Samurai Shodown! 2 review by Bluefour

SNK's ever fun Samurai fighter makes it's second NGP appearence, but I've never played SS!1 so comparisons will not be made.

Graphics:B+
Well animated sprites and detailed colored backgrounds are what you'll find, but the sprites are somewhat smallish compared to other NGPC fighters. Some of the backgrounds I really like and then others aren't so great. Good graphics overall, but not quite as good as other NGPC fighters.

Gameplay:A
Slower and more strategic, but thats how the Samurai games are supposed to be. The game plays well, but suffers from the fact that there are only two buttons. KOF has 2 punches, 2 kicks so it works great on the Neo Pocket, but Samurai Shodown has 3 slice (hard, medium, and soft) and one kick, so it doesn't work as well. A is slash (tap=light press=hard) and B is um other... B dodges, parries, (when in the air) kicks, and starts combos. The B button's many functions work better than it sounds though, and the controls become easy to use. The combos are like the chains in SS4, but you can't do the long 14 hit chain.

Sound:C+
The sound effects are okay, and suit the game. I like the music, it helps set the Feudal Japanese mood of the game.

Mood: A+
Um, okay, this isn't really a real category but it needs to be mentioned. The Samurai Shodown games have always had a nice mood to them. (I mentioned this briefly above in the sound category) Even with big heads and goofy-translantion-funny-speak the pocket version still captures the great mood.

Overall: A
Another great fighter, but a bit different. If you need a break from KOF style gameplay (MOTM, Gals Fighters, KOF R-2, etc) pick this one up.