
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Not Yet Rated |
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Closing Comment:
Like most people, I haven't played this 3D incarnation of my beloved
Samurai Shodown series. Even though I know it was a disappointing game
considering the series' history, I of course will not "rate it" until
I actually play it (if that day ever comes). I gotta say though, the
"fatality sequences" with the awesome in-game artwork are well done
and look pretty badass... And are likely the best feature of the game.
Thankfully for Youtube, at least we can check out those badass finishers
(see video above). ~F.Yagami,
Webmaster
of TFG
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