SAMURAI SHODOWN
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What's on TV this week: 'Artemis Fowl' and 'Pokémon Journeys'
This week Disney+ will premiere 'Artemis Fowl,' and 'Samurai Shodown' arrives on the Epic Games Store.
Neo Geo retro stick console includes 'King of Fighters,' 'Samurai Shodown'
SNK has detailed the full 20-game lineup for its Neo Geo Arcade Stick Pro, and it's mixed news for fans of the classic platform. The retro console and controller hybrid will focus on the best-known brawlers with six The King of Fighters games ('95 through 2002), four Samurai Shodown titles (II through V Special) and three Fatal Fury releases (Special, 3 and Garou: Mark of the Wolves) in addition to several others. It's not a complete release, but fans of classic fighters should be happy. You can read the full list below.
'Cyberpunk 2077' and 'Mortal Kombat 11' are coming to Google Stadia
Just before Gamescom's opening ceremony got underway, Google revealed a bunch more games that are coming to its Stadia streaming platform. One of the bigger titles is CD Projekt Red's Cyberpunk 2077. Google didn't say exactly when the game would be available on Stadia, but its release date on other platforms is April 16th, 2020.
SNK promises 'next gen' Neo Geo hardware to follow its Mini console
Amid the retro gaming console fad, last year's release of the Neo Geo Mini didn't attract as much attention as others, but SNK is back this summer with a $140 Samurai Shodown edition to celebrate the release of Samurai Shodown on PS4 and Xbox One. Unfortunately, according to reviews, despite a reshuffled list of included games this version of the console still suffers from subpar video output over HDMI. The good news is that fans of the arcade/home gaming system may have something better to look forward to. Ahead of the EVO 2019 event this weekend, SNK tweeted that "A Next-Gen NEOGEO hardware is coming after NEOGEO Mini." It promises a modern design and the ability to link to the Mini. The last time we saw modular hardware in this family was with the Neo Geo X, and really all we can hope for is that things are a little better executed this time around.
Square Enix sues SNK over past copyright infringement allegations
Square Enix announced that it brought a declaratory judgment suit against SNK Playmore as a response to previous accusations of copyright infringement. SNK sued Square Enix in May, claiming the Final Fantasy publisher used copyrighted SNK characters without permission in the High Score Girl manga. SNK alleged that characters from The King of Fighters and Samurai Shodown were used more than 100 times without permission. Following the lawsuit, police collected evidence in early August from Square Enix's offices, and the publisher stated it "has been cooperating fully with police investigations since the domiciliary search, and will continuously maintain the cooperative stance with good faith." Square Enix is now seeking an authoritative opinion from the Osaka District Court to determine that it has not infringed on SNK's copyright and will "prove the point through civil procedures." [Images: Square Enix]
Fatal Fury, Samurai Showdown pachislot machines headed for Japan
It's probably pretty rough for SNK Playmore fans to see the "Fatal Fury" and "Samurai Showdown" names in the same sentence as "pachislot," a type of Japanese slot machine. Neither of the classic fighting series have seen a fresh installment since the '90s; ports and anthology collections are the most recent ways to get doses of the 2D fighters. Nevertheless, SNK Playmore has licensed both properties for pachislot games called Fatal Fury PREMIUM and Samurai Spirits: Kengou. These machines come with extravagant trailers, which sort of help us imagine what modern installments of either fighter would look like. Fatal Fury and Samurai Showdown fans can probably find support from the Breath of Fire or Star Ocean communities, which haven't been getting the announcements they've been hoping for either. But hey, at least overall interest for these series wasn't measured with sales of a port like Darkstalkers Resurrection. [Image: SNK Playmore]
Samurai Showdown 2 slices into iOS, Android
The classic Neo Geo fighting game, Samurai Shodown 2, is now on the iOS App Store and Google Play. The port features customizable controls in the form of virtual touchscreen buttons, which can be placed outside of the game's visual area in "window mode." All 15 characters are included, and multiplayer matches can be played over Bluetooth. Slicing things up with Haohmaru, Jubei and the rest of the gang costs a relatively premium price of $8.99.
Samurai Shodown sits on a throne of lies
Longtime developer Gregg Tavares recently appeared on the 8-4 Play podcast, where he revealed an interesting tidbit about 1993 fighting game Samurai Shodown. Prior to his development team getting code for the game to port it to the Neo Geo, a member of the team noticed something odd about the sword-clashing mini-game that prompts players to mash buttons: the buttons don't actually do anything.When the team picked up the contract, they checked the code to find that the mini-game, while displaying a command encouraging players to press buttons to win the sword dual, actually "picks a random number" to determine the winner. The surprise of the other panelists at finding out about this quirky Samurai Shodown nugget of information makes listening in at the 1:36:05 mark worthwhile.
Neo Geo games coming to PSN with online play
Nine months after the ESRB listed Neo Geo games for PS3 and PSP, publisher SNK Playmore has announced plans for a "Neo Geo Station" on PlayStation Network. Starting December 21, games from the Neo Geo's library will be released on PSN in both PS3 and PSP versions, costing $8.99 and $6.99 each, respectively. The pricing on the PS3 versions is equivalent to the cost of buying Neo Geo games on the Wii Virtual Console. Unlike the Virtual Console releases, these aren't just emulated versions of the originals. SNK has added features like online co-op and versus play on PS3 (and Ad-Hoc Party support on PSP), along with other unspecified enhancements. Check after the break for all ten games hitting PS3 on December 21, and the two PSP games arriving at the same time. The other eight are scheduled to arrive on PSP sometime in January.
Japanese Nintendo downloads: Neo Geo fighters, Shooting Watch, Monkey Band
The Virtual Console and DSiWare are stuffed full of games this week in Japan! The Virtual Console has the first Metal Max Famicom game (a series that eventually led to Metal Saga on PS2, with a DS sequel upcoming), as well as two Neo Geo fighting games. The bizarre Waku Waku 7 from Sunsoft stars robot tanks, Totoro-esque creatures, and even a sentient punching bag! There's even an ancient Dig Dug-style arcade game. WiiWare's World Game Parade finishes with Katamuki Spirits, a localized version of Equilibrio. DSiWare features a game in which you compose songs to be played by a band of cartoon monkeys, with synthesized instruments and vocals! Also available: a drawing program about doodling on your photos, a platformer with 10-second levels, and, of course, Hudson's Shooting Watch app, which tests the number of button presses you can perform in a second. Metal Max (Famicom, 1 player, 500 Wii Points) Samurai Shodown III (Neo Geo, 1-2 players, 900 Wii Points) Waku Waku 7 (Neo Geo, 1--2 players, 900 Wii Points) Mr. Do! (Arcade, 1-2 players, 800 Wii Points) Katamuki Spirits (WiiWare, 1-4 players, 500 Wii Points) Ahh, Nostalgic Shooting Watch (DSiWare, 1 player, 200 DSi Points) Artist Ni Narou: Kikaru ni Sketch (DSiWare, 1 player, 200 DSi Points) 10-second Run (DSiWare, 1 player, 200 DSi Points) Atelier Deco La Doll - Gothic (DSiWare, 1 player, 500 DSi Points) Teach Me Darling (DSiWare, 1 player, 800 DSi Points) Make Songs Monkey Band (DSiWare, 1 player, 800 DSi Points) Renjuku Kanji: Junior High (DSiWare, 1 player, 800 DSi Points)
Samurai Shodown Sen shows up March 30
When XSEED announced that it had picked up SNK's latest Samurai Shodown game, Samurai Shodown Sen, we didn't know just how soon it would bring the 3D samurai combat to us. And after waiting a couple of years for this game to show up -- and after seeing it at E3 last year with no word of a release date -- we're kind of shocked to see the game coming out so soon, on March 30. There's a weird kind of parallelism in the design and the premise of the game: Sen is about the period when Western culture began to enter Japan, bringing foreigners in contact with samurai -- and the game is a high-definition 3D version of an SNK classic. So, if we were going to overthink this (and we are), we could see the game's samurai as a metaphor for classic 2D fighters, with the Vikings and other foreign elements representing the unstoppable influence of 3D. Then they all hit each other with swords. %Gallery-83694%
XSEED now publishing Samurai Shodown Sen
The odd swapping of games between Ignition Entertainment and XSEED continues. First, Ignition obtained the rights to Marvelous's Muramasa: The Demon Blade and Arc Rise Fantasia, both initially to be published by XSEED. Now, XSEED has announced that it will publish Samurai Shodown: Edge of Destiny on Xbox 360 -- a game that we played at Ignition's E3 booth. XSEED is publishing the fighter under the name Samurai Shodown Sen, with a release planned for sometime this spring. Along with Atlus's announcement that it's publishing Metal Slug XX, this move provides evidence that Ignition's co-publishing deal with SNK has ended.
Samurai Shodown Sen out in Europe this spring
Click to sho' more screensThe publishing status of Samurai Shodown: Edge of Destiny in North America is somewhat up in the air, given Ignition's recent silence about the game and Atlus' announcement that it's publishing SNK's Metal Slug XX (leading to speculation that Ignition's deal with SNK is over). There's no doubt, however, that the game's coming out in Europe. European publisher Rising Star Games has announced that it will publish the 3D Samurai Shodown sequel on Xbox 360 this spring under the name Samurai Shodown Sen. The game features classic Samurai Shodown fighters, like Ukyo and Nakoruru, with a weird mix of international characters -- like, in our experience, a Viking. %Gallery-83694%
Hands-on: Samurai Shodown: Edge of Destiny
Samurai Shodown: Edge of Destiny, the latest in SNK's long-lived weapons-based fighting game series, feels totally different from its predecessors. The K2-developed fighter doesn't just add 3D graphics to the series more successfully than the version on the short-lived Hyper Neo Geo 64 system -- it adds some 3D movement as well, in the form of a dodge move. During our quick match, Ignition's Shane Bettenhausen described it as "Samurai Shodown meets Soul Calibur meets Bushido Blade," a classification that aptly encapsulates some of the changes in the game.%Gallery-65488%
Save those Wii Points: Samurai Shodown Anthology releases this winter
When we found out that Wii might see the release of SNK Arcade Classics, we got all kinds of tingly and warm inside. We like those old school SNK games. But when it was confirmed, along with Samurai Shodown Anthology and King of Fighters: The Orochi Saga, well, we had to lock ourselves in a padded room for hours just to get the excitement out. Now we have a release window for Samurai Shodown Anthology.As you might have guessed, the title is due to hit shelves sometime this winter, meaning it could be available anywhere from now to December 31st. For those of you who aren't in the know, Samurai Shodown Anthology will include 6 games from the classic fighter franchise and will probably be a little more than the cost of 2 SNK games on the Virtual Console.
X3F TV -- XBLA in Brief: Samurai Shodown II, Shotest Shogi, Rocket Bowl
Another week, three more games on Xbox Live Arcade. We've got Samurai Shodown II, Shotest Shogi and Rocket Bowl, a classic fighter, a Japanese board game and a wacky bowling game, respectively. As is our sworn duty, we take a look at all three of them in the latest XBLA in Brief. Check out our latest installment and find out which ones are for you.[iTunes] Subscribe to X3F TV directly in iTunes.[Zune] Subscribe to the X3F TV directly (Zune Marketplace link coming soon).[RSS] Add the X3F TV feed to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically.[M4V] Download the M4V directly.
VC Monday Madness: Samurai Shodown 2 and Ys Book I and II
We're back again, with a fresh video that's piping hot with gaming goodness. Oh, and there's some dude talking over the whole thing. We're sorry about that. He will be taken care of. After checking out the video above, head past the break for the rest.
Retail and download releases for the week of August 25th
There's plenty of content releasing on the Wii this week. Whether you're a fan of retail games or looking to download some content on the Virtual Console or WiiWare, your gaming needs should be taken care of this week. Head on past the break for the details and let us know what you'll be playing!%Gallery-24326%
VC Friday: Sequel week
Game sequels often suffer from a reputation of being weaker than their predecessors, but that hasn't stopped Nintendo whacking a whole pile of them on the PAL Virtual Console this week. The M-rated Splatterhouse 2 leads the charge, bloodied lead pipe in hand, and is joined by Samurai Shodown II, Pitstop II, and Ecco Jr. (okay, so that's not a sequel in the strictest sense of the term, but a spin-off for the kids). Here's what that little lot will cost you: Ecco Jr. -- Mega Drive -- 800 Wii Points Splatterhouse 2 -- Mega Drive -- 800 Wii Points Samurai Shodown II -- Neo Geo -- 900 Wii Points Pitstop II -- Commodore 64 -- 500 Wii Points * * As usual, Australia misses out on the Commodore 64 game.Footage of all four is past the break -- try listening to six minutes of Pitstop II's engine effects without going insane.
Samurai Shodown II slices into Virtual Console next week
It's usually not until we roll out of bed on Monday morning that we find out what retro itch the Wii's Virtual Console will scratch. However, SNK has let the sword out of the sheath a bit early, confirming that next week's retro throwback will include arcade favorite Samurai Shodown II. As great as SNK's 1994 2D fighter is, to say nothing about how much better it is than the original, it's starting to make less and less sense to pick up these Neo Geo titles piecemeal when SNK continues to bundle the games together at retail. It's hard to justify the digging through the couch for 900 Wii Points when we'll be able to pick up Samurai Shodown Anthology, which will include Samurai Shodown I-VI, on the Wii later this year for about $30.
