Samurai Shodown! 2 review by Poptart281

I have started playing Neo Geo arcade games back when I was in high school and remember playing games lke Fatal Fury, Art of Fighting, World Heroes, and my favorite of them all Samurai Shodown. As I became an adult I lost touch with Snk's game as I never played any of the SS sequels, KOF, and any other SNK arcade or translations to other systems that came later on (Circa 1994 and on). When the NGPC came out it reminded me of the good ol' times and made me rush out and get one. Well, the first game I bought was (you guessed it) SS2 and here's my review of my favorite SNK series of all-time.

Graphics:( 4.5 of 5)
Even though the characters are lacking a bit of color they are very detailed and lifelike with smooth animation, facial expressions, etc., Their moves are fluid and their mayhem commands are graphically nice and colorful in all a quality job by SNK. I really would have loved the death scenes of the original but I guess we can't have everything. The cut scenes and card graphics have to be seen to believe what this little system could do. The backgrounds range from very beautiful (first two stages) to a little plain (Haomaru's and Gandara's stage) but overall are better than anything any portable out there could throw out.

Sounds:( 4 of 5)
The music is good for a portable. Each character has their own theme so you won't get much repetitious music. The music is traditional Japanese music and may seem out of place for some. See, when it comes to fighting games we expect an upbeat type music but in this game I totally agree with the music because it seems you're playing part in an ongoing Samurai style movie. The sound FX are not bad, I do love the clashing of weapons but overall the SFX are not spectacular and that's what we expect from portables (I really would have liked the digitized voices but the game is no less fun without them).

Gameplay:( 5 of 5)
This is and should be the biggest selling point of this game (in fact any game). The game seems more balanced than any other fighter I have ever played. There are no weaker or stronger characters and you could pick up any and win on any give day. The moves are easy to pull off due in large part to the NGPC joystick which is better than any D-pad out there. Each character has different moves, mayhem commands, combos, throws, projectiles, and personality that makes this game a joy to play. You could also play each character in two different modes ( slash or bust). Each mode gives your character a different style of fighting and overall different moves, mayhem commands, etc., In final you play two different versions of you're favorite character which really pumps up the replay value. The game also has different modes of play. You have 1st player story mode, survival mode (fight till you die), vs mode, option mode, and a collection mode in which you view, trade, send/receive to and from another player the cards that are earned during story mode. Which leads me to talk about this innovative aspect of SS2. During 1st player mode you will receive cards for each character if you meet certain specifications during gameplay which adds even more to the replay value. Each card gives you either a power up, defense, or a special move(two types) and you could collect up to 8 cards for each character ( 4 for slash, 4 for bust), which you could use 2 at a time to make your character stronger.

Replay Value: ( 5 of 5)
It's a game that keeps everything fresh and makes you comeback for more, especially to collect them cards. 15 different characters with 2 different styles, 2 hidden bosses, and collecting cards will keep you busy until the next installment ( come on SNK you can do it).

Overall: 93%
All I have to say this is a must have for NGPC owners and fighting fans and it should be either #1 or 2 in your collective wish list. Nice job SNK!