Game Reviews
Articles
Code Bank
News Flash
Fan SceneWho We Are
The Paper Game Mag
Links
Feedback
Search
Home
|
In the latest chapter in the Samurai Shodown saga, a new evil by the name of Zankuro threatens the land, and he must be taken down. The nomadic warriors have returned for the third time, and blood shall flow once again. They do battle, one on one, wandering the land, each one following their own destiny. Which one will have the strength needed to emerge victorious? When SNK chose to create another Samurai Shodown, they didn't want to simply add a few new things to part two. They have improved upon almost every aspect of the game. The 2-D weapon fighting series gets better with each installment, making part three the best yet. The graphics are big and bold, and all of the characters were redrawn with very smooth animation. There are all new backgrounds, and they change as the fighting gets more intense, adding a rather dramatic effect. The game play is fast, and there is more of an emphasis on strategy and counter striking rather than simple hack and slash. Every character can dodge, grab an opponent and push him back, slip behind an opponent, break though any block, and charge energy for a power move. Naturally there are special moves, super moves, punches, slashes, and kicks. This is the Neo Geo arcade game. The PlayStation version doesn't quite measure up to the arcade game. Although CD's are capable of holding much more memory than a cartridge, it can only use a little bit at a time. What this means is, for the PlayStation to be able to do a conversion of a high memory cartridge, corners have to be cut. It's not a terrible conversion, but it's far from being perfect. As far as the graphics are concerned, the biggest, most notable difference is in the animation. Missing more than just a few frames, the smooth movement of the characters has not simply been cut down, It's been butchered. On the other hand, they are still fairly large, and are very well drawn and colorful. The backgrounds are also done very well and they still change near the end of the fight. The changed backgrounds seem to lack detail, but it's still a great effect. All in all the game still looks pretty good. It's just not what it could be. Then there's the game play, and what happened here is anyone's guess. All the moves and special moves remain intact, and they're still fairly easy to do. The problem is the game seems to run at about 80% speed, making the timing a little different. After playing the game for a while, you get used to it. If you go back and play the arcade game again, however, that's when you'll really notice the problem. There are still a lot of things you can do in this game, and it still uses only four buttons. Some may find this a bit confusing, but it certainly adds depth to the game play. The music and sounds, although not played directly off of the CD, are very good. The music helps add to the game's unique Japanese style that this series always maintains. Each character's stage and music seems to fit them like a glove, and their design is excellent. Fans of Japanese animation should really like this game, if not just for the characters alone. Also, all twelve characters have two versions to choose from; chivalry and treachery. The only real difference, apart from the colors, is in the special and super special moves that they do. In most cases, it changes the strategy involved in playing that character, which is a great feature. In the end, what we end up with is fair conversion of an excellent game. It's still a fun game to play, and you'll only really notice it's flaws if you play the arcade game. What might have made this game closer to it's arcade counterpart is more RAM in the PlayStation. Perhaps this will be rectified in future conversions, but for now we'll just have to settle for what they can give us. |
Articles
Code Bank
News Flash
Fan Scene
The Paper Game Mag
Links
Feedback
Search
Home
We want to hear from you! E-mail the Editor of Game Mag at gamemag@kcnet.com.